ADOLESCENCE

IN AMERICA
An Encyclopedia
 The American Family

The six titles that make up The American Family offer a revitalizing new take
on U.S. history, surveying current culture from the perspective of the family and
incorporating insights from psychology, sociology, and medicine. Each two-vol-
ume, A-to-Z encyclopedia features its own advisory board, editorial slant, and
apparatus, including illustrations, bibliography, and index.

Adolescence in America
edited by Jacqueline V. Lerner, Boston College,
and Richard M. Lerner, Tufts University;
Jordan W. Finkelstein, Pennsylvania State University,
Advisory Editor

Boyhood in America
edited by Priscilla Ferguson Clement, Pennsylvania State
University, Delaware County, and Jacqueline S. Reinier,
California State University, Sacramento

The Family in America

edited by Joseph M. Hawes, University of Memphis,
and Elizabeth F. Shores, Little Rock, Arkansas

Girlhood in America
edited by Miriam Forman-Brunell,
University of Missouri, Kansas City

Infancy in America
edited by Alice Sterling Honig, Emerita, Syracuse University;
Hiram E. Fitzgerald, Michigan State University;
and Holly Brophy-Herb, Michigan State University

Parenthood in America
edited by Lawrence Balter, New York University
 ADOLESCENCE
IN AMERICA

An Encyclopedia

Volume 1
A–M

Jacqueline V. Lerner, editor

Boston College

Richard M. Lerner, editor

Tufts University

Jordan Finkelstein, advisory editor

Pennsylvania State University

Santa Barbara, California

Denver, Colorado
Oxford, England
Copyright © 2001 by Jacqueline V. Lerner and Richard M. Lerner

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored

in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, elec-
tronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except for the
inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without prior permission in
writing from the publishers.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

1-57607-205-3 (hardcover)
1-57607-571-0 (e-book)

06 05 04 03 02 01 00 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 (cloth)

ABC-CLIO, Inc.
130 Cremona Drive, P.O. Box 1911
Santa Barbara, California 93116-1911

This book is also available on the World Wide Web as an e-book. Visit
www.abc-clio.com for details.

This book is printed on acid-free paper ∞

Manufactured in the United States of America
 About the Editors

Jacqueline V. Lerner is professor of psychology and chair of the Counseling and

Developmental Psychology program at Boston College.

Richard M. Lerner holds the Bergstrom Chair in Applied and Developmental

Science in the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Development, Tufts Univer-
sity.

Jordan Finkelstein, advisory editor, is professor of behavioral health, human

development, and pediatrics at Pennsylvania State University.

v
 Contents

A-to-Z List of Entries ix

Contributors and Their Entries xiii
Foreword xxvii
Preface xxxi
Introduction xxxiii

Volume 1: Entries A to M 1
Volume 2: Entries N to Y 465

Bibliography 827
Index 903

vii
 A-to-Z List of Entries

VOLUME 1, A–M Autonomy

B
A
Body Build
Abortion Body Fat, Changes in
Abstinence Body Hair
Academic Achievement Body Image
Academic Self-Evaluation Bullying
Accidents Bumps in the Road to Adulthood
Acne
Adoption: Exploration and Search
Adoption: Issues and Concerns
C
African American Adolescents,
Cancer in Childhood and Adolescence
Identity in
Career Development
African American Adolescents,
Cheating, Academic
Research on
Chicana/o Adolescents
African American Male Adolescents
Child-Rearing Styles
Aggression
Children of Alcoholics
Alcohol Use, Risk Factors in
Chores
Alcohol Use, Trends in
Chronic Illnesses in Adolescence
Allowance
Cigarette Smoking
Anemia
Cliques
Anxiety
Cognitive Development
Appearance, Cultural Factors in
College
Appearance Management
Computer Hacking
Apprenticeships
Computers
The Arts
Conduct Problems
Asian American Adolescents:
Conflict and Stress
Comparisons and Contrasts
Conflict Resolution
Asian American Adolescents: Issues
Conformity
Influencing Identity
Contraception
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity
Coping
Disorder (ADHD)
Counseling
Attractiveness, Physical
Cults

ix
x A-to-Z List of Entries

D Freedom

Dating
Dating Infidelity
G
Decision Making
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Sexual-
Delinquency, Mental Health, and
Minority Youth
Substance Abuse Problems
Gender Differences
Delinquency, Trends in
Gender Differences and Intellectual and
Dental Health
Moral Development
Depression
Developmental Assets Gifted and Talented Youth
Developmental Challenges Gonorrhea
Diabetes Grandparents: Intergenerational
Discipline Relationships
Disorders, Psychological and Social
Divorce H
Down Syndrome
Drug Abuse Prevention Health Promotion
Dyslexia Health Services for Adolescents
High School Equivalency Degree
E Higher Education
HIV/AIDS
Eating Problems Homeless Youth
Emancipated Minors Homework
Emotional Abuse
Emotions I
Empathy
Employment: Positive and Negative Identity
Consequences Inhalants
Environmental Health Issues Intelligence
Ethnic Identity Intelligence Tests
Ethnocentrism Intervention Programs for Adolescents

F J
Family Composition: Realities and
Juvenile Crime
Myths
Juvenile Justice System
Family Relations
Family-School Involvement
Fathers and Adolescents L
Fears
Female Athlete Triad Latina/o Adolescents
Foster Care: Risks and Protective Learning Disabilities
Factors Learning Styles and Accommodations
 A-to-Z List of Entries xi

Loneliness Personal Fable

Lore Personality
Love Physical Abuse
Political Development
Poverty
M Pregnancy, Interventions to Prevent
Private Schools
Maternal Employment: Historical
Programs for Adolescents
Changes
Proms
Maternal Employment: Influences on
Prostitution
Adolescents
Psychosomatic Disorders
Media
Psychotherapy
Memory
Puberty: Hormone Changes
Menarche
Puberty: Physical Changes
Menstrual Cycle
Puberty: Psychological and Social
Menstrual Dysfunction
Changes
Menstruation
Puberty, Timing of
Mental Retardation, Siblings with
Mentoring and Youth Development
Middle Schools R
Miscarriage
Moral Development Racial Discrimination
Mothers and Adolescents Rape
Motivation, Intrinsic Rebellion
Religion, Spirituality, and Belief
Systems
Responsibility for Developmental Tasks
VOLUME 2: N–Y
Rights of Adolescents
Rights of Adolescents in Research
Risk Behaviors
N Risk Perception
Rites of Passage
Native American Adolescents Runaways
Neglect
Nutrition
S

P Sadness
School Dropouts
Parent-Adolescent Relations School Engagement
Parental Monitoring School, Functions of
Parenting Styles School Transitions
Peer Groups Schools, Full-Service
Peer Pressure Schools, Single-Sex
Peer Status Self
Peer Victimization in School Self-Consciousness
xii A-to-Z List of Entries

Self-Esteem Teenage Parenting: Childbearing

Self-Injury Teenage Parenting: Consequences
Services for Adolescents Television
Sex Differences Television, Effects of
Sex Education Temperament
Sex Roles Thinking
Sexual Abuse Tracking in American High Schools
Sexual Behavior Transition to Young Adulthood
Sexual Behavior Problems Transitions of Adolescence
Sexuality, Emotional Aspects of Twins
Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Shyness
Sibling Conflict
V
Sibling Differences
Violence and Aggression
Sibling Relationships
Vocational Development
Single Parenthood and Low
Volunteerism
Achievement
Social Development
Spina Bifida W
Sports and Adolescents
Sports, Exercise, and Weight Control Welfare
Standardized Tests White and American: A Matter of
Steroids Privilege?
Storm and Stress Why Is There an Adolescence?
Substance Use and Abuse Work in Adolescence
Suicide

Y
T
Youth Culture
Teachers Youth Gangs
Teasing Youth Outlook
 Contributors and
Their Entries

Michelle Abdala Sally Archer

Independent Scholar The College of New Jersey
Niles, Illinois Ewing, New Jersey
Spina Bifida Sexuality, Emotional Aspects of

Gerald R. Adams Andrea Bastiani Archibald

University of Guelph Teachers College, Columbia University
Guelph, Ontario New York, New York
Family-School Involvement Body Fat
Identity
Runaways Jeffrey Jensen Arnett
University of Missouri–Columbia
Sandra Alcala Columbia, Missouri
Loyola University Media
Chicago, Illinois
Spina Bifida Pamela Aronson
Indiana University
David Almeida Bloomington, Indiana
University of Arizona Allowance
Tucscon, Arizona
Fathers and Adolescents Christopher Ashford
University of Pennsylvania
Billie V. Andersson Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
St. Martin’s Episcopal School Career Development
Metairie, Louisiana
University of New Orleans Susan Averna
New Orleans, Louisiana University of Connecticut
Learning Styles and Accommodations Farmington, Connecticut
Anxiety
Dita G. Andersson Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity
Independent Scholar Disorder (ADHD)
Brighton, Massachusetts Conduct Problems
Moral Development Personal Fable

xiii
xiv Contributors and Their Entries

Catherine E. Barton Emily Branscum

Boston College Florida International University
Chestnut Hill, Massachussetts Miami, Florida
Cancer in Childhood and Adolescence Delinquency, Mental Health, and
Learning Disabilities Substance Abuse Problems

Jessica Beckwith Jeanne Brooks-Gunn

Teachers College, Columbia University Teachers College, Columbia University
New York, New York New York, New York
Conflict Resolution Body Fat, Changes in
Body Image
Peter L. Benson
Search Institute Jennifer S. Brown
Minneapolis, Minnesota Tufts University
Assets Medford, Massachusetts
The Arts
Aida Bilalbegović
Tufts University Jean-Marie Bruzzese
Medford, Massachusetts College of Physicians and Surgeons,
Puberty: Psychological and Social Columbia University
Changes New York, New York
Rights of Adolescents in Research
Deborah L. Bobek
Tufts University Christy M. Buchanan
Medford, Massachusetts Wake Forest University
Cults Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Prostitution Divorce

Lynne M. Borden Phame Camarena

Michigan State University Central Michigan University
East Lansing, Michigan Mount Pleasant, Michigan
Programs for Adolescents Self
Volunteerism
Maya Carlson
Shireen Boulos Harvard University
Tufts University Cambridge, Massachussetts
Medford, Massachusetts Rights of Adolescents
Emancipated Minors
Welfare Danielle Carrigo
Texas Tech University
Mary M. Brabeck Lubbock, Texas
Boston College Chicana/o Adolescents
Chestnut Hill, Massachussetts Latina/o Adolescents
Gender Differences and Intellectual
and Moral Development
 Contributors and Their Entries xv

Domini R. Castellino Kenneth M. Cohen

Duke University Counseling and Psychological Services,
Durham, North Carolina Cornell University
Maternal Employment: Influences on Ithaca, New York
Adolescents Counseling
Mothers and Adolescents
Parent-Adolescent Relations Teresa M. Cooney
University of Missouri–Columbia
Stephen J. Ceci Columbia, Missouri
Cornell University Chores
Ithaca, New York
Single Parenthood and Low Deborah Corbitt-Shindler
Achievement University of Houston
Houston, Texas
Heather Cecil Sibling Conflict
University of Alabama at Birmingham Sibling Differences
Birmingham, Alabama
HIV/AIDS Michael Cunningham
Tulane University
Laurie Chassin New Orleans, Louisiana
Arizona State University African American Male Adolescents
Tempe, Arizona
Cigarette Smoking William Damon
Stanford University
Jana H. Chaudhuri Stanford, California
Tufts University Youth Outlook
Medford, Massachusetts
Freedom Nancy Darling
Penn State University Park
Anna Chaves University Park, Pennsylvania
Boston College Discipline
Chestnut Hill, Massachussetts
Eating Problems Patrick Davies
University of Rochester
George P. Chrousos Rochester, New York
National Institute of Child Health and Dating
Human Development, National
Institutes of Health
Bethesda, Maryland
Georgetown University Medical School
Washington, D.C.
Puberty
xvi Contributors and Their Entries

Imma De Stefanis Jerome B. Dusek

Boston College Syracuse University
Chestnut Hill, Massachussetts Syracuse, New York
Cheating, Academic Bumps on the Road to Adulthood
Ethnic Identity Dating Infidelity
Middle Schools Sex Roles
Private Schools Why Is There an Adolescence?
School Transitions
Schools, Single-Sex Felton Earls
Transitions of Adolescence Harvard University Medical School
Boston, Massachussetts
Joseph Solomon Dillard Rights of Adolescents
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan Patricia L. East
Adoption: Issues and Concerns University of California–San Diego
Medical Center
Lorah D. Dorn San Diego, California
University of Pittsburgh Sibling Relationships
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Female Athlete Triad John Eckenrode
Puberty, Timing of Cornell University
Ithaca, New York
Sanford M. Dornbusch Neglect
Stanford University
Stanford, California David Elkind
Homeless Youth Tufts University
Tracking in American High Schools Medford, Massachusetts
Cognitive Development
Jennifer Douglas
University of Massachusetts–Boston Douglas W. Elliott
Boston, Massachusetts Cornell University
Welfare Ithaca, New York
Peer Pressure
Elizabeth Dowling
Tufts University David Engberg
Medford, Massachusetts Boston College
Love Chestnut Hill, Massachussetts
American Council on Education
Candice Dreves Washington, D.C.
Independent Scholar Higher Education
Eagan, Minnesota
Academic Self-Evaluation
Gender Differences
 Contributors and Their Entries xvii

Elizabeth N. Fielding Celia B. Fisher

Boston College Fordham University
Chestnut Hill, Massachussetts Bronx, New York
The Meadowbrook School of Weston Racial Discrimination
Weston, Massachussetts Rights of Adolescents in Research
Homework
Constance Flanagan
Jordan Finkelstein Penn State University Park
Penn State University Park University Park, Pennsylvania
University Park, Pennsylvania Political Development
Abortion
Accidents Rosalind D. Folman
Acne University of Michigan
Aggression Ann Arbor, Michigan
Anemia Foster Care
Birth Control
Body Build Kristine Freeark
Body Hair University of Michigan
Gonorrhea Ann Arbor, Michigan
Health Services for Adolescents Adoption: Exploration and Search
Menarche
Sara Gable
Menstrual Cycle
University of Missouri–Columbia
Menstrual Dysfunction
Columbia, Missouri
Menstruation
Chores
Miscarriage
Puberty: Physical Changes
Laura A. Gallagher
Sex Education
Boston College
Steroids
Chestnut Hill, Massachussetts
Self-Injury
Lisa B. Fiore
Suicide
Boston College
Chestnut Hill, Massachussetts Jessica Goldberg
Lesley College Tufts University
Cambridge, Massachussetts Medford, Massachusetts
Fears Emancipated Minors
Proms Welfare

Sean N. Fischer Adele Eskeles Gottfried

Loyola University Chicago California State University–Northridge
Chicago, Illinois Northridge, California
Parenting Styles Motivation, Intrinsic
xviii Contributors and Their Entries

Julia A. Graber Donald J. Hernandez

Teachers College, Columbia University State University of New York at Albany
New York, New York Albany, New York
Body Image Family Composition: Myths and
Realities
Sandra Graham Maternal Employment: Historical
University of California–Los Angeles Changes
Los Angeles, California Poverty
Peer Victimization in School
Laura Hess Olson
John W. Hagen Purdue University
University of Michigan West Lafayette, Indiana
Ann Arbor, Michigan Bullying
Adoption: Issues and Concerns
Chronic Illnesses in Adolescence Grayson N. Holmbeck
Foster Care Loyola University
Chicago, Illinois
Monica J. Hanson Family Relations
Boston College Parenting Styles
Chestnut Hill, Massachussetts Spina Bifida
Contraception Storm and Stress

Vinay Harpalani Angela Howell

University of Pennsylvania Boston College
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Chestnut Hill, Massachussetts
African American Adolescents, Down Syndrome
Identity in Sadness
African American Adolescents,
Research on Wendy Hubenthal
Boston College
Penny Hauser-Cram Chestnut Hill, Massachussetts
Boston College High School Equivalency Degree
Chestnut Hill, Massachussetts
Down Syndrome Lisa R. Jackson
GEAR UP, Boston Higher Education
James Henry Partnership
Western Michigan University Chestnut Hill, Massachussetts
Kalamazoo, Michigan School Engagement
Emotional Abuse
Physical Abuse Lauren P. Jacobson
Sexual Abuse Penn State Altoona
Altoona, Pennsylvania
Sports and Adolescents
 Contributors and Their Entries xix

Leanne J. Jacobson Sean Kennedy

University of California–San Diego Boston College
San Diego, California Chestnut Hill, Massachussetts
Juvenile Crime Computers
Sibling Relationships
Maureen E. Kenny
Matthew Jans Boston College
University of Massachusetts–Boston Chestnut Hill, Massachussetts
Boston, Massachusetts Depression
Sex Differences Intelligence Tests
Psychotherapy
Janna Jilnina Self-Esteem
Independent Scholar
Cambridge, Massachusetts Marty Wyngaarden Krauss
Attractiveness, Physical Brandeis University
Conformity Waltham, Massachussetts
Empathy Mental Retardation, Siblings with
Intelligence
Deanna Kuhn
Memory
Teachers College, Columbia University
Personality
New York, New York
Thinking
Sara Johnston
Penn State University Park
George T. Ladd
University Park, Pennsylvania
University of Connecticut Health
Sports, Exercise, and Weight Control
Center
Farmington, Connecticut
Jasna Jovanovic Rebellion
University of Illinois–Urbana- Substance Use and Abuse
Champaign
Urbana, Illinois Susanna M. Lara Roth
Academic Self-Evaluation Tufts University
Gender Differences Medford, Massachusetts
Psychosomatic Disorders
Linda P. Juang
California State University–San Reed Larson
Francisco University of Illinois–Urbana-
San Francisco, California Champaign
Asian American Adolescents: Com- Urbana, Illinois
parisons and Contrasts Emotions

Tami Katzir-Cohen Christine M. Lee

Tufts University University of Arizona
Medford, Massachusetts Tucson, Arizona
Dyslexia Teenage Parenting: Consequences
xx Contributors and Their Entries

Jacqueline V. Lerner Christine M. Low

Boston College Penn State University Park
Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts University Park, Pennsylvania
Academic Achievement Temperament
Employment: Positive and Negative
Consequences Tom Luster
Gender Differences Michigan State University
School, Functions of East Lansing, Michigan
Transition to Young Adulthood Emotional Abuse
Physical Abuse
Richard M. Lerner Sexual Abuse
Tufts University
Medford, Massachusetts Maureen Sweeney MacGillivray
Academic Achievement Central Michigan University
Cliques Rockford, Michigan
Developmental Challenges Appearance Management
Employment: Positive and Negative
Consequences Jennifer Maggs
Gender Differences University of Arizona
Intervention Programs for Tucson, Arizona
Adolescents Teenage Parenting: Consequences
Lore
Mentoring and Youth Development Kerry Maguire
Peer Status Tufts University School of Dental
Risk Behaviors Medicine
School, Functions of Belmont, Massachusetts
Schools, Full-Service Dental Health
Sexual Behavior Problems
Television Beth Manke
Transition to Young Adulthood University of Houston
Houston, Texas
Benjamin D. Locke Sibling Conflict
Boston College Sibling Differences
Chestnut Hill, Massachussetts
Rites of Passage Lyscha A. Marcynyszyn
Cornell University
Barbara J. Long Ithaca, New York
University of California–San Francisco Neglect
San Francisco, California
Female Athlete Triad

Alexandra Loukas
University of Texas–Austin
Austin, Texas
Inhalants
 Contributors and Their Entries xxi

Deborah N. Margolis Maya Misra

Boston College Tufts University
Chestnut Hill, Massachussetts Medford, Massachusetts
Catholic Memorial Middle/High School Social Development
Gloucester, Massachussetts
Disorders, Psychological and Social Raymond Montemayor
Self-Consciousness The Ohio State University
Teasing Columbus, Ohio
Parental Monitoring
W. Alex Mason
University of Alabama–Birmingham Jodi E. Morris
Birmingham, Alabama Boston College
Delinquency, Trends in Chestnut Hill, Massachussetts
Juvenile Justice System
Cami K. McBride
University of Illinois–Chicago Jeylan T. Mortimer
Chicago, Illinois University of Minnesota
Sexual Behavior Minneapolis, Minnesota
Allowance
Daniel A. McDonald Work in Adolescence
University of Arizona
Tucson, Arizona Jennifer A. Murphy
Fathers and Adolescents Boston College
Chestnut Hill, Massachussetts
Shirley McGuire Juvenile Justice System
University of San Francisco
San Francisco, California Jennifer T. Myers
Computer Hacking University of Michigan
Loneliness Ann Arbor, Michigan
Chronic Illnesses in Adolescence
Jeanne S. Merchant
University of Alabama–Birmingham Katherine Nitz
Birmingham, Alabama Independent Scholar
Sexually Transmitted Diseases Olney, Maryland
Pregnancy, Interventions to Prevent
Rachael B. Millstein
Loyola University E. Ree Noh
Chicago, Illinois Boston College
Parenting Styles Chestnut Hill, Massachussetts
Asian American Adolescents: Issues
Susan Millstein Influencing Identity
University of California–San Francisco
San Francisco, California
Decision Making
Risk Perception
xxii Contributors and Their Entries

Anne E. Norris Erik J. Porfeli

Boston College School of Nursing Penn State–University Park
Chestnut Hill, Massachussetts University Park, Pennsylvania
Abstinence Apprenticeships
Contraception Vocational Development

Patrick M. O’Malley Clark C. Presson

University of Michigan Arizona State University
Ann Arbor, Michigan Tempe, Arizona
Alcohol Use, Trends in Cigarette Smoking

Alyssa Goldberg O’Rourke Nora Presson

Tufts University Independent Scholar
Medford, Massachusetts Tempe, Arizona
Standardized Tests Cigarette Smoking

M. Kim Oh Kevin Rathunde

University of Alabama–Birmingham University of Utah
Birmingham, Alabama Salt Lake City, Uta
Sexually Transmitted Diseases Gifted and Talented Youth

Christine McCauley Ohannessian Geoffrey L. Ream

Independent Scholar Cornell University
Storrs, Connecticut Ithaca, New York
Children of Alcoholics Religion, Spirituality, and Belief
Twins Systems

Roberta L. Paikoff Melinda M. Roberts

University of Illinois–Chicago Youth Substance Abuse Program, Bay
Chicago, Illinois Area Community Resources
Sexual Behavior San Francisco, California
Drug Abuse Prevention
Paul B. Papierno
Cornell University Judith E. Robinson
Ithaca, New York Boston College
Single Parenthood and Low Chestnut Hill, Massachussetts
Achievement Violence and Aggression

Daniel F. Perkins Lauren Rogers-Sirin

Penn State–University Park
University Park, Pennsylvania
Programs for Adolescents
Risk Behaviors in Adolescence
Volunteerism
Boston College
Chestnut Hill, Massachussetts
Appearance, Cultural Factors in
Rape
 Contributors and Their Entries xxiii

Jennifer Rose Marsha Mailick Seltzer

Indiana University University of Wisconsin–Madison
Bloomington, Indiana Madison, Wisconsin
Cigarette Smoking Mental Retardation, Siblings with

Pamela A. Sarigiani Wendy E. Shapera

Central Michigan University Loyola University
Mount Pleasant, Michigan Chicago, Illinois
Shyness Family Relations
Parenting Styles
Ritch C. Savin-Williams
Cornell University Francine T. Sherman
Ithaca, New York Boston College Law School
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Sexual- Newton, Massachussetts
Minority Youth Juvenile Justice System

Lawrence B. Schiamberg Steven J. Sherman

Michigan State University Indiana University
East Lansing, Michigan Bloomington, Indiana
Environmental Health Issues Cigarette Smoking
Grandparents: Intergenerational
Relationships Lonnie R. Sherrod
Fordham University
Barbara Schneider Bronx, New York
University of Chicago Youth Culture
Chicago, Illinois
College Erika Shore
Grady Memorial Hospital
John Schulenberg Atlanta, Georgia
University of Michigan Boston College
Ann Arbor, Michigan Chestnut Hill, Massachussetts
Alcohol Use, Trends in Gender Differences and Intellectual
and Moral Development
Diane Scott-Jones
Boston College Jason Sidman
Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts Tufts University
Teenage Parenting: Childbearing Medford, Massachusetts
Television
Inge Seiffge-Krenke
University of Mainz Le Anne E. Silvey
Mainz, Germany Michigan State University
Conflict and Stress East Lansing, Michigan
Coping Native American Adolescents
Diabetes
xxiv Contributors and Their Entries

Selcuk Sirin Jonathan G. Tubman

Boston College Florida International University
Chestnut Hill, Massachussetts Miami, Florida
Child-Rearing Styles Delinquency, Mental Health, and
School Dropouts Substance Abuse Problems

Margaret Beale Spencer Wadiya Udell

University of Pennsylvania Teachers College, Columbia University
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania New York, New York
African American Adolescents, Iden- Thinking
tity in
African American Adolescents, Marcia Vandenbelt
Research on Michigan State University
East Lansing, Michigan
Arlene Rubin Stiffman Nutrition
Washington University
St. Louis, Missouri Susan Verducci
Services for Adolescents California State University–San
Bernardino
Jill C. Stoltzfus San Bernardino, California
University of Pennsylvania Youth Outlook
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
White and American: A Matter of Fred W. Vondracek
Privilege? Penn State–University Park
University Park, Pennsylvania
Elizabeth J. Susman Apprenticeships
Penn State–University Park Vocational Development
University Park, Pennsylvania
Puberty: Hormone Changes Scyatta A. Wallace
New York University
Dena Phillips Swanson New York, New York
Penn State University Park Racial Discrimination
University Park, Pennsylvania
Ethnocentrism Kathryn R. Wentzel
University of Maryland–College Park
Carl S. Taylor College Park, Maryland
Michigan State University Peer Groups
East Lansing, Michigan Teachers
Youth Gangs
Venette C. Westhoven
Deborah M. Trosten-Martinez Loyola University
Independent Scholar Chicago, Illinois
Gainesville, Florida Spina Bifida
Responsibility for Developmental
Tasks
 Contributors and Their Entries xxv

Wilma Novalés Wibert Rebecca C. Windle

Michigan State University University of Alabama–Birmingham
East Lansing, Michigan Birmingham, Alabama
Youth Gangs Alcohol Use, Risk Factors in

Christine Wienke Melanie J. Zimmer-Gembeck

University of South Florida University of Minnesota
Tampa, Florida Minneapolis, Minnesota
Storm and Stress Autonomy

Michael Windle
University of Alabama–Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama
Alcohol Use, Risk Factors in
Delinquency, Trends in
 Foreword
“Something’s happening here
What it is ain’t exactly clear….”
—Stephen Stills, For What It’s Worth,
as sung by Buffalo Springfield
Adolescence: A Movement to Help
Us Know It For the First Time
This is much more than a book. This is
part of a movement to make the world a
better place. A former governor of Geor-
gia was once approached by a group of
reporters after a large-scale prison riot
had just broken out and asked, “What are
you going to do, Governor, to fix the
prison system and make sure that deadly
riots like this don’t happen again?”
“Gentlemen,” the governor replied,
“what we need here is really perfectly
clear: we need a higher quality of prison-
ers!” This book is an attempt to make
the world a better place, one that will
help to generate a higher quality of peo-
ple who populate it. But the quality of
the world isn’t the responsibility of ado-
lescents any more than improving prison
conditions is the responsibility of the
prisoners. The world at large has an
important responsibility and this ency-
clopedia is part of the effort to help all
interested parties do their part. It is an
effort to improve the experience of ado-
lescence in America. In that sense, this
book is part of a movement.
xxvii
This movement shares much in com-
mon with the field of public health. Pub-
lic health is grounded on four principles.
These principles apply equally well to
the transformational challenge facing the
authors of Adolescence in America.
First, this is a cause and effect world.
If we can understand the causes, we can
use that understanding to change the
effects. Stephen Hawking has written
that the whole history of science has
been the realization that events do not
happen in an arbitrary manner. This con-
cept rests on the premise that there are
rational answers that can be determined
by rational, common sense approaches.
Using a simple set of questions, public
health researchers have learned that they
can understand what happens in the
world and change the outcomes. If we
can understand the causes, we can
change the outcomes. This leads to an
activist stance with optimism as a value:
we can change things and we can change
them for the better. For public health
practitioners, this means that under-
standing is the key to preventing disease,
disability, and death. For those raising or
working with adolescents, working in
the field of youth development, or work-
ing with children who will become ado-
lescents, this understanding means that
we can improve the physical health and
safety of adolescents, their cognitive
xxviii Foreword
development, and their socio-emotional
development.
Public health practitioners ask four
types of questions to understand what
happens in the world relevant to public
health problems. First they ask, “What is
the problem? How many people are
affected? Who are they? Where does it
happen? When does it happen?” The next
question they might ask is “What are the
causes? What are those factors that seem
to lead to this problem and what are the
factors that might prevent it?” Next,
they would ask the question: “What
works to prevent this problem? Do we
have evidence to show that interventions
designed to prevent this problem from
occurring are effective?” And the final
question would be: “Once you know
what kind of interventions are effective,
how do you get them to be carried out?
How do you get resources to pay for
them, how do you muster the political
will to support these programs?” While it
is important to equip adolescents, par-
ents, and teachers to help adolescents
avoid problems, Adolescence in America
goes well beyond a concern with these
problems that adolescents face. It also
seeks to deliver information about how
adolescents can acquire those strengths
that will help them to overcome the
challenges and problems they will
encounter. The same four type of ques-
tions asked in the public health sphere
can be reformulated to help acquire the
type of information needed to understand
and build strengths in adolescents. In this
framework, the focus of the questions
would shift: First, what are the strengths
that can help adolescents to live rich and
satisfying lives? What are these strengths
that promote physical health and safety?
Who has these strengths? Are there
places or groups where they seem to be
concentrated? Second, what are the
antecedents of these strengths, and how
do they change over the life course of an
individual? Third, what works to pro-
mote these strengths? How do you use
the many possible influences in an indi-
vidual’s life to promote these strengths,
from the relationship with parents, to the
physical environment in which a child
lives, to the various individuals outside
the immediate family, to the characteris-
tics of the community, and the media, as
well as macroeconomic factors? Finally,
once you know what works to promote
these strengths, how do you get individu-
als or communities to adopt these prac-
tices and programs? For many of these
questions, there are answers and the big
challenge is to deliver information to
those who need it, an important way to
accelerate support for adolescent pro-
grams.
The second principle that grounds pub-
lic health: Public health problems are
constantly re-emerging in new forms.
Public health practitioners know that
they live in a constantly changing envi-
ronment, where microorganisms and
manmade hazards are constantly chang-
ing. When scientists thought most infec-
tious diseases had been conquered, new
ones emerged; just when we solved the
problem of injuries to railroad passen-
gers, automobile travel replaced trains as
the most common form of transporta-
tion. Continuous surveillance and con-
tinuous improvement of our interven-
tions is required to hold onto our health
and safety. The same is true for the world
in which adolescents live today. A look
at the list of entries in these volumes
suggests that many of the issues dis-
cussed in this book were not even con-
sidered to be significant issues for adoles-
cents 10 years ago.

The third principle: Public health
takes responsibility for people in the
aggregate. Public health is everybody’s
health. This drives public health to study
people in relationships, in families, in
communities, in nations, and globally. It
provides efficiencies in interventions,
when intervention programs are mount-
ed at the community level, as with seat-
belts or immunizations. Even more than
that, it imposes a responsibility on those
who enter public health. If you go into
medicine you expect to use that knowl-
edge for the benefit of your patient. But if
you go into public health you have the
obligation to use that knowledge for the
benefit of everyone. Therefore, the phi-
losophy behind public health is social
justice. This is the secular version of “We
are our brothers’ keeper.” Because public
health takes responsibility for people in
the aggregate, it works across national
boundaries and without time boundaries.
The vast majority of the public that pub-
lic health serves has not yet even been
born. In this same way, the movement to
improve the well-being of adolescents
looks to affect more than a single adoles-
cent at a time. It thinks about involving
schools, businesses, youth-serving organ-
izations, and community-wide efforts.
The fourth principle: Public health
takes responsibility for the future health
of people living now and for the health of
the people of the future. Public health
addresses the future health for everybody.
Traditionally, the Good Samaritan story
encourages us to think about helping our
neighbors, people we don’t know, and
even people we don’t know living in
places we have never seen. Public health
goes further and asks us to help people we
don’t know because they will live in the
future. This is a new dimension to the
Good Samaritan story. The movement to
Foreword xxix
improve the well-being of adolescents
also looks to the future, paying attention
not only to those who are adolescents
now, but to the parents they will become,
and their own infants and children who
will become adolescents in the future.
There are noteworthy aspects of this
encyclopedia that underlie its organiza-
tion. First, this is a collaborative effort.
Realizing that no one group or discipline
alone possesses all the knowledge neces-
sary to inform the users of this encyclo-
pedia, the editors have assembled con-
tributors who collectively possess
knowledge of children and parents,
national and local groups, both public
and private, and knowledge that crosses
many areas, such as education, early
childhood development, health, psychol-
ogy, social services, faith communities,
civic groups, and many others.
Second, this volume is structured
around a strength-based model for ado-
lescent health and development. While it
recognizes the need to provide informa-
tion about the prevention of risks or even
on the treatment of problems that face
adolescents, the editors have made a
strong effort to go beyond prevention
models and look at the development of
positive strengths such as the develop-
ment of self-worth, trust, and attach-
ment to positive role models, creativity,
and habits to promote physical health.
The idea is that promoting the health and
well-being of children and adolescents
can buffer risks and prevent problems.
Third, this volume provides evidence-
based information that results from sci-
entific research and from practice.
Knowledge about what works to foster
the well-being of children and adoles-
cents comes from many disciplines. This
evidence-based information is the most
xxx Foreword
valuable way to help support families
and others who support children to make
sound decisions.
Fourth, a developmental approach rec-
ognizes that different positive character-
istics are more or less prominent
throughout different developmental peri-
ods across the lifespan. A developmental
approach also implies a focus on develop-
ing strengths as early as conception,
building a strong foundation in the early
years.
Fifth, the book’s approach is ecological,
in that the authors and editors recognize
the interaction among parents, children,
caregivers, community, and the environ-
ment that shape an adolescent’s well
being.
Finally, the approach is universal. The
authors and editors have made a special
effort to make sure that the information
applies to all adolescents, regardless of
their socioeconomic status, their race, or
their ethnicity.
This book fills a very important niche
in adolescent well-being: It provides
valuable information that is stunningly
clear and easily accessible to both adoles-
cents and the adults in their world. These
adults include parents, teachers, men-
tors, family, and counselors. The infor-
mation is concise, accurate, and written
in a helpful and nonjudgmental way. And
it is comprehensive in whole while suc-
cinct in each part. It covers all of the
major issues that affect the lives of ado-
lescents. What difference does this
make? All the difference in the world. As
I read the chapters in this magnificent
work, I wished that I had known then
what I know now. This is truly a work to
enrich our lives.
“And the end of all our travels
Shall be to return to the place
From which we started
And to know it
For the first time.”
—T. S. Eliot, Little Gedding
—Mark L. Rosenberg
Center for Child Well-Being
The Task Force for Child
Survival and Development
Atlanta, Georgia
 Preface
T he purpose of Adolescents in Ameri-
ca: An Encyclopedia is to present the
best information currently available
about the physical, psychological, behav-
ioral, social, and cultural characteristics
of the adolescent period. The contribu-
tions found in the volumes of this ency-
clopedia demonstrate that adolescence is
a dynamic, developmental period, one
marked by diverse sorts of changes for dif-
ferent youth. These changes are brought
about because—for all characteristics of
adolescents—development involves
changing relations among the developing
person and his or her social world.
The fact that these changes derive
from the relations between adolescents
and their contexts constitutes an opti-
mistic and powerful approach to applica-
tions (for instance community-based pro-
grams, school curricula innovations,
professional practices, and public poli-
cies) aimed at promoting positive adoles-
cent development. By changing the char-
acter of the relations youth have with
their social world, we may be able to
enhance their chances for healthy devel-
opment.
Accordingly, the contributions to the
encyclopedia illustrate the diversity of
adolescent life found across different
physical, behavioral, racial, ethnic, reli-
gious, national, and cultural characteris-
tics. In turn, the encyclopedia presents
xxxi
the key social relationships (e.g., involv-
ing peer groups, siblings, parents, extend-
ed family members, teachers, or mentors)
and institutional contexts (e.g., schools,
community organizations, faith institu-
tions, and the work place) that influence
the development of today’s youth.
Both normal development and prob-
lems of development (medical/physical,
psychological, and social) are discussed
in the encyclopedia. Policies and pro-
grams useful for alleviating problems, for
preventing problems, and for promoting
positive and healthy development are
included.
Our main audience is youth, parents,
professionals, and researchers. We hope
to reach these audiences through their
use of middle school, high school, col-
lege, and public libraries, and by the dis-
semination of the information in this
encyclopedia through the innovative
electronic means used by our publisher,
ABC-CLIO.
The contributors to this encyclopedia
are experts in either the study of adoles-
cence or in the use of knowledge about
adolescent development in programs
designed to promote their positive devel-
opment. All contributors have provided
authoritative but nontechnical entries
based on their scholarship but at a level
accessible to our audience. The authors
(e.g., psychologists, sociologists, educa-
xxxii Preface
tors, social workers, lawyers, pediatri-
cians, psychiatrists, and nurses) have
drawn on their empirical research and
professional practice in compiling the
information pertinent to their entries.
We believe that their contributions will
inform our audience about the character
of adolescence and, as well, will enhance
the capacity of our readers to understand
how current information about Ameri-
ca’s youth may be used to promote posi-
tive adolescent development.
There are numerous colleagues to
whom we are indebted for helping us
develop this encyclopedia. Most impor-
tant, we are grateful to the authors who
contributed their expertise to the ency-
clopedia and whose passion for helping
young people lead better lives is clearly
evident in their essays. We are especially
appreciative to Mark Rosenberg, Director
of Programs at the Center for Child Well-
Being, for his kindness in writing such a
generous and useful foreword to the
encyclopedia.
Our doctoral student, Imma De Stefa-
nis, was an invaluable colleague through-
out the development of this volume, pro-
viding knowledge, wisdom, organizational
efficiency, and a never-flagging positive
attitude. We are grateful as well to the two
editorial assistants who assisted us in the
organization of the encyclopedia, Sophia
T. Romero and Lisa Marie DiFonzo. Their
professionalism and dedication to the
project were extraordinary. We deeply
appreciate as well the advice and support
of our insightful and able editor at ABC-
CLIO, Marie Ellen Larcada. Her guidance
was critical in the creation, direction, and
completion of this project. Over the
course of the development of this project,
two other editors at ABC-CLIO—Jennifer
Loehr and Karna Hughes—have been ideal
colleagues and efficient and productive
collaborators. We greatly appreciate all the
special efforts on our behalf.
Finally, our own three adolescents—
Justin, Blair, and Jarrett—have taught us
more than perhaps we want to recognize
about adolescence. When they were all
children, we used to describe ourselves as
“experts” in the field of adolescent devel-
opment. Now, having seen the comple-
tion of Justin’s adolescence, its imminent
completion by Blair and, at this writing,
being immersed in the middle of Jarrett’s
adolescence, we currently describe our-
selves as people who study adolescence.
For all they have taught us and all that
we anticipate they will continue to teach
us, we dedicate this encyclopedia to
them.
—J. V. L., Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
—R.M.L., Medford, Massachusetts
 Introduction
The word adolescence can be traced to
the Latin word adolescere, which means
“to grow into maturity” (Muuss, 1996).
Growing into maturity involves change
and, even today, adolescence is regarded
(perhaps with the exception of infancy) as
the most change-filled period of life
(Lerner and Galambos, 1998; Petersen,
1988) It is a period of change from being
childlike to being adult. Most people
who study adolescence define the second
ten years of life (from the ages of ten to
twnety years) as the adolescent period.
All people who study adolescence—or
who experience it, as either parents or as
young people themselves—agree that the
period is one not only of numerous,
major changes but, as well, of dramatic
ones that often can be remembered for all
the years of life succeeding this period.
Adolescence has been described as a
phase of life beginning in biology and
ending in society. One way of under-
standing this observation is to recognize
that the external and internal bodily
changes of puberty may be the most visi-
ble and universal features of adolescence,
but the social and cultural words within
which young people develop in large
measure texture this phase of life.
Accordingly, adolescence may be
defined as the period within the life span
when most of a person’s biological char-
acteristics (for example, his or her pri-
xxxiii
mary and secondary sexual characteris-
tics), psychological processes (involving
thoughts, emotions, and personality), and
social relationships (e.g., with parents,
peers, and key institutions such as
schools) change from what is typically
considered childlike to what is consid-
ered adultlike. In other words, adoles-
cence is a period of transition, one where-
in the biological, psychological, and
social characteristics that are typical of
children become the biological, psycho-
logical, and social characteristics that are
typical of adults. When most of one’s
characteristics are in this state of change,
one is an adolescent.
The Challenges of Adolescence
Given, then, the multiple changes a teen
experiences, it is clear why adolescence
is regarded as a challenging phase of life.
Of course, not all people experience ado-
lescence as stressful and not all youth
undergo these changes in the same way,
with the same speed, or with the same
results. As we emphasize below, there
are differences in their paths through life.
There is diversity in development among
adolescents.
A major cause of these differences in
development is the particular biological
characteristics of the adolescent and the
specific family, peer group, neighbor-
hood, community, society, culture, and
xxxiv Introduction
even period of history within which an
adolescent lives. For example, in modern
American society, adolescents experi-
ence important changes in their school
setting, typically involving moving from
elementary school to either junior high
school or middle school; and in late ado-
lescence, there is a transition from high
school to the worlds of work, university,
or child-rearing. In short, one must con-
sider the context of adolescents in order
to understand them adequately.
The hopes, challenges, fears, and suc-
cesses of adolescence have been romanti-
cized or dramatized in novels, short sto-
ries, and news articles. It is commonplace
to survey a newsstand and to find a mag-
azine article describing the “stormy
years” of adolescence, the new crazes or
fads of youth, or the “explosion” of prob-
lems with teenagers (e.g., involving crime
or sexuality).
However, until the past thirty to thir-
ty-five years, when medical, biological,
and social scientists began to study
intensively the adolescent period, there
was relatively little sound scientific
information available to verify or refute
the literary characterizations of adoles-
cence. Today, however, such information
does exist. It affords several generaliza-
tions about the character of adolescent
development.
Key Features of Adolescent
Development
The results of research on adolescence
indicates that, to understand young peo-
ple, we need to combine knowledge from
biology, medicine, and nursing; the social
and behavioral sciences; social work; law;
education; and the humanities (Lerner
and Galambos, 1998; Petersen, 1988).
This range of knowledge is represented in
this encyclopedia. This multidisciplinary
knowledge allows several generalizations
to be made about the life of young people
and provides information about how best
to intervene when adolescents are experi-
encing difficulties.
By the beginning of the second decade of
life, numerous types of changes begin to
occur. Both internal and external bodily
changes, cognitive and emotional changes,
and social relationship changes all occur.
Adolescence is, then, a period of life
involving biological, psychological, and
social change.
In regard to biology, the adolescent
must cope with changing physical (bodi-
ly appearance) characteristics and physio-
logical functions (e.g., the beginning of
the menstrual cycle or the first ejacula-
tion). The adolescent looks in the mirror
and sees himself or herself differently:
hair is growing in places where it has not
grown before; his or her complexion is
changing; and his or her body is taking on
a different shape. Moreover, new feelings,
new “stirrings,” are emanating from the
body, and the person begins to wonder
about what this all means and what he or
she will become.
These biological changes must be
understood and accepted as part of the
self if the adolescent is not to become
separated from, alienated by, or simply
frightened and confused by what is hap-
pening in her and to her. The adolescent
must come to accept these changes as
part of who he or she now is and what he
or she may become. For example, “I am a
person who has breasts, who can become
pregnant, who can be a mother.” Thus,
these biological changes must be coped
with—understood—if an adaptive sense
of self is to exist. As such, these biologi-

cal changes constitute a developmental
task with which the person must deal.
The sorts of reactions engendered in
the adolescent by his or her biological
changes pertain to a second set of
changes, that is, psychological ones of
cognition and emotion. New characteris-
tics of thought and emotions arise: Cog-
nition becomes abstract and hypothetical
and emotions involve feelings of genital
sexuality. The adolescent’s new psycho-
logical characteristics must themselves
be coped with; the adolescent must
become able to recognize abstractions
and hypotheses as different from reality if
he or she is to interact adaptively in the
world; means must be found to deal in
socially acceptable ways with his or her
sexuality if he or she is to avoid problems
of health and adjustment.
These tasks clearly involve the adoles-
cent in his or her social world and thus,
in this way again, illustrate the inter-
woven nature of the tasks of this period.
But, the psychological changes of adoles-
cence also interrelate with the biological
alterations the person is undergoing. It is,
most centrally, the adolescents’ new cog-
nitive abilities that allow them to under-
stand their current physical and physio-
logical characteristics and to prospect
(guess, if you will) what these character-
istics are likely to mean for them as indi-
viduals. For example, “My breasts proba-
bly won’t grow much more, but I’m sure
my complexion will clear up. I will be
pretty. I think I’ll be able to attract a nice-
looking guy someday.”
Thus, adolescents’ thought capabilities
allow them to know who they are, given
their changing characteristics of individ-
uality; allow them to guess who they
might become; and allow them to plan
what they may do with their new feel-
Introduction xxxv
ings—“I’ll be someone who can and will
attract an attractive mate.”
The demand imposed by the psycho-
logical changes of adolescence is for the
person to deal with her changed biology
by forming a revised sense of self—a new
self-definition. It is this self-definition
that, in recognition of who the adoles-
cent understands herself to now be and
plans to become, will allow the adoles-
cent to choose where he or she wants to
end up in life. It is one’s self-definition
that fosters the selection of the niche one
picks to occupy in life, i.e., the role (or
roles) one will plan to play in society:
“I’m too skinny and small to play in
team sports. Besides, I think I like read-
ing and writing more than athletics. If I
work hard in school, I think I can become
a teacher.”
The psychological nature of adoles-
cence blends inextricably, then, into the
third type of challenge of the period. Ado-
lescence is also a matter of society and
culture; it is a matter of learning the
range of activities and roles available in
your social world and coming to under-
stand their value. Then, the developmen-
tal task becomes one of putting together
who one is physically and who one is
psychologically to find the right role, the
correct place, a niche, in one’s society.
But, one must understand who one is as a
biological and psychological individual
in order to fit into a social role optimally
suited for one’s own specific characteris-
tics, one’s particular sense of self.
It is one’s self-definition, therefore,
that will allow one to meet the social
role tasks of one’s social world. Meeting
the developmental task—finding a social
role—is crucial to adaptive (that is,
healthy, positive, and successful) func-
tioning. It is such a role that gives mean-
xxxvi Introduction
ing to one’s life and it is one’s responsible
and successful performance of such a role
which will elicit from society those pro-
tections, rights, and privileges that will
safeguard one as a person and allow for
continued healthy functioning.
In short, finding a social role that
allows one to contribute to society in a
way that is both best suited to the indi-
vidual and helpful to society will be
adaptive for both individual and the
greater social world. Thus, there is—ide-
ally—a convergence among the three
developmental tasks of adolescence, one
that will allow the person to best inte-
grate his/her changing self with his/her
particular social world. Indeed, this link-
age between the adolescent and his/her
social world constitutes another signifi-
cant feature of adolescent development.
Multiple Levels of Context Are Influen-
tial During Adolescence. We have noted
that individual differences are an impor-
tant part of adolescent development. All
differences arise from connections among
biological, psychological, and societal
factors—and not from one of these influ-
ences (e.g., biology) acting either alone or
as the “prime mover” of change.
Adolescence is a period of extremely
rapid transitions in such characteristics
as height, weight, and body proportions.
Indeed, except for infancy, no other peri-
od of the life cycle involves such rapid
changes. Hormonal changes are part of
the development of early adolescence.
Nevertheless, hormones are not primari-
ly responsible for the psychological or
social developments during this period.
In fact, the quality and timing of hor-
monal or other biological changes influ-
ence and are influenced by psychological,
social, cultural, and historical factors.
Good examples of the complex changes
in adolescence arise in regard to cognitive
development during this period. Global
and pervasive effects of puberty on cogni-
tive development do not seem to exist.
When biological effects are found they
interact with contextual and experiential
factors (e.g., the transition to junior high
school) to influence academic achieve-
ment. Accordingly, there is no evidence
for general cognitive disruption over ado-
lescence.
The period of adolescence is, then, one
of continual change and transition
between individuals and their contexts.
These changing relations constitute the
basic process of development in adoles-
cence and underlie both positive and neg-
ative outcomes that occur.
When the multiple biological, psycho-
logical, cognitive, and social changes of
adolescence occur simultaneously (e.g.,
when menarche occurs at the same time
as a school transition), there is a greater
risk of problems occurring in a youth’s
development. In adolescence, poor deci-
sions (e.g., involving school, sex, drugs)
have more negative consequences than in
childhood, and the adolescent is more
responsible for those decisions and their
consequences than in childhood; that is,
the adolescent is more often involved than
are younger individuals in making the
behavioral and contextual choices (e.g.,
engaging in drug use with a particular peer
group) associated with involvement in
problem behaviors.
Nevertheless, most developmental tra-
jectories across this period involve posi-
tive adjustment on the part of the adoles-
cent. Furthermore, for most youth there
is a continuation of warm and accepting
relations with parents. Accordingly, ado-
lescence is an opportune time in which

to intervene into family processes when
necessary.
Individual Differences—Diversity—
Characterize Adolescence. We have
noted that there are multiple pathways
through adolescence (e.g., Offer, 1969). It
is important to recognize that normal
adolescent development involves such
variability. There is diversity among and
within all ethnic, racial, or cultural
minority groups. Because adolescents are
so different from each other, one cannot
expect any single policy or intervention
to reach all of a given target population or
to influence everyone in the same way.
Furthermore, normal adolescent devel-
opment involves also variability within
the person as well as between people.
There are differences among adolescents
in such characteristics as personality,
attitudes, values, and social relation-
ships. In addition, a given adolescent may
change over the course of his or her life in
all of these characteristics.
Conclusions about the Features of Ado-
lescent Development. The scientific
information available about development
in adolescence underscores the diversity
and dynamics of this period of life. Ado-
lescence, in short, is a period of life
marked by diversity, both among differ-
ent youth and, as well, within any given
young person—he or she will change
across the adolescent years and do so in a
manner unique to him or her. Such diver-
sity indicates that any generalized state-
ment about what is true for “all adoles-
cents” is apt to be inaccurate. Therefore,
a stereotype that indicated that there was
only one type of pathway across the ado-
lescent years—for instance, one charac-
terized by inevitable “storm and
Introduction xxxvii
stress”—would not stand up in the face
of current knowledge about diversity in
adolescence.
Such diversity in development is
stressed across the entries in this ency-
clopedia. Yet, at the same time such
diversity exists, it is possible to make
generalizations about adolescence, such
as those noted above. Thus, both general
and specific features of development
mark the lives of American youth. In
fact, one key generalization that may be
made about adolescents is that, for most
young people in America, adolescence is
a period wherein health and positive
growth are predominant. Indeed, by the
end of the second decade most youth
seem to be in a time of constant commit-
ment—to partners, family, and work.
The Goal of This Encyclopedia
How, in the span of ten years, does the
individual bridge the gap between coping
with the several challenges of early ado-
lescence and the launching of a now
young adult life at the end of this period?
Answering this question engages the fas-
cination and energies of scientists, prac-
titioners, parents, teachers, and young
people themselves. Providing the key
information pertinent to understanding
this issue is the goal of this encyclopedia.
The aim of Adolescents in America:
An Encyclopedia is to present the best
information currently available about
the adolescent period and the ways in
which scientists and practitioners under-
stand the period and, as well, take
actions to successfully promote positive
development among youth. That is, the
information in this encyclopedia will
illustrate that, by understanding the rela-
tions that diverse adolescents have with
their contexts, one may formulate appli-
xxxviii Introduction
cations that may be useful in improving
these relations. These applications may
involve community-based programs, pro-
fessional practices, education curricula,
and public policies. All applications,
however, have the intent of serving
either to resolve or ameliorate challenges
to healthy adolescent development, to
prevent problems of adolescent behavior
from developing, or to promote positive
development among youth.
Accordingly, the encyclopedia will
emphasize that adolescence is a dynamic,
developmental period marked by diverse
changes for different youth, changes
brought about because development
involves changing relations among bio-
logical, psychological, and social/ecologi-
cal processes. Together, these diverse
developmental changes involve the rela-
tions adolescents have with their biolog-
ical, social, and cultural contexts, and
provide the basis for innovations, in the
above-noted types of applications, aimed
at increasing societal ability to improve
the lives of America’s adolescents. If the
basis of the development of young people
lies in their particular relationships with
their social world—with their specific
family, peer group, schools, and neigh-
borhoods—then by taking steps to
improve these relations one may be
enacting the key steps needed to promote
positive development.
Accordingly, across this encyclopedia
readers will find that four themes are
interwoven: Development, diversity,
context, and application. Together these
themes will enable readers to understand
how scholars and practitioners may con-
tribute to identifying knowledge that
“matters” in respect to enhancing the
lives of the diverse young people of our
nation (Lerner, in press).
The Contributions of the Entries in
This Encyclopedia
The themes of developmental diversity,
adolescent-context relations, and the
links among theory, research, and appli-
cations to programs aimed at enhancing
the life chances of young people are key
foci in contemporary scholarship about,
and practice pertinent to, adolescence. As
such, these themes will frame the entries
in this encyclopedia. Across the entries
in this encyclopedia, readers will find
that several types of information are
emphasized:
The stress on adolescent development
in the encyclopedia involves both the
antecedents in earlier life periods of
changes in adolescence and the conse-
quences of changes in adolescence for
later, adult development and aging. The
treatment of development in this text
will include a discussion of the inter-
twining of the development of a youth
with the development of parents and
other relatives, with peers, and with
other individuals important in the life of
an adolescent (for instance, teachers,
mentors, and coaches).
The focus on diversity in the encyclo-
pedia provides understanding of the vari-
ation among adolescents that is associat-
ed with race, ethnicity, gender, sexual
orientation, and physical characteristics.
The emphasis on the context of ado-
lescence involves discussing: (1) the role
of culture and history in shaping the
processes and products of adolescent
development; (2) the role of the social,
interpersonal, familial, and physical
context in influencing youth develop-
ment; (3) institutional contributions to
adolescent development, including edu-
cational, political, economic, and social
policy influences; and (4) community

needs and assets, including programs
promoting positive youth and family
development. In addition, several disci-
plines and several professions that are
involved in understanding the contexts
that influence human development will
be discussed.
The stress on application involves indi-
cating current foci of policies and pro-
grams pertinent to youth intervention
programs, education, re-training, and
services.
Conclusions
Certainly, it is a daunting task to raise
healthy and successful children eventual-
ly capable of leading themselves, their
families, their communities, and our
nation productively, responsibly, and
morally into the new century (Benson,
1997; Damon, 1997; Lerner, 1995). Nev-
ertheless, all of America must rise to this
challenge if our nation is to not only sur-
vive but to prosper.
Simply, the young people of today rep-
resent 100 percent of the human capital
on which the future health and success of
America rests. To enhance the lives of
American adolescents requires that we
continuously educate all citizens—young
and old—about the best means available
to promote enhanced healthy lives among
all youth and the families, schools, and
communities involved in their lives. It is
our hope that Adolescence in America:
An Encyclopedia will contribute to an
educational and community-collabora-
tive effort to help insure, for the new mil-
lenium, a socially just and civil society
populated by healthy and productive chil-
dren and adolescents.
Introduction xxxix
References
Adelson, J., ed. 1980. Handbook of
Adolescent Psychology. New York:
Wiley.
Benson, Peter. 1997. All Kids Are Our
Kids: What Communities Must Do to
Raise Caring and Responsible Children
and Adolescents. San Francisco: Jossey-
Bass.
Damon, William. 1997. The Youth
Charter: How Communities Can Work
together to Raise Standards for All Our
Children. New York: The Free Press.
Grotevant, Harold D. 1998. “Adolescent
Development in Family Contexts.” Pp.
1097–1149 in Social, Emotional, and
Personality Development. Edited by
Nancy Eisenberg. (Volume 3 of the
Handbook of Child Psychology 5th ed..
Editor-in-chief: William Damon.) New
York: Wiley.
Lerner, Richard M. 1993. “Investment in
Youth: The Role of Home Economics in
Enhancing the Life Chances of
America’s Children.” AHEA
Monograph Series 1: 5–34.
Lerner, Richard M. 1993. “Early
Adolescence: Toward an Agenda for the
Integration of Research, Policy, and
Intervention.” Pp. 1–13 in Early
Adolescence: Perspectives on Research,
Policy, and Intervention. Edited by
Richard M. Lerner. Hillsdale, NJ:
Erlbaum.
Lerner, Richard M. 1995. America’s Youth
in Crisis: Challenges and Options for
Programs and Policies. Thousand Oaks,
CA: Sage.
Lerner, Richard M., and Nancy L.
Galambos. 1998. “Adolescent
Development: Challenges and
Opportunities for Research, Programs,
and Policies.” Annual Review of
Psychology 49: 413–446.
Muuss, Rolff E. 1996. Theories of
Adolescence, 6th ed. New York:
McGraw-Hill.
Offer, Daniel. 1996. The Psychological
World of the Teen-Ager. New York:
Basic Books.
Petersen, Anne C. 1988. “Adolescent
Development.” Annual Review of
Psychology 39: 583–607.
 A
Abortion
There are two types of abortion. The first
is a spontaneous loss of a fetus from natu-
ral causes before the twentieth week of
gestation (normally forty weeks in
length). The second is a medical termina-
tion of pregnancy, sometimes called an
induced abortion. Information only about
induced abortion is presented here.
Induced abortion is legal in the United
States. The largest age group of women
who have abortions is adolescents, proba-
bly because adolescents are much more
likely than young adult women to use
contraceptives improperly, or not to use
them at all. Many states do have laws that
restrict access of minors to abortion ser-
vices, requiring them to obtain parental
consent or the permission of a court.
Abortion methods depend to some
extent on the duration of the pregnancy.
The earliest method involves use of the
morning-after pill, which can be used
within seventy-two hours of unprotected
intercourse. Women using this method
take very high doses of oral contraceptives
for several days. Nausea and vomiting are
common side effects of this method. Sur-
gical emptying of the uterus is used for
about 95 percent of abortions; it is almost
always used for pregnancies shorter than
twelve weeks. In this method a health-
care provider will open the woman’s
1
vagina using a speculum (an instrument
used during a routine pelvic examination)
so that she can see the opening of the
cervix (the part of the uterus that is at the
top of the vagina). Another instrument is
then used to stretch the opening of the
cervix so that a slender tube can be
inserted up into the main part of the
uterus. The contents of the uterus are
then suctioned out, removing the fetus
and the placenta (the organ allowing
exchange of nutrients between mother
and fetus). In the very early weeks of preg-
nancy, this method sometimes does not
work well, since the fetus is so tiny that
the suction tube may miss it. This proce-
dure is essentially painless. The woman is
usually given some medication to prevent
excessive bleeding after the procedure.
For pregnancies between seven and
twelve weeks, the cervix opening needs to
be stretched more; sometimes a slowly
expanding plug is placed in the cervical
opening overnight, and the abortion is
performed the next morning. The fetus
and placenta are then removed by suction.
Antibleeding medication is always given
after this kind of abortion.
For pregnancies of more than twelve
weeks the procedure is the same as for
seven to twelve weeks, except that in
addition to suctioning, the inside of the
uterus will be scraped gently to ensure
2 Abstinence
removal of all contents. Again, antibleed-
ing medication is always given after the
abortion.
There are now some drugs, such as
mifepristone, that can be used along with
other medications to help the uterus con-
tract and expel the fetus. These are com-
monly used for pregnancies greater than
sixteen weeks, although they can be used
also in pregnancies earlier than seven
weeks. Unwanted side effects include
nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, flushing of
the face, and fainting. An asthma attack
can be brought on in some women.
The longer a woman waits after she
knows she is pregnant, the more compli-
cated will be the abortion. Some possible
complications include puncturing of the
uterus or the intestines by the instru-
ments used, prolonged or uncontrollable
bleeding, infections of the uterus, and
scarring of the lining of the uterus (result-
ing in sterility). The most important
complication, however, is the psycholog-
ical turmoil that most women experience
after an abortion, no matter when it is
performed. This turmoil is apt to be espe-
cially severe among adolescents. Indeed,
teens are likely to be frightened both
before and after the abortion. They will
keep the abortion secret if they can and
may have none of their usual support sys-
tem—parents, friends, siblings, religious
leaders—with whom to consult. Health-
care providers should use support staff to
help decrease this problem.
Jordan W. Finkelstein
See also Abstinence; Adoption: Explo-
ration and Search; Adoption: Issues and
Concerns; Contraception; Decision
Making; Foster Care: Risks and Protec-
tive Factors; Pregnancy, Interventions
to Prevent; Sexual Behavior; Single Par-
enthood and Low Achievement;
Teenage Parenting: Childbearing
References and further reading
Berkow, Robert B., ed. 1997. The Merck
Manual of Medical Information: Home
Edition. Whitehouse Station, NJ: Merck
Research Laboratories, pp. 1128–1129.
Pojman, Louis P., and Francis J. Beckwith,
comps. 1998. The Abortion
Controversy. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Poppema, Suzanne P., with Mike
Henderson. 1996. Why I Am an
Abortion Doctor. Amherst, NY:
Prometheus Books.
Sachdev, Paul, ed. 1985. Perspectives on
Abortion. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow
Press.
Abstinence
The term abstinence can mean different
things to different people. Some adoles-
cents believe abstinence is the same
thing as engaging in protected or “safe”
sex. Some researchers define abstinence
as not having experienced vaginal inter-
course. The rhythm method of contra-
ception uses abstinence to refer to avoid-
ing vaginal intercourse during the point
in a woman’s cycle when she is most
likely to become pregnant.
There are problems with all these dif-
ferent meanings for abstinence. First,
abstinence is not the same thing as using
condoms during vaginal intercourse. Sec-
ond, some people experience vaginal
intercourse and then decide they want to
wait to have it again until they get mar-
ried. Third, avoiding vaginal intercourse
for a short time to avoid conceiving a
child is different from postponing inter-
course until one decides it is the right
time to experience it.
For the purposes of this discussion,
abstinence is defined as a commitment
to postpone engaging in vaginal inter-
course. This commitment is made by

unmarried people who may or may not
have experienced vaginal intercourse in
the past. In other words, someone does
not have to be a virgin to be abstinent.
Note that this definition does not cover
abstinence within a homosexual context:
The nature of abstinence as advocated by
the Catholic Church for gays and les-
bians is qualitatively different from the
type of abstinence discussed here.
Abstinence is defined as a commit-
ment because it involves more than just
saying “no.” It is a lifestyle choice. Many
people fail at practicing abstinence
because they do not realize this. In addi-
tion, practicing abstinence requires dif-
ferent skills than using a condom or
other method of contraception.
Practicing Abstinence
Like using contraception, abstinence
takes planning and commitment. The
goal is to avoid being in situations where
it would be difficult to maintain a com-
mitment to sexual abstinence. First, this
means choosing a lifestyle where one
does not drink alcohol. Research has
shown that even small amounts of alco-
hol limit the ability to think about long-
term consequences and can make indi-
viduals more susceptible to social
pressure (Steele and Josephs, 1990). Sec-
ond, one needs to choose friends who
support a commitment to wait to have
sex. Research on conformity has shown
that when someone has at least one per-
son who agrees with him, it is easier to
stand up to social pressure (Allen and
Wilder, 1979). Adolescents who are suc-
cessful at practicing abstinence report
that it is good to have a friend who is
committed to abstinence. Third, one
needs to avoid parties and being alone
with someone to whom she is attracted
Abstinence 3
in a home where the adult supervision is
poor or unavailable. In short, it means
living a life where it would be hard to
have sex, should one feel tempted. A ben-
efit of this lifestyle is that it protects peo-
ple from having sex forced upon them, as
in a date rape situation. Finally, one
needs to choose a lifestyle that incorpo-
rates playing a sport or musical instru-
ment, doing volunteer work, or engaging
in some regularly occurring activity that
gives a sense of accomplishment and
importance. This kind of activity feeds
one’s self-esteem and self-worth. When
these are strong and someone says, “If
you loved me, you’d do it,” it is easier to
confidently say back, “If you loved me,
you wouldn’t ask!”
In addition to the right lifestyle
choices, practicing abstinence involves
cognitive and interpersonal skills. The
cognitive skill required is that of remain-
ing committed to one’s choice when it is
challenged by events and people, rather
than allowing these challenges to stimu-
late self-doubt. For example, if a close
friend decides to have sex, someone who
is committed to abstinence needs to tell
himself that his choice to wait is the
right choice for him. Adolescents who
are successful at practicing abstinence
report that if someone pressures them
about having sex, it causes them to
reevaluate the relationship. Rather than
doubting themselves, they question
whether this person is worth having a
relationship with in the first place.
Useful interpersonal skills are those
that allow a teen to recognize and
respond to the “lines” often used to per-
suade someone to have sex, and to handle
unexpected situations that could chal-
lenge their ability to remain abstinent
(“risky situations”). Self-efficacy research
4 Abstinence
argues that practicing responses to lines
with friends, or as part of an intervention
program, helps a teen feel more confident
and be more successful at remaining
abstinent. The same is true with respect
to problem solving about how to handle
risky situations (e.g., being alone in the
car heading toward a “lover’s lane,” or
finding oneself at a party where other
adolescents are slipping off to have sex).
Myths about Abstinence
There are at least five myths surrounding
the notion of abstinence. First, some peo-
ple believe that one can still be abstinent
while participating in anal intercourse.
However, individuals who choose to be
abstinent do not practice anal inter-
course. Women who simply wish to pro-
tect their virginity may be interested in
anal intercourse as an alternative to vagi-
nal intercourse. However, practicing
abstinence is a more healthy choice for
protecting virginity. Sexually transmit-
ted diseases (STDs) can be spread during
anal intercourse, and the vagina can
become infected with the bacteria that
are normally found in stool. Bacteria in
stool combines with the ejaculate, which
can then spill out and into the vagina.
Moreover, without feeling relaxed and
using plenty of lubrication, one can find
anal sex painful, and the rectum can tear.
It is even possible to become pregnant as
a result of anal intercourse. (As the ejac-
ulate spills out of the rectum, sperm can
move into the vagina and on up to a fal-
lopian tube, where they can meet an egg.)
Second, some people argue that absti-
nence is the most effective method for
preventing pregnancy and STDs. How-
ever, the effectiveness of a contraceptive
method is determined by multiplying
two numbers or rates: method failure and
user failure. A method failure is due to a
defect in the product, but a user failure
occurs when a user does not use a method
consistently or properly. Although many
misleading statistics are often quoted,
findings from a number of studies indi-
cate that latex condom method failure
rates are small (.5 percent–7 percent),
whereas user failure rates (12–70 percent)
are higher and primarily due to inconsis-
tent use of a condom (Haignere et al.,
1999).
The method failure rate for abstinence
is 0 percent, but user failure rates can
make abstinence less effective than a con-
dom at preventing pregnancies and STDs.
Abstinence is only 100 percent effective if
it is practiced 100 percent of the time.
Unfortunately, people who intend to
practice abstinence may fail to practice it
100 percent of the time. User failure rates
range between 26 percent and 86 percent
for adults who practice periodic absti-
nence as part of using the rhythm method
of birth control. The consistency with
which adolescents are able to practice
abstinence is not known, and few behav-
ioral outcome data exist for abstinence-
only programs. Estimates based on out-
come data for a recent abstinence-only
program suggest overall potential user
failure rates range from 37 percent to 57
percent (Haignere et al., 1999).
Third, some people believe that teach-
ing adolescents who are committed to
abstinence about birth control is unnec-
essary and may discourage them from
practicing abstinence. However, a good
bit of research has suggested that sex
education that incorporates accurate
information about birth control with the
potential physical and emotional conse-
quences of sexual intercourse does not
encourage adolescents to become sexu-
ally active (Kirby, 1999). Instead these
programs may actually encourage adoles-

cents to put off having sex (i.e., practice
abstinence at least for a period of time).
Perhaps these programs are effective
because they help adolescents to learn
more about the consequences of sex and
to see that using birth control is compli-
cated. We really do not know why they
have this effect. However, we do know
that teaching about sex and birth control
does not make adolescents go out and
have sex. Moreover, sooner or later most
people choose to become sexually active.
At that point in time, they may need to
know about birth control. Women can
become pregnant the first time they have
sex, and STDs can be spread with only
one act of intercourse.
Fourth, some people argue that practic-
ing abstinence now makes it harder to
have enjoyable sex later on. However,
there is at least one study that has found
that young women who postpone having
sex until they are eighteen or older are
more likely to experience an orgasm the
first time they have sex. Moreover, Stan-
ley Boteach argues in his book, Kosher
Sex, that people who wait to have sex
until they are married always have pleas-
urable sex because they do not have to
wonder how their partner sees them and
are not haunted by memories of previous
lovers. Instead, they are focused solely on
pleasing and communicating their love
to each other.
Fifth, some people believe that practic-
ing abstinence is a matter of just saying
“no.” However, as discussed previously,
abstinence is far more than just saying
“no.” In fact, some of the people who are
best at practicing abstinence may never
have to say “no.” They never allow
themselves to be in a situation where
they are pressured to have sex. They
avoid people who do not support their
choice, and they avoid being in places
Academic Achievement 5
where their commitment to abstinence
could be challenged. Their lifestyle sup-
ports and protects their commitment.
They know deep down that their choice
is the right choice for them.
Anne E. Norris
See also Contraception; Dating;
HIV/AIDS; Peer Pressure; Pregnancy,
Interventions to Prevent; Sex Educa-
tion; Sexual Behavior; Sexually Trans-
mitted Diseases; Teeanage Parenting:
Childbearing; Teenage Parenting: Con-
sequences
References and further reading
Allen, Vernon L., and David A. Wilder.
1979. “Social Support in Absentia: The
Effect of an Absentee Partner on
Conformity. Human Relations 32:
103–111.
Boteach, Stanley. 1999. Kosher Sex. New
York: Doubleday.
Haignere, Clara S., Rachel Gold, and
Heather J. McDanel, 1999. “Adolescent
Abstinence and Condom Use: Are We
Sure We Are Really Teaching What Is
Safe?” Health Education and Behavior
26: 43–54.
Kirby, Douglas. 1999. “Reducing
Adolescent Pregnancy: Approaches
That Work.” Contemporary Pediatrics
16: 83–94.
Steele, Claude M., and Robert A. Josephs.
1990. “Alcohol Myopia: Its Prized and
Dangerous Effects.” American
Psychologist 45: 921–933.
The author wishes to acknowledge Ms.
Rita Bourne, M.Ed., CAS, a high school
teacher in Wellesley, MA, and her
teenage daughter, Ms. Ashley Bourne,
for their careful review and critique of
this entry.
Academic Achievement
One of the major focuses of most of
today’s adolescents is school perfor-
mance. Good school grades during high
school ensure successful graduation,
which is linked to better opportunities for
work or advanced education (i.e., college,
business school, professional school).
6 Academic Achievement
Although academic achievement is a goal of many adolescents, it is influenced by many
factors, from peers and family to society and culture. (Shirley Zeiberg)
Although academic achievement is a
goal of many adolescents, it is affected by
multiple levels of the contexts of these
youth, ranging from the most macro cul-
tural influences to micro interpersonal
influences involving peers and family
members. We have today a wealth of
information from studies that have eval-
uated these influences. In an important
series of cross-cultural studies, Harold W.
Stevenson and his colleagues have identi-
fied key features of culture that influence
adolescent achievement, particularly in
mathematics.
For instance, in a study (Chen and
Stevenson, 1995) of approximately 600
eleventh-grade students from Minneapo-
lis, Minnesota, Taipei, Taiwan, and
Sendai, Japan, youth in all settings spent
most of their time studying, interacting
with friends, or watching television.
However, the distribution of time spent
in these activities differed across groups,
and these differences were linked to vari-
ation in mathematics achievement. Chi-
nese youth spent more time in academic
activities (e.g., attending school, partici-
pating in after-school classes, or study-
ing) than did their American counter-
parts. In turn, although Japanese and
American youth did not differ in regard
to time spent studying or in after-school
programs, Japanese adolescents did spend
more time in school than did American
youth. American youth, on the other
hand, spent more time than did adoles-

cents in the other groups working or
socializing with friends.
Other research shows that achieve-
ment scores of Asian Americans are
higher than those of the European Amer-
icans, but, in turn, they are lower than
those of Chinese or Japanese adolescents.
Family and peer factors are also associ-
ated with achievement among both the
Asian American and the East Asian
youth. For instance, greater mathematics
achievement is seen among adolescents
whose parents and peers held high stan-
dards for and positive attitudes about aca-
demic effort and achievement; in addi-
tion, achievement is better among youth
who had fewer distractions from school-
work caused by jobs or informal peer
interactions.
This research has also revealed that
many of the academic achievements of
youth from different cultural back-
grounds may be based on socialization
experiences beginning in childhood. For
example, for American, Chinese, and
Japanese youth from the first grade
through middle adolescence, consistent
relationships in all cultures were found
across time among family socioeconomic
status, cognitive abilities, and academic
achievement. Moreover, the cultural ori-
entation toward academic achievement
that youth experience may remain with
them despite emigration to another
country. For instance, for Latino, East
Asian, Filipino, and European adoles-
cents from immigrant families, youth
from both first- and second-generation
immigrant backgrounds showed greater
mathematics achievement than did peers
whose families were “native” Ameri-
cans, that is, who had lived in America
for several generations. Socioeconomic
factors were not primarily associated
with these differences; rather, a common
Academic Achievement 7
(cultural) stress on education, one that
was shared by the youth, their peers, and
their families, seemed most important
for their achievement.
Even within a cultural group, family
and peer variables have an influence of
academic achievement. For instance,
Gene Brody and his colleagues have found
that in rural African American nine- to
twelve-year-olds, maternal involvement
with the adolescent’s school, supportive
and harmonious family interactions, and
family financial resources were associ-
ated with academic competence. In turn,
living in either a single-parent family or a
stepfamily has a negative influence on the
mathematics and reading achievement of
eighth graders. However, when parental
social relations are positive, these nega-
tive influences are diminished.
Peers, too, can have a facilitative influ-
ence on academic achievement. For
example, working with peers when trying
to solve a problem enhances the ability to
succeed in such tasks. Working with
peers seems especially useful when the
interactions with them are specifically
relevant to the particular problem at
hand. However, even engaging in general
games with peers—nowadays, often
though interactive computers—can facili-
tate cognitive performance. For instance,
playing video games, such as Tetris, can
enhance an adolescent’s ability to rotate
figures mentally and to mentally visual-
ize objects in space.
As suggested above, however, spending
a lot of time in informal peer interactions
appears to have a negative impact on aca-
demic achievement—although it may
enhance peer popularity. High sociability
ratings from peers are linked to lower
academic competence.
Sandra Graham and her colleagues
have studied ethnically diverse young
8 Academic Achievement
adolescents and found that girls of all
ethnic backgrounds and European Amer-
ican boys value high-achieving female
classmates, but ethnic minority boys
place little value on high-achieving male
peers. Indeed, all youth believed that
both academic disengagement and social
deviance were associated with being
male, a low achiever, and an ethnic
minority.
It may be that some instances of low
achievement are related to adolescents’
own characterization of themselves.
Their self-categorizations or labels of
themselves may be self-handicapping in
regard to their achievement. For instance,
girls who across their adolescence come
to think of themselves in more masculine
than feminine terms have better spatial
abilities than do girls who think of them-
selves as more feminine than masculine.
Interestingly, Carol Midgely and her
colleagues have studied how some youth
use such self-handicapping strategies to
account for their poor academic perfor-
mance. That is, through engaging in pro-
crastination, fooling around in class, and
intentional reduction in effort, they pro-
vide for themselves an account of the
cause of poor academic achievement. For
eighth graders, such handicapping strate-
gies were associated with self-depreca-
tion, negative attitudes toward educa-
tion, and low grades.
Of course, adolescents can also develop
self-enhancing strategies. For instance,
developing an ability to delay gratifica-
tion when still in preschool facilitates
cognitive and academic competence in
adolescence. Not surprisingly, the ability
to delay gratification also enhances the
capacity to cope with both frustration
and stress. Similarly, experiences that
provide knowledge about math problems
and about strategies for addressing such
problems are key influences on the per-
formance of both adolescent boys and
girls on the math subtest of the Scholas-
tic Aptitude Test.
In addition, both IQ scores and aca-
demic performance are related to three
aspects of social competence among
twelve- and thirteen-year-olds: (1) show-
ing socially responsible behavior, (2)
receiving positive appraisals by peers,
and (3) having the ability to regulate one-
self socially, that is, to set goals, to solve
problems, and to elicit interpersonal
trust. Similarly, adolescent girls who
have high mastery of academic subjects
also have the ability to seek and obtain
appropriate help in solving a task.
Of course, for some students low
achievement is related to a learning dis-
ability rather than to self-handicapping
behavior. For example, learning-disabled
youth encounter difficulty in inhibiting
incorrect responses in academic situa-
tions. In such circumstances, family sup-
port—for example, parental expectations
for the child’s academic achievement
and the young person’s awareness of
these expectations—influences aca-
demic achievement among learning-dis-
abled (and non-learning-disabled) youth.
There are numerous interventions,
beyond those associated with fostering
parental support, that can enhance aca-
demic achievement among youth. Many
of these efforts involve types of commu-
nity-based programs that are aimed at
enhancing not only academic function-
ing but also several other, very often
interrelated problems of youth develop-
ment.
There is evidence that these commu-
nity-based programs do enhance school
achievement. For instance, in a report by
Arthur Reynolds about the Chicago Lon-
gitudinal Study of the role of extended

early childhood intervention in school
achievement, about 560 low-income,
inner-city African American youth were
followed from early childhood to the sev-
enth grade. Program participation for two
or three years after preschool and kinder-
garten was associated with higher read-
ing achievement through the seventh
grade and with lower rates of grade reten-
tion (being held back a grade) and place-
ment into special education classes. This
study provides important longitudinal
evidence of the benefits for adolescent
academic achievement, for instance, in
regard to literacy skills, of a large-scale
community-based program of extended
early childhood intervention.
Certainly, being literate is a key
requirement for academic achievement
and, as well, for success in life—espe-
cially in a world growing more dependent
on technology and thus on the ability to
speak, read, and write not only one’s
native tongue but also various computer
languages. Moreover, adolescents’ liter-
acy skills can affect not only their own
life chances but also others in their social
world. For example, differences in pre-
school cognition and behavior are related
to literacy in late adolescence and young
adulthood. In addition, variation in
maternal education, in the size of the
family during early childhood, in the
marital status of the mother, and in fam-
ily income in middle childhood and in
early adolescence have also been found to
influence literacy.
Given, then, the developmental and
generational significance of literacy, it is
understandable that there exist numer-
ous programs worldwide designed to
enhance literacy among youth, especially
those from socioeconomic backgrounds
where there is limited access to adequate
educational resources. Since several prob-
Academic Achievement 9
lems are often associated with illiteracy
(for instance, dropping out of school, lack
of employability, and poverty), the pro-
grams typically have to attend simultane-
ously to several interrelated problems in
order to be effective.
In conclusion, academic achievement
is not just a product of “natural” ability.
The social world of young people, as well
as special programs designed to help
young people achieve, influence success
in school.
Richard M. Lerner
Jacqueline V. Lerner
See also Academic Self-Evaluation; Cheat-
ing, Academic; Homework; Intelli-
gence; Intelligence Tests; Learning Dis-
abilities; Learning Styles and
Accommodations; Single Parenthood
and Low Achievement; Standardized
Tests
References and further reading
Brody, Gene H., Douglas Flor, and Nicole
M. Gibson. 1999. “Linking Maternal
Efficacy Beliefs, Developmental Goals,
Parenting Practices, and Child
Competence in Rural Single-Parent
African-American Families.” Child
Development 70: 1197–1208.
Chen, Chuansheng, and Harold W.
Stevenson. 1995. “Motivation and
Mathematics Achievement: A
Comparative Study of Asian American,
Caucasian American, and East Asian
High School Students.” Child
Development 66: 1215–1234.
Dryfoos, Joy G. 1990. Adolescents at
Risk: Prevalence and Prevention. New
York: Oxford University Press.
———. 1994. Full Service Schools: A
Revolution in Health and Social
Services for Children, Youth, and
Families. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
———.1998. Safe Passage: Making It
through Adolescence in a Risky
Society. New York: Oxford University
Press.
Eccles, Jacquelynne S. 1991. “Academic
Achievement.” In Encyclopedia of
Adolescence. Edited by Richard M.
10 Academic Self-Evaluation
Lerner, Anne C. Petersen, and Jeanne
Brooks-Gunn. New York: Garland.
Fulgini, Andrew J., and Harold W.
Stevenson. 1995. “Time Use and
Mathematics Achievement among
American, Chinese, and Japanese High
School Students.” Child Development
66: 830–842.
Graham, Sandra, April Z. Taylor, and
Cynthia Hudley. 1998. Exploring
Achievement Values among Ethnic
Minority Early Adolescents.” Journal of
Educational Psychology 90, no. 4:
606–620.
Lerner, Richard M. In press. Adolescence:
Development, Diversity, Context, and
Application. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice-Hall.
Midgely, Carol, Revathy Arunkumar, and
Timothy C. Urdan. 1996. “‘If I Don’t
Do Well There’s a Reason’: Predictors
of Adolescents’ Use of Academic Self-
Handicapping Strategies.” Journal of
Educational Psychology 88, no. 3:
423–434.
Newcombe, Nora, and Judith S. Dubas.
1992. “A Longitudinal Study of
Predictors of Spatial Ability in
Adolescent Females.” Child
Development 63: 37–46.
Pong, Suet-Ling. 1997. “Family Structure,
School Context, and Eighth-Grade
Math and Reading Achievement.”
Journal of Marriage and the Family 59:
734–746.
Reynolds, Arthur J., and Judy A. Temple.
1998. “Extended Early Childhood
Intervention and School Achievements:
Age Thirteen Findings from the
Chicago Longitudinal Study.” Child
Development 69: 231–246.
Academic Self-Evaluation
Academic self-evaluations are students’
judgments of their abilities in school,
their interpretations of their successes
and failures in school, and their expecta-
tions about their school performances in
the future. As many students reach the
period of adolescence, their evaluations
of their academic abilities and perfor-
mances become more negative. In gen-
eral, adolescents, compared with younger
children, are less likely to feel highly
competent in school, are more likely to
believe that their failures in school can-
not be changed, and are less likely to
expect positive academic performance in
the future. Many adolescents’ self-evalu-
ations continue to decline through the
junior high and high school years.
Negative academic self-evaluations
can have serious consequences for ado-
lescents’ school success. Adolescents
who judge themselves negatively are less
likely to try to learn new things, to aim
for high levels of success, or to persist
when confronted with major difficulties
or failures in school. As a consequence,
they may be unable to meet their full
academic potential and experience an
overall decline in their school achieve-
ment. Academic self-evaluations thus
appear to be important determinants of
adolescents’ performance in school.
Given that many students begin to fall
behind in their school performance dur-
ing adolescence, it’s important to under-
stand the specific changes that occur in
students’ academic self-evaluations dur-
ing this age period.
These changes can be summarized as
follows: (1) A decline occurs in adoles-
cents’ judgments of their abilities in
school, (2) a decline occurs in adoles-
cents’ confidence that their abilities in
school can be improved, and (3) adoles-
cents become less likely to expect future
academic successes. There are two major
reasons why these changes occur during
adolescence: because of changes in the
structure of the school environment
from elementary school to junior high
school, and because of the messages that
adolescents receive from parents and
teachers about their abilities and per-
formance in school. What follows is a
more detailed discussion of the changes

themselves and the reasons they occur
during adolescence.
Changes in Adolescents’ Academic
Self-Evaluations
Students’ academic self-evaluations are
at their highest in the early elementary
grades but decline steeply when the stu-
dents enter junior high school—an obser-
vation explained in part by the fact that
young children’s ratings of their abilities
tend to be unrealistically high to begin
with. Even young children who are per-
forming poorly in school have been
known to rank themselves near the top
of their class in ability. By adolescence,
however, students’ rankings of their abil-
ities tend to be similar to their actual
school performance. But not in all cases.
The decline in adolescents’ judgments of
their abilities varies among boys and
girls. There is evidence that girls’ judg-
ments of their abilities become lower
than boys’ judgments in such subject
areas as math and science, whereas boys
are considered to be more competent.
There is also evidence that boys’ judg-
ments of their abilities become lower
than girls’ judgments in such subject
areas as English and reading, whereas
girls are considered to be more compe-
tent. These lower judgments occur even
when boys and girls are performing
equally.
The second change that occurs in aca-
demic self-evaluations during adoles-
cence is that boys and girls begin to
believe that their abilities in school can-
not be improved. Unlike younger chil-
dren, who believe that if they work very
hard they can become smarter in school,
adolescents believe that even working
hard cannot improve or change their abil-
ities in school. Adolescents are more
likely than younger children to believe
Academic Self-Evaluation 11
that people are born with certain ability
levels and that nothing can change this.
Accordingly, many adolescents claim, for
example, that working harder on their
math assignments is a waste of time
since it will not make them better at
math.
The third change is that, compared
with younger children, adolescents are
less likely to expect academic successes
in the future. Younger children are much
more optimistic than adolescents about
their chances of doing well in school. For
instance, during elementary school,
many students expect to do very well on
their schoolwork, even if they have not
done well in the past. Young children are
thus apt to jump right into learning new
things because they feel confident that
they can do well. As students approach
junior high school, however, they are
more likely to dwell on their past failures
or previous negative performance when
considering how well they might do in
the future. By adolescence, then, stu-
dents are less likely to try learning new
things in school because they are more
pessimistic about their ability to do well.
Negative experiences can result from
these three changes in students’ aca-
demic self-evaluations. Some adoles-
cents, for instance, may stop taking
advanced-subject classes in school. (In
particular, girls are less likely than boys
to take advanced math or science classes
because they do not believe they have
the ability to do well in those subject
areas.) Other adolescents may begin
working less in school because they do
not think hard work will improve their
performance in school. And still others
may stop pushing themselves to learn
new things in school because they do not
think the payoff is worth the effort. Fur-
ther consideration of the reasons why
12 Academic Self-Evaluation
adolescents’ academic self-evaluations
change may reveal how these school-
related problems arise.
Influence of Junior High Schools
on Adolescents’ Academic
Self-Evaluations
Several explanations exist for why nega-
tive changes in students’ academic self-
evaluations become particularly pro-
nounced during adolescence. One of the
most persuasive of these is that junior
high schools typically do not provide an
appropriate educational setting for ado-
lescents to learn; they do not match the
developmental changes that occur during
adolescence. In short, many junior high
schools, unlike elementary schools, are
structured in ways that result in a poor
“fit” between adolescents and their
school settings, thus contributing to the
decline in adolescents’ academic self-
evaluations. Some examples follow:
• Junior high schools are increas-
ingly using practices, such as
grouping students by ability level,
that heighten the chances that
adolescents will compare their
abilities with others and become
more competitive.
• They are increasingly using grad-
ing practices, such as assigning
grades based on students’ perfor-
mances relative to others in the
classroom, that focus adolescents’
attention on their abilities in com-
parison to others rather than on
learning and improving in school.
• They are increasingly using public
methods for reporting on and rec-
ognizing performance, such as
posting charts of students’ progress
on the wall and awarding prizes for
the best grades, that heighten the
chances that adolescents will com-
pare their abilities with others.
Influence of Parents and Teachers
on Adolescents’ Academic
Self-Evaluations
Another explanation for the decline in
adolescents’ academic self-evaluations is
that students in this age period are begin-
ning to pay attention to the messages
that parents and teachers convey to them
about their abilities and performances in
school. When students reach adoles-
cence, they become much better at
understanding and interpreting the infor-
mation they receive from others about
their academic abilities and perfor-
mances. (Younger children are not greatly
influenced by others because they are not
good at understanding the subtle mes-
sages that others may convey.) In addi-
tion, as students become better at under-
standing information, they are more
likely to be influenced by the messages—
subtle or explicit—that they receive from
others. Parents and teachers convey a
great deal of information to adolescents.
Following are some examples of ways in
which they may influence adolescents’
academic self-evaluations:
• Parents’ and teachers’ beliefs about
students’ abilities in school can
influence students’ own evalua-
tions of their abilities. For exam-
ple, if a parent believes that the
adolescent is good in math, then
the adolescent is more likely to
come to believe this, too. Among
girls, the message may instead be
that math is a subject area in
which boys do better.
• Parents’ and teachers’ encourage-
ment or discouragement can send

messages to students about their
abilities in school. For example, if
a teacher discourages students
from taking an advanced math
class, the message to the students
is that math is just not their thing.
• If parents and teachers believe that
students can improve through hard
work, then the students are more
likely to believe this as well. For
example, if a teacher believes that
ability is something that develops
through hard work and improve-
ment, then the students in the
classroom are more likely to see
their abilities in school as some-
thing they can change.
• Parents’ and teachers’ expectations
of students’ school performances
in the future can influence stu-
dents’ own expectations. For
example, if a parent believes that
the adolescent will not do very
well in math by the end of the
school year, then the adolescent is
likely to perform poorly in math
during that school year.
Candice Dreves
Jasna Jovanovic
See also Academic Achievement; Cheat-
ing, Academic; Homework; Intelli-
gence; Intelligence Tests; Learning Dis-
abilities; Learning Styles and
Accommodations; Self; Self-Esteem;
Standardized Tests
References and further reading
Cain, Kathleen, and Carol Dweck. 1989.
“The Development of Children’s
Conceptions of Intelligence: A
Theoretical Framework.” Pp. 47–82 in
Advances in the Psychology of Human
Intelligence, Vol. 5. Edited by R. J.
Sternberg. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Dweck, Carol S. 1999. Self-Theories:
Their Role in Motivation, Personality,
Accidents 13
and Development. Philadelphia:
Psychology Press/Taylor and Francis.
Eccles, Jacquelynne S., Sarah Lord, and
Christy Miller Buchanan. 1996. “School
Transitions in Early Adolescence: What
Are We Doing to Our Young People?”
Pp. 251–284 in Transitions through
Adolescence: Interpersonal Domains
and Context. Edited by Julie A. Graber
and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn. Mahwah, NJ:
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Frome, Pamela M., and Jacquelynne S.
Eccles. 1998. “Parents’ Influence on
Children’s Achievement-Related
Perceptions.” Journal of Personality
and Social Psychology 74: 435–452.
Martin, Carole A., and James E. Johnson.
1992. “Children’s Self-Perceptions and
Mothers’ Beliefs about Development
and Competencies.” In Parental Belief
Systems: The Psychological
Consequences for Children. Edited by
Irving E. Sigel, Ann V. McGillicuddy-
DeLisi, and Jacqueline J. Goodnow.
Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Simpson, Sharon M., Barbara G. Licht,
Richard K. Wagner, and Sandra R.
Stader. 1996. “Organization of
Children’s Academic Ability-Related
Self-Perceptions.” Journal of
Educational Psychology 88: 387–396.
Stipek, Deborah J., and Douglas Mac Iver.
1989. “Developmental Change in
Children’s Assessment of Intellectual
Competence.” Child Development 60:
521–538.
Wigfield, Allen, Jacquelynne Eccles,
Douglas Mac Iver, David Reuman, and
Carol Midgely. 1991. “Transitions at
Early Adolescence: Changes in
Children’s Domain-Specific Self-
Perceptions and General Self-Esteem
across the Transition to Junior High
School.” Developmental Psychology 27:
552–565.
Accidents
The word accident is really a misnomer.
An accident refers to an event that hap-
pens randomly or by chance, usually
resulting in an injury. Accidents are
almost never random events, and they
are almost all preventable and therefore
not in the strict sense accidental. The
14 Accidents
Accidents are almost never random events and are often preventable. (Owen Franken/Corbis)
word injury is usually considered to be
more appropriate when discussing the
results of certain behaviors that are the
leading cause of death and disability
among adolescents.
Motor vehicle injuries are the most
common injuries occurring among ado-
lescents. Drivers who are intoxicated
cause the vast majority of motor vehicle
deaths. Alcohol is the most common
intoxicant, but marijuana, cocaine, LSD,
and other similar compounds are also
used by teens, although not as extensively
as alcohol. Deaths from motor vehicle
incidents are not accidental, since the
driver and usually the passengers know
(when they are sober) that an intoxicated
person should not drive. The use of alco-
hol or other intoxicating substances will
affect all aspects of that person’s brain
functioning. Teens are unaware of their
significant functional impairment and
will often think that they can function as
though they were not impaired. In addi-
tion, many teens believe that they are
invincible and that they can drink and
drive and nothing will happen to them.
(See discussion of personal fable below.)
Sports-related injuries are usually
caused by not using the proper protective
gear or by violating the rules of play and
are thus not accidental. In some instances,
sports-related injuries, especially from
sports activities in a community-based
program, are related to coaches or trainers
who do not have adequate training or who
ignore the rules of safety because they are
only interested in winning.
Injuries are classified as either uninten-
tional or intentional. Intentional injuries

are homicide, suicide, and abuse. All
other injuries are unintentional. Injury is
sometimes defined as any disruption of
the integrity of the body caused by trans-
fer of energy from the environment (such
as by electrical burns or by contact of a
person’s head with the windshield) or by
the acute absence or excess of life-
sustaining elements beyond normal hu-
man tolerance (such as the asphyxiation
related to drowning or the hyperthermia
of heat stroke).
Types and Frequency of Injury
Injuries are the most common cause for
visits to the emergency department
among adolescents, and account for the
most days of school missed. Injuries are
the second leading cause of hospitaliza-
tion, after pregnancy.
There are about 2,500 fatal injuries
each year in the ten- to fourteen-year age
group (U.S. Government Printing Office,
1993). The three most common fatal
injuries in this group are
1. Motor vehicle injury, either as
occupant or pedestrian (as many
boys as girls)
2. Homicide (twice as many boys as
girls)
3. Suicide (four times as many boys
as girls)
There are about 12,000 fatal injuries
each year in the fifteen- to nineteen-year
age group (U.S. Government Printing
Office, 1993). The three most common
injuries in this group are the same as in the
younger group listed above. About one-
third of fatal injuries in the older age group
are caused by motor vehicles, and about
one-third are related to homicide and sui-
cide. There is considerable variability by
racial/ethnic group. For instance, among
Accidents 15
black males in the older adolescent group,
homicide is the leading cause of fatal
injury in large urban areas.
For nonfatal injuries among the ten- to
thirteen-year age group, being struck or
cut is the most common injury, followed
by falls, sports-related injuries, and
injuries involving use of a bike or skates.
Among the fourteen- to seventeen-year
age group, the most common nonfatal
injuries are sports related, followed by
other accidents, or cuts and falls.
The use of alcohol and other intoxi-
cants account for the majority of motor
vehicle injuries and for the majority of
homicides. Although there has been a lot
of publicity concerning firearm injuries
among adolescents, these accounted for
only 2.6 percent of all deaths among fif-
teen- to nineteen-year-olds (U.S. Govern-
ment Printing Office, 1993).
Prevention
Most injuries are preventable. The use of
common sense by adolescents would be
the most effective prevention measure.
Adolescents typically underuse their
common sense (and many adults do, too).
One proposed reason for the lack of use of
common sense by adolescents relates to
the concept of the personal fable, which
suggests that adolescents believe they are
invincible and that nothing bad can ever
happen to them. This belief is based on
their previous experience, which for the
most part is consistent with the idea of
the personal fable—nothing seriously bad
has happened to the majority of adoles-
cents. So when they have a few alcoholic
drinks and are feeling good, they are sure
that they can drive as well intoxicated as
they can sober. However, this is far from
the truth, since even the smallest
amount of alcohol in one’s system will
impair all aspects of brain functioning.
16 Accidents
Others have proposed another frame-
work for injury prevention. This frame-
work consists of the “Four E’s”: engi-
neering, enforcement, economics, and
education.
Engineering procedures are usually the
most effective prevention measures. The
best engineering measures are those that
require the user to do nothing or to do
something only once. They include
airbags that deploy upon collision, safety
belts that slide into place when the car
doors close, resetting the thermostat on
the hot water heater for the home to a
lower, safer setting, and the like.
Enforcement measures. Enforcing the
laws requires the legislature to pass laws
and requires enforcement agencies to
monitor situations and take corrective
action. Passing laws, for example, pro-
hibiting the use of portable phones while
driving a car can be effective, but only if
adolescents believe they cannot drive
safely and talk at the same time. Enforce-
ment also requires someone to monitor
phone use during driving, to pursue the
driver, issue a ticket, and collect the fine.
Experience has shown that law enforce-
ment agencies do not consider most
injury prevention legislation as impor-
tant, and therefore even when safety leg-
islation has been passed it is not
enforced.
Economic measures. The fine for
speeding is one example of an economic
measure. Another economic measure
would be the loss of the person’s driver’s
license. This punishment would force
the adolescent to use public or other
transportation or to have a parent drive
her to various places, all of which would
cause substantial losses of time and
money for both teens and parents. It is
not likely that legislation of this nature
would be passed. In some countries new
drivers and drivers who are learning to
drive must post a large sign on their vehi-
cle indicating their driving status. This
approach may also serve to reduce auto-
mobile injuries by alerting those around
such a marked vehicle to be especially
alert to the potential risk.
Education is the least effective preven-
tion measure. Education would involve
lecturing in organized settings such as
the classroom. Adolescents would not
enjoy being in this setting. They spend
much of their time in school, so having
to listen to someone talk about safety
would not be high on their list of desired
activities. If they were to be put in that
setting, they would need to be motivated
to pay attention, which is once again not
likely to happen under most circum-
stances. They also might be likely to
think that safety education will not be
applicable to them because they are
invincible, as brought out above in the
discussion of the personal fable. Educa-
tion requires skilled educators, and these
are not readily available and are expen-
sive to employ. Education also requires
time, money, and a convenient place and
time for the group to receive the infor-
mation. It also requires frequent rein-
forcement in order to maintain safety
behaviors. It is clear that programs that
have been effective in reducing injury
will have only short-term effects unless
practice is provided on a regular basis.
Providing written information about
injury or as reinforcement also seems
unlikely to have any effect. There is no
evidence that educational programs have
any long-term effect on reducing injuries.
The most effective approach to injury
reduction seems to be that used in Swe-
den. This country organized a nation-

wide program to improve the safety of
children and adolescents. A small group
of concerned healthcare professionals
decided that child and adolescent safety
should be addressed, since injury was the
leading cause of death and disability
among children and youth. This group
realized that all segments of society had
to be represented if the program were to
be successful. Therefore, they involved
community groups such as religious
organizations, political groups, educa-
tors, and social organizations, as well as
individual citizens. These groups all
became involved with the issue of child
safety. By involving all possible groups in
communities, they eliminated any objec-
tions to this program, since they were
including those who might object. The
organizers started locally, and their pro-
gram eventually spread throughout this
small, homogeneous nation. Over a
period of ten years there was a very large
reduction in the number of youth who
were involved in, and died from, unin-
tentional injuries.
Since unintentional injury can be pre-
vented and is the leading cause of death
among children and adolescents, it would
seem appropriate to address this problem
more comprehensively than we have
done up to this time. It seems clear from
the Swedish experience that it is possible
to address the problem, but it would
require an approach like that taken in
Sweden. There are several organizations
in the United States whose objectives are
to reduce injury, but they have not been
successful so far. The general public
seems quite unconcerned about injury.
The population in the United States is
very diverse, and this diversity also puts
up a substantial barrier to the success of
national programs of any kind. To date,
Acne 17
there has been no long-term successful
injury prevention program in the United
States.
Jordan W. Finkelstein
See also Ethnocentrism; Personal Fable
References and further reading
Centers for Disease Control,
http://www.cdc.gov
National Academy of Sciences. 1985.
Injury in America. Washington, DC:
National Academy Press.
U.S. Government Printing Office. 1993.
Injury Control. Morbidity and
mortality weekly reports. Reprints
#733–260/80519.
Acne
Most teenagers suffer acne to some
extent, but it is not usually permanently
scarring. It seems to cause more psycho-
logical than physical problems since it
comes at a time during adolescence when
concern about appearance is strong.
Teenagers should be assured that acne
typically lasts only a few years and, in
some cases, clears up within a few
months. In addition, there are many
treatments for acne that minimize
appearance problems.
Although many believe that poor per-
sonal hygiene is a cause of acne, it is not
a major factor. Greasy foods are also not
responsible. Rather, common acne (acne
vulgaris) is a disorder of the skin that
involves the secretion of an oily sub-
stance (sebum) from the oil-secreting
(sebaceous) glands within the pores. Acne
starts at the time of sexual maturation
(puberty) and is related to the increased
production of sex hormones by the testes
or ovaries. These hormones increase the
secretion of oil that moves from within
18 Acne
Acne may cause psychological problems for adolescents who are concerned with their
physical appearance. (Laura Dwight)
the pores to the surface of the skin. Most
teens experience this change as an
increase in oiliness on the skin—usually
that of the face, but sometimes also on
the upper chest or back. Under most cir-
cumstances, the oil flows freely from the
pores and is removed when the skin is
washed.
In some instances, however, the open-
ings of pores on the skin surface become
blocked. The oils cannot escape and are
trapped within the pores. As the oil
remains trapped, it gets thicker and stick-
ier and undergoes a chemical reaction
that changes it from a colorless substance
to one that is dark brown or black when
it is extended to the surface of the skin.
This is called a blackhead. (Contrary to
popular opinion, the dark color is not dirt
trapped in the pore.) If it is below the sur-
face, it will appear as a whitehead. In
most instances the blocked pore becomes
unblocked by itself and acne does not
progress. If the pore remains blocked or if
a person tries to squeeze out the sticky
oil, irritation around the pore may occur.
In some instances this irritation will
result in invasion of the blocked pore by
the bacteria that always live on the skin.
The infected pore then produces pus and
become a cyst as the pus accumulates
under the skin. If pressure builds up and
the pore remains blocked, the pus may
spread beneath the skin. In this case, the
result is a swollen, red, hot bump beneath
the skin. This condition is a severe form
of acne that can result in skin scarring. It
almost always requires medical treat-

ment, often involving antibiotics applied
to the skin, or taken orally, or both. Large,
discolored acne that is spreading should
be attended to immediately.
About 85 percent of teenagers get acne
(Clayman, 1994), but researchers still
cannot explain why some people get it
and others do not. What they do know is
that it is often worse in times of stress
and during the hormone changes of the
menstrual cycle.
There are many different treatments
for acne. These do not include vigorous
face washing, which may actually
worsen acne. The following observations
are important regardless of the treatment
used.
First, no treatment will be effective
until about four to six weeks after it is
started, so teens are advised not to give
up on a treatment before that time. Sec-
ond, many treatments that are applied to
the skin are themselves irritating and
may make the skin more sensitive to
sunburn. Third, as many treatments that
are applied to the skin may make the
skin more sensitive to sunburn, the teen
should remain completely protected
from the sun when using such treat-
ments. Fourth, many treatments need to
be applied gradually. For example, ben-
zoyl peroxide (which is different from the
same peroxide used for cleaning cuts)
should initially be applied for two or
three hours each day over several days. If
irritation does not result, then it can be
applied for three to four hours each day
over several days, and so on until the full
dose is achieved. If, however, significant
irritation does occur, the frequency and
time of application of the dose should be
reduced. Fifth, an entire area of affected
skin should be treated, rather than just
individual pimples. And, sixth, different
medications should not be applied to the
Adoption: Exploration and Search 19
skin at the same time, as some may can-
cel the effects of others.
Some acne medications, such as ben-
zoyl peroxide, can be purchased without
a prescription and may be effective for
simple blackheads. Pimples that are
whiteheads or worse should be treated
with prescription medications. More
aggressive treatments such as antibiotic
pills or creams also require a prescrip-
tion, as does retinoic acid, which is the
most potent and dangerous treatment to
use. Although acne affects a majority of
adolescents, no good prevention regimen
is yet available.
Jordan W. Finkelstein
See also Appearance, Cultural Factors in;
Appearance Management; Attractive-
ness, Physical; Body Image; Puberty:
Hormone Changes; Puberty: Physical
Changes; Puberty: Psychological and
Social Changes; Self-Consciousness;
Steroids
References and further reading
Berkow, Robert B., ed. 1997. The Merck
Manual of Medical Information: Home
Edition. Whitehouse Station, NJ: Merck
Research Laboratories.
Clayman, Charles B., ed. 1994. The
American Medical Association Family
Medical Guide, 3rd ed. New York:
Random House.
Adoption: Exploration and Search
One of the primary tasks of adolescence
for adoptees is to begin to arrive at a
sense of personal identity that includes
their connections to both adoptive and
birth families. Although the process of
identity formation (figuring out who one
is and how one is unique) takes place for
every teenager, it is more complex for
those who were adopted because they
20 Adoption: Exploration and Search
have two sets of parents—birth parents
and adoptive parent(s). Thus, whereas a
teenager probably knows a great deal
about the family she has grown up in, she
may know very little about the family
and culture of her biological heritage. It is
likely that her birth family differs from
her adoptive family on any number of
dimensions ranging from educational and
financial to ethnic and racial.
During adolescence, adoptees typically
become more curious about their birth
parents and the circumstances of their
birth and placement for adoption. This
curiosity is common among teenagers
who were adopted; indeed, it is a sign
that they are undergoing the constructive
process of growing up and figuring out
who they are. But it can also create tur-
moil during the adolescent years, affect-
ing not only the adoptee himself but also
his parent(s) and other family members.
One major task for adoptive families
with adolescent children is the negotia-
tion of openness and mutual support.
Another is validation of (1) the adoptee’s
right to want more information and (2)
the sturdy and enduring emotional bonds
of the adoptive family.
As adolescents explore their personal
identity, they ask themselves, “Who am
I?” “Who do I want to be?” “What am I
good at?” “Who am I like?” and “How am
I different from other people?” Major
changes take place during adolescence—
changes in physical size and appearance,
in ways of thinking about things, in
beliefs and perspectives, and in the expe-
rience of emotions. Changes also occur in
such dimensions as independence and
choice, privileges and responsibilities,
and relationships with friends and family.
Both the rate of change and the number of
dimensions involved present adolescents
with reasons for frequent questioning of
who they are, how other people see them,
and what they want for themselves.
One starting point for comparing and
contrasting themselves to others, in the
attempt to answer these questions, is to
look to their parents—to consider what
they look like, what talents they have,
what they aren’t very good at, and what
type of work they do. All teenagers look
to their parents and their parents’ lives to
form a picture of themselves when they
are older (e.g., in terms of height or body
type) and what course their life might
take (e.g., in terms of career, education,
or income). In some respects they might
hope to be like their parents, but in oth-
ers they may look at their parents and
make decisions about how they don’t
want to live (e.g., in terms of level of
activity, socialization, work pressure, or
confinement). Through this exploratory
process of comparing and contrasting,
choosing and rejecting various choices
and characteristics, the adolescent gradu-
ally weaves together, or integrates, a
sense of unique identity—one that
encompasses similarities to, and differ-
ences from, his parents.
An adoptee has two sets of parents to
which she compares and contrasts her-
self—adoptive parent(s) and birth parents.
She may know her birth parents, or at
least know many things about them (as in
an open adoption), or she may know very
little about them as people or about the
circumstances of her birth and adoption
(as in the more traditional closed or confi-
dential adoption). In either case, adoptees
frequently fill in the information they
don’t have with guesses or fantasies that
answer their questions. These guesses and
fantasies can be based on what they wish
to be true, what they fear is true, or com-

binations of the two. Thus, although ado-
lescents who were not adopted have many
things to consider and wonder about
regarding their personal identity, adoptees
have even more to ponder and, typically,
have fewer facts and less access to infor-
mation to help them.
During adolescence, young people
alternate between “trying on” different
stances and beliefs about themselves, on
the one hand, and revising their sense of
identity as they discover how a particular
stance “fits,” on the other. For example,
an adoptee might question how tall his
birth parents were and seek information
from his parents to find out if they know
or will try to find out. If he gets the infor-
mation, he may then use it to predict his
own adult height and begin to get used to
a picture of himself at that height. Simi-
larly, an adoptee may wonder if his birth
parents were irresponsible people in
many areas of their lives because they
conceived a baby that they later decided
they could not care for as adequately as
they might wish. He may experiment
with acting irresponsibly as he is trying
on an irresponsible identity to see if it
fits him. He may be aware that he has
these questions about what his birth par-
ents were like, or he may be unaware
that this questioning is taking place. If
his irresponsibility is noticed by parents
or other people he trusts, they may ques-
tion him about why he has been acting in
a way that is so unusual for him. Having
his irresponsible behavior identified as
uncharacteristic of him makes it more
likely that he will realize it is not a part
of his identity. He is then closer to estab-
lishing an identity for himself that con-
firms his sense of responsibility rather
than irresponsibility. Questions about
identity such as these, which never arose
Adoption: Exploration and Search 21
during childhood, become very relevant
to adoptees during adolescence.
Wanting to know the answers to such
questions motivates adoptees to search for
more information about their birth par-
ents or the circumstances of their adop-
tion. Between 1992 and 1993, researchers
conducted a survey of 881 adolescent
adoptees (the largest sample studied to
date in the United States) between the
ages of twelve and eighteen (Benson,
Sharma, and Roehlkepartain, 1994). These
adolescents were asked about their inter-
est in their birth parents and their adop-
tion history. Forty percent indicated that
they would like to know more about their
birth history. Fifty-three percent were
curious about their birth mothers; and 46
percent, about their birth fathers. Sixty-
five percent said they would like to meet
their birth parents. There were gender dif-
ferences: On each of these questions girls
indicated more curiosity and interest than
boys. Teenagers who were interested in
meeting birth parents were also asked
about their reasons. The following reasons
were most common: to learn what the
birth parents look like (94 percent); to let
them know their birth child is happy (80
percent); to let them know their birth
child is doing well (76 percent); to let
them know their birth child is happy to be
alive (73 percent); and to find out why the
adoption took place (72 percent). Because
there is reason to believe that the
teenagers in this survey may have repre-
sented the most satisfied of adolescent
adoptees, these statistics are evidence that
an active interest in birth parents and
preadoptive history is common and not
associated with troubled adjustment. Yet
there is no evidence that an adoptee who
is not curious is less well adjusted than
one who is. Adoptees can have a wide
22 Adoption: Exploration and Search
range of feelings and views on issues per-
taining to their adoption, and they can be
curious at some times and not at others.
The same study explored whether
adoptees fantasized frequently about their
birth parents, whether they missed or
longed for them, and whether they
wanted to live with them. On each of
these questions, only 6 to 10 percent of
the surveyed adoptees indicated frequent
fantasies, strong longing, or frequent
wishes to live with their birth parents,
and, again, girls reported stronger feelings
than boys did. In short, although many
teenagers feel curious about their birth
parents, a much smaller number experi-
ence a powerful pull toward their birth
parents. This study, like others, con-
cluded that the majority of adopted
teenagers are doing well, do not have psy-
chological problems, and are generally
satisfied with themselves, their lives, and
their families.
For some adolescent adoptees, how-
ever, these issues may involve turmoil
and distress. Research has shown that if
adoptees are going to experience emo-
tional and behavioral troubles, these will
most likely occur during adolescence (as
opposed to childhood or adulthood). For
some adoptive families, an adolescent’s
curiosity or wish to search for more infor-
mation about birth parents, or for the
birth parents themselves, represents a
major crisis and challenge to the sense of
emotional connection between the adop-
tive parents and their child. When such
an event occurs, it is best understood as a
struggle between the two generations
over autonomy and control, or as a wish
of each generation to be validated by the
other one. It also may be related to a fear
of rejection on the part of either the adop-
tive parents or the adolescent.
Alternatively, the adolescent may feel
that his parents are attempting to bind
him to them and deny his link to his birth
family. He may feel that his parents are
being unreasonably restrictive because
they don’t trust him as an adoptee to
behave responsibly. Or he may be angry
with them for their attempts to regulate
his behavior through family ground rules
(curfews, chores, expectations about
grades, etc.) and fantasize that his birth
parents would not do the same.
Just as the adolescent may be misinter-
preting parental efforts to effectively
structure her life and family routines, her
parents may also be misinterpreting her
expressed interest in her birth family.
They may be confusing her drive to be
independent with rejection of them and
fear that they will lose her. Or they may
be confusing her curiosity about the birth
family side of her roots as a preference for
the birth family over their family. Indeed,
each generation may misunderstand and
misinterpret the motives and messages of
the other.
Adolescence is commonly a time of
tension in families as the tasks of separa-
tion-individuation begin to be negoti-
ated. The stakes can feel higher to both
generations of an adoptive family. At
times, each generation may wonder if the
family ties will remain as emotionally
close as the adolescent approaches adult-
hood and becomes more psychologically
independent and physically separate (at
college or working and living on his own)
from his parents. This worry about losing
their bond can be more unsettling to the
equilibrium of an adoptive family than to
that of a family with both biological and
emotional ties.
Challenges to laws restricting adoptees’
access to information about their birth

parents have occurred since the 1970s. In
several states, new laws have been passed
that provide adoptees with sufficient infor-
mation after age eighteen to make it possi-
ble to search for birth parents. A recent
review of research on the experience of
searching by adult adoptees pointed out
that only a small minority of adoptees
search (Haugaard, Schustack, and Dor-
man, 1998). Note, however, that because
the searchers who have been studied form
only a small subset of adoptees, the reac-
tions to searching cited by this review,
while informative, should not be consid-
ered applicable to all adoptees.
Among the searchers studied, thoughts
of searching commonly began in late ado-
lescence, although most searches did not
occur until at least early adulthood. A
review of studies done on searchers
reveals that once they had crossed the
legal hurdles to obtaining the informa-
tion necessary for their search, most
searchers reported that they found the
search to be a positive experience.
Some patterns regarding searching have
been suggested by the small collection of
studies that have been conducted. For
example, most searchers are female.
Many searches occur around life-cycle
transitions, such as the transition to
becoming a parent oneself. Most adoptees
report being pleased and relieved about
the reunion (most commonly with their
birth mother rather than their birth
father). Most searchers inform their adop-
tive parents that they are searching. And,
finally, the motivation for searching
reported by most adult adoptees who
have searched has to do with gaining a
sense of one’s roots or achieving a sense of
identity.
Kristine Freeark
Adoption: Issues and Concerns 23
See also Abortion; Adoption: Issues and
Concerns; Decision Making
References and further reading
Benson, Peter L., Anu R. Sharma, and
Eugene C. Roehlkepartain. 1994.
Growing Up Adopted: A Portrait of
Adolescents and Their Families.
Minneapolis, MN: Search Institute.
Brodzinsky, David M., and Marshall D.
Schechter, eds. 1990. The Psychology of
Adoption. New York: Oxford
University Press.
Brodzinsky, David M., Daniel W. Smith,
and Anne B. Brodzinsky. 1998.
Children’s Adjustment to Adoption:
Developmental and Clinical Issues.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Grotevant, Harold D. 1997. “Family
Processes, Identity Development, and
Behavioral Outcomes for Adopted
Adolescents.” Journal of Adolescent
Research 12, no. 1: 139–161.
Grotevant, Harold D., Ruth G. McRoy,
Carol L. Elde, and Deborah L. Fravel.
1994. “Adoptive Family System
Dynamics: Variations by Level of
Openness in the Adoption.” Family
Process 33: 125–146.
Haugaard, Jeffrey J., Amy Schustack, and
Karen Dorman. 1998. “Searching for
Birth Parents by Adult Adoptees.”
Adoption Quarterly 1, no. 3: 77–83.
Adoption: Issues and Concerns
Adoption of children by nonbiological
parents has been practiced for years, and
in the United States legal adoption has
been available for over 150 years
(Hundleby, Shireman, and Triseliotis,
1997). The 1960s marked an important
transition in adoption, with the focus
changing from the adoptive parents to the
children and the biological mothers. The
policies and practices prior to this time
focused on finding healthy infants to be
placed in terms of race, ethnicity, and
other characteristics. Over the past thirty
years, it is recognized that all children
need permanent homes, regardless of
24 Adoption: Issues and Concerns
Three-year-old Brittany holds up a small toy with her ten-month-old brother, Ryan, from
Korea, and their adoptive father. (Laura Dwight/Corbis)
their race, ethnicity, social background, or
age; so children considered “hard to
place” are being adopted in rising num-
bers. Further, the rights of the biological
mothers are recognized in many states,
and open adoption is an increasingly pop-
ular practice (Babb, 1999).
Many children who are adopted learn
this fact from the adopted parents at
young ages. However, it may not be
totally understood until the children
reach a level where they can comprehend
the meaning and its implications. Often
when the children become teens they not
only want to know more about adoption
but also have emotional reactions, which
can take different directions. Adoles-
cence is the time when one is forming a
sense of identity, dealing with issues of
independence, and self-determination,
while, at the same time, being caught up
in peer relations, school, and the need to
plan for one’s future (Rosenberg, 1992).
Dealing with the reality of adoption may
add stress, uncertainty, and self-doubts.
Teens who are placed in adoptive homes
when they were infants or very young and
who do not know anything about their
biological families may well become very
curious to learn who their birth parents
were and may even want to meet them.
However, others feel great anger for being
“given up” as infants, thus stifling any
desire to connect, which can cause emo-
tional problems as well. Of course,
increasing numbers of children are now

adopted well after infancy and either knew
or know about birth parents, siblings, and
grandparents. Their way of dealing with
the facts of adoption may be very different
yet still pose challenges for them as well
as their adoptive families and friends.
The current policies and practices that
guide adoption, while still evolving, cer-
tainly are movements in the right direc-
tion. However, there are issues and chal-
lenges for all involved that must be taken
into account when helping teens deal
with adoption and the resulting conse-
quences. Generally, a study by Dukette
(1984) demonstrates the most common
position taken today by those responsible
for adoption. Birth parents generally pro-
vide the best opportunity for children’s
well-being, and attempts should be made
to allow children to remain in the birth
home, even if help in the form of coun-
seling, finances, and court intervention is
necessary. When this goal cannot be
accomplished, other members of the bio-
logical family should be sought to pro-
vide a permanent home. When none is
available, adoptive families are sought
and can provide continuity in so far as
possible in terms of racial, cultural, and
national origin. Further, the birth mother
(and sometimes, but not often, the father)
should be recognized as an integral part
of the arrangement as birth parental
rights and open records are often incorpo-
rated into the adoption process.
Given this general view, it must be rec-
ognized that all types of variations in the
approach to adoption are present in cur-
rent practice. Adoptions placing children
from different countries are now occurring
regularly in the United States, in several
European countries, as well as in many
other countries throughout the world.
Although issues are highly debated, there
Adoption: Issues and Concerns 25
is evidence that children thrive even when
their backgrounds and circumstances are
very different from those of the adoptive
parents (Moe, 1998).
The factors that make adjustment to
adoption challenging for teens and young
adults are considered next. One must
first ask, how does the teen view the sit-
uation: what is seen as positive and what
is seen as negative? In addition, the age
that the adoption occurred must be con-
sidered critical; for those who are older, is
it relevant to deal with what happened
before adoption? Did he/she live with the
biological family, in foster care, or in
some other circumstances? What about
health, schooling, and other crucial con-
siderations? But most important—how
does he/she deal with it all?
If the issue of searching for, finding,
and then dealing with biological parents
is significant, then one should facilitate
this process after thinking about these
five major factors to consider in begin-
ning the search (Wegar, 1997).
• Desire and need for relevant med-
ical history
• Need to know why he/she was
adopted
• Desire to know what family mem-
bers look like and what they do
• Need for continuity in the time of
major transition that adolescence
brings
• Longing to connect, to have roots,
and a sense of generations
However, one may also have valid rea-
sons for not undertaking, or participating
in, a search for biological roots, including:
• Lack of expressed interest or even
resentment
26 African American Adolescents, Identity in
• Feeling of loyalty to adoptive par-
ents
• Feeling that it is not the right
thing to do
• Fear of possible rejection or uncov-
ering negative information about
the biological family
There is no right or wrong answer for
searching; for some, it may be important
to undertake it in adolescence, while oth-
ers may decide to wait until adulthood.
For the teenager and the young adult
who was adopted, there are specific
tasks with which one must deal (Rosen-
berg, 1992). These can be summarized as
follows:
• Dealing with genetic versus the
psychological parts of oneself
• Recognizing and accepting different
models of families as being okay
• Basing one’s identity as an integra-
tion of biology and upbringing
• Re-creating ties with one’s adop-
tive family, if biological family has
been identified and contact estab-
lished
• Dealing with one’s adoption when
creating one’s own, new nuclear
family
In today’s world, adoption has become
an accepted and highly effective way to
deal with multiple issues in our society.
Adoptive families should be encouraged
and facilitated by their extended families
and friends. It truly can be a win-win sit-
uation. Yes, there are pitfalls and chal-
lenges, but there are also many resources
to facilitate the process and ensure suc-
cess. In a society that is becoming ever
more complex and one in which all of us
are interdependent on so many aspects in
order to function well, it is more impor-
tant than ever that every child, indeed
every individual, have a family to call
his/her own. The definition of family has
broadened, and we must keep this in
mind when comparing our families to
those of peers, friends, and others. Adop-
tive families come in many forms but
fit in harmoniously with “family” as
defined and practiced in contemporary
American life.
John W. Hagen
Joseph Solomon Dillard
See also Abortion; Adoption: Exploration
and Search; Decision Making
References and further reading
Babb, Linda. 1999. Ethics in American
Adoption. Westport, CT: Bergin and
Garvey.
Dukette, Rita. 1984. “Values in Present-
Day Adoption.” Child Welfare 63, no.
3: 233–243.
Hundleby, Marion, Joan Shireman, and
John Triseliotis. 1997. Adoption:
Theory, Policy, and Practice. London:
Cassell.
Moe, Barbara. 1998. Adoption: A
Reference Handbook. Santa Barbara,
CA: ABC-CLIO.
Rosenberg, Elinor B. 1992. The Adoption
Life Cycle. New York: Free Press.
Wegar, Katarina. 1997. Adoption, Identity,
and Kinship. New Haven, CT: Yale
University Press.
African American Adolescents,
Identity in
The study of identity formation in
African American adolescents has long
been a theoretical enterprise character-
ized by major shortcomings. Spencer’s
(1995) Phenomenological Variant of Eco-
logical Systems Theory (PVEST) miti-
gates all of those shortcomings and pro-
vides an ideal framework from which to
examine identity development. PVEST
 African American Adolescents, Identity in 27

Negative stereotypes, scarcity of positive role models, and the absence of culturally competent
instruction and direction may hinder identity formation. (Shirley Zeiberg)

integrates a phenomenological perspec- throughout the life course. Thus, it iden-

tive with Bronfenbrenner’s ecological
systems theory (1989), linking context
with perception. In doing so, it allows us
to capture and understand the meaning-
making processes underlying identity
development and outcomes (Spencer,
1995; Spencer, Dupree, and Hartmann,
1997). Determining how minority youth
and community members view and com-
prehend family, peer, and social expecta-
tions and their prospects for competence
and success is central to understanding
resiliency and devising interventions
that promote it, and thus, also revitalizes
communities. PVEST consists of five
components linked by bidirectional
processes; it is a cyclic, recursive model
that describes identity development
tifies processes for all members of com-
munities; it is relevant when conceptual-
izing communities and its members from
“the cradle to the coffin.”
The first component, risk contributors,
consists of factors that may predispose
individuals for adverse outcomes. For
urban minority youth, these include
socioeconomic conditions, such as
poverty; sociocultural expectations, such
as race and sex stereotypes; and sociohis-
torical processes, including racial subordi-
nation and discrimination. Self-appraisal
is a key factor in identity, and how minor-
ity youth view themselves depends on
their perceptions of these conditions,
expectations, and processes. Stress engage-
ment refers to the actual experience of
28 African American Adolescents, Identity in
situations that challenge one’s psychoso-
cial identity and well-being. Experiences
of discrimination, violence, and negative
feedback are salient stressors for minority
youth. In response, reactive coping meth-
ods are employed to resolve dissonance-
producing situations. These include
strategies to solve problems that can lead
to both adaptive or maladaptive solutions.
In addition, a solution may be adaptive in
one context, such as neighborhood, and
maladaptive in another, such as school. As
coping strategies are employed, self-
appraisal continues, and those strategies
yielding desirable results for the ego are
preserved. They become stable coping
responses and, coupled together, yield
emergent identities. These emergent iden-
tities define how individuals view them-
selves within and between their various
contextual experiences: that is, these the-
matic responsive patterns show stability
across settings and not just within fami-
lies and neighborhoods.
The combination of cultural/ethnic
identity, sex role understanding, and self-
and peer appraisal all define one’s iden-
tity. Identity lays the foundation for
future perception and behavior, yielding
adverse or productive life state outcomes
manifested across settings. Productive
outcomes include good health, positive
and supportive relationships with neigh-
bors and friends, high self-esteem, and
effective motivation. The PVEST (the-
matic) framework recycles as one transi-
tions across the life span (across multiple
settings including community) and indi-
viduals encounter new risks and stress-
ors, try different coping strategies, and
redefine how they and others view them-
selves. For minority youth, the presence
and engagement of structural racism
poses severe risks for the learning of
adaptive coping strategies and positive
outcomes with regard to individual and
community-level health and well-being.
As noted, negative stereotypes,
scarcity of positive role models, and the
absence of culturally competent instruc-
tion and direction also serve to hinder
identity formation. Exploration of differ-
ent identities may not be an option for
minority youth living in stressful envi-
ronments, leading to greater identity
foreclosure. Negative images of minori-
ties in the media, coupled with a lack
of portrayal in successful roles, create
barriers to positive identity formation
(Spencer and Markstrom-Adams, 1990).
The PVEST framework contributes an
identity-focused cultural ecological per-
spective (ICE) on identity formation
(Swanson and Spencer, 1995). In doing so,
various theoretical positions, including
psychosocial, ecological, self-organiza-
tional, and phenomenological models,
are integrated with the emphasis on self-
appraisal processes (Swanson, Spencer,
and Peterson, 1998). This approach takes
into account structural and contextual
barriers to identity formation and their
implication for psychological processes
such as self-appraisal. Much of our work
has focused on adolescence, when iden-
tity formation is a key developmental
task. By the time of adolescence, African
American and other minority youth have
developed an awareness of white Ameri-
can values and standards of competence.
They can begin to integrate their experi-
ences with future expectations given
their own values and those of the major-
ity culture. Awareness of racial stereo-
types and their own group membership
has developed and plays a key role in
identity formation. For minority adoles-
cents, the contextual stressors associated
with effects of structural racism are cou-
pled with normative developmental
 African American Adolescents, Identity in
stresses, such as family and indepen-
dence issues, sex role definition, physical
maturation, and desire to display compe-
tence. Identity and appraisal by self and
others become key. For example, matur-
ing African American males in particular
may elicit negative responses, such as
being perceived as threatening, which, in
turn, may lead to more stressful encoun-
ters (Swanson and Spencer, 1995).
Identity development occurs in multi-
ple contexts, including community,
school, family, and peer relationships.
Adolescents must transition between
these contexts and find ways to integrate
their various experiences within each of
them. If the contexts are relatively com-
patible, these transitions can be placid;
conversely, the transitions can yield disso-
nance-producing experiences. Thus, inter-
ventions designed to produce resilient
identity formation must go beyond con-
sideration of contextual stressors and take
into account multiple contexts and how
stressors in each context relate to one
another.
In order to accomplish positive iden-
tity formation in minority adolescents,
several factors must be facilitated; these
include knowledge and approval of val-
ues from both majority and minority cul-
tures, definition of gender and other
forms of identity, self-esteem, a sense of
competence, and healthy relationships
with family and friends (Williams-
Morris, 1996). Markstrom-Adams and
Spencer (1990) highlight the importance
of “perspective taking” in positive iden-
tity formation and suggest that identity
intervention should address structural
barriers that inhibit identity exploration.
Additionally, Spencer, Harpalani, and
Del’Angelo (in press) note two examples
of identity intervention for different pop-
ulations of African American adoles-
29
cents: the Health Information Providers
and Promoters (HIPP) Scholars program
for marginally achieving students, and
the Start-On-Success (SOS) Scholars pro-
gram for special needs students. Both of
these are applications of the PVEST
framework and address the issues raised
here.
Margaret Beale Spencer
Vinay Harpalani
See also African American Adolescents,
Research on; African American Male
Adolescents; Ethnic Identity; Identity
References and further reading
Bronfenbrenner, Urie. 1989. “Ecological
Systems Theory.” Pp. 187–248 in
Annals of Child Development. Edited
by Ross Vasta. Greenwich, CT: JAI
Press.
Spencer, Margaret Beale. 1995. “Old
Issues and New Theorizing about
African American Youth: A
Phenomenological Variant of Ecological
Systems Theory.” Pp. 37–70 in Black
Youth: Perspectives on their Status in
the United States. Edited by Ronald L.
Taylor. Westport, CT: Praeger.
Spencer, Margaret Beale, David Dupree,
and Tracy Hartmann. 1997. “A
Phenomenological Variant of Ecological
Systems Theory (PVEST): A Self-
Organization Perspective in Context.”
Development and Psychopathology 9:
817–833.
Spencer, Margaret Beale, Vinay Harpalani,
and Tabitha Del’ Angelo. In press.
“Structural Racism and Community
Health: A Theory-Driven Model for
Identity Intervention.”
Spencer, Margaret Beale, and Carol
Markstrom-Adams. 1990. “Identity
Processes among Racial and Ethnic
Minorities in America.” Child
Development 61: 290–310.
Swanson, Dena Phillips, and Margaret
Beale Spencer. 1995. “Developmental
and Contextual Considerations for
Research on African American
Adolescents.” In Children of Color:
Research, Health and Public Policy
Issues. Edited by Hiram E. Fitzgerald,
30 African American Adolescents, Research on
Barry M. Lester, and Barry S.
Zuckerman. New York: Garland.
Swanson, Dena Phillips, Margaret Beale
Spencer, and Anne Petersen. 1998.
“Identity Formation in Adolescence.”
Pp. 18–41 in The Adolescent Years:
Social Influences and Educational
Challenges. Ninety-Seventh Yearbook
of the National Society for the Study of
Education—Part 1. Edited by Kathryn
Borman and Barbara Schneider.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Williams-Morris, Ruth S. 1996. “Racism
and Children’s Health: Issues in
Development.” Ethnicity and Disease
6: 69–82.
African American Adolescents,
Research on
African American adolescents are highly
marginalized in U.S. society—an outcome
exacerbated by four major conceptual
defects that historically have character-
ized scholarship and research on this
group. First, African American adoles-
cents are often studied as isolated entities,
without regard for the larger context in
which they are growing, maturing, and
developing. Numerous manifestations of
symbolic and structural racism, economic
hardships, and related barriers often char-
acterize the environments encountered by
African American adolescents. These fac-
tors compound the normative develop-
mental stressors experienced by African
American youth, such as physical and
social maturation and peer pressure.
The second major shortcoming that
characterizes scholarship on African
American youth is a highly deficit-
oriented perspective. From this perspec-
tive, African American youth are viewed
as pathological products of oppression
(e.g., Kardiner and Ovesey, 1951), and
only the negative outcomes attained by
these youth are studied. It is a perspective
that ignores the resilience of those who
do succeed despite tremendous barriers.
Resilience among low-income African
American youth is little studied and
often misunderstood (e.g., Fordham and
Ogbu, 1986). More research on this aspect
is sorely needed. From the perspective of
intervention, the identification and
enhancement of resiliency-promoting
factors are particularly important, since
the structural forces that create and
maintain racism are not likely to change
significantly in the near future.
The third major flaw in theorizing
about African American adolescents is
the lack of a developmental perspective.
Too often, these youth are viewed and
treated as miniature adults. Outside of
academia, this is readily observable in
the criminal justice system. Indeed,
whereas European American youth expe-
riencing problems of psychological
adjustment are often referred to mental
health services, African Americans are
usually placed in the criminal justice sys-
tem (Spurlock and Norris, 1991).
The fourth flaw is a general lack of cul-
tural understanding and competence in
scholarship on African American youth.
African American adolescents often grow
up in a context of unique family struc-
ture and cultural practices, many of
which are simply not understood by
white American society.
Multiple sources of stress and disso-
nance characterize the experiences of
African American adolescents as they
begin the process of self-definition. Neg-
ative stereotypes, scarcity of positive
role models, lack of competent cultural
instruction and direction, and problems
associated with low socioeconomic sta-
tus and high-risk neighborhoods all
interact to form complex barriers for
these youth. Yet, as noted, many succeed
in spite of these barriers.
 African American Adolescents, Research on 31

New theoretical perspectives and

empirical work have begun to shed light
on the developmental experiences of
African American adolescents. For
example, Margaret B. Spencer’s (1995)
Phenomenological Variant of Ecological
Systems Theory, or PVEST (see “African
American Adolescents, Identity in”),
provides an ideal framework in which to
analyze all of these processes. PVEST
affords the opportunity to examine both
positive and negative coping processes
and their relevance for life outcomes.
Additionally, Harold C. Stevenson (1997)
provides an example of culturally com-
petent empirical research on the experi-
ences of African American adolescent
males. Stevenson describes how African
American youth are “missed” and
“dissed” by mainstream American soci-
ety, and how this treatment relates to
African American youth becoming
“pissed” and managing their anger. Black
Experiences of discrimination, violence, and
youth are “missed” when stereotypical
negative feedback are salient stressors for
media-based images distort the mean- African American youth. (Laura Dwight)
ings of their social and affective dis-
plays—usually in negative terms. And,
as a result, these unique cultural displays
are devalued and viewed with inso- high-risk contexts, which may necessi-
lence—“dissed.” In conjunction with tate mitigation of fear and displays of
such misrepresentations, many African anger.
American youth reside in high-risk con- Developmental issues pertinent to
texts where anger display may be an African American female adolescents
appropriate coping mechanism. Indeed, should also be researched in a culturally
anger may become a form of competence competent manner. An example of such
for social and emotional viability in cer- work is the study of body image con-
tain high-risk contexts. Hence, misrepre- ducted by S. Parker and colleagues
sentation, disrespect, and hazardous con- (1995), who found that African American
textual factors interact in creating the adolescent females typically do not
anger of African American youth. aspire to an ideal body image but, rather,
Stevenson’s findings suggest that fear of tend to promote the individual desirable
adverse outcomes may diminish expres- features that they already possess. In
sions of anger, though not feelings of contrast, many white adolescent females
anger. However, his data further indicate aspire to the so-called Barbie-doll image.
that this relationship may not hold in Parker’s work has obvious implications
32 African American Male Adolescents
for devising and implementing culturally
competent interventions and programs
for African American female adolescents.
If scholarship on African American
adolescents is to capture their real-life
circumstances, it must (1) take into
account the social, political, and eco-
nomic contexts in which these youth
develop; (2) examine both positive and
negative outcomes and the processes
involved in attaining these outcomes; (3)
take a developmentally sensitive per-
spective by viewing African American
youth as adolescents undergoing norma-
tive developmental processes under
stressful conditions rather than as minia-
ture adults; and (4) make an effort to
understand the cultural meaning of these
adolescents’ behaviors and contexts.
Margaret Beale Spencer
Vinay Harpalani
See also African American Adolescents,
Identity in; African American Male
Adolescents; Ethnic Identity; Identity
References and further reading
Fordham, Signithia, and John U. Ogbu.
1986. “Black Students’ School Success:
Coping with the Burden of ‘Acting
White.’” Urban Review 18, no. 3:
176–206.
Kardiner, Abram, and Lionel Ovesey.
1951. The Mark of Oppression.
Cleveland: World Publishing Company.
Parker, S., Mark Nichter, Mimi Nichter,
Nancy Vuckovic, C. Sims, and Cheryl
Ritenbaugh. 1995. “Body Image and
Weight Concerns among African
American and White Adolescent
Females: Differences That Make a
Difference.” Human Organization 54,
no. 2: 103–113.
Spencer, Margaret Beale. 1995. “Old Issues
and New Theorizing about African
American Youth: A Phenomenological
Variant of Ecological Systems Theory.
Pp. 37–70 in Black Youth: Perspectives
on Their Status in the United States.
Edited by Ronald L. Taylor. Westport,
CT: Praeger.
Spurlock, Jeanne, and Donna M. Norris.
1991. “The Impact of Culture and Race
on the Development of African
Americans in the United States.”
American Psychiatric Press Review of
Psychiatry 10: 594–607.
Stevenson, Harold C. 1997. “Missed,
Dissed, and Pissed: Making Meaning of
Neighborhood Risk, Fear, and Anger
Management in Urban Black Youth.”
Cultural Diversity and Mental Health
3, no. 1: 37–52.
African American Male Adolescents
The experiences of African American
males are indications of larger societal
issues such as racial and economic diver-
sity in the United States. The adolescent
period is arguably the most crucial period
for teens to integrate adolescent themes of
identity and psychological development
to how these youth make meaning of how
one is incorporated into an adult world.
For African American adolescent males,
like all youth, adolescence is a period of
experimentation with many roles in life.
However, because of economic restraints,
many poor African American males expe-
rience barriers to full opportunity for
developing positive social and personal
roles (Cunningham, 1999). African Amer-
ican males are 30 percent of the child and
adolescent populations (U.S. Census
Bureau, 1999), and a significant number of
the teens are growing up in households
with family incomes below $20,000 per
year. Thus, a description of the boys’ situ-
ations must include issues regarding the
socioeconomic status of their families as
well as available neighborhood and school
resources to promote and nurture healthy
psychological development.
Accordingly, examining adolescent
behaviors on multiple ecological or envi-
ronmental contexts (e.g., schools, neigh-
borhoods, and social settings) is neces-

sary. One important micro-level variable
to examine was that of the peer group.
The peer group provides the setting and
the means by which youth achieve sev-
eral of the developmental tasks of middle
and late adolescence. This social group
gives youth practice in learning a social
personality and a means for learning how
to express themselves in socially accept-
able ways with their peers. Too often dis-
cussions regarding African American
male adolescents are centered on nega-
tive consequences and experiences of
school failure, delinquency, and psy-
chopathology. Much of the available
empirical research studies regarding peer
group influences on African American
males focus on a link to problem behav-
iors. In the few studies that focused on
African American adolescents, re-
searchers have noted that academic suc-
cess was positively linked to peers who
valued education (Taylor, 1996). Also,
researchers have stressed that adoles-
cents who do well in school have more
achievement-oriented friends and are
less likely to be involved in problem
behaviors associated with economically
poor environments (Brook, Gordon,
Brook, and Brook, 1989). However, par-
ents and significant adults are still
important during adolescence (Spencer,
Dupree, Swanson, and Cunningham,
1996). The research reported by Spencer
and her colleagues emphasized that ado-
lescents reported that their parents and
other significant adults (extended kin or
teachers) were the most important peo-
ple to talk to about problems experi-
enced by youth.
African American males are aware of
potential resources and barriers as well
(Cunningham, 1999). Especially during
late adolescence, many youth exhibit
exaggerated coping strategies such as
African American Male Adolescents 33
exaggerated male bravado and school dis-
engagement. Unlike younger children,
adolescent experiences are not as shel-
tered and protected by parents and signif-
icant adults. Many youth become more
socially mobile and their interpretation
of supports and barriers are heavily influ-
enced by their environments. For exam-
ple, Cunningham’s study indicated that
older adolescents were more aware that
they have increased chances of becoming
a victim of a violent crime and that they
were exposed to potential health risks
associated with membership in high-risk
neighborhoods compared to the reports
from younger adolescents.
As adolescents develop and are exposed
to independent ideas about how males
should behave, they have an awareness of
opportunities and barriers associated
with young males. Often the outcomes
exhibited can be viewed as coping
responses to an unsafe environment. An
exaggerated male bravado style may be
adopted to ensure safeness in one’s neigh-
borhood, but the same behavior may be
detrimental in a school environment.
Apathy regarding school engagement and
negative workforce experiences may be
linked to living in economically poor
neighborhoods. Absent from many of the
studies is a connection between the expe-
riences in public places to individual
proactive and protective coping strate-
gies. Many young males who grow up in
challenging environments develop ways
of dealing with racial and gender antago-
nism in healthy ways (Stevenson, 1997).
In one environment the behaviors exhib-
ited may appear to be an exaggeration of
male behaviors. However, when viewed
within a social context the behaviors can
be understood as a way of dealing with
daily hassles and stress associated within
a neighborhood social context.
34 African American Male Adolescents
Potential intervention and prevention
programs must be adolescent specific.
They must address issues faced by males
generally, and also highlight specific
behaviors and attitudes that are associ-
ated with the experiences of African
American culture and neighborhood con-
texts. Recently, researchers have noted
that manhood development is quite
important for adolescent males. An
emphasis is directed toward a culturally
conscious reconstruction of gender.
Watts and Abdul-Adil (1997) state that
young males must develop sociopolit-
cally as well as personally. Accompany-
ing basic adolescent cognitive matura-
tion, programs for African American
males must include critical conscious-
ness training to help boys understand
how social disparity is associated with
oppression. Watts and Abdul-Adil have
developed an intervention named the
Young Warriors Program. One important
aspect of the program is that it incorpo-
rates training for traditional educational
workers as one aspect of its goals. A dual
emphasis is placed on individuals and
the social context of adults who work
with the young males. Young males and
adults are involved in discussions and
activities regarding social issues that are
related to growing up in a race-conscious
society.
Lastly, programs for young males must
be developmental specific. Successful
programs for thirteen-year-olds may not
be successful for seventeen-year-olds.
Younger adolescent experiences are more
influenced by cognitive appraisal pro-
cesses such as adolescent egocentrism
and personal fable. Older adolescents are
more socially mobile and normally have
more direct experiences with interpreting
their environments independently. As
young males develop abstract cognitive
processing associated with early adoles-
cence, awareness of concrete circum-
stances are more evident in older youth
(Cunningham, 1999). Thus, program
efforts must be adjusted accordingly.
Michael Cunningham
See also African American Adolescents,
Identity in; African American Adoles-
cents, Research on; Ethnic Identity;
Identity
References and further reading
Brook, Judith S., Ann. S. Gordon, Adam
Brook, and David W. Brook. 1989. “The
Consequences of Marijuana Use on
Intrapersonal and Interpersonal
Functioning in Black and White
Adolescents.” Genetic, Social, and
General Psychology Monographs 15:
351–369.
Cunningham, Michael. 1999. “African
American Adolescent Males’
Perceptions of Their Community
Resources and Constraints: A
Longitudinal Analysis.” Journal of
Community Psychology 5: 569–588.
Spencer, Margaret B., David Dupree, Dena
P. Swanson, and Michael Cunningham.
1996. “Parental Monitoring and
Adolescents’ Sense of Responsibility for
Their Own Learning: An Examination
of Sex Differences.” Journal of Negro
Education 65: 30–43.
Stevenson, Howard C. 1997. “Managing
Anger: Protective, Proactive, or
Adaptive Racial Socialization Identity
Profiles and African American
Manhood Development.” Pp. 35–62 in
Manhood Development in Urban
African-American Communities.
Edited by R. J. Watts and R. Jagers. New
York: Hawthorne Press.
Taylor, Ronald. 1996. “Kinship Support,
Family Management, and Adolescent
Adjustment and Competence in
African-American Families.”
Developmental Psychology 32:
687–695.
U.S. Census Bureau. 1999. Current
Population Survey, Racial Statistics
Branch, Population Division.
Watts, Roderick J., and Jaleel K. Abdul-
Adil. 1997. “Promoting Critical
Consciousness in Young, African-

American Men.” Pp. 63–86 in Manhood
Development in Urban African-
American Communities. Edited by R. J.
Watts and R. Jagers. New York:
Hawthorne Press.
Aggression
Aggression, in the sense of hostile or
injurious behavior, can be a serious prob-
lem in adolescence. It is difficult to deal
with an established pattern of aggression
in adolescence, and therefore it is impor-
tant to take action early.
All children from time to time display
aggression, beginning in late infancy. By
the preschool years, two general types of
aggression can be observed. Instrumental
aggression is the most common, and it is
seen when children want an object, priv-
ilege, or space, and they push, yell at, or
attack a person who impedes their goal.
Hostile aggression is a more serious form
of aggression—here the intent is to hurt
another person. Hostile aggression can be
overt, taking the form of direct harm or
threat of harm to another person. Rela-
tional aggression is a type of hostile
aggression that can be seen in rumor
spreading, damaging another person’s
reputation, or social exclusion.
Aggression is quite common in our
society. Although forms of aggression are
seen in most children from time to time,
aggressive behavior is seriously problem-
atic in only a few children. When aggres-
sion in children goes untreated, it seems
to increase with the onset of puberty,
especially in young men. By midadoles-
cence homicide is the third leading cause
of death for all young men and the lead-
ing cause of death for young black men.
Aggression among adolescents is con-
sidered to be a significant problem by
most adults. Forty-nine percent of boys
and 28 percent of girls in the eighth
Aggression 35
through tenth grades report having been
in at least one fight involving physical
aggression or a weapon during a one-year
period. Eighty percent of siblings engage
in violence toward each other, with
higher rates in boys, especially those
without sisters (Tieger, 1980).
Adolescents are perpetrators in 24 per-
cent of crimes involving violence that
lead to an arrest. Fifty-two percent of
those arrested for homicide and nonneg-
ligent manslaughter in 1990 were
younger than twenty-five years of age
and 15 percent were younger than eight-
een years. For youths younger than eight-
een, the rate of murder charges has
increased dramatically in recent years.
Although these statistics suggest that
aggression is increasing among adoles-
cents, violent aggression in the school
setting has actually been decreasing dur-
ing the 1990s (Berk, 1999).
As indicated above, there are observed
differences between the sexes in aggres-
sion. Psychologists have speculated for
quite some time why these differences
appear. Twenty-five years ago psycholo-
gists Eleanor Maccoby and Carol Jacklin
reviewed the research on aggression and
suggested that (1) boys and girls do not
differ in “real” aggression (by which they
mean aggressive impulses or feelings) but
only in the behavioral forms (verbal,
physical) by which they express aggres-
sion, (2) the sexes are reinforced for dif-
ferent forms of aggression—physical
aggression in boys and verbal aggression
in girls, and (3) aggression is less accept-
able and is more actively discouraged in
girls—girls themselves have more anxi-
ety about aggression and have greater
inhibition about aggression. Maccoby and
Jacklin also argued that aggression might
be predominantly influenced by biol-
ogy—by the presence of sex hormones.
36 Aggression
That is, they thought that testosterone
might be responsible for physical aggres-
sion in males. At that time, many
researchers disputed this link between
biology and aggression, believing that
aggression was more likely to be learned.
Today, most scholars agree that the
causes of aggression are complex, with
many factors potentially responsible. To
place blame solely on hormones would be
inaccurate, since all boys do not display
aggressive tendencies.
However, research since that time has
revealed that there is an association
between plasma testosterone and self-
reports of physical and verbal aggression.
Elizabeth Susman and her colleagues
have also found that there is a positive
relationship between certain aggressive
attributes (such as acting-out behaviors)
and certain hormones (androstenedione)
for boys, but not for girls.
The causes for the development of
aggressive behavior are not at all clear.
What is clear is that there cannot be a
single cause for this phenomenon. It can-
not be just nature (genetic inheritance) or
just nurture (environment). It must be
both. Recent studies suggest that expo-
sure of adolescents to violence portrayed
in the various forms of the media may
play a role in development of aggression.
American television shows many violent
behaviors with little apparent physical
harm to the victims. This is especially
prominent in cartoons, where characters
suffer injuries, which in real life would be
fatal, yet get up and go about their busi-
ness as if nothing had happened. The
connection between media violence and
aggressive behavior in children and
teenagers is convincing. Over 1,000 stud-
ies suggest that exposure to TV violence
can increase the likelihood of aggressive
or antisocial behavior, especially in boys
and men. One message promoted by TV
is that even the good guys can use vio-
lence to solve problems.
In the United States, 82 percent of pro-
grams contain at least some violence
(Wright et al., 1994). In fact, in children’s
programming, the rate of violent acts per
hour is greater than it is for adult prime-
time programming. Highly aggressive
children have an appetite for violent tele-
vision, and as they watch more, they are
more likely to resort to aggressive ways to
resolve problems. This sort of pattern
leads to serious antisocial acts by adoles-
cence and young adulthood. In addition, it
seems that violence on TV hardens chil-
dren to aggression, making them more
tolerant of it in real situations.
Other longitudinal and cross-sectional
observational studies suggest that aggres-
sive behaviors in children and adoles-
cents are learned early and increase with
age. The family can be a training ground
for aggressive behaviors to develop (Berk,
1999). Children who are hard to handle
may create an atmosphere of conflict and
stress in the family. This situation can
lead to a cycle of anger and punitiveness,
which is then modeled by the child
against the parents and others as the child
imitates the parents’ attitudes and behav-
iors. Of course, not all hard-to-handle or
difficult children will create this pattern;
whether they do or not depends on par-
enting stress and discipline techniques.
When parents are stressed they tend to
discipline more harshly, leading children
to view the world as a hostile place. Once
children view the world from this per-
spective, they may expect others to act in
violent ways, setting the stage for their
own aggressive assaults.
Boys are reported to be more physically
aggressive and girls more verbally aggres-
sive. Unfortunately, this finding comes

out of studies that have focused primarily
on behaviors and did not include an eval-
uation of the biological factors that may
be related to aggression. Hormones, espe-
cially testosterone, have been exten-
sively studied in animal models of
aggression and among adult men,
because aggression seems to be more
common among adult men than women.
Testosterone was considered to be the
aggression hormone. Until recently, none
of the hormone/aggression studies were
conducted on children or adolescents.
There is now substantial evidence that
the hormones to which a developing
fetus is exposed while in the mother’s
uterus may play a significant role in the
development of the brain. These hor-
mone effects in the fetus organize the
fetus’s brain so that by the time of birth a
certain pattern of behavior is pro-
grammed in the child’s brain. We know
that there are sex differences in this
organizing function, because boys behave
differently from girls even in infancy and
childhood. There are also clear anatomi-
cal differences between boys’ and girls’
brains. There is also evidence in adoles-
cents demonstrating a relationship
between the physical secondary sexual
developmental changes of puberty, or
the concentration of testosterone, and
aggressive behaviors. The effects of natu-
ral increases of hormones at puberty are
called activating hormone effects. The
pubertal increase in these hormones acts
together with the fetal organizing effects
of these same hormones and with the
individual adolescent’s environment to
produce a behavioral pattern, including
an aggressive behavioral pattern. All but
one of the studies of this phenomenon
were observational and used correla-
tional analyses, limiting conclusions
regarding cause and effect.
Aggression 37
One recent study was conducted over a
twenty-one-month period, during which
the hormones that cause pubertal physi-
cal sexual development were adminis-
tered to a group of boys and girls who
needed treatment with these hormones.
The girls were given estrogen hormones
to help development of breasts, uterus,
and vagina, and the boys were given
testosterone to increase the development
of penis and pubic hair. There were small
but significant increases in physically
aggressive behaviors and aggressive
impulses reported during the administra-
tion of estrogen hormones to girls, as
well as during the administration of
testosterone to boys. There were no
increases in verbally aggressive behav-
iors. The study suggests that pubertal
hormones play some role in the develop-
ment of aggressive behaviors during ado-
lescence. The increases in aggressive
behaviors were significant but small, and
they were probably not enough to get any
of these adolescents into significant trou-
ble in school or with the juvenile justice
system.
The findings that hormone effects on
aggressive behavior are small suggests
that social and environmental factors
probably play a much more significant
role for those relatively few adolescents
whose aggression gets them in trouble.
Other recent studies demonstrate that
many unwanted behaviors among adoles-
cents are contagious. The theory suggests
that living among others, particularly
peers, who engage in antisocial, aggres-
sive, or violent behaviors predisposes
adolescents to behave like their contacts
(Berk, 1999).
Highly aggressive children do end up
with serious adjustment problems. Their
peers frequently reject them, they do
poorly or fail in school, and they are
38 Alcohol Use, Risk Factors in
likely to seek out deviant peers groups
for companionship. It is essential for par-
ents to seek treatment for highly aggres-
sive children; if left untreated, severe
aggression can lead to delinquency and
adult criminality. One way to help the
aggressive child is to promote less hostile
and more effective interaction and disci-
pline styles. Children need to learn posi-
tive and nonconfrontational ways to
solve problems at a young age—they can
then take these strategies into the peer
group. Helping children to take the per-
spective of others and empathize with
them (share their feelings) has been a use-
ful way to give children positive, nonvio-
lent strategies to solve conflicts.
When aggression is not managed in the
young child, it is likely that the child will
develop into an aggressive adolescent.
Management of behavior in aggressive
adolescents is more difficult, and in fact it
is unclear whether it is possible at all. To
a great extent this difficulty is related to
the complex nature of aggressive behavior
and to our incomplete understanding of
the causes of significant aggression. It has
been suggested that once aggressive
behavior is learned, it is quite resistant to
modification (which is why it is impor-
tant to break the cycle early in the aggres-
sive child’s life). A large variety of inter-
ventions—including both behavioral and
biological—in individual and group set-
tings have been tried, with no real
demonstrations of long-term reduction in
aggressive behaviors in humans. Lessons
from studies of other complex behaviors
suggest that the most effective approach
to any behavioral change must involve
multiple techniques (both biological and
behavioral) and must be continued for
many years, if not for a lifetime.
Jordan W. Finkelstein
See also Alcohol Use, Risk Factors in;
Bullying; Conduct Problems; Conflict
and Stress; Emotions; Juvenile Crime;
Risk Behaviors; Storm and Stress; Vio-
lence; Youth Gangs
References and further reading
Berk, Laura. 1999. Infants, Children, and
Adolescents, 3rd ed. Needham Heights,
MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Maccoby, Eleanor, and Carol Jacklin.
1974. The Psychology of Sex
Differences. Stanford, CA: Stanford
University Press.
Olweus, Dan, Ake Mattsson, Daisy
Schalling, and Hans Low. 1988.
“Circulating Testosterone Levels and
Aggression in Adolescent Males: A
Causal Analysis.” Psychosomatic
Medicine 50: 261–272.
Patterson, Gerald, J. Reid, and Thomas
Dishion. 1992. Antisocial Boys. Eugene,
OR: Castalia.
Susman, Elizabeth, Gale Inoff-Germain,
Editha Nottleman, D. Lynn Loriaux,
Gordon Cutler, and George Chrousos.
1987. “Hormones, Emotional
Dispositions, and Aggressive Attributes
in Young Adolescents.” Child
Development 58: 1114–1134.
Tieger, Todd. 1980. “On the Biological
Bases of Sex Differences in Aggression.”
Child Development 51: 943–963.
Wright, John, Aletha Huston, Alice Reitz,
and Suwatchara Piemyat. 1994. “Young
Children’s Perceptions of Television
Reality: Determinants and
Developmental Differences.
Developmental Psychology 30: 229–239.
Alcohol Use, Risk Factors in
The vast majority of adolescents in the
United States have used alcohol by the
time they reach their senior year in high
school. Although the large number of
adolescents using alcohol prior to the
legal age of twenty-one years is, in itself,
a concern to society, of even greater con-
cern is the mortality associated with ado-
lescent alcohol use. Indeed, alcohol use is
associated with the three most common
forms of adolescent mortality: accidental

deaths (e.g., fatal automobile accidents),
homicides, and suicides.
Variability in drinking patterns is asso-
ciated with different levels of health risk.
Heavy or “binge” drinkers—defined as
those who have had five or more drinks
on a single occasion at least once in the
last two weeks—incur the highest risk.
Heavy drinking has been reported at
alarmingly high rates among adolescents;
according to one study, 36 percent of male
twelfth graders qualify as binge drinkers
(Johnston, O’Malley, and Bachman, 2000).
Binge drinking among adolescents is asso-
ciated with higher rates of drinking and
driving, riskier sexual activity (e.g., lower
level of condom use), more delinquent or
antisocial behavior, and heavier use of
other substances (e.g., marijuana or
cocaine). It is also associated with a broad
range of alcohol-related problems, includ-
ing missing school because of drinking,
having fights with parents about drinking,
getting into trouble with legal authorities,
and passing out from drinking.
National survey data on adolescent
alcohol use have indicated several con-
sistent trends. First, approximately 80
percent of high school seniors report
using alcohol at some point during their
lifetime. Second, whereas the average age
of first use of alcohol was 17.4 years in
1987, it decreased to 15.9 years in 1994
(Office of National Drug Control Policy,
1997), indicating that teens are initiating
alcohol use at an increasingly earlier age.
This trend is of concern because an ear-
lier age of initiation to drinking has been
associated with substantially increased
risk for the subsequent development of
serious alcohol problems. Furthermore,
earlier initiation to alcohol use may be
disruptive to the successful resolution of
age-appropriate developmental tasks that
adolescents face, such as the fostering of
Alcohol Use, Risk Factors in 39
personal identity and the establishment
of constructive peer relations. Third, the
rate of heavy episodic drinking has
increased over time, albeit moderately.
According to a survey conducted in 1995,
over one-third (36.9 percent) of senior
males and almost one-fourth of senior
females (23 percent) reported consuming
five or more alcoholic beverages on at
least one occasion in the two-week
period preceding the survey assessment
(Johnston, O’Malley, and Bachman, 2000).
Fourth, the rate of lifetime use by boys
and girls is highly similar, although boys
are likely to consume alcohol more fre-
quently and at higher levels. And, fifth,
African American and Asian American
adolescents exhibit the lowest rates of
lifetime alcohol use, whereas Native
American, Caucasian, and Hispanic ado-
lescents exhibit the highest rates.
As noted previously, alcohol use is asso-
ciated with the three most common
causes of adolescent mortality—acciden-
tal deaths, homicides, and suicides. For
instance, nine out of ten teenage automo-
bile accidents involve the use of alcohol,
and, on average, eight adolescents a day
die in alcohol-related automobile crashes.
In addition, heavy alcohol use by adoles-
cents has been associated with a three- to
fourfold increased risk of suicide attempts
in comparison with adolescents who
abstain from using alcohol. The disin-
hibiting effects of consuming alcohol
have also been associated with impaired
judgment, which in turn contributes to
increased risky sexual activity and to ear-
lier onset and combined use of other sub-
stances such as marijuana and cocaine
(i.e., to a pattern of polydrug use). The
number of adverse consequences associ-
ated with heavier alcohol use by adoles-
cents is a major concern. For example,
research indicates that among adolescents
40 Alcohol Use, Risk Factors in
who drink, 12 percent drank before
school, 16 percent got into a fight or argu-
ment with someone that they did not
know while drinking, 29 percent passed
out from drinking, and 47 percent
reported doing things while drinking that
they regretted the next day (Windle, 1999).
Of course, not all adolescents consume
alcoholic beverages at high levels. A large
number of variables have been identified
that distinguish those adolescents who
are more likely to drink alcohol and to
have alcohol-related problems from
those who are less likely. These variables
are called risk factors because they
reflect an increased probability of alcohol
use at abusive levels. First, children with
a biological parent who is an alcoholic
are approximately four times more likely
to develop an alcohol disorder at some
point in their lifetime than children who
do not have an alcoholic parent. Re-
searchers are currently attempting to
identify the genes involved in this
increased family risk. Second, biologi-
cally influenced temperament and per-
sonality characteristics such as high
activity level (e.g., fidgetiness, difficulty
sitting still) and high sensation-seeking
level (e.g., thrill seeking) are associated
with higher levels of alcohol use and
related problems. Third, cognitive factors
such as alcohol expectancies (e.g., the
belief that alcohol will make one more
sociable and acceptable to peers) are asso-
ciated with higher levels of alcohol use
and have been shown to predict increases
in alcohol use from childhood to adoles-
cence. Fourth, higher levels of family
cohesion and emotional closeness,
parental warmth, parent-adolescent com-
munication, and parental monitoring
(e.g., establishing guidelines for adoles-
cent behavior, knowing the whereabouts
of one’s adolescent) have been linked to
lower levels of adolescent alcohol use.
Fifth, youthful drinking appears to be
enhanced by media sources that glamor-
ize alcohol use, conveying the message
that those who drink will be more popu-
lar with friends and with dating partners.
And, sixth, age-related drinking laws
have been found to affect alcohol con-
sumption by adolescents. These laws
make it illegal for minors (under age
twenty-one) to purchase or consume
alcohol; however, there is wide variabil-
ity across communities in their enforce-
ment with regard to penalties for adoles-
cents themselves and for establishments
(e.g., bars) that sell alcohol to minors.
Michael Windle
Rebecca C. Windle
See also Aggression; Alcohol Use, Trends
in; Drug Abuse Prevention; Nutrition;
Peer Pressure; Peer Victimization in
School; Risk Behaviors; Substance Use
and Abuse; Violence
References and further reading
Boyd, Gale M., Jan Howard, and Robert A.
Zucker, eds. 1995. Alcohol Problems
among Adolescents: Current Directions
in Prevention Research. Hillsdale, NJ:
Erlbaum.
Hawkins, J. David, Richard F. Catalano,
and Janet Y. Miller. 1992. “Risk and
Protective Factors for Alcohol and
Other Drug Problems in Adolescence
and Young Adulthood: Implications for
Substance Abuse Prevention.”
Psychological Bulletin 112: 64–105.
Jessor, Richard, and Shirley L. Jessor.
1977. Problem Behavior and
Psychosocial Development. New York:
Academic Press.
Johnston, Lloyd D., Patrick M. O’Malley,
and Jerald G. Bachman. 2000.
Monitoring the Future: National Survey
Results on Drug Use, 1975–1999. Vol.
1: Secondary Students (NIH
Publication No. 00-4802). Washington,
DC: National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Office of National Drug Control Policy.
1997. “The National Drug Control

Strategy.” http://www.ncjrs.org/
htm/chapter2.htm
Windle, Michael. 1999. Alcohol Use
among Adolescents. Thousand Oaks,
CA: Sage Publications.
Alcohol Use, Trends in
Many young people first use alcohol in
the company of their parents, often in the
context of religious ceremonies or family
celebrations. Such experiences are hardly
worrisome, both because they typically
involve just a few sips of alcohol and
because parents or other caring adults are
close by to supervise—and, it is hoped, to
provide models of appropriate alcohol
use.
Unsupervised and excessive alcohol
use begins during early and middle ado-
lescence for most young people. This
type of drinking can be worrisome.
Drinking is a common experience for
adolescents; indeed, by their senior year
of high school, four out of five young peo-
ple have used alcohol (more than just a
few sips), and nearly two-thirds report
having been drunk at least once (John-
ston, O’Malley, and Bachman, 2000).
What, How, and Why Adolescents
Drink
An alcoholic drink, as researchers and
others usually define it, is one 12-ounce
can, bottle, or glass of beer, one 4-ounce
glass of wine, or one ounce of hard liquor.
Not surprisingly, the alcohol beverages
most popular among young people
include beer and wine (with boys prefer-
ring the former and girls preferring the
latter). For example, among U.S. twelfth
graders in 1995, 53 percent of the males
and 37.4 percent of the females reported
drinking beer at least once in the past
thirty days. The thirty-day rates for wine
were 13.2 percent and 15.3 percent
Alcohol Use, Trends in 41
among males and females, respectively;
for wine coolers they were 15.5 percent
and 25.1 percent, respectively. And for
hard liquor they were 38.2 percent and
30.9 percent, respectively (Johnston,
Bachman, and O’Malley, 1997).
Adolescents rarely drink alone; typi-
cally, when they drink, it is with one or
more of their friends, often at parties or
other social gatherings. Although adults
tend to view adolescent drinking as a
problem, young people tend to view their
alcohol use in terms of fun and experi-
mentation. In one study, when twelfth
graders were asked why they drink, their
most common responses included “to
have a good time with friends” and “to
experiment, see what it is like” (both
endorsed by the majority of twelfth-grade
drinkers surveyed). Nevertheless, many
young people also reported using alcohol
“as a way to cope” and “to relieve anger
and frustration” (both endorsed by about
one out of five of the twelfth-grade
drinkers surveyed) (O’Malley, Johnston,
and Bachman, 1998).
Developmental Trends in Alcohol Use
Alcohol use increases dramatically during
adolescence. The following snapshot of
alcohol use is based on nationally repre-
sentative data collected from eighth,
ninth, and tenth graders in 1999. Reported
use of any alcohol during the past twelve
months was 43.5 percent, 63.7 percent,
and 73.8 percent for eighth, ninth, and
tenth graders, respectively. And reported
use of any alcohol during the past thirty
days was 24 percent, 40 percent, and 51
percent across the three grade levels,
respectively. Even more troubling were
the rates of drunkenness: Reported drunk-
enness at least once in the past thirty days
was 9.4 percent, 22.5 percent, and 32.9
percent across the three grade levels,
42 Alcohol Use, Trends in
Adolescents rarely drink alone; when they drink, it is typically with one or more of their
friends. (Shirley Zeiberg)
respectively (Johnston, O’Malley, and
Bachman, 2000). In short, among those
high school students (ninth to twelfth
graders) who report recent drinking, the
majority were drinking excessively or to
the point of drunkenness at least once in
the past month. Excessive drinking and
drunkenness tend to continue to increase
after high school and generally do not
start to decline until after age twenty-two.
Historical Trends in Alcohol Use
Alcohol and other drug use is a social
behavior and, as such, tends to vary
depending on numerous social, political,
and legal conditions in the larger society.
Over the past quarter-century, the use of
illicit drugs (including marijuana) has var-
ied widely. For example, among twelfth
graders, use of illicit drugs at least once in
the past thirty days ranged from a high of
39 percent in 1979 to a low of 14 percent
in 1992—a ratio of 2.8. But the use of
alcohol has not varied as much: Among
twelfth graders the peak for use in the
past thirty days was at 72 percent in 1978,
compared to a low of 51 percent in 1992—
a ratio of about 1.4. In 1975, a quarter-
century ago, 37 percent of high school
seniors reported at least one occasion of
binge drinking in the past two weeks.
That number rose to a peak of 41 percent
in the interval from 1979 to 1983, then
gradually declined to a low of 28 percent

in 1993. The past few years have seen
another increase, to 31 percent in 1999.
Slight increases occurred in the 1990s
among eighth and tenth graders as well:
Binge drinking increased from 13 percent
in 1991 to 15 percent in 1999 among
eighth graders, and from 23 percent to 26
percent among tenth graders (Johnston,
O’Malley, and Bachman, 2000).
Selected Risk Factors for and Conse-
quences of Alcohol Use
Over the past few decades, much research
has been devoted to trying to understand
the causes and consequences of alcohol
use during adolescence. As it is usually
very difficult to isolate single causes of
any behavior, including alcohol use,
researchers often focus on risk factors—
that is, on individual or social variables
that increase the likelihood that a person
will use or abuse alcohol. Numerous risk
factors for alcohol use have been identi-
fied, including neighborhood disorganiza-
tion, family alcoholism, family conflict,
academic failure, school misbehavior,
peer alcohol and other drug use, and
alienation and rebelliousness (Hawkins,
Catalano, and Miller, 1992). It is impor-
tant to note, however, that these risk fac-
tors are neither necessary nor sufficient
(Schulenberg et al., in press). In other
words, alcohol abuse is not inevitable
among adolescents who have experienced
one or even several of the above-listed
risk factors, nor is its absence assured
among adolescents who have experienced
no such risk factors.
Although experiences with alcohol are
not troublesome for most adolescents, a
sizable minority of young people do expe-
rience difficulties as a result of their alco-
hol use, including alcohol-related acci-
dents, trouble with parents or police, and
long-term problems with alcohol abuse.
Alcohol Use, Trends in 43
One very visible consequence of alcohol
use is related to driving after drinking, or
riding in a vehicle whose driver has been
drinking. Motor vehicle crashes, many of
which are alcohol related, account for a
very high percentage of injuries and
deaths among adolescents and young
adults. And these young people put
themselves at risk for death or injury at a
very high rate: Nineteen percent of sen-
iors in 1997 reported having driven a
motor vehicle after having had five or
more drinks, or riding in a vehicle whose
driver had had five or more drinks, at
least once in just the past two weeks
(O’Malley and Johnston, 1999).
Determining the long-term conse-
quences of teenage alcohol use has been
challenging because such use is often cor-
related with other problems, and it is dif-
ficult to distinguish the effects strictly
due to alcohol use from those due to the
other problems. In cases where long-term
social, economic, and health conse-
quences of excessive alcohol use during
adolescence do occur, they are likely to
be due not to experimental use of alcohol
that is short term but, rather, to a trajec-
tory of excessive use over the course of
many years during adolescence and into
young adulthood.
John Schulenberg
Patrick M. O’Malley
See also Alcohol Use, Risk Factors in;
Drug Abuse Prevention; Nutrition; Peer
Groups; Peer Pressure; Risk Behaviors;
Substance Use and Abuse
References and further reading
Hawkins, J. David, Richard F. Catalano,
and Janet Y. Miller. 1992. “Risk and
Protective Factors for Alcohol and
Other Drug Problems in Adolescence
and Young Adulthood: Implications for
Substance Abuse Prevention.”
Psychological Bulletin 112: 64–105.
44 Allowance
Johnston, Lloyd D., Jerald G. Bachman,
and Patrick M. O’Malley. 1997.
“Monitoring the Future: Questionnaire
Responses from the Nation’s High
School Seniors, 1995.” Institute for
Social Research, University of
Michigan.
Johnston, Lloyd D., Patrick M. O’Malley,
and Jerald G. Bachman. 2000.
Monitoring the Future: National
Results on Adolescent Drug Use:
Overview of Key Findings, 1999 (NIH
Publication No. 00-4690). Rockville,
MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse.
O’Malley, Patrick M., and Lloyd D.
Johnston. 1999. “Drinking and Driving
among U.S. High School Seniors,
1984–1997.” American Journal of
Public Health 89: 678–684.
O’Malley, Patrick M., Lloyd D. Johnston,
and Jerald G. Bachman. 1998. “Alcohol
Use among Adolescents.” Alcohol
Health and Research World 22: 85–93.
Schulenberg, John, J. L. Maggs, K.
Steinman, and R. A. Zucker. In press.
“Development Matters: Taking the
Long View on Substance Abuse
Etiology and Intervention during
Adolescence.” In Adolescents, Alcohol,
and Substance Abuse: Reaching Teens
through Brief Intervention. Edited by
P.M. Monti, S.M. Colby, and T.A.
O’Leary. New York: Guilford Press.
Allowance
During the late nineteenth century,
when American children left the factory
for school in large numbers, there arose
the problem of newly “insolvent” chil-
dren, who needed funds but who could
no longer earn them through paid work.
Although the concept of allowance origi-
nated in the middle class, parents of all
social classes were advised to give their
children a small amount of money each
week. Today, prescriptive family eco-
nomics guidance literature extols the
benefits of regular allowance for the
development of sound money-manage-
ment skills in children. According to
family economic and financial education
specialists, children learn through the
receipt of a regular allowance to manage
money more wisely, to make decisions
about how to save and spend their
money, and to plan ahead for future eco-
nomic goals.
Studies have found that exchange of
labor for money begins in the family set-
ting, as most adolescents who receive an
allowance are required to perform chores
to obtain their weekly payment. Despite
this finding, family economic advisers
and educators have debated the adminis-
tration of allowances. Some educators
think that children learn a valuable les-
son when allowance is linked to the per-
formance of household chores: children
learn to work for pay. Others, however,
think that allowance should not be con-
ditional upon household chores, arguing
that this practice undermines the collec-
tive character of the family. Still other
experts agree that children should not be
paid for routine or regular household
chores, but they allow an exception: chil-
dren can be paid for special household
tasks that the parents might otherwise
hire a person outside the family to per-
form (e.g., lawn mowing, snow shoveling,
washing the car, baby-sitting). Similarly,
it is argued that allowance not be used as
a reward or punishment for desirable or
undesirable behavior, since this might
subvert more genuine motivations.
Although the family economics guid-
ance literature emphasizes the benefits of
allowance for consumership, spending,
and saving, receipt of an allowance does
not necessarily lead to more effective
money management. Similarly, there is
no evidence that receipt of an allowance
increases adolescent savings (Mortimer et
al., 1994). However, these findings do not
mean that allowance lacks educational
value. For example, Rona Abramovitch,

Jonathon Freedman, and Patricia Pliner
(1991) found that those children who
received an unconditional allowance (i.e.,
with “no strings attached,” such as the
performance of household chores) had a
better understanding of financial con-
cepts than did children who received
either a conditional allowance or none at
all. However, findings based on studies of
children may not be sufficient, as the
beneficial effects of an early allowance
may not become evident until adoles-
cence or even adulthood.
Receipt of an allowance may extend
beyond money management to affect the
broader process of socialization to work.
According to the theory of intrinsic moti-
vation, when extrinsic rewards are
offered for intrinsically motivated behav-
ior, the individual comes to attribute his
or her actions to the external reward,
leading to a devaluation of the activity as
worthwhile in itself. For example, a child
who receives gold stars for engaging in an
activity that was previously considered
enjoyable would subsequently be less
likely to take it up spontaneously. Like
the family guidance experts noted earlier,
some experts are concerned that motiva-
tions of a higher order could be displaced
by more extrinsic interests.
Differences between families in the
provision of an allowance often reflect
social background circumstances and
intrafamilial processes. For example,
Adrian Furnham and Paul Thomas (1984)
found social-class differences in British
parental attitudes toward allowance,
with middle-class parents more likely
than working-class parents to favor giv-
ing their children an allowance, and at
earlier ages. Of course, higher-income
parents may be better able to give their
children allowances because they have
greater monetary resources. But if
Allowance 45
allowance practices are influenced, at
least in part, by parental values, one
would also expect that more highly edu-
cated parents, given their strong self-
directed values, would be more likely to
provide their children with allowance,
independent of income differences, since
allowance is thought to foster independ-
ence in children. This was confirmed by
Jeylan Mortimer and her colleagues
(1994), who found that parents of higher
socioeconomic levels were indeed more
likely to give an allowance than parents
of lower socioeconomic status. However,
the actual amount did not vary according
to family income, suggesting that the size
of allowances is not determined by the
resources available.
Intrafamilial processes are further
influenced by conditions in the broader
social environment, such as cultural val-
ues and norms, and social institutions
like the market economy. For example,
children with a working mother are more
likely to do household chores to relieve
their time-pressured parents. There is
also some indication that children from
single-parent families tend to be given
more spending money and greater re-
sponsibility to independently buy their
own clothes and other necessities, per-
haps due to the severe constraints on the
single parent’s time. Consistent with this
finding, two-parent families are less
likely to give children an allowance than
are parents in other family types.
It could be surmised that if allowance
is given to enhance economic socializa-
tion, boys would be more likely to
receive an allowance, given men’s tradi-
tional responsibility for the economic
welfare of their families. Historical stud-
ies suggest that this was the case in pre-
vious eras. However, studies of contem-
porary allowance arrangements have
46 Anemia
found that boys and girls are equally
likely to receive an allowance, and that
they receive the same amount (Mor-
timer et al., 1994). However, the condi-
tions under which allowance is received
differ by gender: allowance is more
likely to be contingent upon the per-
formance of chores for boys than for
girls. This finding may reflect parental
expectations regarding the familial and
economic roles of adult men and
women: females are traditionally social-
ized to contribute to family tasks out of
love, nurturance, or a sense of obliga-
tion, whereas males are socialized to
earn money in exchange for their work.
Other research, too, suggests that self-
sacrifice in girls is rated more highly and
praised more often than that of boys.
However, the finding by Mortimer and
her colleagues that gender is not related
to the receipt or amount of allowance
may imply that parents consider the
acquisition of money-management skills
to be equally important for boys and girls
and that the economic needs/expenses of
adolescent boys and girls are similar.
The ability to manage money wisely
is an essential skill for adulthood that
begins to be developed during child-
hood. Given the lifelong importance of
money-management skills, it is surpris-
ing that so little systematic research
about allowance arrangements has been
conducted to date. Investigators thus
should further examine the role of the
family in the process of economic
socialization, the impact of family eco-
nomic practices on the formation of
work-related values and habits, and the
development of money-management
skills in adolescence.
Pamela Aronson
Jeylan T. Mortimer
See also Chores
References and further reading
Abramovitch, Rona, Jonathon L.
Freedman, and Patricia Pliner. 1991.
“Children and Money: Getting an
Allowance, Credit versus Cash, and
Knowledge of Pricing.” Journal of
Economic Psychology 12: 27–45.
Furnham, Adrian, and Paul Thomas. 1984.
“Adults’ Perception of the Economic
Socialization of Children.” Journal of
Adolescence 7: 217–231.
Goodnow, Jacqueline J. 1988. “Children’s
Household Work: Its Nature and
Functions.” Psychological Bulletin 103:
5–26.
Mortimer, Jeylan T., Katherine Dennehy,
Chaimun Lee, and Michael D. Finch.
1994. “Economic Socialization in the
American Family: The Prevalence,
Distribution, and Consequences of
Allowance Arrangements.” Family
Relations 43: 23–29. [The current
encyclopedia entry draws on research
reported in this article.]
Sloane, L. 1991. “With Allowances, Every
Parent Differs.” New York Times,
November 2, 12.
White, Lynn K., and David B. Brinkerhoff.
1981. “Children’s Work in the Family:
Its Significance and Meaning.” Journal
of Marriage and the Family 43:
789–798.
Zelizer, Viviana A. 1985. Pricing the Price-
less Child: The Changing Social Value
of Children. New York: Basic Books.
Anemia
Anemia is a condition in which the num-
ber of red blood cells or the amount of
hemoglobin in the blood is decreased. Red
blood cells contain hemoglobin, the
chemical that carries oxygen from the
lungs to all parts of the body. Symptoms
of anemia are related to starvation of all of
the body’s cells for oxygen. The symp-
toms include: fatigue, weakness, dizzi-
ness, inability to carry out daily activi-
ties, shortness of breath, rapid or irregular
heartbeat, and paleness.
Hemoglobin levels change dramatically
during adolescence, especially among

males. The average hematocrit (percent-
age of red blood cells) in the total blood
count in a child is 25 to 40 percent. In an
adult male it is 45 to 50 percent. Anemia
is easy to detect. A blood count (com-
monly called a CBC—Complete Blood
Count) can be done on a drop of blood.
The laboratory will measure the number
of red blood cells (RBC), the total amount
of hemoglobin, the size of the RBC, and
how much hemoglobin is in each RBC.
Once the presence of anemia is estab-
lished, additional tests can tell the cause
or type of anemia present so that appro-
priate treatment can be given.
There are three general causes of ane-
mia: decreased red blood cell or hemo-
globin production, blood loss through
bleeding, and excessive red blood cell
destruction.
The most common type of anemia in
youth is caused by decreased RBC/hemo-
globin production. The most common
cause of this kind of anemia is a defi-
ciency of iron in the diet. Iron is an essen-
tial component of hemoglobin. If there is
not enough iron in the diet, not enough
hemoglobin can be produced. Red meat is
the best source of dietary iron, although
in the United States many manufactured
foods (bread, cereals, and other grain
products) are fortified with iron. Defi-
ciencies in vitamin C (citrus fruit) or B12
or folic acid (green leafy vegetables) may
also cause decreased production of
RBC/hemoglobin. Treatment is with iron
or vitamin pills until the deficiency is
corrected. This may take up to five or six
weeks, along with adequate intake of the
nutrients, which are deficient in the diet.
Sometimes, teenagers may change their
eating habits during adolescence, as their
parents have less control over their diets.
An unbalanced diet, such as one that
includes a lot of junk food, not enough of
Anemia 47
the above kinds of grains, protein, and
vegetables, could result in anemia. Also,
in some cases, teenagers may try to eat
very little, or else to purge what they do
eat, in order to lose weight or attain a cer-
tain body type. This is not a healthy way
to diet. These harmful behaviors, known
as eating disorders, can lead not only to
conditions such as malnourishment and
anemia but can be life threatening if left
untreated.
Anemia caused by excessive blood loss
is common in adolescent girls who lose
blood (containing hemoglobin and iron)
during menstruation. Blood loss, com-
bined with a less than optimal intake of
iron, is another common cause of anemia
among girls. Girls with especially heavy
periods should take iron pills to prevent
the development of anemia. In some
instances, girls with heavy periods may
benefit by taking oral contraceptive pills,
as the oral contraceptive can decrease the
amount of bleeding during periods. Other
causes of blood loss include injuries, sur-
gery, childbirth, and stomach ulcers.
Blood loss can also be caused by destruc-
tive behaviors, such as self-mutilation, for
which a teenager should seek professional
counseling. Treatment of these other
conditions will stop the blood loss and
prevent further development of anemia.
Increased destruction of red blood cells
is called hemolytic anemia. There is a
long list of the many different types of
hemolytic anemias, some of which tend
to run in families. The most common
cause is sickle-cell anemia in which an
abnormal form of hemoglobin is pro-
duced that changes the shape of the RBC
from round to sickle shaped and makes
the RBC easier to destroy. The red blood
cells get stuck on the lining of blood ves-
sels and create a “logjam” usually result-
ing in a clot that is then destroyed
48 Anxiety
(cleared out) by our immune system.
Most of these anemias are not curable,
and treatment is with repeated blood
transfusions usually over the entire life
of the affected person.
Jordan W. Finkelstein
See also Eating Problems; Health Services
for Adolescents; Nutrition
References and further reading
Berkow, Robert B., ed. 1997. The Merck
Manual of Medical Information: Home
Edition. Whitehouse Station NJ: Merck
Research Laboratories.
Clayman, Charles B., ed. 1994. The
American Medical Association Family
Medical Guide, 3rd ed. New York:
Random House.
Anxiety
Anxiety is the feeling of apprehension,
tension, or uneasiness that one experi-
ences when anticipating danger, either
real or imagined. Symptoms of anxiety
include heart palpitations, stomach and
intestinal upset, sweating, headaches,
tremor, dryness of the mouth, dizziness,
and fainting. Some anxiety is necessary
to motivate behavior and to protect us
from engaging in harmful behavior. Peo-
ple experience anxiety in varying degrees
and frequency. When the body continu-
ally overreacts to perceived threat, an
anxiety disorder can result.
Biological Factors
Animal studies have shown that emo-
tional reactions can promote survival. In
humans, anxiety arouses and organizes
the biological activities required to equip
the individual to deal with the threats
and challenges of everyday life. Too little
arousal may result in inattentiveness,
impulsivity, and risk-taking behavior,
whereas too much arousal may result in
the physical anxiety-related symptoms
mentioned above. The human brain has
evolved to react to signals of danger.
Chemicals in the brain, called neuro-
transmitters, activate or deactivate sys-
tems in the body to respond to perceived
threats in our environment. A delicate
balance of these chemicals is necessary
to maintain an optimal level of arousal
within the body.
Like animals, humans have evolved to
anticipate danger in the environment.
However, humans have cognitive abili-
ties that exceed those of animals. A
human responds to threats both voluntar-
ily and involuntarily. Thought processes
that are used to evaluate the threat can
cause unnecessary anxiety if the situa-
tion is interpreted inaccurately. For
example, almost everyone gets anxious
before speaking in front of large groups of
people. In most cases, there is no immi-
nent danger. It is our interpretation of the
situation as potentially harmful that
causes the anxiety. We may worry that
we will make a mistake or make a fool of
ourselves and thus be embarrassed or
humiliated. Our anticipation of these
negative outcomes causes anxiety.
Some people are born with a greater
tendency than others to become anxious.
Such people are irritable as infants, shy
and fearful as toddlers, and cautious,
quiet, and introverted when they reach
school age. They adapt slowly and with
difficulty to new surroundings and have a
low neurological threshold for arousal,
especially when faced with unfamiliar
events. Shy, behaviorally inhibited chil-
dren may experience an acceleration of
heart rate in response to mild stress.
Although not all such children maintain
 Anxiety 49

these behaviors over time, those who con-

tinue to display them into adolescence
may be at risk for an anxiety disorder.

Environmental Factors
Behavioral inhibition is only one of sev-
eral factors required for the development
of an anxiety disorder. Environmental
factors can also contribute. For example,
a child who experiences disruption in the
family such as parental conflict may be
at increased risk to become anxious. Par-
ents who are anxious, depressed, or over-
protective may inadvertently teach the
child to be anxious. And parents who are
overcontrolling may prevent or delay the
development of the child’s ability to
soothe and manage him- or herself.
Indeed, a child who is never allowed to
play freely with other children may have
difficulty with anxiety when starting
school.
Parents’ behavior affects their children’s
Adolescents experience anxiety in varying
behavior and vice versa. An inhibited
degrees and frequency. (Skjold Photographs)
child may cause parents to be more cau-
tious and to expect less from the child,
thus reinforcing the inhibited behavior of
the child. Alternatively, parents who want life encourage the development of control
their children to be more outgoing may and predictability over the environment,
encourage them to resist their fears, as do parents who let their children know
allowing them to overcome their inhib- that they will always be available if and
ited nature as well. when the children need them. Children
Another source of anxiety in the envi- who do not feel secure have low expecta-
ronment is uncertainty or unpredictabil- tions about parent availability and
ity, as when a child cannot understand demonstrate anxious behavior.
how things “fit together” or is unable to As children become adolescents, the
predict the events in the world. In short, peer group takes on new importance, cre-
children who feel they have little control ating new expectations and standards for
over their environment are likely to be behavior. Because adolescents often com-
anxious. The family environment needs pare their own abilities and traits to
to be predictable and structured so that those of their peers, academic, social, and
children can learn to organize and under- athletic competencies can become
stand their surroundings. Parents who are sources of anxiety—especially if the ado-
responsive to infants in the early stages of lescents do not measure up to their own
50 Anxiety
or others’ expectations. Whether or not
an adolescent gets anxious in a given sit-
uation depends on how much impor-
tance is placed on that situation. For
instance, poor school performance will
cause anxiety only if the adolescent val-
ues school achievement. In such cases,
parents who pressure adolescents to
excel may induce anxious behavior that
contributes to the academic failure.
Consequences of Anxiety
Anxiety can cause problems not only in
the academic life of adolescents but also
in their social life—especially when it
affects their ability to create and main-
tain healthy peer interactions and rela-
tionships. Highly anxious adolescents are
typically less popular than nonanxious
adolescents and are more likely to be per-
ceived as shy and socially withdrawn by
peers and teachers.
Anxiety can also affect the intellectual
functioning of adolescents—specifically,
by impairing their memory and interfer-
ing with the ability to concentrate. These
outcomes are particularly common in
cases of test anxiety, which can prohibit
test takers from recalling information
they have learned.
Anxiety Disorders in Childhood and
Adolescence
Anxiety disorders vary widely in terms
of severity and degree of impairment.
They also tend to run in families; a per-
son who has a close relative with an anx-
iety disorder is likelier than the general
population to develop one him- or her-
self. Still unclear, however, is the extent
to which these disorders are genetically
based as opposed to learned from the
family environment.
Some common anxiety disorders are
panic disorder, agoraphobia, obsessive-
compulsive disorder, social phobia, gener-
alized anxiety disorder, and school pho-
bia. The last of these affects children and
adolescents in particular. Those with
school phobia experience marked feelings
of dread and fear upon going to school and
often complain of not feeling well in the
morning before school. Such students are
described as passive, inhibited, and exces-
sively dependent on family members.
They also tend to have high self-expecta-
tions. Their fear of not living up to these
expectations may contribute to the anxi-
ety they experience. Avoiding school to
relieve the anxiety may cause them to fall
further behind both academically and
socially, resulting in even more anxiety.
Treatments for Anxiety
An adolescent whose anxiety interferes
with normal everyday functioning can
choose among several treatment options,
including cognitive and behavioral thera-
pies, relaxation techniques such as medi-
tation or visualization, problem solving,
correcting misperceptions, and changing
counterproductive styles of thinking.
Many of these options provide ways to
increase the adolescent’s sense of compe-
tence and control. For instance, adoles-
cents can learn to identify and monitor
thoughts associated with anxiety and
then replace these thoughts with more
appropriate and less anxiety-producing
thoughts. They can overcome specific
fears through gradual exposure to the fear-
ful stimuli while using relaxation tech-
niques. They can use modeling proce-
dures that allow them to observe others in
a fearful situation with no harmful conse-
quences. And, finally, they can engage in
play therapy, using puppets or dolls to act
out their feelings—an especially helpful
technique for children and adolescents
who cannot articulate their anxieties.

Another treatment option is drug ther-
apy. For children and adolescents with
anxiety, benzodiazepines are commonly
prescribed. These medications have a
relaxing effect on the individual, but they
may have side effects, cause dependence
over time, or produce withdrawal symp-
toms when their use is discontinued.
Several antidepressants have also proved
effective in treating anxiety. Often, the
most beneficial treatment consists of
drug therapy combined with other types
of therapy.
Susan Averna
See also Conflict and Stress; Coping;
Counseling; Emotions; Fears; Storm
and Stress
References and further reading
Ainsworth, Mary. 1982. “Attachment:
Retrospect and Prospect.” Pp. 3–30 in
The Place of Attachment in Human
Behavior. Edited by C. M. Parkes and J.
Stevenson-Hinde. New York: Basic
Books.
Biederman, Joseph, Jerrold Rosenbaum,
Jonathon Chaloff, and Jerome Kagan.
1995. “Behavioral Inhibition as a Risk
Factor for Anxiety Disorders.” Pp.
61–81 in Anxiety Disorders in
Children and Adolescents. Edited by
John March. New York: Guilford
Press.
Constanzo, Philip, Shari Miller-Johnson,
and Heidi Wence. 1995. “Social
Development.” Pp. 82–108 in Anxiety
Disorders in Children and Adolescents.
Edited by John March. New York:
Guilford Press.
Eysenck, Michael. 1990. “Anxiety and
Cognitive Functioning.” Pp. 419–435 in
Handbook of Anxiety. Vol. 2, The
Neurobiology of Anxiety. Edited by
Graham D. Burrows, Martin Roth, and
Russell Noyes. New York: Elsevier
Science Publishers.
Hofer, Myron. 1995. “An Evolutionary
Perspective on Anxiety.” Pp. 17–38 in
Anxiety as Symptom and Signal. Edited
by Steven Roose and Robert Glick.
Hillsdale, NJ: Analytic Press.
Appearance, Cultural Factors in 51
Kagan, Jerome, J. Reznick, and Nancy
Snidman. 1987. “The Physiology and
Psychology of Behavioral Inhibition in
Children.” Child Development 58:
1459–1473.
Kolvin, I., and C. Kaplan. 1988. “Anxiety
in Childhood.” Pp. 259–275 in
Handbook of Anxiety. Vol. 1,
Biological, Clinical and Cultural
Perspectives. Edited by Martin Roth,
Russell Noyes Jr., and Graham
Burrows. New York: Elsevier Science
Publishers.
Maccoby, Eleanor, and John Martin. 1983.
“Socialization in the Context of the
Family: Parent-Child Interaction.” Pp.
1–102 in Handbook of Child
Psychology, Vol. 4. Edited by E. M.
Hetherington. New York: Wiley.
Resnick, J. Steven, Jerome Kagan, Nancy
Snidman, Michelle Gersten, Katherine
Baak, and Allison Rosenberg. 1986.
“Inhibited and Uninhibited Children: A
Follow-Up Study.” Child Development
57, no. 3: 660–680.
Appearance, Cultural Factors in
The word appearance refers to the physi-
cal attributes of a person. It describes
one’s physical presentation, including
one’s body, face, and clothes. Appearance
is a reflection of physical body structure
and of body-related experiences at home,
in school, and in the larger social context
where cultural values define “acceptabil-
ity.” Appearance becomes very salient
during adolescence, a time when bodies
undergo rapid physical change and the
pressure to “look good” becomes intense.
It is normal for teenagers to become very
interested in the way they look and to
start spending more time finding out
how they want to present themselves.
Figuring out how to fix their hair and
what kind of clothes to wear can be fun
for adolescents because these are ways to
tell people who they are. But an intense
interest in appearance can also lead to
worry and self-doubt among young
52 Appearance, Cultural Factors in
Teenagers become very interested in the way
they look and spend more time finding out
how they want to present themselves.
(Skjold Photographs)
teenagers. With so many media images
and messages confronting adolescents
about what they should wear and how
they should look, they can easily fall into
the trap of finding fault with themselves.
The culture of appearance created by
the media promotes problematic body
images such as unreasonable standards of
body weight—standards that many ado-
lescents find themselves under pressure
to achieve. Researchers have found a
connection between these standards and
the increasing prevalence of eating disor-
ders in recent decades; indeed, unhappi-
ness with one’s appearance is a signifi-
cant predictor of eating disorders, depres-
sion, and social anxiety. Hence, the chal-
lenge for today’s teenagers is to learn
how to be appreciative of their own look
and the natural variety of human appear-
ance.
The focus on appearance can be espe-
cially troublesome for girls and women.
As girls reach puberty, they find it increas-
ingly difficult to assimilate the tremen-
dous physical changes their bodies have
undergone. Studies indicate that, com-
pared to boys, girls are not only more con-
cerned about how they look but also less
content with their appearance. The bodily
changes associated with adolescence also
change the way people relate to teenage
girls. Many young women find that their
bodies draw more attention than they are
comfortable with, causing them to experi-
ence intense self-consciousness. At the
same time, they are bombarded by social
messages conveying that girls must be
thin and beautiful if they wish to be con-
sidered important and worthwhile. These
psychological and social pressures can be
very harmful for girls as they often lead to
lower self-esteem, increased insecurity,
and higher rates of depression, eating dis-
orders, and suicide.
Another problem is that the criteria for
teenage appearance in the United States
tend to be Eurocentric, meaning that
white standards of beauty are more
highly valued in the media than the
beauty standards of other racial and eth-
nic groups. People with dark skin, for
example, often have trouble finding
appropriate beauty products such as
makeup or hair care. One result is that
persons of color may end up feeling mar-
ginalized, unappreciated, even invisible
to society. A person of color may not be
able to relate to the Eurocentric media
images on television and in magazines.

Advertisements in teen and fashion
magazines and commercials on television
carry some of the most potent messages
about how beauty is defined. As market
analysts indicate, most commercials
geared toward teenagers are dominated
by clothes and beauty products. One way
to sell these products is to make
teenagers long for something they don’t
have. Indeed, those who believe they
aren’t pretty or thin enough are more
likely to buy beauty or diet products.
Thus, the media promote an “ideal” body
image—one attainable by very few indi-
viduals—in order to intensify teenagers’
insecurities for the purpose of selling
products. For the same reason, it is rare to
see advertisements that strengthen an
appreciation for diversity and multiple
forms of beauty.
Another influence on the standards of
appearance for girls is the unequal status
between men and women. Women’s role
in society has historically been less pow-
erful than that of men. Women have
been seen as objects of beauty, but not as
equal partners. In fact, many of the
beauty trends throughout history have
impeded women’s ability to engage fully
in society. For example, American
women used to wear absurd corsets that
squeezed their torsos and inner organs so
they could have tiny waists. In these
contraptions women were unable to
breathe properly and often fainted; they
certainly could not engage in any rigor-
ous activity. A second example can be
found in China’s history: Because small
feet were considered beautiful, many
young girls’ feet were bound so they
would not grow. This practice essentially
crippled women. Corsets and foot bind-
ing are things of the past, but many
modern practices continue to impede
women’s health and standing in society.
Appearance, Cultural Factors in 53
For example, the detrimental impact of
beauty standards is still visible in the
pressure to become increasingly thin.
Many girls and women do great damage
to their bodies in their efforts to attain
thinness. Some diet excessively; others
undergo painful, dangerous operations to
remove fat. For these individuals, being
thin is more important than health,
intellectual stimulation, or any other
form of personal fulfillment.
Of course, if women were valued more
for their personal qualities than for their
appearance, it is unlikely that they would
be willing to go through such extreme
procedures.
The great diversity of faces and bodies
is a fact of life. When physical differences
are not accepted, however, the psycho-
logical and social pressures to conform to
one standard of appearance can be over-
whelming. The only way to cope with
such pressures is to appreciate our
appearance. After all, acknowledging our
own style and sense of beauty can be a
fun and rewarding way of discovering our
voice in life.
Lauren Rogers-Sirin
See also Appearance Management; Attrac-
tiveness, Physical; Body Build; Body
Fat, Changes in; Body Image
References and further reading
Brumberg, Jacobs. 1997. The Body Project:
An Intimate History of American Girls.
New York: Random House.
Johnson, Norine G., Michael C. Roberts,
and Judith Worell, eds. 1999. Beyond
Appearance: A New Look at
Adolescent Girls. Washington, DC.:
American Psychological Association.
Orenstein, Peggy. 1994. Schoolgirls: Young
Women, Self-Esteem, and the
Confidence Gap. New York: Anchor
Books.
Pipher, Mary. 1994. Reviving Ophelia:
Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls.
New York: Ballantine Books.
54 Appearance Management
Wolf, Naomi. 1991. The Beauty Myth:
How Images of Beauty Are Used
against Women. New York: Doubleday.
Appearance Management
Appearance management encompasses
the sum total of attention, decisions, and
acts related to one’s personal appearance.
It is a universal concept; all individuals
engage daily in some activity that relates
to their appearance. Appearance manage-
ment comprises clothing, use of cosmet-
ics, dieting, exercising, hairstyling, hair
removal, piercing, scarification, tattoos,
and any other intentional means of
changing the natural appearance of the
human physical form.
Appearance is of major importance at
every stage in the development of the
self, but it assumes special importance
during the transitional period of adoles-
cence when the need to belong is com-
bined with a dynamic search for self-
identity. Learning to manage appearance
through dress is a key component of
socialization. Ideas about appropriate
appearance are linked to peer-group val-
ues. As adolescents compare and assess
themselves in relation to others, appear-
ance is often used as a measure of self-
evaluation. Many teens become preoccu-
pied with appearance in their search for
identity and peer-group affiliation. This
preoccupation with appearance is inten-
sified in today’s society by the barrage of
media messages that promote personal
appearance as a measure of self-worth.
Experimentation with clothing and body
modification is often part of the teen-
ager’s self-exploration. It does not signal
insecurity, instability, or weakness but,
rather, simply reflects the process of try-
ing on several different identities.
Although the freedom to experiment
with personal appearance is important to
teenagers, it can be a source of conflict
when tempered by parental, school, or
other social authorities.
Redefining the Self
Adolescents often experience vagueness,
confusion, and discontinuity of the self
as they emerge from childhood with
changing bodies, new roles, and transi-
tions involving their significant others.
Strong approval from peers and a feeling
of belongingness to an admired reference
group are often evidenced in the choices
adolescents make in managing their
appearance. Adolescents use clothing and
body modifications to bring their appear-
ance in line with the groups to which
they aspire to belong or fantasize about
joining. Clothing and other forms of
appearance management—including, as
noted earlier, use of cosmetics, dieting,
exercising, hairstyling, hair removal,
piercing, and, more recently, tattoos and
scarification—are used as tools by adoles-
cents for discovering and expressing their
identities. Appraisals, real or perceived,
of their appearance and behavior by their
peers are a major concern in the lives of
adolescents, playing a significant role in
redefining the self.
The School Setting
The school setting presents adolescents
with an arena of social intensity where
informal peer groups are formed on the
basis of several attributes such as ethnic-
ity, socioeconomic status, tastes, and
interests. Dress and appearance, how-
ever, are the attributes most recognizable
to adolescents; indeed, they are consid-
ered by teens to be instrumental, if not
critical, in helping them fit in and feel
accepted by others. Because adolescents
frequently also feel that their appearance

and actions are being scrutinized by an
“imaginary audience,” presenting the
desired identity is paramount in their
minds. Thus, a recognizable identity that
conforms to a preferred social group is
perceived by adolescents to facilitate
social participation and interaction.
Conformity to Peers
In American society, adolescents and
their peers are remarkably similar in
appearance. Adolescents are often stereo-
typed as conformists. Indeed, fashion
statements made by adolescents help
them to express solidarity with their
peers and to define themselves as differ-
ent from adults. Although adolescents
have a great deal of choice in selecting an
appearance, they do so carefully, with
consideration of who they are and what
they hope to be in the future. Although
parental influence is important in mat-
ters relating to morals, values, education,
and occupation, it is the peer group that
provides adolescents with the main envi-
ronment for social comparison in issues
relating to appearance. Strategies utilized
by parents that allow adolescents to
make choices and mistakes in the area of
appearance management may be bol-
stered by the fact that most adolescents
will adopt the ideals and beliefs of their
families when they become adults.
Rebellion against the Social Order
As a portable symbol of self, appearance
may be managed in a way that demon-
strates rebellion against the adult world.
Apparel styles and body modifications
that are deemed unacceptable may be
deliberately chosen by adolescents to
symbolize their rebellion against author-
ity. Yet such rebellious appearances are
rarely acts of individuality; rather, they
serve to promote recognition or member-
Appearance Management 55
Forms of appearance management, such as
use of cosmetics, are used as means for
adolescents to discover and express their
identities. (Lawrence Manning/Corbis)
ship in a particular peer group. Rebel-
lious attitudes toward society have given
rise to numerous subcultural groups that
use a distinctive style of dress and
appearance to differentiate between “us”
and “them.” Groups such as the Teddy
Boys, Mods, Rockers, Skinheads, Hip-
pies, Punks, Headbangers, Rastafarians,
and Goths have achieved international
recognition and affiliation. These groups’
increasing use of permanent body modifi-
cations such as piercing, tattooing, and
scarification or branding may be attrib-
uted to their perceived need to be recog-
nized not as transitory or trendy, like a
fashion, but permanent.
Gangs, which are comparatively local or
regional in nature, are also notorious for
their use of appearance in denoting group
membership. Gang membership and the
adoption of gang insignia can provide ado-
lescents with a sense of identity, a con-
nection to peers, and a feeling of effective-
ness and control. The last two decades of
the twentieth century witnessed an
alarming outbreak of crimes among poor
inner-city youth who injured and even
killed each other over name-brand apparel
56 Appearance Management
favored by gangs. The high value placed
on these items of dress illuminated the
enormous power wielded by appearance in
denoting gang membership. The coveted
items included athletic shoes, jackets, and
other apparel sporting either specific
name brands or the names and colors of
national basketball or baseball teams.
These products, as opposed to other indi-
cators of prestige, may originally have
symbolized the aspirations of an under-
class of inner-city youth constrained by an
environment that provides little opportu-
nity for the means to obtain these items.
Indeed, economic disparities play a strong
role in gang formation and help to explain
the selection of status markers that
denote group membership.
From Subcultural Appearances to
Mainstream Fashions
Ironically, the looks that are popularized
by such extreme groups often find their
way into the mainstream where they are
adopted by adolescents and other con-
sumers in great numbers. Once this hap-
pens, the look that once denoted group
membership loses its original meaning
and becomes just another transitory fash-
ion. As is true of all fashions, upon
achieving mass acceptance the look even-
tually declines in popularity and becomes
obsolete. Subcultural looks that were
eventually adopted by mainstream soci-
ety in the 1980s and 1990s and became
fashions include, for example, dreadlocks
from the Rastafarians, multiple facial
piercings from the Punks, and baggy jeans
and oversized clothing from the hip-hop
culture. Adolescents who are early
adopters of such looks will most likely be
noticed for appearing different from the
norm, but rarely do these appearances
maintain any link to the identity or val-
ues of their subcultural source.
Gender Differences in Appearance
Management
Gender differences in the ways that ado-
lescents manage their appearance are
largely reflective of how males and
females are socialized. Long before ado-
lescence, children learn that the male
body is to be physically developed and
strengthened and that the female body is
to be preserved, protected, and made
more beautiful. Indeed, beauty becomes
duty for the females in American society,
and this value is internalized at a very
young age. Fantasy characters such as
Snow White, Cinderella, and Barbie (for
girls) and Hercules, Superman, and G.I.
Joe (for boys) reinforce these gender roles.
Even as new fantasy female characters
are created to be more reflective of cur-
rent thinking, independence and strength
often remain secondary to the beauty or
physical attractiveness of the charac-
ters—as with Pocahontas and Wonder-
woman, for example.
Differences in the use of clothing by
male and female adolescents are also
reflective of our gender ideology. Females
are more likely than males to use cloth-
ing to gain peer approval and to be favor-
ably noticed as different or nonconform-
ing. They relate to clothing in terms of its
affective or expressive qualities or its abil-
ity to help them cope with the demands
of the social environment, whereas males
are more conforming, relating to clothing
in terms of its consistency with their
identity. Conformity in appearance
among adolescent males is supported by a
restrictive dress code for males in society
at large; nonconformity in appearance
among females is supported by a market-
place that responds to consumer demand,
providing clothing to females in more
styles and at higher prices than compara-
ble provisions for males.

Societal emphasis on appearance and
the cultural ideal of a thin female body
has led to some extreme measures of
appearance management among adoles-
cent females. The cultural message that
relates beauty and attractiveness to
extreme thinness in females is pervasive.
The media play a particularly influential
role in communicating an unrealistic
standard of beauty for the female body
that may affect perceptions of self-attrac-
tiveness and body image. Severe dieting
and purging to attain the current physical
ideal of extreme thinness are trouble-
some behaviors in which an increasing
number of American female adolescents
are engaging. Such behaviors can lead to
anorexia nervosa, an eating disorder that
involves the relentless pursuit of thin-
ness through starvation, or to bulimia, an
eating disorder characterized by consis-
tent bingeing and purging. Both disorders
are a serious threat to health and require
professional intervention. Although
numerous factors may contribute to
these and other eating disorders, the soci-
etal factor most often held responsible is
the current fashion image of thinness.
Maureen Sweeney MacGillivray
See also Acne; Appearance, Cultural Fac-
tors in; Attractiveness, Physical; Body
Build; Body Fat, Changes in; Body Hair;
Body Image
References and further reading
Burns, R. B. 1979. The Self Concept in
Theory, Measurement, Development
and Behavior. New York: Longman.
Castlebury, Susan, and John Arnold. 1988.
“Early Adolescent Perceptions of
Informal Groups in a Middle School.”
Journal of Early Adolescence 8, no. 1:
97–107.
Cobb, Nancy J. 1998. Adolescence:
Continuity, Change, and Diversity.
Mountain View, CA: Mayfield
Publishing.
Apprenticeships 57
Davis, Fred. 1992. Fashion, Culture and
Identity. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press.
Elkind, David. 1982. The Hurried Child.
New York: Addison-Wesley.
Kaiser, Susan. 1997. The Social
Psychology of Clothing: Symbolic
Appearances in Context, 2nd ed., rev.
New York: Fairchild.
Lennon, Sharron J., Nancy A. Rudd,
Bridgette Sloan, and Jae Sook Kim.
1999. “Attitudes toward Gender Roles,
Self-Esteem, and Body Image:
Application of a Model. Clothing and
Textile Research Journal 17, no. 4:
191–202.
MacGillivray, Maureen, and Jeannette
Wilson. 1997. “Clothing and
Appearance in Early, Middle and Late
Adolescents.” Clothing and Textile
Research Journal 15: 43–49.
Polhemus, Ted. 1994. Streetstyle: From
Sidewalk to Catwalk. New York:
Thames and Hudson.
Rubenstein, Ruth P. 1995. Dress Codes:
Meanings and Messages in American
Culture. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Santrock, John W. 1998. Adolescence.
Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Sontag, M. Suzanne, Mihaela Peteu, and
Jongnam Lee. 1997. “Clothing in the
Self-System of Adolescents:
Relationships among Values, Proximity
of Clothing to Self, Clothing Interest,
Anticipated Outcomes and Perceived
Quality of Life.” Research Report 556.
East Lansing: Michigan Agricultural
Experiment Station.
Stone, Gregory P. 1962. “Appearance and
the Self.” Pp. 86–116 in Human
Behavior and the Social Processes: An
Interactionist Approach. Edited by
Arnold M. Rose. New York: Houghton
Mifflin.
Apprenticeships
As adolescents move toward the transi-
tion from school to work in the twenty-
first century, they face exciting new
challenges, unimaginable technological
advances, and a future potentially filled
with economic independence and stabil-
ity. Yet many young adults must also
58 Apprenticeships
face the reality that they are inadequately
prepared to secure entry-level positions in
our fast-paced and technologically sophis-
ticated economy. Whether students drop
out or graduate from high school, they
may experience several rejections or fail-
ures in the marketplace before becoming
aware of the requisite education and expe-
rience necessary to secure a job. In short,
they have few options, and many of these
do not include occupations with the
potential for economic independence or
advancement. Increasingly, young adults
are finding themselves unemployed or in
dead-end occupations in the retail or fast-
food service industries. Clearly, the old
ways of preparing students for the world
of work are no longer effective, and this is
especially true for non-college-bound
youth.
Completing an apprenticeship repre-
sents a means by which young adults,
under the guidance of a mentor, can pre-
pare themselves for work. They do this
through experiencing an occupation in
the actual work setting while completing
their education. In its simplest terms, the
apprenticeship model involves a mar-
riage of school and work, whereby the
individual assumes the dual role of stu-
dent and employee. The role of an
apprentice has been defined by Stephen
Hamilton (1990) as combining work with
learning, where too much emphasis on
working would represent exploitation
and too much emphasis on schooling
would transform the apprentice into a
traditional student lacking a viable con-
nection to work. From the perspective of
both the apprentice and the mentor,
experiencing school and work simultane-
ously drives home the relevance and
importance of acquiring a solid education
and gaining actual work experience as a
means of achieving excellence in both
arenas. Although such a model may seem
rather idealistic, in Germany and in
other countries apprenticeships have
long been one of the primary means by
which students move into the world of
work. In fact, the success of the German
apprenticeship system is often cited as
evidence for the viability of the school-
to-work transition model.
Adolescents and young adults who are
trying to enter the labor market for the
first time often experience unemploy-
ment as a painful failure. By moving stu-
dents from all economic strata into the
workforce, the apprenticeship model pre-
vents widespread unemployment among
young people. At an age when young
adults in the United States typically grad-
uate from high school, young adults in
Germany have already acquired signifi-
cant on-the-job training and expertise and
secured employment in skilled white-
and blue-collar professions. Achieving
this level of training and employment in
the United States typically involves addi-
tional schooling, followed by an exten-
sive job search—often resulting in a two-
to four-year delay between high school
graduation and employment. This delay
can be emotionally and financially costly,
particularly for young adults who have no
other means of financial support.
In the 1970s and 1980s, increased
awareness of the success of the appren-
ticeship model in Germany began to
attract attention from U.S. researchers
and politicians. Accordingly, social sci-
entists worked toward identifying, inte-
grating, and implementing (on a small
scale) key apprenticeship concepts, and
policymakers facilitated such activities
through financial support and legislative
actions. Researchers working in Ger-
many, England, and the United States
(Bynner, 1992; Hamilton, 1990) identi-

fied the benefits associated with the
apprenticeship model and demonstrated
its effectiveness in moving adolescents
from school to work. Partly in response
to this and other research, legislators
passed the 1994 School-to-Work Oppor-
tunities Act (STWOA), which provided
federal funds as well as considerable flex-
ibility to state and local educational sys-
tems that were interested in developing
school-to-work programs.
Growing interest in the apprenticeship
concept and its possible adoption in the
United States led Hamilton and Wolfgang
Lempert (1996) to examine the impact of
the apprenticeship system on German
youth and to determine the relative costs
and benefits associated with its possible
implementation in the United States.
Although they found that the German
apprenticeship system effectively moved
youths into adult occupations much ear-
lier than is typical in the United States,
they also discovered certain inequalities:
First, the socioeconomic status of the stu-
dent’s family and the sex of the student
were associated with apprenticeship and
job placement, and, second, employers
within a given occupation differed in
terms of the opportunities they afforded
their apprentices. That is, at some job
sites, employers and mentors viewed
apprentices as the future of the organiza-
tion and gave them instruction and oppor-
tunities to expand their knowledge and
expertise, whereas at other sites, employ-
ers treated the apprentices as cheap and
expendable labor. Despite the obvious dif-
ferences across placements, however,
apprentices typically consider their men-
tor a trusted source of guidance and sup-
port and often maintain connections with
the mentor long after the conclusion of
their apprenticeship (Hamilton, 1990).
Thus, although the apprenticeship model
Apprenticeships 59
is not a perfect system and may not
resolve all of the issues associated with
the transition from school to work, it
clearly promotes the development of
viable career paths for some students who
would otherwise not have the resources
to move forward on their own.
Although German-style apprentice-
ships are far from common in the United
States, this country does offer other
school-to-work programs that incorporate
some basic features of apprenticeships.
For example, the Summer Training Edu-
cation Program (STEP) and the more com-
monly known Job Corps, established in
1964, provide disadvantaged youth with
real work experiences within a structured
program (Hamilton, 1990). The Job Corps
is an intensive residential program that
attempts to move young adults into
viable long-term occupations, whereas
STEP is a summer program that requires
summer school attendance in exchange
for paid summer work. Although STEP
combines school with work, the work
experiences typically occur outside of the
school setting.
Other examples include programs like
Tech-Prep and school-based enterprises
that maintain more of an educational
focus by integrating vocational concepts
into an existing curriculum (Lewis et al.,
1998). Tech-Prep is, at its core, a collabo-
rative model that involves a high school
and a two-year postsecondary technical
school working together to facilitate the
transition from high school to a two-year
trade school. In this arrangement, the high
school agrees to offer specialized courses
that complement the academic and voca-
tional demands of the postsecondary insti-
tution. Upon successful graduation from
high school, Tech-Prep students simply
transfer into the technical school, with a
clear educational advantage over those
60 The Arts
students who did not experience the spe-
cialized high school curriculum. In con-
trast to Tech-Prep’s explicit postsecondary
educational focus, school-based enter-
prises emphasize the development of
small businesses by high school students.
Students and faculty work together to
develop and implement an enterprise in
the school setting, which typically targets
high school students and faculty as the
potential consumers. School-based enter-
prises include in-school restaurants and
school supply stores that sell pens, paper,
and other sundries.
Although the apprenticeship model
has both supporters and detractors, most
agree that the current means by which
the United States facilitates the school-
to-work transition is slow, cumbersome,
and financially and emotionally costly
for many non-college-bound youth. The
apprenticeship model and its various der-
ivations represent an alternative that
may reduce the delay between high
school graduation and full-time career-
related employment. In the apprentice-
ship system, students are workers and
workers are students; hence, the transi-
tion from school to work is more gradual
and appropriate for all involved. The con-
cept of integrating vocational informa-
tion into the existing school system is
not a new one; indeed, vocational educa-
tion is an essential aspect of the U.S. edu-
cational system. But apprenticeships do
represent a possible next step within the
school-to-work movement that involves
going beyond simply disseminating occu-
pational information and advancing
toward the creation of an organized and
cohesive system that truly integrates
school and work experiences.
Erik J. Porfeli
Fred W. Vondracek
See also Career Development; Employ-
ment: Positive and Negative Conse-
quences; Programs for Adolescents;
Vocational Development; Work in Ado-
lescence
References and further reading
Bynner, John. 1992. “Experiencing
Vocational Preparation in England and
Germany.” Education and Training 34,
no. 4: 1–8.
Hamilton, Stephen F. 1990.
Apprenticeship for Adulthood:
Preparing Youth for the Future. New
York: Free Press.
Hamilton, Stephen F., and Wolfgang
Lempert. 1996. “The Impact of
Apprenticeship on Youth: A Prospective
Analysis.” Journal of Research on
Adolescence 6, no. 4: 427–455.
Lewis, Theodore, James Stone III, Wayne
Shipley, and Svjetlana Madzar. 1998.
“The Transition from School to Work:
An Examination of the Literature.”
Youth and Society 29, no. 3: 259–292.
The Arts
Several disciplines, ranging from the fine
arts to the performing arts, are forms of
expression that can be included under
the umbrella term arts. By the same
token, there are many different types of
art forms. Examples of fine or visual art
forms include painting, drawing, sculpt-
ing, architecture, and photography,
whereas drama, dance, music, and per-
formance art are generally considered
examples of performing arts. Still other
art forms do not fit within the boundaries
of either performing or fine arts but,
rather, are a combination of the two;
examples include costuming, directing,
producing, stage managing, stage design,
light design, and filmmaking.
As the arts play a fundamental role in
many adolescents’ lives, it is fortunate
that schools often include the arts in
their curriculum. The combination of
arts and academics in the schools works
to foster creative thinking. In addition,
The combination of arts and academics in the schools works to foster creative thinking.
(Shirley Zeiberg)
62 The Arts
many teenagers pursue various art forms
outside of the school setting. Some may
even go on to a career in the arts. Yet the
importance and relevance of the arts to
adolescents is generally minimized or
overlooked.
How the Arts Help Teenagers Develop
During the period of adolescence,
teenagers are trying to discover their per-
sonal identity. The arts provide a forum
for exploration and expression of the self.
Creative freedom and individuality are
primary tenets of such expression:
Whereas many adolescents feel pressures
to conform to group norms, the arts
require individual expression. During
adolescence, teenagers attempt to answer
the question “Who am I?” Participation
in the arts helps them to discover the
answer to this difficult question. The arts
also allow teenagers to “try on” or test
various identities in an attempt to dis-
cover which one fits best. For example,
when a teenager performs in a drama pro-
duction, she must explore the role she
will play. This process may involve
researching the time period in which the
play takes place, the setting of the play,
and the occupation of the character.
Next, the teenager must work to assume
the identity of the character. By acting
out the role, she has the opportunity to
explore an alternative identity. Acting
also allows the expression of emotions
that are not normally considered appro-
priate. For example, whereas an angry
outburst in the middle of class can lead
to a detention, such an outburst within
the context of a school play may well be
considered an excellent performance. In
short, the arts provide a safe place for
self-exploration.
The arts also allow teenagers to learn
both the value of teamwork and the
importance of individual responsibility.
Although teamwork is often necessary,
responsibility for the finished product
lies with the individual. For example, the
student who signs his name to a painting
is responsible for the work, even if he
received guidance from teachers or col-
laborated with others toward that end.
Likewise, the performer onstage is
responsible for her actions and can rely
only on herself. Such responsibility pro-
motes autonomy and independence—yet
another way in which adolescents can
benefit from exploring the arts.
Schools and the Arts
The role of the arts in the schools gener-
ally varies across school districts. Some
schools emphasize a focus on the arts,
whereas others lack arts programs alto-
gether. Those schools that do include arts
programs in their curriculum vary in
their degree of emphasis. For example,
some schools offer a limited range of
courses in only one field (e.g., visual arts),
whereas others offer courses ranging
from beginner to advanced in a variety of
disciplines (e.g., performing arts and fine
arts). Still other schools are dedicated to
making the arts the primary focus of
their curriculum. For example, a district
with a magnet school system (in which
each school has a particular focus) may
devote one school to the teaching of the
arts, allowing parents and students to
choose the school whose program best
meets their needs.
Several options are available to those
students who wish to pursue the arts
beyond their high school education.
Many liberal arts universities and col-
leges have departments or schools in
assorted arts disciplines, and some
smaller liberal arts colleges, described as
“artsy,” have a reputation for focusing on

the arts. In addition, certain schools spe-
cialize solely in the teaching of the arts.
For example, conservatories tend to focus
on the performing arts, whereas museum
schools emphasize the fine arts.
Education in the arts is an extremely
valuable complement to a traditional aca-
demic education; even those students
who do not plan on focusing on the arts
later in life can benefit a great deal from
an arts education. The arts teach innova-
tive and creative ways of thinking and
solving problems as well as new and
interesting ways of expressing one’s emo-
tions and ideas. Moreover, academic
skills are frequently applied in the arts.
For example, directors must often apply
their knowledge of history when costum-
ing a show, and lighting and set designers
must understand basic trigonometry and
geometry when creating a lighting plan or
set. In these ways and others, the arts pro-
vide real-life problems that students can
solve using their academic knowledge.
The arts also promote the use of sym-
bolic thought. During the period of ado-
lescence, symbolic and logical thinking
skills are developing. Prior to adoles-
cence, individuals understand the world
in a very concrete manner; however, as
they mature, their thinking becomes
more complex and abstract. A primary
component of the arts is symbolic and
abstract expression and interpretation of
ideas and emotions. The arts allow ado-
lescents to exercise their minds by pro-
moting symbolic thought. By practicing
these skills, adolescents learn a different
way of comprehending the world.
Many schools focus on developing ado-
lescents’ verbal and mathematical abili-
ties. In addition, exams, such as the SAT,
ACT, and GRE, test students’ verbal and
mathematical abilities. Many psycholo-
gists believe that these tests do not accu-
The Arts 63
rately measure intelligence. According to
these testing methods, intelligence exists
exclusively in the forms of mathematical
and verbal abilities. Psychologist Howard
Gardner believes in the existence of mul-
tiple intelligences. Included among the
different types of intelligences he identi-
fies are musical intelligence, bodily
kinesthetic intelligence, and spatial intel-
ligence. Many artists rely heavily on
these intellectual domains to produce
their work. Musicians utilize musical
intelligence, dancers and actors utilize
bodily kinesthetic intelligence, and visual
artists utilize spatial intelligence. Some
people may be experts in one intellectual
form and novices in another. For exam-
ple, a pianist may be an expert in the
domain of musical intelligence, but a
novice in the domain of linguistic intelli-
gence. In the United States, verbal and
mathematical intelligences are highly
valued, whereas musical, bodily kines-
thetic, and spatial intelligences are con-
sidered less important.
Extracurricular Arts
The future of arts education is threatened
by severe underfunding. In addition,
many school officials consider the arts to
be a dispensable element of the curricu-
lum. Traditional academics are perceived
as being a more essential component of
an education, so the arts are pushed
aside. Faced with this situation, students
must turn to extracurricular programs in
search of an education in the arts.
Some students form school clubs or
organizations that focus on the arts. The
schools may require that an adult be
present during club meetings; however,
students typically run these meetings
and the activities that are planned. Alter-
natively, teenagers can generally find
organizations within their community
64 The Arts
that provide instruction in various art
forms. Community arts groups usually
offer programs for teenagers in the arts.
For example, community theater groups
often schedule summer productions and
cast adolescents in roles. In addition,
some states fund summer programs
whereby a selected number of teens are
invited to attend an intensive summer
program in specific arts disciplines.
Many religious groups also provide
opportunities for adolescents to engage in
artistic activities. Another option for
teenagers interested in the arts is private
lessons. Dance schools, drama acade-
mies, and museum schools often offer
programs for interested adolescents.
Clearly, there are many opportunities for
adolescents who wish to pursue their
interest in the arts.
A Career in the Arts
Adolescents who choose to pursue the
arts as a career must consider several
limitations. Since the arts are not heavily
funded, there is a limited amount of
work available to those who wish to be
employed as full-time artists. Adoles-
cents in the arts may thus wish to con-
sider “backup” or “fallback” plans. In
particular, they should be encouraged to
pursue both the arts and an academic
field so as not to limit their options.
Indeed, many professional artists work
two jobs: one related to the arts and one
that is more lucrative.
Professional artists may also have to
rely on “backup” plans in case of injury.
Injuries can prevent artists such as
dancers, actors, and musicians from pur-
suing their art. The way in which an indi-
vidual copes with an injury and the poten-
tial disruption it causes is important.
Adolescents, who had planned on pur-
suing the arts but are unable to due to
injury, will benefit from positive support
from teachers, parents, and peers. These
teenagers should be encouraged to find
an alternative form of expression or cre-
ative outlet. Alternatively, they may be
interested in careers that combine the
arts with other disciplines. Fortunately,
many such career opportunities are
available.
For example, adolescents who are inter-
ested in both the arts and writing may
wish to consider a career in art review or
critique. Many major news publications
include arts sections that not only report
on local exhibitions but also provide
reviews and critiques of artists and their
work. Art instruction is another option.
Schools, community groups, religious
organizations, and private institutions
often hire art teachers, and museums fre-
quently hire curators and collectors who
are highly knowledgeable in a particular
arts field. Art therapy is yet another
option for interested adolescents. Engag-
ing in an artistic project is generally con-
sidered to be therapeutic. Art as therapy is
now regarded as a type of clinical treat-
ment. Visual art and dance therapies are
frequently used with both children and
adults. Clinicians use art as a means of
exploring and interpreting their patients’
thoughts and emotions.
Jennifer S. Brown
See also Media; Media, Effects of
References and further reading
Gardner, Howard. 1983. Frames of Mind.
New York: Basic Books.
Greene, Maxine. 1995. Releasing the
Imagination. San Francisco: Jossey-
Bass.
Moody, William J. 1990. Artistic
Intelligences: Implications for
Education. New York: Teachers College
Press.
 Asian American Adolescents: Comparisons and Contrasts
Munro, Thomas, and Herbert Read. 1960.
The Creative Arts in American
Education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press.
Asian American Adolescents:
Comparisons and Contrasts
More than 10 million Asian Americans
reside in the United States, constituting
about 4 percent of the total population.
Within the next two decades, the number
of Asian Americans in this country is
expected to almost double. Most of the
Asian American population is concen-
trated on the east and west coasts in
cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco,
and New York. Asian Americans are a
diverse people, having roots in Japan,
Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, Laos, Cambo-
dia, China, the Philippines, India, Thai-
land, and Malaysia. Because these groups
differ with respect to language, customs,
and immigration patterns to the United
States, the “Asian American adolescent
experience” varies greatly from individ-
ual to individual. However, some issues
are relevant for all Asian American
teenagers, such as ethnic identity, school
achievement, autonomy, and changing
relationships with parents and peers.
One important developmental task for
Asian American adolescents is to form
an ethnic identity—a process that
includes exploring the meaning of being
Asian American in a multicultural soci-
ety such as the United States; con-
fronting discrimination, prejudice, and
stereotyping; and participating (or not
participating) in the cultural behaviors
and practices of their particular ethnic
group.
Several stages of ethnic identity devel-
opment have been identified. The first
65
stage is ethnic identity foreclosure. In
this stage, adolescents have not deeply
questioned what being Asian American
specifically means to their personal lives.
After a period of unquestioning, however,
something happens that compels them to
explore the meaning and significance of
their “Asianness.” A triggering event
might be the realization that there are
too few Asian American role models in
the United States; or it might be a ques-
tion from a friend as to why certain cus-
toms or traditions are celebrated in their
homes. This stage of ethnic identity
exploration is a time when adolescents
actively seek out what being Asian in
America means to them personally—by
participating in cultural customs, learn-
ing more about the history of their peo-
ple, or spending time with others of the
same ethnic group. This exploration
stage leads to ethnic identity achieve-
ment, a stage in which Asian American
adolescents express a commitment to,
have an understanding of, and are com-
fortable with being Asian American.
Studies have shown that Asian American
adolescents who achieve a positive and
strong sense of ethnic identity demon-
strate positive psychological functioning
in terms of family relations and positive
self-evaluations.
Asian American youth differ from
youth of other ethnicities in several
ways. Compared to European American
youth, Asian Americans report spending
less time with their peers in activities
such as talking on the telephone, partici-
pating in sports, and “hanging out.” The
nature of the peer group also differs
slightly between these two groups. Asian
American peers tend to show more disap-
proval for misconduct behaviors (e.g.,
copying homework, cheating on a test,
lying to parents) and are more supportive
66 Asian American Adolescents: Comparisons and Contrasts
Asian Americans are diverse people,
differing with respect to language, customs,
and immigration patterns to the United
States. Because of this, the “Asian-American
adolescent experience” varies greatly from
individual to individual. (Laura Dwight)
of academic endeavors. Compared to His-
panic American, African American, and
European American adolescents, Asian
American adolescents are inclined to
date and engage in sexual behavior at a
later age.
Several researchers have reported that
Asian American adolescents perform bet-
ter in school than their non-Asian peers.
A host of possible reasons, ranging from
parenting practices and cultural beliefs to
peer-group influences, have been cited to
explain these findings. It is a myth, how-
ever, that all Asian American adolescents
succeed at school. In fact, there is great
heterogeneity among Asian American
youth—some of whom, for example,
struggle in school because of their diffi-
culty with English as a second language.
Factors such as country of origin and gen-
erational status also contribute to this
variation in school performance.
Regarding the parent-adolescent rela-
tionship, many Asian American adoles-
cents report that their parents are more
authoritarian (strict and demanding of
unquestioning obedience) and less
authoritative (strict but responsive, and
inclined to encourage autonomy) than
parents in other ethnic groups. Although
some researchers have proposed that
authoritarianism is a less-than-optimal
style of parenting, Asian American ado-
lescents overall do not seem to be as neg-
atively affected as other groups by author-
itarian parenting concerning psychosocial
adjustment (e.g., self-esteem and work
orientation), deviance (e.g., substance use
and antisocial behavior), and school per-
formance (e.g., grade-point average and
homework time). Moreover, it has been
argued that these particular types of fre-
quently studied parenting styles may be
inadequate to describe Asian parents—in
other words, that other aspects of parent-
ing that are indigenous to the culture may
more accurately depict Asian parenting.
For example, in Chinese culture the
notion of training—which involves teach-
ing and educating children in the context
of high involvement, support, caring, and
concern—may be more useful in under-
standing how certain parenting styles
impact Asian American adolescents’ psy-
chosocial development.
Many Asian American adolescents,
especially those with immigrant parents,
 Asian American Adolescents: Issues Influencing Identity
have to deal with and reconcile their par-
ents’ cultural values and attitudes, some
of which run counter to the values and
attitudes of mainstream society. This
clash of cultures—one of which promotes
interdependence (characteristic of most
Asian countries) and the other, main-
stream culture, which promotes inde-
pendence—may lead to differing expecta-
tions between parents and adolescents
regarding appropriate levels of autonomy.
For example, they may disagree on
whether the adolescents can choose
whom to date, whether they are allowed
to stay out with friends at night, or what
particular career to pursue. This mis-
match rooted in different cultural belief
systems may, in turn, lead to serious con-
flicts. Of course, the degree to which par-
ents and their Asian American adoles-
cents conflict in terms of values and
expectations varies from family to family.
There are various ways in which Asian
American adolescents deal with growing
up within two distinct cultures. They
can become assimilated, taking on the
majority culture’s ways and rejecting
their culture of origin. They can become
separated, immersing themselves in the
culture of origin while rejecting the
majority culture. They can become mar-
ginal, rejecting both the culture of origin
and the majority culture. Or they can
become bicultural, maintaining ties to
both cultures. Those adolescents who
choose this last option allow themselves
the opportunity to draw from the tradi-
tions and strengths of both their Asian
heritage and the mainstream culture.
Linda P. Juang
See also Asian American Adolescents:
Issues Influencing Identity; Ethnic Iden-
tity; Identity; Racial Discrimination
67
References and further reading
Chao, Ruth K. 1994. “Beyond Parental
Control and Authoritarian Parenting
Style: Understanding Chinese Parenting
through the Cultural Notion of
Training.” Child Development 65:
1111–1119.
Chuansheng, Chen, Ellen Greenberger,
Julia Lester, Qi Dong, and Miaw-Schue
Guo. 1998. “A Cross-Cultural Study of
Family and Peer Correlates of
Adolescent Misconduct.”
Developmental Psychology 34, no. 4:
770–781.
Feldman, Shirley S., and Glen R. Elliot.
1990. At the Threshold: The
Developing Adolescent. Cambridge,
MA: Harvard University Press.
Feldman, Shirley S., Rebecca N. Turner,
and Katy Araujo. 1999. “Interpersonal
Context as an Influence on Sexual
Timetables of Youths: Gender and
Ethnic Effects.” Journal of Research on
Adolescence 9, no. 1: 25–52.
Juang, Linda P., Jacqueline V. Lerner, John
McKinney, and Alex von Eye. 1999.
“The Goodness of Fit of Autonomy
Expectations between Asian-American
Late Adolescents and Their Parents.”
International Journal of Behavioral
Development 23, no. 4: 1023–1048.
Uba, Laura. 1994. Asian Americans:
Personality Pattern, Identity, and
Mental Health. New York: Guilford
Press.
Asian American Adolescents:
Issues Influencing Identity
Identity becomes an especially salient
issue during adolescence, which is
marked both by teenagers’ desire to fit in
and by their preoccupation with how
others view them. Asian American ado-
lescents’ search for identity is challenged
by another question: how to make sense
of their ethnic background, which influ-
ences how they perceive themselves as
well as how others view them.
If we were to picture an Asian Ameri-
can teenager in our mind, who would we
see? What would we assume about the
To establish healthy identities, adolescents must reconcile and embrace their heritage
without feeling devalued. (Skjold Photographs)
 Asian American Adolescents: Issues Influencing Identity
teenager? Although we would not con-
sciously ask ourselves these questions,
we may unconsciously answer them
upon thinking of or seeing an Asian
American teenager. Some of us may pic-
ture a quiet, shy “Chinese kid” with
glasses. Others—teachers, for example—
may think that this “Chinese kid” is
smart and expect the teen to do well in
school, especially in math and science
classes. Guidance counselors may assume
that the teen is a good student because
they take it for granted that all Asian
Americans are model students. Still oth-
ers may assume that they work hard, that
they don’t cause trouble and thus have no
problems, that society doesn’t have to
worry about them. Well, not exactly.
These seemingly positive assumptions
are prevalent in our society, but they do
not necessarily work to the advantage of
Asian American adolescents. Indeed,
such assumptions may even pose a chal-
lenge to their identity development. To
explore this further, we need to under-
stand more about the world of Asian
American teenagers. For example, what
are some of the major factors shaping the
identity of Asian American adolescents?
These factors are found on many levels.
Let’s look at the broadest level first.
The historical context and climate set
the tone for Asian Americans’ existence
in the United States. The past mistreat-
ment of Asian Americans, such as
discriminatory immigration laws and
internment of Japanese Americans, made
it clear that Asians were considered
“aliens ineligible for citizenship” from
early on (Lott, 1998). Present in the
United States since the 1800s, Asians
played a significant role in building this
country; many even fought as American
soldiers. However, many Asian Ameri-
cans are still considered “foreigners.”
69
When American figure skaters Tara Lip-
inski and Michelle Kwan won the
Olympic gold and silver medals, respec-
tively, the nation was overjoyed. How-
ever, remarks made by the press implied
that Michelle Kwan was not seen as a
“real” American.
Likewise, Asian American adolescents
may encounter incidents such as the fol-
lowing.
Sharon is a fourth generation Japanese
American. She is walking down the
street one day when someone shouts,
“Go back to your own country, you
Chinese!” She is startled and
shocked. She thinks to herself, “I was
born in California, so were my par-
ents and their parents. Besides, I’m
not Chinese!”
Janet is a third-generation Chinese
American. She goes to a department
store to look for some shoes. A sales
person approaches Janet, speaking in
a slow, deliberate tone, “C-a-n I
h-e-l-p y-o-u? S-p-e-a-k E-n-g-l-i-s-h?”
Phil is a second-generation Korean
American who just moved to New
Jersey from California. He meets his
neighbor for the first time. The neigh-
bor asks him, “So, where are you
from?” Phil replies, “California.” The
neighbor asks again, “Where are you
r-e-a-l-l-y from?” Phil replies, “the
Bay Area in northern California. I was
born there.” The neighbor says, “I
have a Chinese friend. His grocery
has the best vegetables in town. He
works hard. He doesn’t speak much
English though. Maybe you can talk
to him in Chinese.” Phil thinks to
himself, “What? Why would she
assume that I speak Chinese? Does
she think that all Asians are the
same?”
70 Asian American Adolescents: Issues Influencing Identity
Clearly, Asian Americans are still per-
ceived as aliens in a foreign land in the
United States. How are Asian American
adolescents to make sense of this percep-
tion? How are they to deal with feeling
“different”? How does their sense of not
belonging in the society influence their
identity development? The experience of
being treated as if they do not belong in
the society in which they live and the
perception of being “different” from the
dominant European American group may
make it especially difficult for Asian
American adolescents to feel proud of
their heritage. As adolescents, they may
already be especially sensitive about how
others view them; they may also be
struggling with the question of whether
they want to “fit in” or be “unique.” The
perception of difference due to their eth-
nic background may add even more
stress to their lives. Some may try to fit
in by pretending to be white and distanc-
ing themselves from anything related to
their ethnic background. Others may feel
resentful toward the white dominant
group and thus may retreat and submerge
themselves into their ethnic culture and
group. Still others, however, may be able
to develop and maintain a balance by
integrating both the mainstream culture
and their ethnic culture of origin in a way
that makes sense in both contexts.
Regardless, these teenagers must develop
their own way of managing and living
with two or more cultures.
The process in which Asian American
adolescents develop bicultural compe-
tencies is influenced by the support sys-
tem available to them. For example, if
their peers accept and respect their differ-
ences as well as their similarities, they
will find it easier to explore, accept, and
value their ethnic background. Con-
versely, if their peers devalue their differ-
ences, they will find it much harder,
because they will feel that they don’t fit
in with other teenagers. The diversity of
teachers and other students also influ-
ences the sense of belonging for Asian
American teenagers. If they are among
very few Asian Americans in school,
they may try to fit in with the majority
group and thus feel discouraged from
exploring their ethnic heritage. Or they
may feel disconnected from their white
friends due to differences in their experi-
ences having to do with prejudice, cul-
tural practices, and so on. Some may
exclusively seek out other Asian Ameri-
can students for support. But if the
school culture respects diversity and dif-
ference, and provides support for all stu-
dents, Asian American adolescents may
feel encouraged to explore their ethnic
heritage, develop understanding and
respect for other ethnic groups, and feel
good about being Asian American.
The ability of Asian American teen-
agers to make sense of the school climate
and peer influences is affected by another
factor as well: familial and parental
socialization. How do the parents influ-
ence the way Asian American adoles-
cents view themselves? Parental social-
ization is very much interconnected with
the larger historical and present contexts
mentioned earlier. In particular, it is
influenced by economic concerns,
amount of time spent in the United
States, ties to the homeland, attitudes
toward the dominant culture, and sup-
port from the ethnic community. In addi-
tion, although some Asian American
groups have been in the United States for
many generations, such as Japanese
Americans and Chinese Americans,
there are more first-generation Asian
immigrant parents than American-born
Asian parents. Subgroups such as Korean,
 Asian American Adolescents: Issues Influencing Identity
Vietnamese, or other more recent immi-
grants may face barriers such as lan-
guage, culture, and economic survival.
Because of racism, cultural differences,
and language barriers, many Asian immi-
grant parents feel isolated and rejected by
the mainstream society. Lack of English
proficiency often prevents them from par-
ticipating in their children’s school or
socializing with people other than those
in their own ethnic community, thus fur-
ther isolating them within the confines of
their ethnic enclave. Socializing their
children to be competent members of
this society while struggling with their
own acculturation may create unique
challenges for Asian American parents.
One such challenge is language related:
As their children become more comfort-
able with conversing in English, the com-
munication gap between Asian immi-
grant parents and their children becomes
larger. The children’s problems may be
overlooked by the parents as a result of
this gap, creating a strain in their rela-
tionship. In addition, many Asian Ameri-
can children serve as their parents’ lan-
guage broker. Knowing that their parents
are helpless with the language, these
children may perceive their parents to be
outsiders in the United States. As much
as they want to help their parents, they
may feel burdened having to “parent”
their parents when it comes to language
and cultural barriers. The children may
resent this burden because it makes them
feel that they, too, do not belong in the
United States, especially when their par-
ents have a hard time functioning in the
mainstream society without their help.
At the same time, many Asian immi-
grant parents may want to raise their
children with their own ethnic cultural
values because they still feel strong ties
to their own ethnic culture. However, as
71
their children become socialized and
assimilated into the individualistic U.S.
culture outside their home, the parents’
values from their ethnic culture are chal-
lenged. Although these ethnic cultural
values may provide grounding, support,
and identity to some Asian American
adolescents, others may resent their par-
ents’ traditional values, which get in the
way of doing “normal” teenager things
such as dating. Their desire to be “their
own person” apart from their identifica-
tion with their parents, as well as their
desire to fit in with other teenagers, may
lead Asian American teenagers to rebel
against the expectations placed on them.
This conflict between immigrant par-
ents and their children may create psy-
chological burdens for both the parents
and the children, but such burdens have
been largely overlooked by society owing
to the image of Asian Americans as the
model minority. Some Asian immigrant
parents believe that by living up to the
model-minority image, they can earn
respect from the white dominant group
and thereby gain social mobility in the
United States. In Asian countries, teach-
ers and scholars have traditionally been
revered. Indeed, respect for education is a
value that Asian immigrants have
brought from their ethnic culture. How-
ever, in the United States, education
takes on another layer of meaning for
Asian immigrant families: Academic
achievement is part of children’s obliga-
tion to the parents in return for the par-
ents’ sacrifices in the United States. In
short, children bring honor to the family
through educational attainment; educa-
tional achievement is considered a buffer
for prejudice and racism. Therefore,
Asian American children are under great
pressure to achieve in school—both from
their teachers, who hold their Asian
72 Asian American Adolescents: Issues Influencing Identity
students up to the model-minority
stereotype, and from their parents, who
have made sacrifices in their lives to pro-
vide for their children.
This situation creates tremendous pres-
sure on the adolescents to fit the good-
student image and to meet the expecta-
tions of their parents. Some may try to
excel in their studies. Some may become
overachievers. Some may feel resentful
and thus purposely distance themselves
from the stereotypes and expectations
confronting them—that is, by joining
gangs, drinking, taking drugs, and so on.
Some may be unable to rise to the high
expectations placed on them and feel
inadequate. Some may miss out on a
social life. But whatever the outcome, the
good-student image and model-minority
assumptions do not necessarily help.
Asian immigrant parents want their
children to learn the ways of the domi-
nant culture so they can succeed in the
United States. They want their children
to avoid experiencing the same language
and economic barriers they have faced, so
they encourage their children to speak
English in school and encourage them to
work hard to obtain a high level of educa-
tion. Fluency in English and U.S. educa-
tion will open doors for the children that
the parents could not open due to such
barriers, and the children can go into
white-collar professions and be more
respected by the dominant culture. At the
same time, however, Asian immigrant
parents want their children to retain their
ethnic values outside of school and the
realm of success. Because Asian cultures
value the interdependent nature of rela-
tionships and harmony, Asian parents
generally socialize their children to avoid
conflict and to maintain a harmonious
relationship with others. Thus, Asian
families have been thought to be
“enmeshed,” which, by U.S. standards, is
an “unhealthy” state of family function-
ing because the children are not encour-
aged to individuate from the family. In
short, many Asian American children are
socialized in school to become more indi-
viduated but taught at home to respect
group harmony and collectiveness. How
are they to make sense of these two seem-
ingly conflicting messages?
As previously discussed, Asian Ameri-
can children must develop various means
by which to manage and live with such
contradictions. Indeed, by adolescence,
many have acquired an understanding of
ethnic labels, become aware of the char-
acteristics that distinguish groups, devel-
oped specific attitudes toward their own
ethnic group and other groups, and
become cognizant of social expectations
and behavioral patterns that are linked
with ethnicity. However, the develop-
ment of Asian American children has not
been given proper attention due to soci-
ety’s misperception of them as well-
adjusted high achievers. Beyond the
stereotypes are real people. As teenagers
they experience all the ordinary prob-
lems and joys that come with adoles-
cence. But they have another task as
well: exploring and understanding their
ethnic background, and coming to terms
with the meaning of being Asian Ameri-
can in a society that assigns status
according to racial group membership. To
become whole persons, they must recon-
cile and embrace their heritage without
feeling devalued. Teachers, counselors,
parents, and peers can help Asian Ameri-
can teenagers by being sensitive and sup-
portive to their needs, watchful of their
concerns, and respectful of their differ-
ences as well as their similarities. With
 Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
these things in mind, upon thinking
about Asian American adolescents, we
will no longer picture that shy “Chinese
kid” in glasses but, instead, see many dif-
ferent faces who want to be recognized as
individuals.
E. Ree Noh
See also Asian American Adolescents:
Comparisons and Contrasts; Ethnic
Identity; Identity; Racial Discrimination
References and further reading
Chao, Ruth K. 1996. “Chinese and
European American Mothers’ Beliefs
about the Role of Parenting in
Children’s School Success.” Journal of
Cross Cultural Psychology 27, no. 4:
403–423.
Cocking, Rodney R., and Patricia M.
Greenfield. 1994. “Diversity and
Development of Asian Americans:
Research Gaps in Minority Child
Development.” Journal of Applied
Developmental Psychology 15: 301–303.
Hieshima, Joyce A., and Barbara
Schneider. 1994. “Intergenerational
Effects on the Cultural and Cognitive
Socialization of Third and Fourth
Generations of Japanese Americans.”
Journal of Applied Developmental
Psychology 15: 319–327.
Kim, Uichol, and Maria B. J. Chun. 1994.
“Educational ‘Success’ of Asian
Americans: An Indigenous
Perspective.” Journal of Applied
Developmental Psychology 15:
329–343.
Lee, S. J. 1994. “Behind the Model
Minority Stereotype: Voices of High
and Low Achieving Asian American
Students.” Anthropology and
Education Quarterly 25, no. 4:
413–429.
Lott, Juanita Tamayo. 1998. Asian
Americans: From Racial Categories to
Multiple Identities. Walnut Creek, CA:
Alta Mira Press.
Park, Eun-ja. 1994. “Educational Needs
and Parenting Concerns of Korean
American Parents.” Psychological
Reports 75: 559–562.
Rotheram-Borus, Mary J. 1993.
“Biculturalism among Adolescents.”
73
Pp. 81–102 in Ethnic Identity:
Formation and Transmission among
Hispanics and Other Minorities. Edited
by M. E. Bernal and G. P. Knight.
Albany: State University of New York
Press.
Shoho, Alan R. 1994. “A Historical
Comparison of Parental Involvement of
Three Generations of Japanese
Americans (Isseis, Niseis, Sanseis) in
the Education of Their Children.”
Journal of Applied Developmental
Psychology 15: 305–311.
Yee, Albert H. 1992. “Asians as
Stereotypes and Students:
Misperceptions That Persist.”
Educational Psychology Review 4, no.
1: 95–132.
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity
Disorder (ADHD)
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD) is the most recent diagnosis for
individuals who exhibit problems with
attention, impulsiveness, and overactiv-
ity. Although all people experience each
of these behaviors to some degree, those
with ADHD experience them so severely
that work, school, and social interactions
may become impaired. It is estimated
that 3 to 5 percent of the population has
the disorder. ADHD occurs across all
socioeconomic, cultural, and racial back-
grounds, and it is more commonly diag-
nosed in boys than in girls.
History
The condition now called ADHD first
attracted scientific interest in 1902.
Physicians had noticed some children
who were aggressive, defiant, resistant to
discipline, and excessively emotional and
who showed little inhibitory control.
Over the past century, the names for this
set of behaviors have changed and
evolved as more has been learned about
74 Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
the causes of the disorder. Originally, sci-
entists named the condition “minimal
brain damage” (MBD) because it was
thought to result from brain infections,
trauma, or other injuries or complications
occurring during pregnancy or delivery.
This label was replaced by minimal brain
dysfunction when no evidence could be
found to pinpoint the role of trauma in
the brain. Renamed hyperactive child
syndrome, the disorder shifted in focus
from cause to symptom. Later, hyperac-
tivity came to be viewed as not the only
or most important symptom; poor atten-
tion span and impulse control were now
considered equally important. This
prompted another change in name: atten-
tion-deficit disorder (ADD) with or with-
out hyperactivity. The term currently in
use—attention-deficit/hyperactivity dis-
order—also reflects the recognition that
hyperactivity may or may not be a pre-
vailing symptom.
Characteristics of ADHD
Inattention
People with ADHD have difficulty with
attention. Attention is widely defined as
alertness, arousal, selectivity (paying
attention to some stimuli while ignoring
others), sustained focus, or nondistractibil-
ity. ADHD individuals may become dis-
tracted by what is happening around them
and be unable to stay focused on the task
at hand—especially when the task is not
interesting or rewarding. Parents and
teachers often note the following behav-
iors as problems with attention: not lis-
tening, failing to finish assigned tasks,
daydreaming, losing things, and having
difficulty concentrating.
Impulsivity. The inability to delay a
response or to delay gratification is
another characteristic of ADHD. Individ-
uals with this disorder often respond
quickly to situations without waiting for
instructions to be completed. They often
opt for the immediate smaller reward
instead of waiting for the larger reward.
They frequently have difficulty taking
turns, blurt out answers to questions, and
interrupt conversations. And because
they often fail to consider the negative
and dangerous consequences associated
with a particular situation, they may
engage in unnecessary risk taking.
Hyperactivity. A third characteristic of
ADHD is hyperactivity—a level of activ-
ity exceeding that considered normal for
people of the same age. Restlessness,
fidgeting, and talking quickly are some
examples of hyperactive behavior. Teach-
ers find children with ADHD often get-
ting out of their seats, moving about the
class without permission, playing with
objects not related to the task, and talk-
ing out of turn.
Possible Causes
ADHD runs in families and is likely the
result of biological and environmental
influences. Evidence indicates that
among individuals with ADHD the brain
may be structurally or functionally differ-
ent, particularly in the frontal lobe, which
is associated with attention, planning,
and inhibition. In addition, the central
nervous system of ADHD individuals is
believed to be underaroused, thus requir-
ing more outward stimulation from the
environment. ADHD is not related to
intelligence. In fact, many children and
adolescents with ADHD are very bright.
For these individuals, ADHD is not a
matter of not knowing what to do but a
matter of not being able to do what they
know.
 Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Consequences of ADHD
Clearly, many of the behaviors associated
with ADHD can be disruptive in a class-
room and frustrating to students, parents,
and teachers alike. Children and adoles-
cents with this disorder are often pun-
ished for their “misbehavior.” They often
find school frustrating and unrewarding
and, over time, may become even less
motivated to succeed. Blurting out
answers, not paying attention to details
on a homework assignment, or forgetting
to turn assignments in may have negative
academic and disciplinary consequences.
Furthermore, because these individuals
exhibit aggressive, disruptive, and other
socially unacceptable behaviors, their
peer relationships may suffer as a result of
rejection by other children. In short, with-
out proper intervention, the ADHD ado-
lescent can quickly lose ground both aca-
demically and socially.
Diagnosis
Teachers or parents who suspect a prob-
lem with ADHD can refer the student for
an evaluation. However, there is no
definitive medical test to determine
whether an individual does or does not
have ADHD. Rather, the diagnosis is
made on the basis of information gath-
ered about behavioral symptoms identi-
fied from a variety of sources and evalua-
tions. A team of individuals composed of
school personnel, family, and a medical
doctor contribute information toward
making a diagnosis. The legal standard
for determining whether a child has
ADHD is based on whether the child’s
disability is diagnosed according to the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-
IV). And even then, mere observation of
attention problems, impulsivity, and
hyperactivity is not sufficient for making
75
the diagnosis: Other possible causes for
these behaviors—such as auditory pro-
cessing disorders, anxiety or depressive
disorders, other learning disabilities, or a
chaotic home environment—must still
be ruled out.
Once ADHD is properly identified,
there are many options for treatment.
Treatment
Both behavioral and medical interven-
tions are available for ADHD adolescents.
Teachers, parents, and the ADHD indi-
viduals themselves can be trained to mas-
ter techniques for optimizing behavior
and performance, and frequent positive
reinforcements throughout the day can
motivate a student to stay on task. Feed-
back from parents and teachers should be
frequent and immediate. Teachers should
provide rules and instructions that are
clear, brief, and, if possible, delivered
through modes of presentation that are
more visible and external than those
required for the management of normal
children. In addition, children can be
taught self-management skills and ways
to organize and plan through self-moni-
toring and self-reinforcement.
Stimulants are the medications most
commonly prescribed for treating the
symptoms of ADHD. Because these drugs
raise the level of activity, arousal, or
alertness in the central nervous system,
they can replace the individual’s need to
seek out interesting stimuli. Some com-
mon stimulants are methylphenidate
(Ritalin), pemoline (Cylert), ampheta-
mine (Adderall), and dextroamphetamine
(Dexedrine). Unfortunately, these med-
ications can also have side effects such as
loss of appetite, nervousness, irritability,
anxiety, and insomnia. For those individ-
uals who cannot tolerate such side
effects, antidepressants can be tried as an
76 Attractiveness, Physical
alternative drug treatment. Most com-
monly implemented is a comprehensive
approach combining cognitive-behavioral
interventions with medication.
Susan Averna
See also Conduct Problems; Developmen-
tal Challenges; Disorders, Psychological
and Social; Memory
References and further reading
American Psychiatric Association. 1994.
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition.
Washington, DC: American Psychiatric
Association.
Barkley, Russell. 1998. Attention-
Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A
Handbook for Diagnosis and
Treatment. New York: Guilford Press.
Barkley, Russell, George DuPaul, and
Mary McMurray. 1990. “A
Comprehensive Evaluation of Attention
Deficit Disorder with and without
Hyperactivity.” Journal of Consulting
and Clinical Psychology 58: 775–789.
DuPaul, George, Russell Barkley, and
Daniel Connor. 1998. “Stimulants.” Pp.
510–551 in Attention-
Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A
Handbook for Diagnosis and
Treatment. New York: Guilford Press.
Fowler, Mary. 1992. Attention Deficit
Disorders: An In-Depth Look from an
Educational Perspective. C.H.A.D.D.
Educators Manual. Fairfax, VA: CASET
Associates.
Mercugliana, Marianne. 1999. “What Is
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity
Disorder?” Pediatric Clinics of North
America 46, no. 5: 831–843.
Mirsky, Allan. 1996. “Disorders of
Attention: A Neuropsychological
Perspective.” Pp. 71–96 in Attention,
Memory, and Executive Function.
Edited by G. Reed Lyon and Norman
Krasnegor. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes.
Spencer, Thomas, Joseph Biederman, and
Timothy Wilens. 1998.
“Pharmacotherapy of ADHD with
Antidepressants.” Pp. 552–563 in
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity
Disorder: A Handbook for Diagnosis
and Treatment. New York: Guilford
Press.
Attractiveness, Physical
Physical attractiveness can be defined as a
quality that allows a person who pos-
sesses it to attract other people’s atten-
tion or interest. It is also a complex psy-
chological and social phenomenon. There
are two kinds of attractiveness: one that
presupposes good looks, regular and har-
monic features, neatness, and openness to
communication; and another that is sim-
ilar to sexual appeal, the ability to arouse
desire in members of the opposite sex.
Even this brief description indicates that
attractiveness is based on behavioral as
well as physical characteristics.
Attractiveness has historically been
important in human societies, but the
actual study of this phenomenon traces
back to the work of Charles Darwin, the
evolutionist who originated the idea of
natural selection. Darwin proposed that
physical attractiveness is one of the basic
qualities that allow for the “survival of
the fittest,” a principle that secures the
survival of the whole species. That is,
despite cultural differences, for all nations
and cultures, being attractive means,
above all, being healthy and strong. This
is true in rural communities where phys-
ical strength plays an important role as an
economic factor affecting production of
the food supply. Here, the survival quality
of attractiveness and health seems obvi-
ous. But what can be said about aristo-
cratic beauty, especially the ideal of the
pale, fragile, and passive woman that has
epitomized attractiveness throughout the
history of European societies? In fact, this
ideal does not contradict Darwin’s princi-
ple. As a typical “male society,” aristo-
cratic Europe demanded that women be
passive, weak, and dependent, thus rein-
forcing the male “rule of power,” which
required a man to be strong, assertive, and
 Attractiveness, Physical 77

aggressive. To understand this principle

better, consider an extreme case of “male
community,” a rural culture of Spain.
There, the culmination of folklore wis-
dom concerning physical beauty is a
proverb: “El hombre como el oso: lo mas
feo, lo mas hermoso” (Men are like bears:
the uglier, the more handsome). This
apparent paradox is nevertheless solvable:
The fittest man in such a community is
the most active, aggressive, strong, and
experienced, one who can protect him-
self, his family, and his fellow villagers,
one who fought in battles and does not
care a lot about his looks.
Taking all this into consideration, we
can begin to understand how the process
of natural selection works. Physically
attractive people have the highest chance
of being chosen as marriage or mating
partners, so they play the biggest role in
the process of reproduction, producing
offspring that are strong and capable of
Some of the many facets of physical
survival. Often left out of this vital
attractiveness are regular and harmonic
process are physically unattractive, features and neatness. (Wartenberg/Picture
unhealthy people, those who do not fit Press/Corbis)
into this societal schema. Along these
lines, research has established a link
between attractiveness and dating behav-
ior. Attractive adolescents are the pre- actively engaging in a competition for
ferred dating partners, regardless of their being chosen as sexual partners. An
other characteristics. example of such community is the
The survival value of physical attrac- Wodaabe tribe in northeastern Nigeria.
tiveness is its most global characteristic. The men of this tribe care tremendously
But also note that in different cultures about their appearance, combing their
this quality may mean astonishingly dif- hair and arranging it fancily, spending a
ferent things. In the “male community” lot of time taking care of their skin and
mentioned above, power is attributed to faces, taking pride in their big straight
men, and beauty to women. In a “female noses. In fact, this is why they are con-
community,” by contrast, the women are sidered more beautiful than the women—
the more active, assertive, and politically because women’s noses cannot be as big
and economically independent members as men’s noses. The men of this tribe
of society, whereas the men are con- even engage in a “garewol” ceremony,
cerned about looking attractive and are which is simply a male beauty contest.
78 Attractiveness, Physical
In short, physical attractiveness is
essentially an evolutionary quality that
varies greatly across cultures, depending
on the community’s structure and value
(priority) system. It is also dependent on
contextual, societal, economical, and, to
a large extent, moral factors. Whereas in
a rural Mediterranean community a man
who is strong and aggressive is consid-
ered attractive, in our society (which also
is not free of stereotypes) the same prin-
ciple holds, but in reverse: One who is
attractive is morally good. Social scien-
tists call this the “beauty-is-good” princi-
ple, and it manifests itself in very com-
plex ways.
For example, as researchers have
shown, attractive people are expected to
possess better moral characteristics and
to be more self-reliant, socially and sexu-
ally responsive, and successful in life.
This expectation is a stereotype, of
course, and it has its limitations, but it
also has tremendous power. The fact is
that people tend to try to live up to
expectations that other people have
about them—a phenomenon known as
“self-fulfilling prophecy.” In short,
attractive people who are expected to
behave in certain ways eventually end up
behaving in those ways, or at least shap-
ing their behavior in that direction. Like
all people, they draw conclusions about
themselves based on other people’s per-
ceptions. Having perceived a certain
image, they tend to behave in accordance
with it. Thus, because attractive people
expect success, they actually do often
become successful in life. This “social
perception” process is at work during
adolescence, when appraisal from peers is
important in one’s self-evaluation.
Research on the impact of physical
attractiveness during adolescence has
revealed that teachers expect higher aca-
demic performance from physically
attractive youth. In addition, physically
attractive teens are judged by adults to
possess better character, to be more
poised and self-confident, and to be more
in control of their own destiny (Adams,
1991). Attractiveness has also been
shown to play a role in the employability
of adolescents and adults: Attractive job
candidates are viewed as having more
potential and better task performance
than their unattractive peers. Con-
versely, some research findings point to a
positive relationship between unattrac-
tiveness and a greater risk for psy-
chopathology (Adams, 1991).
Of course, the “social perception”
principle is not the only factor at work.
Many other factors, such as intellectual
level, moral strength, and a secure sup-
port base, also influence the course of
each person’s life. Nevertheless, knowl-
edge about the “beauty-is-good” princi-
ple, as well as about cultural influences
on what is and what is not considered
attractive, can promote our understand-
ing of ourselves.
Some researchers, particularly those
arguing from a feminist standpoint,
emphasize the dangers of what has been
called the “beauty trap.” They point out
that physical attractiveness, especially
for a woman, may actually be an impedi-
ment to her career. (“She is beautiful;
why does she need a career?”) Another
concern is that attractive people, mainly
adolescents, may tend to attribute their
success, if achieved, to their good looks,
while doubting their intellectual and per-
sonality qualities. But this, too, is a dan-
ger that can be avoided if we judge our-
selves on the basis of real achievements,
not other peoples’ opinions.

In the final analysis, beauty is neither a
trap nor a destiny. It is, however, an
important societal and psychological fac-
tor, of which we should be fully aware.
Janna Jilnina
See also Appearance, Cultural Factors in;
Appearance Management; Body Build;
Body Fat, Changes in; Body Hair; Body
Image; Puberty: Physical Changes; Self-
Consciousness
References and further reading
Adams, Gerald. R. 1991. “Physical
Attractiveness and Adolescent Develop-
ment. Pp. 785–789 in Encyclopedia of
Adolescence. Edited by Richard M.
Lerner, Anne C. Petersen, and Jeanne
Brooks-Gunn. New York: Garland.
Cole, Letha B., and Mary Winkler. 1994.
The Good Body: Asceticism in
Contemporary Culture. New Haven,
CT: Yale University Press.
Jones, Doug. 1996. Physical
Attractiveness and the Theory of
Sexual Selection. Ann Arbor:
University of Michigan Press.
Patzer, Gordon. 1985. The Physical
Attractiveness Phenomenon. New
York: Plenum Press.
Autonomy
“Stand on your own two feet.” “Pull
yourself up by your own bootstraps.” “If
your friends jumped off a bridge, would
you jump, too?” When one thinks of all
the slogans that reflect the importance of
personal choice and independence in the
United States, it is obvious that auton-
omy is highly valued. Within this cul-
ture, it is generally expected that parents
will socialize their children to be inde-
pendent and look forward to the time
when their children demonstrate per-
sonal responsibility. Thus, developing
the capacity to function autonomously,
while maintaining connections and seek-
ing support from others when needed, is
Autonomy 79
an important issue that confronts most
young people.
Indeed, autonomy is a central concept
in theories of adolescent development.
Since it can take many forms, behavioral,
cognitive, and emotional dimensions
have been identified. Behavioral auton-
omy encompasses self-governance, regu-
lation of one’s own behavior, and acting
on personal decisions. Cognitive auton-
omy is the capacity for independent rea-
soning and decision making without
excessive reliance on social validation, a
subjective sense of self-reliance, and the
belief that one has choices. And emo-
tional autonomy is defined in terms of
relationships with others and includes
relinquishing dependencies and individu-
ating from parents (Steinberg, 1999). The
development of behavioral, cognitive, and
emotional autonomy during adolescence
reflects progression toward becoming an
adult who not only has good mental
health, high self-esteem, and a positive
self-concept but also is self-motivated,
self-initiating, and self-regulating.
It is during adolescence that individuals
make major advances in autonomy.
These advances are prompted by the con-
vergence of an increasingly adultlike
appearance, cognitive development, and
expanding social relationships, along
with the granting of more rights and
responsibilities by others. Yet, parents,
peers, schools, and societies also have a
significant influence on autonomy. For
example, parents influence the develop-
ment of autonomy by structuring interac-
tions with adolescents that allow negoti-
ation and decision making, build a
positive self-concept, and promote feel-
ings of competence and the ability to con-
trol one’s own direction in life. When
interactions with social partners have
80 Autonomy
such qualities, optimal autonomous func-
tioning depends on maintaining connec-
tions with these partners while becoming
increasingly self-regulating and indepen-
dent (e.g., Hill and Holmbeck, 1986).
Recent perspectives on adolescent
autonomy can be best understood in the
context of some more classic perspec-
tives, among which the most well known
are those of Anna Freud (1958) and Peter
Blos (1979). Both theorists believed that
conflict between adolescents and parents
is normal and necessary for the develop-
ment of independence, and that adoles-
cence is a time in which striving for
autonomy takes the form of detachment
or individuation from parents. In particu-
lar, these theorists argued that adoles-
cents are rebellious and disagreeable in
order to decrease not only their connec-
tions with and reliance on their caregivers
but also the social influence of these care-
givers. Laurence Steinberg and Susan Sil-
verberg (1986) advanced the study of
autonomy and individuation (as described
by Blos, 1979) by defining and measuring
emotional autonomy in relation to par-
ents as four specific processes: decreasing
dependence on parents, increasing indi-
viduation from parents (e.g., as when
teenagers conclude that parents do not
know or understand them), increasing
perception of parents as people (e.g., as
when teenagers recognize that parents
may act differently when not with their
children), and decreasing idealization of
parents. According to this study, depend-
ence on parents and idealization of par-
ents declined from fifth to ninth grade,
whereas individuation from parents
increased. However, adolescents of all
ages had difficulties perceiving their par-
ents as people. The same study demon-
strated that, between fifth and ninth
grade, females become more emotionally
autonomous than boys , and adolescents
of both sexes become more susceptible to
peer pressure as they grow in autonomy
from parents. However, susceptibility to
peer pressure begins to decrease again by
about grade 9.
Other studies, however, have con-
cluded that the majority of adolescents
and their parents (about 75 percent) get
along much of the time, and that exces-
sive conflict and rebellion are not neces-
sary for healthy adolescent development
(Steinberg, 1999). In particular, contem-
porary child developmentalists have
found that autonomy advances within
supportive attachments to caregivers in
which adolescents are provided increas-
ing opportunities for discussion, decision
making, and choice. For example,
Richard Ryan and John Lynch (1989)
argue that emotional autonomy as meas-
ured by Steinberg and Susan Silverberg
(1986) actually measured detachment
from parents rather than autonomy.
Although they noted that detachment
could result in increased self-reliance,
they suggested that it might also result in
the loss of valuable connections to oth-
ers, leading to problems such as a lack of
a consolidated identity, lower self-
esteem, and dysfunctional behaviors.
Zeng-Yin Chen and Sanford Dornbusch
(1998) recently verified this perspective,
finding that emotional autonomy can
have both positive and negative effects
on adolescents. Young people experience
more distress and difficulties in school,
become more susceptible to peer pres-
sure, and have more problems with
deviant behavior when they report that
their parents do not know or understand
them. On the other hand, the process of
beginning to de-idealize parents and to

relinquish some dependencies on par-
ents, though somewhat distressing, did
not have the same negative effects on
adolescent behavior.
Researchers have also discovered that
particular forms of relationships with
parents and others undermine the devel-
opment of optimal autonomous func-
tioning (Collins and Repinski, 1994). A
subset of the terms used to describe the
parenting behaviors involved in these
relationships includes intrusive or over-
involved parenting, lack of autonomy
support, coercion, and psychological con-
trol. These terms usually refer to ways
that parents or others prohibit disagree-
ment and the expression of alternative
views. They also encompass parent
behaviors that are intrusive, overin-
volved, or emotionally manipulative.
Behavioral and psychological controls
appear to be two aspects of parenting
style that are particularly important to
the development of autonomy. Behav-
ioral control (sometimes called monitor-
ing or regulation) includes behaviors of
parents that keep them informed of their
adolescents’ activities and interests,
allowing them to supervise these activi-
ties and to set limits on adolescent
behaviors that may be negotiated but are
firm when set. Psychological control
(sometimes called lack of autonomy
granting or support) includes behaviors of
parents that do not allow autonomy, as
when parents tell their adolescents what
to do or how to feel, are too protective,
have too many rules, or prohibit the ado-
lescents from expressing opinions or
engaging in decision making. It also
includes expressions of excessive disap-
pointment in the adolescents, as well as
possessiveness and overprotectiveness.
These latter behaviors are most likely to
Autonomy 81
leave the adolescent feeling controlled,
coerced, compelled, or manipulated.
Overall, there is mounting evidence to
suggest that a moderate amount of
behavioral control combined with low
psychological control is optimal for
healthy psychological and physical func-
tioning among adolescents, leading also
to fewer problem behaviors (e.g., alcohol
and other drug use, delinquency, tru-
ancy). Conversely, adolescents whose
parents engage in psychologically con-
trolling behaviors tend to have more psy-
chological and physical complaints, such
as depression, lower self-esteem, and
headaches (Barber and Olsen, 1997), and
those whose parents exhibit high levels
of both behavioral and psychological con-
trol have lower educational expectations,
lower grade-point averages, and more
behavior problems such as delinquency
and use of alcohol and other substances
(Eccles et al., 1997; Gray and Steinberg,
1999). In addition, minimizing psycho-
logical control becomes increasingly
important at or near the onset of puberty,
when adolescents desire more autonomy,
are forming independent identities, and
are better able to recognize overcontrol-
ling behaviors and intrusions on their
self-expression. The direction of influ-
ence may also be reversed. For example,
it is likely not only that parent behaviors
influence adolescent autonomy but also
that adolescent behaviors prompt parents
to behave in behaviorally or psychologi-
cally controlling ways. Indeed, parents
may be less inclined to engage in behav-
iors that facilitate autonomy when ado-
lescents are doing poorly in school or
using alcohol and other substances.
Teachers, too, can influence adolescent
functioning, as evidenced by research
indicating that children and adolescents
82 Autonomy
express more interest in and enjoyment
of school when this social setting is per-
ceived as autonomy granting rather than
coercive. Another finding is that the need
for autonomy increases as adolescents
grow older. For example, when seventh-
grade teachers grant autonomy by listen-
ing to student suggestions, encouraging
choice, and involving students in deci-
sion making, students are less likely to
be alienated from school and to exhibit
problem behaviors (Eccles et al., 1997). In
addition, when teachers grant more
autonomy to middle school students
(especially female students), grades are
higher (Barber and Olsen, 1997).
As adolescents begin to question the
definitive authority and expertise of
adults, their peers become increasingly
important as additional sources of advice
and support, thus further affecting the
development of autonomy. In fact, auton-
omy can flourish during interactions
with friends. Autonomy also develops
when young people maintain valued con-
nections to friends by expressing their
opinions and attitudes, recognize that
their friends’ opinions may differ from
their own, learn how to negotiate differ-
ences, and practice joint decision making.
Although the general public is often
made aware of negative interactions
between adolescents (e.g., smoking,
drinking, delinquent acts), it should be
noted that young people can also have
positive influences on each other, as
when they inspire friends to do well in
school, to improve in sports, to make
future plans, and to take on greater
responsibilities. Of course, the influence
of friends depends on the values of those
friends, the characteristics of the adoles-
cents involved, and the nature of the
caregiver-adolescent relationship. For
example, girls are more influenced by
friends than boys are, close friends are
the most influential of all peers, and ado-
lescents who lack self-confidence and
have low self-esteem are more influenced
by peers than by others (Savin-Williams
and Berndt, 1990). In addition, adoles-
cents who experience little opportunity
for personal choice and joint decision
making at home are especially suscepti-
ble to the influence of peers. For exam-
ple, Andrew Fuligni and Jacquelynne
Eccles (1993) found that adolescents who
had fewer decision making opportunities
in the family were more likely to seek
advice from peers (rather than from par-
ents) and to be more oriented toward peer
opinion and advice than adolescents who
were given more decision making oppor-
tunities by their families.
Finally, some scholars interested in gen-
der differences have begun to recognize
the important role that connections with
others play in female development. For
example, Carol Gilligan (1982) has dis-
cussed the inability to express opinions
and attitudes (loss of voice) and the
increasing feeling of not being oneself in
interactions with others (false-self behav-
ior) that young women experience as they
enter adolescence. However, another
study suggests that there is little evidence
of gender differences in loss of voice and
false-self behavior: On average, according
to Susan Harter (1999), males and females
report similar levels of difficulty with
voice in both middle and high school. In
fact, comfort with saying what one thinks
varies greatly not only among individual
adolescents of both genders but also across
interactions with different people (e.g.,
friends versus parents versus teachers). Yet
it appears that females who report high
levels of connection to and caring toward
others, combined with low independence
and individualism, are least likely to

express their opinions and most likely to
suppress their true selves when in public
domains such as groups of peers or school.
Melanie J. Zimmer-Gembeck
See also Ethnocentrism; Parent-Adoles-
cent Relations; Responsibility for
Developmental Tasks; Self
References and further reading
Barber, Brian K. 1996. “Parental
Psychological Control: Revisiting a
Neglected Construct.” Child
Development 67: 3296–3319.
Barber, Brian K., and Joseph A. Olsen.
1997. “Socialization in Context:
Connection, Regulation, and Autonomy
in the Family, School, and
Neighborhood, and with Peers.” Journal
of Adolescent Research 12: 287–315.
Blos, Peter. 1979. The Adolescent
Passage: Developmental Issues. New
York: International Universities Press.
Chen, Zeng-Yin, and Sanford M.
Dornbusch. 1998. “Relating Aspects of
Adolescent Emotional Autonomy to
Academic Achievement and Deviant
Behavior.” Journal of Adolescent
Research 13: 293–319.
Collins, W. Andrew, and Daniel J.
Repinski. 1994. “Relationships during
Adolescence: Continuity and Change in
Interpersonal Perspective.” Pp. 7–36 in
Personal Relationships during
Adolescence. Edited by Raymond
Montemayor, Gerald R. Adams, and
Thomas P. Gullotta. Thousand Oaks,
CA: Sage Publications.
Eccles, Jacquelynne S., Diane Early, Kari
Frasier, Elaine Belansky, and Karen
McCarthy. 1997. “The Relation of
Connection, Regulation, and Support
for Autonomy to Adolescents’
Functioning.” Journal of Adolescent
Research 12: 263–286.
Autonomy 83
Freud, Anna. 1958. “Adolescence.”
Psychoanalytic Study of the Child 13:
255–278.
Fuligni, Andrew J., and Jacquelynne S.
Eccles. 1993. “Perceived Parent/Child
Relationships and Early Adolescents’
Orientation toward Peers.”
Developmental Psychology 29:
622–632.
Gilligan, Carol. 1982. In a Different
Voice: Psychological Theory and
Women’s Development. Cambridge,
MA: Harvard University Press.
Gray, Marjory R., and Laurence Steinberg.
1999. “Unpacking Authoritative
Parenting: Reassessing a
Multidimensional Construct.” Journal
of Marriage and the Family 61:
574–587.
Harter, Susan. 1999. The Construction of
the Self: A Developmental Perspective.
New York: Guilford Press.
Hill, John P., and G. N. Holmbeck. 1986.
“Attachment and Autonomy during
Adolescence.” Annals of Child
Development 3: 145–189.
Ryan, Richard M., and John H. Lynch.
1989. “Emotional Autonomy versus
Detachment: Revisiting the
Vicissitudes of Adolescence and Young
Adulthood.” Child Development 60:
340–356.
Savin-Williams, Ritch C., and Thomas J.
Berndt. 1990. “Friendships and Peer
Relations during Adolescence.” Pp.
277–307 in At the Threshold: The
Developing Adolescent. Edited by
Shirley S. Feldman and Glen R. Elliott.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press.
Steinberg, Laurence. 1999. Adolescence,
5th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Steinberg, Laurence, and Susan Silverberg.
1986. “The Vicissitudes of Autonomy
in Early Adolescence.” Child
Development 57: 841–851.
 B
Body Build
Bodies come in all different sizes and
shapes. Some people are heavy and others
are lean, but the majority are somewhere
in the middle. Some people think that cer-
tain of their body parts are too big; others
think theirs are too small. Some individu-
als wish they looked older; others think
they look too old. In fact, most people are
concerned with how they look to them-
selves and with how others think they
look. They may worry that, because they
think they look a certain way to them-
selves, others will think they look that
way, too, and will treat them in a way that
they do not like. Adolescents are particu-
larly sensitive about their appearance. Psy-
chologist David Elkind (1967) described
adolescents as behaving as if there were an
imaginary audience watching them all the
time. And, indeed, many adolescents
spend a lot of time trying to present them-
selves in as physically appealing a way as
possible. With few exceptions, however,
adolescents are not able to change their
body build in significant ways.
In the past, body build was divided into
three types: endomorphic (heavy body
build), mesomorphic (medium body
build), and ectomorphic (thin body build).
Each of these types was associated with
certain personality traits. For example,
the endomorph was thought to have a
happy and jovial personality, the meso-
85
morph was believed to be athletic and
assertive, and the ectomorph was
described as serious and introverted. This
classification system was discarded, how-
ever, when research failed to turn up evi-
dence in support of the relationship
between body build and personality.
In reality, people experience certain
reactions to body build when they
encounter adolescents who look a certain
way. For instance, teenagers who have not
entered puberty by age sixteen generally
look much younger than their chronolog-
ical age. Of course, most teens do not
want to seem younger than they are,
because people may treat them accord-
ingly—a real disadvantage when they
want to participate in an activity that is
appropriate for their chronological age but
inappropriate for someone younger. For
example, a sixteen-year-old teenager who
looks like a twelve-year-old and is work-
ing as a salesperson may be repeatedly
questioned by customers about his or her
age and ability to help them with a pur-
chase, thus eventually causing the teen to
withdraw from the workforce. Indeed,
adults often attribute lack of knowledge
or credibility to younger-looking teens.
Many younger-looking teens tend to be
upset by this treatment and may with-
draw from other activities as well. For
example, late-maturing teens may choose
not to participate in social activities with
86 Body Fat, Changes in
other teens their age, preferring to social-
ize with younger children whose body
build is more similar to their own. A
related finding is that girls who mature
sexually early (but still within the nor-
mal range) are socially disadvantaged to
much the same degree as boys who
mature sexually late.
Body image is especially significant dur-
ing adolescence because of the rapid phys-
ical changes that accompany puberty and
the adjustment that youth must make to
these changes. Teens with a body shape
that is not consistent with what society
deems “acceptable” may experience dis-
tress. Overweight teens, very short males,
and very tall females are often subjected
to teasing and jokes about their appear-
ance. Teens who are short for their age,
particularly males, are sometimes treated
as inferior and may even suffer from social
discrimination as adults.
Research has revealed that male ado-
lescents tend to be more satisfied with
their bodies than female adolescents;
that young adolescent girls favor their
facial features whereas males favor their
athletic strengths and abilities; and that,
by age eighteen, both sexes appear to be
happier with their bodies than at any
time previously.
Most teens outgrow the body build
about which they are unhappy. They out-
grow it by physically developing into aver-
age-appearing young adults. As adoles-
cents they may have suffered from being
out of synch with their peers, but they
eventually reach a balance point. That is,
most late maturers ultimately reach an
average build, and early maturers find that
their peers have caught up to them.
Among those adolescents who remain
overweight or short, many mature men-
tally and emotionally to the point where
they are able to accept their body build.
In some instances, special efforts can
be taken to change body build. Teens
who are overweight can enroll in a group
weight-loss program, those with late-
onset puberty can get medical treatment
to start or speed up physical develop-
ment, and those with low muscle mass
can participate in a body-building pro-
gram. In addition, breast reduction or
augmentation can be used to change a
woman’s figure. However, regardless of
their body build, most people are able to
find other people with whom they can
relate and establish a permanent social
relationship.
Jordan W. Finkelstein
See also Appearance, Cultural Factors in;
Appearance Management; Body Fat,
Changes in; Body Hair; Body Image;
Puberty: Physical Changes
References and further reading
Blyth, Dale, Roberta G. Simmons, and
David F. Zakin. 1985. “Satisfaction
with Body Image for Early Adolescent
Females: The Impact of Pubertal
Timing in Different School
Environments.” Journal of Youth and
Adolescence 14: 207–225.
Elkind, David. 1967. “Egocentrism in
Adolescence.” Child Development 38:
1025–1034.
Fallon, April, and Paul Rozin. 1985. Sex
Differences in Perceptions of Desirable
Body Shape. Journal of Abnormal
Psychology 94: 102–105.
Simmons, Roberta, and Dale Blyth. 1987.
Moving into Adolescence: The Impact
of Pubertal Change and School
Context. New York: Aldine.
Body Fat, Changes in
Both girls and boys experience changes in
their body composition—distribution of
fat and muscle—during pubertal develop-
ment (Graber, Petersen, and Brooks-
Gunn, 1996; Grumbach and Styne, 1998).
Pubertal development involves a series of

hormonal and physical changes resulting
in adult reproductive functioning and,
ultimately, adult appearance. Increased or
redistributed body fat is one of these
changes. Lean body mass (i.e., muscle),
bone mass, and body fat are about equal
in prepubertal boys and girls. However,
postpubertal boys have one and a half
times the lean body mass and bone mass
of postpubertal girls, and postpubertal
girls have twice as much body fat as post-
pubertal boys. These differences in fat
distribution are due in part to the fact
that males have more and larger muscle
cells than females. During puberty, girls
generally experience enlarged hips and
breasts but little change in waist circum-
ference, resulting in a pear shape that
reflects the distribution of fat in the
lower body. By the time they finish
puberty, girls have gained an average of
twenty-four pounds (Warren, 1983). How-
ever, these extra pounds account for lean
body mass, bone mass, and fat. Interest-
ingly, girls seem to experience increases
in fat and weight around the same time
they get their first period (menarche).
This finding is partly explained by
research indicating that a certain amount
of body fat is necessary for the onset and
maintenance of normal reproductive
functioning in females. The fact that ado-
lescent girls have a similar percentage of
body fat when they get their periods,
regardless of age and prepubertal size,
thus appears to be related to the higher
proportion of body fat believed to be nec-
essary to provide metabolic support for
pregnancy (Frisch, 1983).
Normal changes in height and weight
at puberty are often experienced posi-
tively by boys, probably because Western
cultures favor boys who are larger and
stronger. By contrast, girls tend to experi-
ence these changes negatively—particu-
Body Fat, Changes in 87
larly the increases in weight. Here, too,
the reason is likely related to the fact
that, for girls, Western cultures value the
thin physique of the prepubertal body
over the mature body (Attie and Brooks-
Gunn, 1989). Early-maturing girls have
an especially difficult time with pubertal
weight changes, because they are gaining
weight at a time when most girls their
age still have a childlike appearance. For
this reason, early-maturing girls may
experience lower self-esteem, particu-
larly with respect to their body image,
than girls who mature on time or later
than their peers (Graber, Petersen, and
Brooks-Gunn, 1996). Although teenage
girls can, and do, adapt to their changing
bodies by altering their body image
(Steiner-Adair, 1986), they must still
cope with their family’s and peers’
responses to their maturing bodies.
Along the same lines, girls who engage in
activities for which a prepubertal body is
valued—such as dancing, modeling, fig-
ure skating, or gymnastics—may have an
especially challenging time dealing with
their increases in body fat.
Normal height and weight changes
may also be especially stressful for girls
and boys who are overweight or obese in
their prepubertal years. Given the greater
emphasis on looks and appearance during
adolescence (especially in the contexts of
dating and peer acceptance), normal
weight changes among already over-
weight children may be particularly diffi-
cult to deal with.
Not surprisingly, increases in body fat
occurring during puberty have been asso-
ciated with the desire to be thinner,
which in turn can lead to excessive exer-
cising or to eating problems such as strict
dieting or bingeing and purging. For
example, longitudinal studies of middle-
and late-adolescent girls have found a
88 Body Hair
connection between higher levels of body
mass and the development of eating
problems (Attie and Brooks-Gunn, 1989;
Graber et al., 1994). Interestingly, these
studies included a majority of normal-
weight (not obese) girls. Another investi-
gation of precursors of eating problems
among fifth- and sixth-grade boys and
girls found that for fifth-grade girls,
greater body mass as well as more
advanced levels of pubertal development
were predictive of eating problems one
year later (Keel, Fulkerson, and Leon,
1997).
Andrea Bastiani Archibald
Jeanne Brooks-Gunn
See also Appearance, Cultural Factors in;
Appearance Management; Attractive-
ness, Physical; Body Build; Body Hair;
Body Image; Puberty: Physical Changes
References and further reading
Attie, Ilana, and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn.
1989. “Development of Eating
Problems in Adolescent Girls: A
Longitudinal Study.” Developmental
Psychology 25: 70–79.
Frisch, Rose E. 1983. “Fatness, Puberty,
and Fertility: The Effects of Nutrition
and Physical Training on Menarche and
Ovulation.” Pp. 29–50 in Girls at
Puberty: Biological and Psychosocial
Perspectives. Edited by Jeanne Brooks-
Gunn and Anne C. Petersen. New York:
Plenum Press.
Graber, Julia A., Jeanne Brooks-Gunn,
Roberta L. Paikoff, and Michelle P.
Warren. 1994. “Prediction of Eating
Problems: An Eight-Year Study of
Adolescent Girls.” Developmental
Psychology 30: 823–834.
Graber, Julia A., Anne C. Petersen, and
Jeanne Brooks-Gunn. 1996. “Pubertal
Processes: Methods, Measures, and
Models.” Pp. 23–53 in Transitions
through Adolescence: Interpersonal
Domains and Context. Edited by
Graber, Petersen, and Brooks-Gunn.
Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates.
Grumbach, Melvin M., and Dennis M.
Styne. 1998. “Puberty: Ontogeny,
Neuroendocrinology, Physiology, and
Disorders.” Pp. 1509–1625 in Williams
Textbook of Endocrinology. Edited by
Jean D. Wilson, Daniel W. Foster, and
Henry M. Kronenberg. Philadelphia:
W. B. Saunders Publishing.
Keel, Pamela K., Jayne A. Fulkerson, and
Gloria R. Leon. 1997. “Disordered
Eating Precursors in Pre- and Early
Adolescent Girls and Boys.” Journal of
Youth and Adolescence 26: 203–216.
Steiner-Adair, Catherine. 1986. “The Body
Politic: Normal Adolescent
Development and the Development of
Eating Disorders.” Journal of the
American Academy of Psychoanalysis
14: 95–114.
Warren, Michelle. 1983. “Physical and
Biological Aspects of Puberty.” Pp. 3–28
in Girls at Puberty: Biological and
Psychosocial Perspectives. Edited by
Jeanne Brooks-Gunn and Anne C.
Petersen. New York: Plenum Press.
Body Hair
All people have hair all over the body. In
some areas, like the scalp, most people
have many hair follicles. In other areas,
such as palms and soles, there are none.
In some areas of the body, hair is short,
very fine, and almost invisible, while in
others it is longer, coarser, and often very
prominent. Each hair follicle grows deep
down from the base of the skin, and
passes through a pore or opening to the
outside. Most dermatologists distinguish
between the hair on the head and the hair
on the rest of the body. This discussion
will focus on body hair.
Hair has no physiologic function in
humans, but serves mainly cosmetic pur-
poses. Therefore, most of the time, peo-
ple are psychologically rather than med-
ically concerned about the nature of their
body hair. Women are usually concerned
about excessive hair on parts of their
body where most women do not have any
visible hair. These parts include the face,
chest, around the areolae (the pigmented

areas surrounding the breast nipples), up
the abdominal wall from the pubic hair
area to the umbilicus (belly button),
lower back, buttocks, inner thigh, arms
and legs, and genitals. Excessive hairi-
ness is commonly called hirsutism. Men
are usually concerned about not having
enough hair in those areas. Hormones
called androgens control hair growth in
these areas. Both men and women have
androgens, but men have mostly a very
strong androgen called testosterone,
which is produced by the testes, while
women have mostly weaker androgens
produced by their adrenal glands (which
sit on top of their kidneys).
In prepubertal children, androgen pro-
duction in both boys and girls is very low,
and so there is no significant difference in
hair between boys and girls. As puberty
starts, significant differences in hair
growth becomes obvious. Since adoles-
cents go through puberty at different
times and at different speeds, observed
variation in hair growth, while normal,
can seem awkward. Even after puberty
starts, there is still no significant differ-
ence in hair growth between the sexes in
certain areas, such as the pubic region and
armpits. But in the other parts of the body
(mentioned above) significant sex differ-
ences develop as puberty progresses. Both
men and women may develop hirsutism,
but women are usually more concerned
about it than are men. Most people with
hirsutism have other family members
who are also hirsute. That is, excessive
hair just runs in their family, and there is
no other known cause for it. However, in
some people hirsutism is caused by sig-
nificant hormonal abnormalities.
We can usually identify women with
hormonal causes of hirsutism because
they almost always undergo changes of
other parts of their body—a process
Body Hair 89
called virilization. In addition to the
excessive growth of hair, these women
also show an enlarged clitoris (a small
fleshy part of the upper section of their
external genitals), deepening of the voice,
loss of head hair in the lateral part of the
forehead (called temporal recession), and
loss of female body contours (hips and
breasts lose fat). Abnormal hormone pro-
duction can originate in the ovaries or
adrenal or pituitary glands. Virilization
can result from taking certain drugs such
as anabolic steroids (which are all testos-
terone related), some anticonvulsants
(phenytoin), some drugs used to treat low
blood sugar (diazoxide), and some of the
oral contraceptives. Sometimes excessive
hair may be associated with a syndrome
of obesity, infrequent irregular periods,
diabetes, and darkening of the skin
around the neck and armpits. It is impor-
tant to evaluate women with excessive
body hair or virilization in order to diag-
nose any medical condition and to offer
treatment to prevent further increased
hair growth or virilization. Much of the
time no cause for hirsutism is found, and
it is then called idiopathic (cause
unknown).
Regardless of cause, most women want
the excessive hair removed. However,
social standards regarding body hair,
especially for women, vary from culture
to culture. For example, in countries
such as France, many young women
choose to not remove their leg and under-
arm hair. If an adolescent chooses to
remove her body hair there are several
possible methods. Hair can be temporar-
ily removed by shaving (which does not
cause thicker or greater growth), pluck-
ing, waxing, using depilatories, and
bleaching (for fine hair). Permanent hair
removal is done by electrolysis, which
destroys the hair follicle. This is a painful
90 Body Image
process and should be done only by a
qualified person. Excessive hair in men is
relatively uncommon, and should be
diagnosed as in women to identify treat-
able causes.
Inadequate or no body hair growth may
be associated with delayed or absent
physical pubertal development. Evalua-
tion to find the causes of that condition
is essential. Inadequate hair growth in
men usually involves scalp hair, but
sometimes men are concerned about
body hair also. It is most important to
remember that there is much variation in
body hair growth that falls into the nor-
mal range. For example, some adolescent
men are not able to grow as thick a beard
as others are. Most men with small
amounts of body hair do not seek med-
ical advice concerning this condition.
Treatment with androgens in otherwise
normal men will not increase body hair.
Adolescents may be particularly con-
cerned about either excessive or lack of
body hair. Appearance is particularly
important to adolescents, so differences
in appearance from peers often result in
some degree of unhappiness. Attention to
identifying treatable causes for hirsutism
or lack of adequate body hair is essential.
Additionally, a teenager may see differ-
ences in hair growth from peers as more
than just a cosmetic issue. For example,
adolescent men sometimes consciously
grow out their facial hair (in the form of
a beard or a goatee, for example) as a
statement of personal style or choice.
Others may see facial hair as a symbol of
masculinity.
Regardless of cause, the removal of
excessive hair should be encouraged in
those instances where it makes the
teenager uncomfortable. Psychological
counseling should also be considered
when these issues are of great concern to
the adolescent.
Jordan W. Finkelstein
See also Appearance, Cultural Factors in;
Appearance Management; Attractive-
ness, Physical; Body Build; Body Image;
Puberty: Physical Changes
References and further reading
Berkow, Robert B., ed. 1997. The Merck
Manual of Medical Information: Home
Edition. Whitehouse Station, NJ: Merck
Research Laboratories.
Body Image
Because adolescence is in part a matter of
getting used to drastic physical changes,
the way that teens feel about their bodies
may also change dramatically at this
time. Most teens will go through a period
of time when they feel uncomfortable
about their bodies or some aspect of their
appearance. These negative feelings usu-
ally occur while adolescents are undergo-
ing puberty. Indeed, nearly every aspect
of an individual’s body will change dur-
ing the four to five years of pubertal
development. At this time, adolescents
commonly experience increased feelings
of self-consciousness. The combination
of physical changes and a more intense
focus on the self makes it likely that
teens will find fault with their bodies and
appearance. In general, girls of this age
group tend to have a poorer body image
than do boys. However, for most youth,
negative feelings about their bodies dissi-
pate after puberty and seem to steadily
increase over the adolescent decade
(Graber, Petersen, and Brooks-Gunn,
1996). For a subset of youth, poor body
image is persistent and may be associated
with more serious emotional problems
such as depression or eating disorders.
 Body Image 91

Boys and girls enter puberty looking

like children but end puberty looking
more like adults. During puberty, indi-
viduals grow at different times and at dif-
ferent rates. Girls usually start this devel-
opment about one to two years earlier
than boys do. In addition, within gender,
individuals start puberty at different
times. The enormous variation among
individuals in their rates of development
may heighten the sensitivity to body
issues, resulting in periods of dissatisfac-
tion with one’s body. Again, for most
youth, these may be brief periods of poor
body image. However, once teens adapt
to their new appearance, their body
image improves. One reason that puberty
may be particularly hard on girls is that
in Western culture, the ideal shape for a
woman is thin. Men, on the other hand,
Adolescents may evaluate their bodies in
are expected to be tall and muscular. In
terms of weight and shape. (Shirley Zeiberg)
any case, the physical changes of puberty
may bring an adolescent closer to or far-
ther from these ideals.
Girls are also more likely than boys to because they are more developed than
evaluate their bodies in terms of their other girls, or boys (Graber, Petersen, and
weight (Drewnowski, Kurth, and Krahn, Brooks-Gunn, 1996). Notably, early-
1995; Parker et al., 1995). This finding maturing girls gain weight while other
may explain why girls tend to have a girls do not, making them even more
poorer body image than boys, especially self-conscious about this otherwise nor-
given that the normal increases in weight mal weight gain. In contrast, boys who
that occur during adolescence are in con- mature earlier than other boys tend to
flict with the idealized female shape. have more positive feelings about their
Adolescent girls, even those of normal bodies; these boys are taller and are gain-
weight, frequently report wanting to lose ing muscle mass at a time when other
weight. In contrast, adolescent boys com- boys have not grown as much. In short, it
monly report that they want to gain is during puberty that early-maturing
weight—as long as it is muscle and not fat boys move closer to the cultural ideal.
(Drewnowski, Kurth, and Krahn, 1995). Recent studies that have examined
In addition, girls who mature earlier whether body image is similar for teens
than other girls have a poorer body image from different racial and ethnic back-
than other girls throughout adolescence; grounds suggest that white girls are more
these girls seem to feel particularly out of likely than girls of other racial or ethnic
place or self-conscious about their bodies backgrounds to evaluate themselves in
92 Body Image
comparison with the thin ideal—prima-
rily because of the predominance of
white models and images in the media.
Moreover, African American girls have
reported in interviews that they are less
sensitive than white girls about their
weight and tend to look on the positive
side when thinking about their bodies.
Specifically, they indicated that girls
should focus on “making what you’ve got
work for you”—an attitude that allowed
them to maintain positive feelings about
their bodies during adolescence (Parker et
al., 1995). In contrast, another study
found that Hispanic and Asian girls expe-
rienced similar rates of dissatisfaction
with their bodies and, in some cases
(involving girls who were very thin), had
poorer body images than their white
counterparts (Robinson et al., 1996).
Thus, African American teenage girls
appear to be the exception to the rule in
terms of their ability to overcome the
“thin ideal” in ways that protect their
body image. Little is known about the
body image of boys of different racial and
ethnic backgrounds. Initial studies sug-
gest that African American teenage boys,
like their female counterparts, exhibit
greater satisfaction with their bodies than
do boys from other racial groups (Story et
al., 1995). In general, however, white,
African American, Hispanic, and Asian
boys were very similar to one another in
reporting feelings about their bodies that
were mostly positive.
Episodes of poor body image may be
common for adolescents, especially girls,
but extended periods of poor body image
may be symptomatic of a more serious
problem or even lead to unhealthy behav-
ior patterns. When teens become de-
pressed, they frequently feel badly about
themselves in several domains, including
body image. Thus, a sustained or severe
episode of poor body image may be a sign
to others that a particular youth is experi-
encing a more serious problem. Moreover,
when girls compare themselves to the
thin ideal and feel badly about not fitting
the image, they may engage in unhealthy
dieting practices in an effort to come
closer to this image. Of course, for most
girls, it simply is not possible to attain the
ideal. Among girls who cannot accept this
truism, a pattern of dieting and potentially
eating disorders may be set in motion.
Similarly, among boys, especially athletes
in high school or college, the pressure to
attain the muscular ideal may lead to
unhealthy practices such as steroid use
(Drewnowski, Kurth, and Krahn, 1995).
Fortunately, few teens end up at these
extremes. But the fact remains that all too
many girls develop bad eating habits
because of body and weight concerns.
Julia A. Graber
Jeanne Brooks-Gunn
See also Appearance, Cultural Factors in;
Appearance Management; Body Build;
Body Fat, Changes in; Body Hair;
Puberty: Physical Changes; Self-
Consciousness
References and further reading
Drewnowski, Adam, Candace L. Kurth,
and Dean D. Krahn. 1995. “Effects of
Body Image on Dieting, Exercise, and
Anabolic Steroid Use in Adolescent
Males.” International Journal of Eating
Disorders 17: 381–386.
Graber, Julia A., Anne C. Petersen, and
Jeanne Brooks-Gunn. 1996. “Pubertal
Processes: Methods, Measures, and
Models.” Pp. 23–53 in Transitions
through Adolescence: Interpersonal
Domains and Context. Edited by Julia
A. Graber, Anne C. Petersen, and
Jeanne Brooks-Gunn. Mahwah, NJ:
Erlbaum.
Parker, Sheila, Mimi Nichter, Mark
Nichter, Nancy Vuckovic, Colette
Sims, and Cheryl Ritenbaugh. 1995.
“Body Image and Weight Concerns

among African American and White
Adolescent Females: Differences That
Make a Difference.” Human
Organization 54: 103–114.
Robinson, Thomas N., Joel D. Killen, Iris
F. Litt, Lawrence D. Hammer, Darrell
M. Wilson, K. Farish Haydel, Chris
Hayward, and C. Barr Taylor. 1996.
“Ethnicity and Body Dissatisfaction:
Are Hispanic and Asian Girls at
Increased Risk for Eating Disorders?”
Journal of Adolescent Health 19:
384–393.
Story, Mary, Simone A. French, Michael
D. Resnick, and Robert W. Blum. 1995.
“Ethnic/Racial and Socioeconomic
Differences in Dieting Behaviors and
Body Image Perceptions in
Adolescents.” International Journal of
Eating Disorders 18: 173–179.
Bullying
Bullying is a specific form of aggressive
behavior, characterized by three impor-
tant criteria:
1. It involves one or more peers
(other children or youth) doing
intentional harm to one or more
other individuals;
2. It is carried out repeatedly and
over time against its victims, often
without clear signs of provocation;
3. It involves an imbalance or abuse
of power, such that the victim is
relatively defenseless against the
perpetrator(s), due to being either
physically weaker, mentally
weaker, or outnumbered (in the
case of several students ganging up
on a victim).
Bullying can include violence (in the
case of causing serious physical harm to
the victim), but it can also occur without
physical violence, by causing damage
over time to the victim through words,
gestures, or exclusion from the group.
Bullying 93
Bullying at school has become a seri-
ous public health concern. International
estimates suggest that 5 to 10 percent of
elementary or primary school students
are involved in bullying incidents at
least weekly. Although rates of physical
bullying decline somewhat after the
transition to secondary school (middle
school and high school), rates of verbal
attacks on peers remain more stable,
and, in fact, physical bullying gets
replaced by an increased use of words as
the vehicle of harm as children move
through adolescence.
Boys appear to be at greater risk for
involvement in bully/victim problems at
school; they tend to be both the initiators
and the recipients of physical aggression
more often than are girls. However, girls
are more likely to be involved in indirect
or “relational” aggression, involving
harming relationships via social alien-
ation or exclusion, ridiculing, and teasing.
What makes a child become a bully?
Several factors have been identified as
contributing to aggressive behavior in
children. First, parents who lack emo-
tional warmth, are underinvolved in
supervising or monitoring their children,
or are inconsistent or overly permissive
in their discipline increase the risk that
their children will become aggressive
and hostile toward others. In addition,
heavy reliance by caregivers on power
assertion to control children’s behavior,
through the use of harsh physical pun-
ishment or violent emotional outbursts,
has been shown to contribute to chil-
dren’s reliance on such methods when
attempting to dominate or control their
peers. Finally, evidence exists for some
biological or temperamental contribu-
tion to aggressive behavior in children:
Children with more difficult tempera-
ments, who are for example overreactive
94 Bumps in the Road to Adulthood
and easily frustrated, as well as impul-
sive (apt to act before thinking), are more
likely to be involved in bullying.
Bullying behavior is difficult for
schools to combat, since teachers and
administrators usually do not directly
witness bullying incidents. Bullying is
most likely to take place in areas of the
school where adult involvement and
supervision of students is lacking, such
as on school playgrounds, in rest rooms,
and in hallways. Even if students are not
directly involved in bullying, they con-
tribute in some way to their school’s cli-
mate of safety. All students play a part in
making other students feel safe or unsafe
at school, to the extent that they assume
the role of either assisting the bully, rein-
forcing the bully, defending the victim, or
remaining on the outside and refusing to
get involved. Recognition of the roles
that students, as well as their teachers,
principals, and parents, are playing in fos-
tering a safe, supportive climate for all
students is critical to reducing bullying
problems at school.
Laura Hess Olson
See also Aggression; Conduct Problems;
Conflict Resolution; Peer Groups; Peer
Pressure; Peer Status; Peer Victimiza-
tion in School; Risk Behaviors
References and further reading
Crick, Nicki R. 1996. “The Role of Overt
Aggression, Relational Aggression, and
Prosocial Behavior in the Prediction of
Children’s Future Social Adjustment.”
Child Development 67: 2317–2327.
Loeber, Rolf, and Magda Stouthamer-
Loeber. 1998. “Development of Juvenile
Aggression and Violence: Some
Common Misconceptions and
Controversies.” American Psychologist
53: 242–259.
Olweus, Dan. 1993. Bullying at School:
What We Know and What We Can Do.
Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
Salmivalli, Christine, Karl M. Lagerspetz,
Kaj Björkqvist, Karin Österman, and
Anna Kaukiainen. 1996. “Bullying as a
Group Process: Participant Roles and
Their Relations to Social Status within
the Group.” Aggressive Behavior 22:
1–15.
Smith, Peter K., Yohji Morita, Josine
Junger-Tas, Dan Olweus, Richard F.
Catalano, and Phillip Slee. 1999. The
Nature of School Bullying: A Cross-
National Perspective. London:
Routledge.
Bumps in the Road to Adulthood
In 1938, Ruth Benedict coined the term
discontinuities to refer to differences in
expected childhood and adulthood roles
and behaviors. During adolescence,
teenagers must change the ways in
which they behave in the transition
from immature childhood to mature
adulthood. These changes may be diffi-
cult, resulting in a stressful adolescence.
The greater the number of discontinu-
ities confronting the teenager, the more
difficult the adolescent transition will
be. Because such discontinuities tend to
be greater in industrialized societies, this
transition is more difficult in the United
States than in more primitive cultures.
And it has become increasingly more dif-
ficult as the number of discontinuities
has risen.
Following are some of the many exam-
ples of discontinuities between child-
hood and adulthood:
• Expecting adults but not children
to be self-supporting
• Teaching children to be dependent
on adults, but expecting adults to
be independent
• Refusing to officially condone sex-
ual activity until after people are
married
 Bumps in the Road to Adulthood 95

• Prohibiting the legal right to drive,

work part-time, vote, or drink
alcohol until certain ages have
been reached

These differences in the expectations of

behavior between children and adults
create “bumps” during the transitions
the adolescent makes from childhood
forms of behavior to expected adulthood
forms, particularly if the transitions are
made abruptly rather than gradually.
Adolescents must learn independent
behavior, yet they remain dependent
upon parents for food, clothing, and shel-
ter. Faced with an increased sex drive and
pressured by peers to engage in sex, they
must make decisions regarding sexual
behavior that may lead to anxiety and
guilt. And peer pressure to drink can lead
some adolescents to abuse alcohol at a
very young age.
These and other changes between
During adolescence, teenagers must change
childhood and adulthood can cause emo-
the ways in which they behave from
tional stress and strain that make adoles- childlike to adultlike. (Skjold Photographs)
cence extremely difficult for some and a
guilt-ridden time for others. The greater
the number of “bumps” that the culture
places along the road to adulthood, the this culture, adolescence continues fur-
more difficult a time the adolescent will ther into the life span than it does in less
have in learning how to behave like an complex cultures.
adult. The many changes between child- Jerome B. Dusek
hood and adulthood roles the adolescent
must make in the United States result in
See also Services for Adolescents; Transi-
more difficult and lengthy transitions tion to Young Adulthood; Transitions
here than in other places, where more of Adolescence
continuities exist in the form of similari- References and further reading
ties between childhood and adulthood Benedict, Ruth. 1938. “Continuities and
roles. Discontinuities in Cultural
Conditioning.” Psychiatry 1: 161–167.
Because the necessary transitions take Coleman, John C. 1978. “Current
place over a period of six to eight years, Contradictions in Adolescent Theory.”
most American adolescents are able to Journal of Youth and Adolescence 7:
1–11.
face one or two at a time, deal with them, Dusek, Jerome B. 1996. Adolescent
and move on. However, in part because Development and Behavior. Upper
so many transitions need to be made in Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
 C
Cancer in Childhood and
Adolescence
Cancer is a process in which abnormal
cells are produced in the body. These
abnormal cells reproduce other abnormal
cells in a quick and uncontrollable man-
ner. If cancer is left unchecked, it may
invade surrounding tissues and organs. In
the United States approximately 10,000
children and adolescents are diagnosed
with cancer each year. Of those, approxi-
mately two-thirds will survive. As of the
year 2000, one in a thousand adults aged
twenty to twenty-nine were predicted to
be a survivor of childhood cancer (Row-
land, 1998). This is quite remarkable, con-
sidering that three decades ago children or
adolescents diagnosed with cancer were
not expected to live for more than a mat-
ter of days or months. Today, however,
many cancers are being cured, even in the
most advanced stages—especially in chil-
dren and adolescents. Cancer cure rates
are much higher among children and ado-
lescents than among adults for several
reasons, including the fact that young
people have bodies that are still growing,
making it easier to recover from illness or
injury.
There are a hundred different types of
cancer, which include brain tumors, lym-
phomas, sarcomas, and various forms of
leukemia. Leukemia, the most common
childhood cancer, affects the bone mar-
97
row, which is the organ in the body
responsible for manufacturing blood cells.
There are several subtypes of leukemia,
diagnosed according to how quickly the
disease develops and what type of blood
cell is affected. The most common type of
leukemia is acute lymphocytic leukemia
(ALL), which primarily affects children
under the age of five and adults over the
age of sixty-five. Leukemia cells impair
blood cells from doing what they nor-
mally do. Since blood cells are responsible
for helping the body fight infection and
maintain energy, people with leukemia
often have great difficulty fighting infec-
tions, frequently experience fevers, and
are fatigued much of the time.
Malignant brain tumors (tumors con-
sisting of cancerous cells) are the most
common solid-mass tumors found in chil-
dren under the age of fifteen and, overall,
the second most common childhood can-
cer. Survival rates vary according to type
and location of tumor in the brain.
Lymphomas are the third most com-
mon form of childhood cancer. The two
types of lymphomas include Hodgkin’s
lymphoma, which involves the lymph
nodes, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma,
which involves the abdominal, head, and
neck areas. Although Hodgkin’s lym-
phoma accounts for fewer than 1 percent
of all cases of cancer in this country, it is
the type of cancer most often seen in
98 Cancer in Childhood and Adolescence
young people between the ages of fifteen
and thirty-four and over the age of fifty-
five. Hodgkin’s is one of the most curable
cancers, with five-year survival rates
approaching 90 percent (Rowland, 1998).
Other types of cancer include neuro-
blastoma, which affects sympathetic
nervous system tissue, and various forms
of sarcoma (cancerous tumors), which
involve bone cells (osteosarcoma) or con-
nective muscular tissue (rhabdomyosar-
coma). Sarcomas are generally rare,
occurring primarily in adolescents under
the age of twenty. There are other rare
forms of cancer—including prostate,
ovarian, lung, and skin cancer—but these
are more commonly found in adults than
in children or adolescents.
The causes of cancer among adoles-
cents are still not completely understood.
In a few cases, cancer can be linked to
genetic or environmental factors, but
more often there is no apparent reason as
to why some adolescents develop cancer
and others do not. It is important to
understand that cancer is not something
that can be transmitted from one person
to another through the air or human con-
tact, as with a cold or flu. Rather, cancer
usually results from a complex interac-
tion of environmental and genetic factors.
Treatment for adolescent cancer
patients usually consists of chemother-
apy and radiation. Depending on the type
of cancer, treatment can last between a
few months and a few years. Chemother-
apy, sometimes called “chemo” for short,
is the name given to medicines that kill
cells that divide quickly, as cancer cells
do. However, chemotherapy also kills
other quickly dividing cells, like those
found in hair, skin, and bone marrow as
well as in the mouth and digestive sys-
tem. This is why cancer patients often
lose their hair, have sores in their
mouths, and experience fatigue and
extreme nausea. Fortunately, there are
medications available to dissipate some
of these side effects. But one side effect—
the loss of hair—can be particularly trau-
matic for adolescents.
In many cases, chemotherapy can be
given on an outpatient basis, such that
the adolescent needs to spend only a few
hours during the day in the hospital.
Depending on the type of cancer involved
and how well the patient tolerates the
chemotherapy, some adolescent cancer
patients can attend school throughout
treatment, missing only the day on
which they go to the hospital to receive
chemotherapy, whereas others need to
spend several days in the hospital. Typi-
cally, the effects of chemo are worse a
few hours or days after treatment is
given, at a time when the adolescent is
home. So, even if the chemotherapy is
being received on an outpatient basis, the
adolescent may still not feel well enough
to go to school or maintain contact with
peers when they are at home. Most ado-
lescents report that the worst part about
having cancer is feeling like they are
“missing out” on things that are happen-
ing at school and among their friends. E-
mail has helped many adolescents stay in
touch with their friends, even when they
are feeling unwell; but support from fam-
ily, as well as from friends and teachers,
is absolutely essential during this time.
Often, cancer patients undergo chemo-
therapy in combination with radiation,
which involves using X rays to cause cell
destruction. Radiation treatment is often
very intensive, occurring two to three
times a day for several weeks. It has
many side effects, including extreme
skin irritation, nausea, and fatigue.
For solid-mass tumors, surgery is used
to remove the cancerous cells—if they
 Cancer in Childhood and Adolescence
are easily removable. This procedure is
usually combined with chemotherapy
and/or radiation. A bone-marrow trans-
plant is sometimes recommended, de-
pending on the type and stage of cancer.
As noted earlier, most treatment can be
delivered on an outpatient basis, with
only limited hospital stays required.
However, adolescents who must undergo
a bone-marrow transplant will face
extended hospitalization, isolation, and
convalescence. Isolated from the “outside
world,” these adolescents are greatly
helped by e-mail, which allows them to
keep in touch with their friends and fam-
ily. Such connectedness is very important
as it provides support to the patients,
especially those required to stay in the
hospital for an extended period of time.
Adolescents cope with diagnosis and
treatment in a variety of ways, depending
on personality characteristics, coping
strategies, and support from family and
peers. For some adolescents, the waiting
time before they hear the official diagno-
sis may take a few hours, or a few days,
and this can be difficult. Often the coping
response is anger—“Why me?” Among
adolescents who do not understand the
illness, treatment, or cure rates, there
may be some aggravated fear. In such
cases, the result may be a struggle for
power and answers between the adoles-
cent and the family or medical staff. Ulti-
mately, the diagnosis of cancer upsets the
idea of invulnerability that many adoles-
cents have—an experience that may be
devastating at first.
The diagnosis of cancer is usually fol-
lowed by denial and a desire either to
hear nothing about the disease or to be
thoroughly informed about it, depending
on the adolescent’s coping style. Adoles-
cents usually have more say in the treat-
ment plan than children do, and they can
99
choose how much and what types of
information they wish to receive and in
what decisions they wish to be included.
Comprehension of the illness, the med-
ications, and the treatment plan is essen-
tial to some adolescents, often influenc-
ing how they adjust to the diagnosis and
treatment. But, as noted, every adoles-
cent is different and should be included
only as much as he or she wishes.
Often, a pattern of denial emerges
between treatments, and maladaptive
behaviors surface during hospitalizations
and/or relapses. Whereas some adoles-
cents maintain adaptive coping strategies
and a positive attitude, others may
become overly dependent on their par-
ents, experience excessive anxiety,
engage in high-risk behaviors, or refuse to
comply with the medical treatment.
Cancer can affect teens in a number of
different ways, because the unique devel-
opmental tasks of adolescence coincide
with the medical complications and chal-
lenges of diagnosis and treatment. For
example, it is during adolescence that peer
approval, as well as body image and the
concept of the “beautiful body,” become
increasingly important. Chemotherapy-
related changes in body image and in the
body itself—hair loss, weight gain or loss,
or disfigurement from surgery—may
affect not only how adolescents feel about
themselves but also how their peers inter-
act with them. Peers may have little
knowledge of the disease or not know
what to say to the patients, thus further
isolating them from “normal” peer inter-
actions. Or the patients may remove
themselves from activities because of a
distorted self-image or self-consciousness.
In short, at an age when peer relationships
are becoming increasingly important, can-
cer may limit adolescents’ participation in
peer-related activities, making it difficult
100 Cancer in Childhood and Adolescence
for them to establish close peer relation-
ships. In addition, because of the time the
adolescents need to spend getting treat-
ment or staying home because of the
physical side effects of the treatment and
disease, they may have a difficult time
reentering school and feeling connected to
their teachers and peers.
It is also during adolescence that emo-
tional and economical independence from
parents becomes increasingly important.
This is a time when adolescents typically
get their first jobs so they can spend their
own money and begin to desire more pri-
vacy from their parents. Cancer can per-
petuate adolescents’ dependence on their
parents, as they must be driven to and
from the hospital for treatment, do not
feel well enough to take care of them-
selves, and lack the energy and time to
get a job. In addition, adolescents with
cancer are constantly being subjected to
medical procedures both inside and
outside the hospital. Along with the
demands of treatment (blood being
drawn, urine and stool samples being
required frequently, and the parents con-
stantly checking in on the adolescents
when they are home) comes a marked
loss of privacy. Negotiating privacy and
independence in the middle of treatment
for cancer is complicated and difficult, yet
very important, as the adolescents need
to feel some sense of control in this very
out-of-control environment.
Furthermore, adolescence is a period
marked by increased curiosity and ex-
pressiveness about sexuality. This issue
can be especially difficult for adolescents
with cancer who have limited privacy
and have been removed from their peers
because of frequent clinic visits, nausea,
or their peers’ misunderstanding. Indeed,
it may affect an adolescent’s already poor
body image.
Finally, the diagnosis of cancer during
adolescence may influence career plan-
ning and life goals. A realistic self-
assessment is difficult because the
patients are unable to predict how the
chemotherapy is going to affect them
later on or even whether they are going
to survive beyond five years. Therefore,
doctors may send mixed messages and
clouded answers about the future.
Adolescents with cancer are faced with
the same developmental challenges as
other adolescents, but these challenges
are often considerably more complicated.
However, although cancer may affect
their body image, self-esteem, socializa-
tion, independence, sexuality, and career
planning, most adolescents with this
diagnosis fare quite well. Although the
initial diagnosis can be quite alarming,
most adolescents continue to find mean-
ing in their disease; they feel they will
never be the same again, and at times feel
quite disconnected from their peers,
most have the capacity to use this chal-
lenge to find an even greater meaning in
their life.
Many organizations offer free printed
materials about treatment and living
with cancer. They are available by calling
(1) the National Cancer Institute, also
known as the Cancer Information Ser-
vice, at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-
6237); (2) the American Cancer Society at
1-800-ACS-2345 (1-800-227-2345); (3) the
Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foun-
dation (CCCF) at 1-800-366-CCCF (1-
800-366-2223); or (4) the Leukemia Soci-
ety of America (LSA) at 1-800-955-4LSA
(1-800-955-4572).
Catherine E. Barton
See also Chronic Illnesses in Adolescence;
Cigarette Smoking; Health Promotion;

Health Services for Adolescents; Nutri-
tion
References and further reading
Lampkin, B. C. 1993. “Introduction and
Executive Summary.” Cancer 71:
3199–3201.
Meadows, A. T., and W. L. Hovvie. 1986.
“The Medical Consequences of Cure.”
Cancer, 58:524–528.
Rowland, Julia H. 1998. “Developmental
Stage and Adaptation: Child and
Adolescent Model.” Pp. 519–543 in
Handbook of Psychooncology:
Psychological Care of the Patient with
Cancer. Edited by Jimmie C. Holland
and Julia H. Rowland. New York:
Oxford University Press.
Varni, James W., Ronald L. Blount, and
Daniel L. L. Quiggins. 1998.
“Oncological Disorders.” Pp. 313–346
in Handbook of Pediatric Psychology
and Psychiatry, Vol. 11: Disease,
Injury, and Illness. Boston: Allyn and
Bacon.
Career Development
Broadly defined, career development rep-
resents the process one goes through in
order to “make a life.” Couched within
this perspective is the concept of “mak-
ing a living.” This conceptualization is
important from the standpoint that
throughout life, people are in constant
pursuit of developing, establishing, or
redefining who they are as individuals.
The role of work and the ability to make
a living play a critical role in how one
defines oneself. While this process begins
early in the life course, the true founda-
tion is laid during the period of adoles-
cence when one begins to seriously con-
sider the possibility of one’s future.
These considerations, as well as the per-
sonal, social, and academic experiences
one has during this time, in many ways
determine the quality of an individual’s
initial pathway into adulthood roles.
Such pathways play a significant role in
how one makes a life.
Career Development 101
Classic researchers such as Donald
Super see the role of exploration as an
opportunity for teenagers to explore the
notion of self and their environment.
From a developmental perspective, the
exploration process one goes through is
very similar to the crisis period Erik Erik-
son describes in identity development.
From Super’s perspective, failure to effec-
tively explore oneself in various contexts
(e.g., school and early work settings)
often leads to poor and uninformed
choices concerning jobs and careers. It is
this exploratory behavior that lays the
foundation for what is known as voca-
tional maturity, which allows adoles-
cents the opportunity to make informed
decisions about how to pursue their
occupational futures. The degree of one’s
career maturity is useful not only in
helping one commit to a career choice
but also in serving as a buffer for individ-
uals experiencing vocational stress asso-
ciated with the establishment, mainte-
nance, loss, and decline stages of career
development. This ability to cope with
the ever-changing landscape of the cycle
of work grows out of an expanded knowl-
edge of self and the world of work.
Microsystem Influences—
Family and Work Experience
Using a developmental, ecological per-
spective, the microsystem is viewed as
those social agents that come in direct
contact and impact the adolescent. As
components of the microsystem, the fam-
ily and the adolescent workplace have
critical functions in young people’s abil-
ity to identify patterns, roles, activities,
and interpersonal relationships necessary
to effectively transition into adulthood.
Family. The family literature concen-
trates on how birth order, early parent-
102 Career Development
child interaction, identification with par-
ents, perception of parental expectations,
and amount of contact with parents
influence career development. The bulk
of the family literature centers on the
interaction of socioeconomic status (SES)
and gender on parents’ and adolescents’
motivation, aspirations, and overall
development at various points in the life
course.
Recent studies concerning the impact of
social context on adolescent career devel-
opment have shifted toward examining
how enhancing the relational components
(e.g., family) impacts one’s identity.
Through this perspective, adolescents
have a means of developing and maintain-
ing their connection to the world while at
the same time learning about themselves
via supported family relationships. Rainer
Silbereisen, Fred Vondracek, and Lucianne
Berg (1997) reported that higher levels of
parental support behavior during child-
hood is associated with young people
making earlier vocational choices, as well
as showing an advanced level of identity
exploration and commitment. Baerbel
Kracke (1997) further supported Sil-
bereisen et al. in explaining how parent
interaction and communication styles at
different points during development
impact career exploration in young people.
Borrowing from attachment theory,
Kracke felt that parents who provide safe
and secure relationships in the family pro-
mote curiosity and early exploratory activ-
ity in children. Diana Baumrind (1989)
also pointed out that through such a sup-
portive environment, parents exhibit two
important behaviors that are critical for
shaping young peoples’ career exploration
behavior: (1) an awareness of children’s
needs and (2) expectations that their chil-
dren act in a mature and responsible man-
ner. As children move into adolescence,
this authoritative parenting style begins to
change from parent-child to partnerlike.
Kracke explained that parents who are
willing to openly communicate their feel-
ings about their adolescents’ development
or who promote independent thinking
will continue to promote active career
exploration in their children. Through this
home environment, parents are providing
important meaning-making opportunities
that have long-term effects on how young
people view themselves and their poten-
tial contribution to society via work.
Other evidence shows that through family
support, transitioning youth are able to
maintain their connection to the work
world and are less likely to suffer the long-
term psychological and emotional effects
associated with unemployment.
Additionally, John Schulenberg, Fred
Vondracek, and Ann Crouter (1984)
pointed to other limitations in the family
effect and career development literature;
that limitations need to be considered
when using an ecological perspective.
First, many of the trends that push the
family effect and career development lit-
erature lack a developmental focus. Sec-
ond, much of this literature fails to look
at the family as a functioning whole.
This shortcoming highlights the impor-
tance of looking at career development
from an ecological perspective. Schulen-
berg et al. noted that the research rarely
looks at the “salient issues of the family
as being interdependent in their occur-
rence and influence.” As a result, the lit-
erature tends to diminish the full impact
of how families affect adolescent career
development. Third, little attempt seems
to be made in considering how the indi-
vidual’s vocational development and
family context changes over time. Life
events such as family relocation, loss of
parental employment and benefits, or

family experiences with inconsistent
employment opportunities have pro-
found impacts on how young people view
the opportunity structure and how the
family provides and prepares the young
person to transition into adulthood roles.
Workplace. Much of the adolescent work-
place literature focus has been devoted to
examining how the number of work expe-
riences impact educational outcomes, per-
sonality development, problem behavior,
and future earnings. This literature has
produced confusing results at best. Some
researchers who espouse the positive
effects of adolescent employment show
supportive evidence that work experience
provides self-discipline, improved school
achievement, and higher levels of future
employment status and earnings. Others
believe too many hours spent working
may lead to higher levels of school mis-
conduct, low achievement, tobacco and
drug use, and diminished time spent with
family, homework, and extracurricular
school activities. Using a developmental
perspective, Ellen Greenberger and Lau-
rence Steinberg (1986) determined that
because young people potentially spend so
much time working, they miss out on
their moratorium period to explore alter-
native identities. It is important to note
that much of the research connecting the
negative impact of work with student
achievement primarily correlates the
number of hours worked with academic
performance. As students work more
hours, they consistently do poorly in
school. This has been a major contribution
to practitioners in terms of developing and
monitoring thresholds to maximize stu-
dent achievement. Jeylan Mortimer and
Marcia Johnson (1997) reported promising
evidence revealing that adolescents who
are successful at balancing school and
Career Development 103
working under twenty hours per week are
more likely to pursue postsecondary train-
ing than either students who work longer
hours or students who do not work at all
during high school.
Researchers concerned about adoles-
cent workforce experiences have also suc-
cessfully linked the various types of expe-
riences young people are exposed to in
both the classroom and the workplace.
Steven Hamilton and Wolfgang Lempert
(1996) believed that early supported work
experiences and apprenticeship programs
like the ones found in Germany, which
rely heavily on work-based learning, are
successful at teaching basic work soft
skills (e.g., work etiquette) that can be
transferred from one work situation to
another. James Stone and Jeylan Mortimer
(1998) further pointed out that young peo-
ple experiencing work for the first time
learn valuable general behavior that is
useful regardless of the nature of the job.
Many of these work experiences provide
young people a real-world vehicle to con-
nect and apply many desired school
behaviors within an interdisciplinary
work context. Early work experiences
teach young people the importance of fol-
lowing directions and working with vari-
ous groups (e.g., managers, coworkers, and
customers). In addition, adolescents learn
how to plan for, prepare, and engage the
labor market as well as access and organ-
ize necessary information for employ-
ment. All of these are essential skills that
must be mastered for effective transition-
ing into the world of work. These experi-
ences can then serve as the foundation for
subsequent upward mobility.
Unfortunately, career development re-
searchers have given limited attention to
the manner in which work experiences
impact adolescent career development.
Part of the reason why the literature has
104 Career Development
not focused on this component might be
related to the assumption by researchers
that family and schools serve as the pri-
mary socializers during adolescent devel-
opment. However, a small number of
researchers believe workplace experiences
offer significant meaning-making oppor-
tunities for young people transitioning
into adulthood roles.
Despite the limited research focus, the
need to understand how workplace expe-
riences assist young people in under-
standing the work world and make
appropriate decisions is critical. Using
data from the National Longitudinal Sur-
vey of Youth (NLSY), Michael Pergamit
(1995) estimated that nearly 64 percent of
high school juniors and 73 percent of
high school seniors work for pay outside
of the home. Similarly, Wendy Manning
(1990) reported that 70 percent of adoles-
cents between sixteen and eighteen years
of age were employed, while Jerald Bach-
man and John Schulenberg (1993) showed
that 75 percent of male and 73 percent of
female young people held some type of
work experience. These numbers further
support the developmental perspective
that work plays an important role in the
lives of many young people.
Christopher Ashford
See also Academic Achievement; Acade-
mic Self-Evaluation; Apprenticeships;
Employment: Positive and Negative
Consequences; School, Functions of;
Vocational Development; Work in Ado-
lescence
References and further reading
Ainsworth, Mary. 1989. “Attachments
beyond Infancy.” American
Psychologist 44: 709–716.
Bachman, Jerald G., and John Schulenberg.
1993. “How Part-Time Work Intensity
Relates to Drug Use, Problem Behavior,
Time Use, and Satisfaction among High
School Seniors: Are These
Consequences, or Merely Correlates?”
Developmental Psychology 29 (2):
220–236.
Baumrind, Diana. 1989. “Rearing
Competent Children.” In Child
Development Today and Tomorrow,
edited by William Damon. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Erikson, Erik H. 1968. Identity: Youth
and Crisis. New York: Norton.
Greenberger, Ellen, and Laurence D.
Steinberg. 1986. When Teenagers Work:
The Psychological and Social Costs of
Adolescent Employment. New York:
Basic Books.
Hamilton, Steven F., and Wolfgang
Lempert. 1996. “The Impact of
Apprenticeship on Youth: A Prospective
Analysis.” Journal of Research on
Adolescence 6: 427–455.
Kracke, Baerbel. 1997. “Parental Behaviors
and Adolescents’ Career Exploration.”
The Career Development Quarterly 45,
no. 4: 341–350.
Manning, Wendy D. 1990. “Parenting
Employed Teenagers.” Youth and
Society 22: 184–200.
Marsh, Herbert W. 1991. “Employment
during High School: Character Building
or a Subversion of Academic Goals?”
Sociology of Education 64: 172–189.
Mortimer, Jeylan T., and Marcia K.
Johnson. 1997. “Adolescent Part-Time
Work and Post-Secondary Transition
Pathways: A Longitudinal Study of
Youth in St. Paul, Minnesota.” Paper
presented at New Passages, Toronto,
Canada.
Pergamit, Michael R. 1995. “Assessing
School to Work Transitions in the
United States. Discussion Paper” (NLS
96–32). Washington, DC: U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics.
Schulenberg, John, Fred W. Vondracek,
and Ann Crouter. 1984. “The Influence
of the Family on Vocational
Development.” Journal of Marriage and
the Family 46: 129–143.
Silbereisen, Rainer K., Fred W. Vondracek,
and Lucianne A. Berg. 1997.
“Differential Timing of Initial
Vocational Choice: The Influence of
Early Childhood Family Relocation and
Parental Support Behaviors in Two
Cultures.” Journal of Vocational
Behavior 50: 41–59.
Steinberg, Laurence, and Sanford
Dornbusch. 1991. “Negative Correlates

of Part-Time Employment during
Adolescence: Replication and
Elaboration.” Developmental
Psychology 27: 304–313.
Stone, James R., and Jeylan T. Mortimer.
1998. “The Effects of Adolescent
Employment on Vocational
Development: Public and Educational
Policy Implications.” Journal of
Vocational Behavior 53: 184–214.
Super, Donald E. 1964. “A Developmental
Approach to Vocational Guidance:
Recent Theory and Results.”
Vocational Guidance Quarterly 13:
1–10.
———. 1990. “A Life-Span Life-Space
Approach to Career Development.” Pp.
197–261 in Career Choice and
Development, 2nd ed. Edited by D.
Brown and L. Brooks. San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass.
Cheating, Academic
Research over the last thirty years has
shown that academic cheating appears to
be normative, rather than deviant, behav-
ior among adolescents. Different studies
have found that as many as 80 percent of
students surveyed admit to cheating on a
fairly regular basis. Student handbooks
usually outline the criteria of and penalty
for various forms of academic dishonesty.
When cheating occurs in the context of
essays and term papers, it is called pla-
giarism. But cheating can also take place
on in-class tests, open-book tests, and
take-home tests. In most schools, the fol-
lowing behavior is generally considered
cheating on in-class tests: communicat-
ing information in any form with another
test taker (i.e., giving or receiving infor-
mation, verbally or nonverbally); obtain-
ing a copy of the test prior to the official
test day and time; obtaining information
about the questions and/or answers of a
test prior to official test day and time
(e.g., when students in different sections
of the same course exchange information
Cheating, Academic 105
between class periods); and obtaining
answers to test questions from sources
not approved by the teacher, whether
written or electronic (e.g., consulting
one’s notes, crib sheets, preprogrammed
watches, or calculators). Cheating on
open-book tests includes all of the above
plus using or submitting answers written
out ahead of time. Cheating on take-
home tests includes obtaining informa-
tion from sources not approved by the
teacher (e.g., consulting Internet sites or
other students).
There are a variety of reasons why stu-
dents cheat: They lack good study skills;
the work is too difficult; the pressure to
achieve is too great; they’ve opted for the
easy way out; consequences are loosely
or inconsistently enforced. Although
research over the years has shown a
steady increase in the prevalence of
cheating behavior (or at least students’
willingness to admit to it), two specific
reasons for cheating consistently appear
in the list of top five reasons: (1) fear of
failure and (2) pressure to achieve. In
addition, cheating tends to occur more
often in private and independent schools
than in public schools, and among high-
achieving students than among middle-
to low-achieving students.
Academic competitiveness in private
and independent schools can be so sharp
that the consequences of failure, or even
moderately poor performance, appear
graver than the consequences of cheat-
ing. This is especially true in schools
where teachers are reluctant to report
cheating in order to avoid confrontation
with students, parents, or administrators;
where cheating is not taken seriously and
the penalty is loosely or inconsistently
enforced; or where classroom and school
environments are overly familiar and
trusting, as when a teacher grades papers
106 Cheating, Academic
or momentarily steps out of the room
while students are taking a test.
Among high-achieving students, the
pressure to perform can come from both
home and school. In 1993, Who’s Who
among American High School Students
conducted one of the largest polls ever in
this area of research. All of the students
surveyed had “A” and “B” averages, and
98 percent planned on attending college.
An amazing 80 percent of the respon-
dents admitted committing some form of
academic dishonesty on more than a few
occasions. Part of the pressure that high-
achieving students experience is due to
increased competitiveness in obtaining
acceptance to select colleges. Indeed,
although the number of high school stu-
dents has remained relatively stable over
the past decade, the number of applicants
to college has risen 50 percent.
Schools have taken various steps to
curtail cheating associated with this cli-
mate of academic competitiveness. Some,
for example, have eliminated honor rolls;
others have stopped distributing year-end
awards; still others have started requiring
teachers to provide narrative comments
along with letter grades on report cards or
have de-emphasized class rank (e.g.,
through student selection of valedictori-
ans based on qualities other than grades).
One of the most effective methods for
reducing cheating, however, has been to
institute an honor code at both the class-
room and schoolwide levels. This method
is especially successful when student rep-
resentatives are permitted to participate
in the review process. Indeed, integrity is
maintained more consistently when peers
keep one another accountable for their
behavior and for the consequences that
follow.
As noted, plagiarism is another form of
cheating. Plagiarism refers to the presen-
tation of another person’s ideas or work
(written or otherwise) in an attempt to
pass it off as one’s own. The most obvious
and irrefutable form of plagiarism is a
paper produced by a student who has
copied, word for word, from a research
source without including any or suffi-
cient documentation. It is fairly simple to
teach students that this method of writ-
ing is to be avoided at all costs. Much
more difficult is the task of teaching stu-
dents how to read, digest, synthesize, and
cite appropriately. As many adolescents
find this a complex cognitive process,
many schools do not permit the assign-
ment of research or term papers before
the junior year. Instead, they place greater
emphasis on teaching students the skills
and processes involved in good writing.
Under most test conditions, students
know when they are cheating, doing so
consciously and deliberately. But plagia-
rism presents quite a different situation,
as students often do not know they are
plagiarizing. They misunderstand the
rules of proper referencing, have weak
writing skills, are poorly trained in the
writing process, or rely upon inappropri-
ate reference guides. For example, many
students do not realize that paraphrasing
requires acknowledgment of the source
or that rearranging words does not make
an idea one’s own. In these instances,
teachers should take special care to deter-
mine whether plagiarism is due to poor
skills or training as opposed to willful
misrepresentation.
Both students and teachers have
offered the following recommendations
to help maintain academic honesty and
integrity: Test questions should accu-
rately reflect the level of difficulty and
time spent on material during class;
teachers should supervise tests closely
(e.g., by standing or walking around the

classroom rather than sitting at the desk
or focusing on other work); teachers
should use different, but equivalent,
makeup tests for different students; stu-
dents and teachers should make an effort
to communicate effectively when mate-
rial is difficult (i.e., students should ask
the teacher or other students for help,
and teachers should review the material
more slowly or more frequently); stu-
dents’ and teachers’ expectations and
objectives for the course as a whole, as
well as for individual units, should be
clearly articulated; and teachers should
remain sensitive to students’ require-
ments in other classes (e.g., by not giving
a unit test in math on the same day a
major science project is due).
Both the increase in cheating behavior
among students and the difficulty of cur-
tailing it are due largely to the more
“sophisticated” methods of cheating now
available. Technological advances have
made it easier for students to cheat and
more difficult for teachers to catch them
in the act, especially since today’s stu-
dents tend to be more technologically
savvy than many adults. For example,
calculators and watches can be prepro-
grammed with math and science formu-
las, and the Internet provides an endless
stream of Web sites for downloading
everything from expository essays to
research papers. Accordingly, ongoing
professional development must include
education on the use and misuse of tech-
nology in the classroom. Students must
see that teachers are as knowledgeable
about computers as they are about their
subject matter.
The efficiency and ease that technology
has introduced to the age-old problem of
cheating also warrant stronger emphasis
on character and the personal loss that
comes with achievement through decep-
Chicana/o Adolescents 107
tion. Cheating diminishes the pride that
comes with achievement and doing one’s
own work; it threatens the trust between
students and their teachers and among
the students themselves; it presents an
unfair advantage to some students over
others; and, finally, it is a form of stealing.
Indeed, stealing someone else’s work and
ideas is as much a violation as stealing
someone else’s property.
Imma De Stefanis
See also Academic Achievement; Acade-
mic Self-Evaluation; Conduct Problems;
Moral Development
References and further reading
Evans, Ellis D., and Delores Craig. 1991.
“Teacher and Student Perceptions of
Academic Cheating in Middle and
Senior High Schools.” Journal of
Educational Research 84, no. 1: 41–52.
McLaughlin, Rose D., and Steven M.
Rose. 1989. “Student Cheating in High
School: A Case of Moral Reasoning vs.
‘Fuzzy Logic.’” The High School
Journal 72, no. 3: 97–104.
Schab, Fred, 1991. “Schooling without
Learning: Thirty Years of Cheating in
High School.” Adolescence 26, no. 104:
839–847.
Who’s Who among American High School
Students. 1993. “24th Annual Survey of
High Achievers.” Lake Forest, IL:
Educational Communications.
Chicana/o Adolescents
The term Chicana/o grew out of the
1960s civil rights movement from a
united sense of Raza or race, a united
sense of the collective struggles of Mexi-
can American peoples to make their
voices heard. Most efforts of Chicanas/os
before, through, and after the 1960s reflect
struggles to gain access to the same
opportunities—education, economic and
social justice, safe and affordable housing,
social services, and working opportuni-
ties—which the U.S. government was
108 Chicana/o Adolescents
then providing the dominant, Anglo pop-
ulation. Several Chicana/o organiza-
tions—including United Farm Workers,
the Brown Berets, MEChA (Movimiento
Estudiantil Chicano de Atzlán), LULAC
(the League of United Latin American
Citizens), and the G.I. Forum—helped to
raise these issues in a public way. To raise
concerns, members in these organiza-
tions held marches, endured painful
hunger strikes, were arrested for the civil
disobedience of peaceful protest, and
were even murdered.
A few of the many heroes active in
these struggles include Cesar Chávez,
who was the founding president of the
United Farm Workers; Vicky Castro, who
was the president of the Young Citizens
for Commuity Action, which later grew
into the Brown Berets; María Hernández,
who fought against school segregations
and helped to form La Raza Unida; Rubén
Salazar, a journalist who was murdered
by Los Angeles Police Officers while cov-
ering Chicana/o protests of the 1960s;
and Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales, who
fought police brutality against Chi-
canas/os and authored “I am Joaquín,” a
poem capturing the heart of the Chi-
cana/o movement. Today, the Chicana/o
struggles continue. Some of the activists
in the midst of these struggles are Gloria
Anzaldúa, a Chicana feminist lesbian
author; Arturo Rodriguez, president of
the United Farm Workers; Edward James
Olmos, a Chicano actor supportive of La
Raza; Loretta Sanchez, a member of Con-
gress; Carlos Santana, the guitar genius;
and Josefina Villamil Tinajero, president
of the National Association of Bilingual
Education.
There are two primary definitions of
Chicana/o adolescents actively in use
today. These definitions reflect how
Chicanas/os (also written Chican@s)
define themselves and how they are
defined by others. Chicanas/os often
describe the term Chicana/o (reflecting
both women—a and men—o) as a politi-
cal ideology, rather than a racial category.
The Chicana/o political ideology is one of
active resistance against tyranny. The
tyranny against which Chicanas/os strug-
gle is based in the oppression of Mexican-
descendant peoples in the United States,
including both immigrants and those
originally here. Those originally here are
the Mexicans whose land and ways of liv-
ing were taken from them in the Mexi-
can-American War, ending in 1848 with
the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, when
the United States stole several states
from Mexico, including present-day Cali-
fornia, Arizona, Texas, Utah, Colorado,
and New Mexico. Chicanas/os often
describe themselves as a people united in
a political ideology encompassed in a
continuous struggle (La Lucha Sigue) to
affirm their existence and their civil
rights within the United States. Given
this self-definition, one is not born a Chi-
cana/o but becomes a Chicana/o through
an awareness of the injustices Mexican
Americans in the United States face daily
and a determination to continue the
struggle for justice.
The other definition often used for
Chicana/o is to describe any person of
Mexican American descent who was
born in the United States, as opposed to
those born in Mexico. This definition is
often used to distinguish between those
Mexicans in the United States with
strong Spanish skills and strong ties to
Mexican culture and those Mexican
Americans who Spanish skills and cul-
tural ties are seen by Mexicans as
weaker.
Danielle Carrigo

See also Ethnic Identity; Identity;
Latina/o Adolescents; Racial Discrimi-
nation
References and further reading
Acuna, Rodolfo. 1988. Occupied America:
A History of Chicanos, 3rd ed. New
York: HarperCollins.
———. Anything but Mexican: Chicanos
in Contemporary Los Angeles. 1996.
London: Verso.
Anzaldua, Gloria. 1987. Borderlands: La
Frontera, the New Mestiza. San
Francisco: Aunt Lute Books.
Garcia, Alma M., ed. 1997. Chicana
Feminist Thought: The Basic Historical
Writings. New York: Routledge.
Lopez, David. 1978. “Chicano Language
Loyalty in an Urban Setting.” Sociology
and Social Research 62, no. 2: 267–278.
Merino, Barbara. 1991. “Promoting School
Success for Chicanos: The View from
Inside the Bilingual Classroom.” Pp.
119–148 in Chicano School Failure and
Success: Research and Policy Agendas
for the 1990s. Edited by Richard
Valencia. New York: Falmer Press.
Moraga, Cherrie, and Gloria Anzaldua,
eds. 1981. This Bridge Called My Back:
Writings by Radical Women of Color.
New York: Kitchen Table: Women of
Color Press.
Peñalosa, Fernando. 1980. Chicano
Sociolinguistics. Rowley, MA: Newbury
House Publishers.
Rendón, Laura I. 1996. “Life on the
Border.” About Campus
(November–December): 14–20.
Valenzuela, Angela. 1999. Subtractive
Schooling: U.S.-Mexican Youth and the
Politics of Caring. New York: State
University of New York Press.
Velasquez, Roberto J., Leticia M. Arellano,
and Amado M. Padilla. 1999.
“Celebrating the Future of Chicano
Psychology: Lessons from the Recent
National Conference.” Hispanic
Journal of Behavioral Sciences 21, no.
1: 3–13.
Child-Rearing Styles
Child-rearing styles are patterns of par-
enting behaviors that have an impact on
children’s behavior and personality char-
acteristics. They include such practices as
Child-Rearing Styles 109
loving and caring for children, bringing
children to maturity as legitimate mem-
bers of society, and dealing with chil-
dren’s daily behaviors. Each society, with
its unique ecological conditions, econ-
omy, social structure, religious beliefs,
and moral values, promotes its own child-
rearing practices. And each parent devel-
ops his or her child-rearing style with ref-
erence to the larger cultural context.
Diana Baumrind (1971) has identified
three common styles or patterns of child
rearing in the United States: authoritar-
ian, permissive, and authoritative. These
styles differ on two parenting dimensions
in particular: the degree of parental nur-
turance in child-rearing interactions and
the degree of parental control over the
child’s activities and behavior. Although
parents each have a specific parenting
style, they do not use just one set of child-
rearing practices at all times. Rather, they
use a variety of practices at different
times, depending on the situation, the
child’s age, the child’s temperament, their
own mood, and so on.
Although behaviorist and psychoana-
lytic theorists made some earlier efforts
to formulate common child-rearing prac-
tices, Baumrind’s work is the most recog-
nized in this field. In a series of landmark
studies conducted initially in the early
1960s, Baumrind examined preschool
children and their parents through home
observations, interviews, and psychologi-
cal testing. She tested the same group of
children again when they were eight to
nine years old. The overall findings from
her studies pointed to three distinct pat-
terns of child rearing, which she labeled
authoritarian, permissive, and authorita-
tive. Later on, Eleanor Maccoby and John
Martin (1983) extended Baumrind’s three
categories by proposing a fourth one: the
neglectful style.
110 Child-Rearing Styles
Authoritarian Child-Rearing Style
Parents who use the authoritarian style
demand a high level of control but fail to
respond to their children’s rights and
needs. They expect full obedience and
rely on forceful strategies to gain compli-
ance. Authoritarian parents set strict
rules for their children and are not open
to negotiations. They are also unlikely to
have open discussions with their chil-
dren about their behavior or to use gentle
methods of persuasion such as affection,
praise, and rewards. On the contrary, “Do
it because I said so” is the common atti-
tude among these parents, as they rarely
explain to their children why it is neces-
sary to follow the rules they have set.
These parents do not tolerate any expres-
sion of disagreement from their children.
In turn, the children are expected not to
question their parents’ position on what
is right. When they do question, they are
usually physically punished.
Research indicates that children of
authoritarian parents tend to be moody,
unhappy, fearful, anxious, emotionally
withdrawn, and indifferent to new expe-
riences. Throughout their teens they
exhibit low self-esteem and tend to suffer
from depressed mood. They are usually
not friendly toward their peers because
they lack social skills; in fact, they often
do not know how to appropriately behave
around their peers. Girls who have been
raised by authoritarian parents depend
heavily on their parents’ approval for the
decisions they make, even after they
reach adulthood. Boys raised by such par-
ents are usually hostile and show high
rates of anger and defiance.
Permissive Child-Rearing Style
The permissive child-rearing style is
sometimes also referred to as the indul-
gent parenting style. Parents who use
this style tend to be nurturing and
accepting of their children, but rarely
exert parental control over their chil-
dren’s behavior. They encourage their
children to express their feelings as they
wish and allow them to make their own
decisions—often before they are develop-
mentally ready to do so. Permissive par-
ents also demand only a few household
responsibilities and orderly behaviors,
allowing their children, for the most part,
to regulate their own lives. Although
some parents choose this child-rearing
approach because they truly believe it is
good for their children’s sense of self,
many others adopt it because they lack
confidence in their ability to affect their
children’s behavior.
The children of permissive parents are
deficient in self-control skills and thus
tend to be impulsive and aggressive.
Though friendly and easy to socialize,
they usually lack knowledge of appropri-
ate social behaviors. They often act with-
out thinking about the consequences of
their behavior and take too little respon-
sibility for their misbehavior. Since these
children are not encouraged to obey, they
find it difficult to deal with external
standards. They also have a hard time
learning to become self-reliant and inde-
pendent. Children who are raised in a
permissive style have been found to
score below average on cognitive and
social competence measures. Continued
use of this style of child rearing often
leads to poor school performance and
delinquency.
Authoritative Child-Rearing Style
The authoritative style is a more adap-
tive and flexible approach to child rearing
than either the authoritarian or permis-
sive style. Parents who use this style
tend to be nurturing; at the same time,

they make reasonable demands that fit
the maturity level of their children. They
allow their children freedom but are care-
ful to provide rationales for the restric-
tions they impose, all the while ensuring
that their children follow these guide-
lines. They are responsive to their chil-
dren’s needs and points of view, open to
discussions with their children, and
ready to reconsider their decisions if the
children counter with reasonable argu-
ments. In short, they take a democratic
approach that respects the rights of both
parents and children.
Children raised by authoritative par-
ents tend to be lively and happy. They are
self-confident in their social interactions,
have control over their behavior, and
resist engaging in disruptive behavior.
They tend to be free of gender stereo-
types: Girls are generally more indepen-
dent and explorative, and boys more
friendly and cooperative in their social
relationships, than the children raised by
authoritarian and permissive parents.
They also perform better in school,
exhibit greater intellectual ability, and
are more willing to try new things. As a
result, their parents are better able to
trust their children, knowing that they
can accept responsibility.
Neglecting Child-Rearing Style
Parents who adopt a neglectful parenting
style express a low level of acceptance of
their children and exert no control over
their children’s behaviors. By demanding
too little of their children, they fail to
influence their behaviors. They also tend
to ignore their children’s needs, arranging
life to suit themselves rather than their
children. Among all the styles discussed
here, the neglecting style is associated
with the most negative outcomes for
children. Indeed, neglected children are
Child-Rearing Styles 111
prone to delinquency, drug and alcohol
use, and poor adjustment.
Baumrind’s identification of child-rear-
ing styles has been a benchmark for stud-
ies in this field over the last three decades.
Although many research findings have
confirmed the validity of her approach, a
number of criticisms have also been
raised against it. For example, John Ogbu
(1981) has argued that Baumrind’s theory
is the product of a specific cultural and
historical context—that of middle-class
European-American parents—and thus
has limited generalizability. Consistent
with this observation is a recent study by
Ruth K. Chao (1994), who demonstrated
that a number of Baumrind’s characteris-
tics fail to describe Chinese Americans’
approach to child rearing.
A second criticism of Baumrind’s the-
ory is that it fails to account for changes
in child-rearing practices across time and
situation. For example, parents may
change over time as they gain experience
in child rearing, using an authoritarian
style with their first child but a permis-
sive style with younger children. Simi-
larly, parents may change their child-
rearing styles over time in response to
changes in their social and economic sta-
tus, as when they lose a job and have to
move to a different cultural climate.
Child-rearing practices are also influ-
enced by the fit between the children’s
and parents’ temperaments. Contrary to
the earlier belief that children remain
passive during the child-rearing process,
recent studies indicate that they are
active participants, in the sense that a
parent’s choice of parenting style is influ-
enced by the personality characteristics
of the child as well as by the parent’s
reactions to the child.
Finally, in a study that examined the
multiple factors influencing school
112 Children of Alcoholics
performance, Laurence Steinberg and his
associates (1994) found that (1) child-rear-
ing styles are more predictive of school
performance among white teenagers than
among minority teenagers; (2) African
American and Asian American students
do not benefit from an authoritative par-
enting style; (3) for African American stu-
dents, authoritarian child-rearing prac-
tices buffer the negative impact of
neighborhood characteristics; and (4) for
Asian American students, the positive
effects of peer groups buffer the negative
effects of authoritarian parenting. Inter-
estingly, these findings suggest that the
effects of child-rearing styles are much
more complex than earlier research
seemed to indicate.
Although certain universal expecta-
tions are associated with the socializa-
tion of children, each cultural group pro-
motes its own style of child rearing.
Indeed, as child-rearing practices are
largely based on parental beliefs about
proper ways to raise children to be suc-
cessful members of society, child-rearing
styles should be understood, at least in
part, in terms of children’s adjustment to
their culture. As noted, however, author-
itative parenting appears to be more
effective than other parenting styles in
facilitating the development of social
competence in children, both at home
and in the peer group—especially in
white middle-class American house-
holds. For this cultural group, it is safe to
say that high levels of love and warmth,
combined with moderate levels of
parental control, help children become
able members of the society.
Selcuk Sirin
See also Fathers and Adolescents; Grand-
parents: Intergenerational Relationships;
Mothers and Adolescents; Parent-Ado-
lescent Relations; Parental Monitoring;
Parenting Styles
References and further reading
Barber, Nigel. 1998. Parenting: Roles,
Styles and Outcomes. Huntington, NY:
Nova Science Publishers.
Baumrind, Diana. 1971. “Current Patterns
of Parental Authority.” Developmental
Psychology Monographs 4: 1–103.
———. 1989. “Rearing Competent
Children.” Pp. 349–378 in Child
Development Today and Tomorrow.
Edited by William Damon. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Chao, Ruth K. 1994. “Beyond Parental
Control and Authoritative Parenting
Style: Understanding Chinese Parenting
through the Cultural Notion of
Training.” Child Development 65:
1111–1119.
Maccoby, Eleanor, and John Martin. 1983.
“Socialization in the Context of the
Family: Parent-Child Interaction.” Pp.
1–101 in Handbook of Child
Psychology: Socialization, Personality
and Social Development, Vol. 4. Edited
by Paul H. Mussen. New York: Wiley.
Ogbu, John U. 1981. Origins of Human
Competence: A Cultural-Ecological
Perspective. Child Development 52:
413–429.
Steinberg, Laurence, Susie D. Lamborn,
Nancy Darling, Nina S. Mount, and
Sanford M. Dornbusch. 1994. “Over-
Time Changes in Adjustment and
Competence among Adolescents from
Authoritative, Authoritarian, Indulgent,
and Neglectful Families.” Child
Development 65: 754–770.
Children of Alcoholics
Children of alcoholics, or COAs, are chil-
dren or adolescents with at least one
alcoholic parent. COAs are at increased
risk for many problems including psy-
chological disorders (e.g., depression,
anxiety), family difficulties, and the
development of substance abuse them-
selves. The majority of COAs, however,
are well-adjusted individuals who do not
develop major problems. Currently,

research is examining factors that help
explain why some COAs turn out to be
well adjusted, whereas others do not.
Genetic Factors
COAs are more likely than non-COAs to
develop alcohol- and drug-related prob-
lems during adulthood. They are also
more likely to abuse alcohol and drugs
during adolescence. Many studies have
been conducted to examine why alco-
holism “runs in families.” Results from
these studies have shown that much, but
not all, of the increased risk for substance
abuse problems among COAs is due to
genetics. For example, twin studies,
which compare alcohol use between
identical twins (who share all of their
genes) to alcohol use between fraternal
twins (who share about half of their
genes, as do nontwin brothers and sis-
ters), have found that alcoholism rates
are much more similar for identical
twins than for fraternal twins. Since
identical twins are more similar geneti-
cally than fraternal twins, this research
indicates that a person’s genes influence
whether he or she will develop an alcohol
problem. Adoption studies, too, have
found that alcoholism is at least partly
due to genetic influences. Specifically,
they have shown that adopted-away sons
of alcoholic fathers are at much greater
risk for the development of alcoholism
than adopted-away sons of nonalcoholic
fathers. Overall, both types of studies
indicate that genes play an important
role in determining whether or not a per-
son will develop an alcohol problem.
As noted, however, genes are not the
whole story. The environment appears to
be equally important. For instance, some
COAs are at increased risk for developing
alcohol problems because they grow up
in homes marked by family conflict,
Children of Alcoholics 113
stress, abuse, and a lack of parental com-
munication, warmth, and monitoring.
Some COAs also experience parental
divorce, which may create further stress
for the family. Given these genetic and
environmental risk factors, it is not sur-
prising that COAs are two to seven times
more likely to develop alcohol problems
than are non-COAs. Because of these risk
factors, they are more likely to develop
other problems as well.
Psychological Problems among COAs
COAs are at increased risk not only for
developing drinking problems but also
for experiencing psychological problems
such as depression and anxiety and
behavioral problems such as conduct dis-
order (delinquency). Many studies have
also found that COAs tend to have lower
levels of self-esteem than non-COAs.
Environmental Differences between
COAs and Non-COAs. As mentioned
previously, COAs are more likely than
non-COAs to experience problems within
their families. For example, compared to
the families of non-COAs, COA families
tend to be more chaotic, conflict-ridden,
and dysfunctional. They are also less
expressive and supportive, less organized,
and less democratic. In addition, adoles-
cent COAs report that they have fewer
interactions with their parents and that
their relationships with their parents are
characterized by less warmth and attach-
ment than the relationships between non-
COAs and their parents.
Other studies have shown that COAs
are at an increased risk of experiencing
problems at school. For example, com-
pared to non-COAs, COAs are less likely
to achieve high levels of academic
achievement and more likely to repeat a
grade in school. They are also less likely
114 Children of Alcoholics
to graduate from high school than non-
COAs.
Adolescent COAs
Adolescence is a period of considerable
change affecting not only the individual
(in terms of puberty, expanded cognitive
abilities, identity formation, and
increased autonomy) but also the indi-
vidual’s relationships (with parents,
peers, and schoolmates). Adolescence is
also a time when many individuals begin
to experiment with alcohol and drugs. In
addition, the prevalence of psychiatric
disorders such as depression, anxiety,
and eating disorders rises dramatically
during this developmental period. For all
of these reasons, adolescence is consid-
ered to be a period of particular risk for
COAs.
The Vulnerability of Adolescents
Children of alcoholics are generally at
greater risk for experiencing substance
abuse problems, psychological problems,
and maladaptive environments, but it is
important to remember that not all COAs
develop drinking problems themselves,
nor do all COAs exhibit problem behav-
iors and have poor family relationships. It
is still not entirely clear why some indi-
viduals with an alcoholic parent develop
such problems whereas others do not.
However, recent research suggests that
characteristics of the individual (such as
temperament or personality) and charac-
teristics of the environment (such as the
family or peer network) may moderate
the relationship between parental alco-
holism and adjustment. In other words,
certain individual and environmental fac-
tors may act to “protect” COAs against
the development of substance abuse and
psychosocial problems.
Individual Protective Factors. Individ-
uals with certain personality character-
istics seem to be more resilient to the
harmful effects of parental alcoholism.
For example, research has shown that
COAs who were affectionate as infants
are better adjusted later on than those
who were not. The same appears to be
true for COAs who, as adolescents, have
a positive self-concept and an internal
locus of control (meaning that they
believe they have control over the envi-
ronment and that things do not just
happen randomly). An optimistic out-
look has also been shown to “protect”
some COAs from developing problems.
In general, COAs who have a positive
outlook, and who believe they have
control over their environment and are
not helpless, are less likely to experi-
ence problems.
Environmental Protective Factors.
Characteristics of the environment also
may moderate the relationship between
parental alcoholism and adjustment. For
example, COAs who have not experi-
enced disruptions of family rituals such
as dinnertime gatherings, holiday tradi-
tions, and vacations are less likely to
develop an alcohol problem than COAs
whose family rituals have been dis-
rupted. Similarly, COAs who have expe-
rienced a great deal of conflict and little
cohesion or warmth within the family
are at greater risk for psychosocial and
alcohol problems than COAs who report
more positive family environments.
Finally, adolescent COAs who report
that their parents usually do not know
where they are or who they are “hanging
out” with are more likely to use alcohol
and drugs than COAs whose parents fre-
quently monitor them.

The Drinking Status of the Alcoholic
Parent. Another important considera-
tion is the alcoholic parent’s current
drinking status. For example, studies
have found that the family environments
of COAs with recovering alcoholic par-
ents (alcoholics who have not drunk for
at least three years) differ very little from
families in which neither parent has a
drinking problem. Indeed, COAs with a
recovering alcoholic father have reported
that their families are happier, more
cohesive, more trusting, and more affec-
tionate than families in which the father
is currently drinking. Moreover, in com-
parison to COAs with an alcoholic par-
ent who is still drinking, COAs with
recovering alcoholic parents are less
likely to experience psychological prob-
lems such as depression and anxiety, less
at risk for substance abuse problems dur-
ing adolescence, and, not surprisingly,
more content with their lives.
In summary, many individual and
environmental factors contribute to a
person’s risk for developing problems.
Having an alcoholic parent is just one
such factor.
Christine McCauley Ohannessian
See also Alcohol Use, Risk Factors in;
Alcohol Use, Trends in
References and further reading
Alterman, Alan, and Ralph E. Tarter.
1983. “The Transmission of
Psychological Vulnerability:
Implications for Alcoholism Etiology.”
Journal of Nervous and Mental
Disorders 171, no. 3: 147–154.
Callan, Victor J., and Debra Jackson. 1986.
“Children of Alcoholic Fathers and
Recovered Alcoholic Fathers: Personal
and Family Functioning.” Journal of
Studies on Alcohol 47, no. 2: 180–182.
Chassin, Laurie, Patrick J. Curran, Andrea
M. Hussong, and Craig R. Colder. 1996.
Chores 115
“The Relation of Parent Alcoholism to
Adolescent Substance Use: A
Longitudinal Follow-Up Study.” Journal
of Abnormal Psychology 105, no. 1:
70–80.
Goodwin, Donald W., Fini Schulsinger, L.
Hermansen, Samuel B. Guze, and
George Winokur. 1973. “Alcohol
Problems in Adoptees Raised Apart
from Alcoholic Biological Parents.”
Archives of General Psychiatry 28:
238–243.
Sher, Ken J. 1991. Children of Alcoholics:
A Critical Appraisal of Theory and
Research. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press.
U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services. 1997. Ninth Special Report to
the U.S. Congress on Alcohol and
Health. Washington, DC: U.S.
Government Printing Office.
Werner, Emily E. 1986. “Resilient
Offspring of Alcoholics: A Longitudinal
Study from Birth to Age 18.” Journal of
Studies on Alcohol 47, no. 1: 34–40.
Windle, Michael, and John S. Searles.
1990. Children of Alcoholics: Critical
Perspectives. New York: Guilford Press.
Chores
In most families, children are included in
household chores—tasks that children
are responsible for within the household
and family—on a fairly regular basis. Par-
ents assign chores to children for a vari-
ety of reasons. Giving children some
responsibilities in the home is a way to
share household work among family
members, so that one person—typically
the mother—does not become over-
whelmed with household tasks. Parents
also assign chores because they believe
that children’s participation in family
work and routines is good for their devel-
opment. Self-worth, independence, and
care and concern for others can result
from children’s participation in house-
hold chores and responsibilities.
116 Chores
Self-worth, independence, and care and concern for others can result from children’s
participation in household chores and responsibilities. (Skjold Photographs)
Household chores typically fall into
two categories. Self-care tasks require
children to be responsible for some aspect
of their own care (e.g., packing their own
school lunch) or care of their own belong-
ings (e.g., cleaning their rooms), whereas
family-care tasks include those chores
that affect more than just the person per-
forming them, such as setting the table or
caring for younger siblings (Goodnow,
1988). Both types of chores may encour-
age responsible work habits in children,
but when children do family-care tasks
they may also develop a greater concern
for the welfare of others. Children’s
involvement in chores, therefore, may
contribute to the family work effort as
well as promote children’s personal
responsibility and prosocial behavior.
The question of how much children
actually participate in household chores
has been widely debated. Some research
suggests that children’s efforts in the
“average” family are quite limited.
According to estimates from one
national sample, children under age
nineteen spend about three to six hours
per week on household chores (Demo
and Acock, 1993). But because of the
way many researchers measure chil-
dren’s household input, it is possible
that these figures underestimate the
time children actually spend on chores.
In some studies (e.g., Demo and Acock,
1993), researchers have evaluated chil-
dren’s household work by asking about
chores that may actually be considered
“adult” chores, such as cooking, trans-

portation, and bill paying, thus possibly
overlooking tasks more appropriate for
children. By using an extensive list of
questions—including some that concern
tasks such as cleaning one’s room, tak-
ing care of younger siblings, and caring
for pets—other research has demon-
strated that teenagers do, on average,
about ten or more hours of household
work per week (Gager, Cooney, and Call,
1999). In addition, children’s contribu-
tions to the family work effort appear to
vary by season. In families where both
parents work for pay year-round, chil-
dren’s household responsibilities, partic-
ularly care of siblings, increase notice-
ably during the summer (Crouter and
Maguire, 1998).
How much time children spend on
chores also depends on their sex. Studies
frequently show that, compared to boys,
girls put more time into a greater number
of tasks. Indeed, although boys are more
likely than girls to perform male-typed
chores (e.g., lawn mowing, taking out the
garbage), these tasks are fewer in number
and are required less frequently than the
chores that girls typically perform (e.g.,
helping with meal preparation, washing
dishes) (Gager, Cooney, and Call, 1999).
Differences between girls’ and boys’
chores are greatest when family care and
self-care chores are compared (Goodnow
and Delaney, 1989). Parents also report
that, compared to boys’ contributions,
those made by girls are more often
offered spontaneously instead of being
requested (Grusec, Goodnow, and Cohen,
1996). These sex differences have led
some to suggest that today’s American
families continue to raise their children
to take on traditional sex roles—with
girls and women doing most of the
household chores and childcare, even
though women spend as much time as
Chores 117
men outside the home earning money to
support the family.
Age also affects children’s involve-
ment in household chores. Throughout
early adolescence (ages ten to fourteen),
children spend increasing amounts of
time on household tasks. These changes
occur mainly in the area of routine
household work (i.e., work that has not
been requested by parents) and self-care
tasks. When family-care tasks are con-
sidered, only girls show an increase in
involvement over these ages. Joan
Grusec and her colleagues (1996) have
therefore concluded that, across adoles-
cence, girls increasingly assume respon-
sibility for family-care tasks and that
these tasks “belong to them.” In other
words, they routinely perform them
without waiting for their parents to
request that they do so.
Later in adolescence, during the high
school years, teens tend to cut back on
their household chores. This reduction
appears greater for boys than for girls
(Gager, Cooney, and Call, 1999). One
possible explanation is the teens’ greater
involvement with paid work as they get
older. Parents do assign less housework
to teens who have jobs for which they
are paid (Manning, 1990), and there is a
clear drop in hours of housework com-
pleted by teens relative to their in-
creased hours of paid work (Gager,
Cooney, and Call, 1999). Yet other time-
consuming activities in which teens par-
ticipate (i.e., outside of paid work) do not
have the same impact on the amount of
time they spend on chores. In fact, teens
who spend more time on homework and
volunteer work also tend to give more
time to household chores than do teens
who are less involved in such nonfamily
activities (Gager, Cooney, and Call,
1999).
118 Chronic Illnesses in Adolescence
Family type may also be associated with
children’s participation in household
chores. For example, children who live in
single-parent households spend more time
on housework than peers from two-parent
households (Demo and Acock, 1993;
Gager, Cooney, and Call, 1999; Gold-
scheider and Waite, 1991). And children in
stepfamilies devote more time to house-
hold tasks than peers living with two bio-
logical parents, although they do less than
children in single-parent households
(Demo and Acock, 1993; Gager, Cooney,
and Call, 1999; Goldscheider and Waite,
1991). One possible explanation is that the
absence of an adult from the home creates
more need for children to take part in
household chores.
Although participation in household
chores is considered beneficial to the
development of children and adolescents,
the positive side of chores is not obvious
to those who must do them. Indeed, ado-
lescents often see parents’ requests for
help around the house as “harassment”
(Larson and Richards, 1994, p. 99), and
tensions surrounding adolescents’ house-
hold work are the most frequently
reported conflicts by parents of teens
(Barber, 1994). The issue of household
chores is thus clearly one that takes cen-
ter stage in a great many interactions
between parents and their children, espe-
cially teenagers.
Teresa M. Cooney
Sara Gable
See also Discipline; Family Composition:
Realities and Myths; Family Relations;
Parental Monitoring; Parenting Styles
References and further reading
Barber, Brian. 1994. “Cultural, Family,
and Personal Contexts of Parent-
Adolescent Conflict.” Journal of
Marriage and the Family 56: 375–386.
Crouter, Ann C., and Mary C. Maguire.
1998. “Seasonal and Weekly Rhythms:
Windows into Variability in Family
Socialization Experiences in Early
Adolescence.” New Directions for
Child and Adolescent Development 82:
69–82.
Demo, David, and Alan C. Acock. 1993.
“Family Diversity and the Division of
Domestic Labor.” Family Relations 42:
323–331.
Gager, Constance T., Teresa M. Cooney,
and Kathleen Thiede Call. 1999. “The
Effects of Family Characteristics and
Time Use on Teenagers’ Household
Labor.” Journal of Marriage and the
Family 61: 982–994.
Goldscheider, Francis K., and Linda J.
Waite. 1991. New Families, No
Families: The Transformation of the
American Home. Berkeley: University
of California Press.
Goodnow, Jacqueline J. 1988. “Children’s
Household Work: Its Nature and
Functions.” Psychological Bulletin 103:
5–26.
Goodnow, Jacqueline J., and S. Delaney.
1989. “Children’s Household Work:
Task Differences, Styles of Assignment,
and Links to Family Relationships.
Journal of Applied Developmental
Psychology 10: 209–226.
Grusec, Joan E., Jacqueline J. Goodnow,
and Lorenzo Cohen. 1996. “Household
Work and the Development of Concern
for Others.” Developmental Psychology
32: 999–1007.
Larson, Reed, and Marise Richards. 1994.
Divergent Realities: The Emotional
Lives of Mothers, Fathers, and
Adolescents. New York: HarperCollins.
Manning, Wendy. 1990. “Parenting
Employed Teenagers.” Youth and
Society 22: 184–200.
Chronic Illnesses in Adolescence
Chronic illnesses affect about 10 percent
of all children and adolescents in the
United States. Some of these conditions
are more serious than others, but all
involve adjustments in daily routines, in
relations with family, friends, and teach-
ers, and in planning for one’s future.
 Chronic Illnesses in Adolescence 119

Today, it is possible for the great majority of teens with chronic illnesses to lead healthy,
productive, and satisfying lives. (Jennie Woodcock; Reflections Photolibrary/Corbis)

Chronic illnesses of childhood and ado- ways that limit their behavior. The good
lescence include: news is that medical advances over the
past several years have made it possible
Asthma Renal Disease for more children and youth with these
Congenital Heart Juvenile conditions to lead lives closer to “nor-
Disease Rheumatoid mal” and to anticipate long and produc-
Cancer Arthritis tive lives as adults.
Cystic Fibrosis HIV/AIDS The developmental tasks for chroni-
Hemophilia Sickle-Cell Disease cally ill teens are much like the tasks for
Diabetes Mellitus Seizure Disorders all teens, but with added complications.
For example, establishing independence
What features of these illnesses have from parents is always a challenge and
given rise to the label “chronic illness”? should be viewed as something positive;
Typically, they last for several years but for teens with a chronic illness, there
(some are lifelong conditions); they often may be special challenges such as assum-
require special healthcare, regular med- ing responsibility for their diet, medica-
ical monitoring and treatment, and hos- tion, and visits to the clinic. They may
pital stays; and the individuals who expe- also have difficulty sharing the specifics
rience them are affected not only of their illness with friends, but it is
physically and emotionally but also in important to do so. Friends and others in
120 Chronic Illnesses in Adolescence
their lives are almost always understand-
ing when certain limitations are imposed
or special routines such as taking med-
ications or diet restrictions are required.
Dependency on parents or siblings may
be acceptable if it leads to improvement
of the teen’s medical condition. Indeed,
personal assistance or financial aid is
sometimes necessary. However, when
parents encourage dependence beyond
what is needed (McAnarney, 1985) or are
overprotective, the teens may be pre-
vented from having the same experiences
as their friends are having (Anderson and
Coyne, 1993) or experience delays in lead-
ing the independent lives they desire. In
such cases, the teens’ medical treatment
team can be called upon to provide advice
on just what level of intervention is
appropriate.
One major developmental task of ado-
lescence involves setting educational and
career goals. Like all teens, those with a
chronic illness must decide what type of
training they want to engage in after high
school, whether to leave home or live
there for a while longer, and which career
they wish to pursue (McAnarney, 1985).
Although the possibilities are almost
limitless, they must be realistic in assess-
ing whether their illness imposes certain
limitations on education or occupation.
Fortunately, most schools and employers
today are understanding of such limita-
tions, and the Americans with Disabili-
ties Act, a federal law, provides consider-
able protection in both higher education
and the work environment. Furthermore,
as many of the exciting new areas of
employment now available require less
physical stamina and depend more on
“smarts” and specific skills than was
true in the past, they are well suited for
those with chronic illnesses.
Social development is a key area of
concern for teens with chronic illnesses.
In some cases, the illness may require
periodic separation from peers; in others,
the teens may be uncomfortable about
anyone other than family members
knowing about their condition; in still
others, the progress toward puberty may
be affected, leading to delays in physical
growth and sexual development. Indeed,
teens with chronic illness may have lim-
ited opportunities to learn about their
sexuality from peers or may be prevented
from having normal social and sexual
experiences. The results of studies in this
area have been mixed. Some suggest that
teens with such conditions date less
often than their peers, are more likely to
drop out of school, and make fewer plans
for the future (e.g., Orr et al., 1984). But
others suggest just the opposite—that
teens with chronic illness are not differ-
ent in most ways from their peers (e.g.,
Capelli et al., 1989). The latter research
implies that having an illness is not nec-
essarily a major factor in one’s social
adjustment and emotional development.
Recently, several studies have tried to
identify the major areas of concern for
teens with chronic illnesses. One such
study found that the primary problem
areas are those relating to school, med-
ical treatment and compliance, and rela-
tionships with parents (DiGirolamo et
al., 1997). Furthermore, those teens who
viewed their problems as very serious
reported that they were depressed and
lacked social confidence. In another
study, the serious problems held mainly
for girls. Emotional distress and even
thoughts of suicide were identified
among some teens (Suris, Parera, and
Puig, 1996). Yet another study found that
teens who experience the most problems

adjusting to their illness come from fam-
ilies that have serious problems unre-
lated to the illness (Hagen, Myers, and
Allswede, 1992). Fortunately, there are
many counselors and therapists available
today who understand the situations fac-
ing these teens, so both teens and parents
should not hesitate to seek their help if
the situation warrants.
Taking responsibility for one’s own
health is a problem that many adoles-
cents face, as evidenced by the incidence
of smoking, automobile accidents, and
poor diet among teens in the United
States today. Those with chronic ill-
nesses face even greater challenges, yet
they often think of themselves as invul-
nerable to the consequences of poor
health practices. Almost all recom-
mended treatment programs require reg-
ular compliance. Teens with diabetes, for
example, not only have to watch their
diet closely but must also monitor their
blood-sugar levels, take one to three
injections of insulin each day, and follow
exercise and sleep recommendations.
This regimen can be especially difficult
for individuals who are dealing not only
with all the daily challenges of being
teens but also with the special conditions
imposed by their disorder. Moreover,
some parents may discontinue involve-
ment because they want to establish
independence for their child, who, in
turn, may not take over as needed (Inger-
soll et al., 1986). The critical factor here
is not the specific age of the teen but,
rather, his or her level of mature thinking
and social competence (Hanson et al.,
1990; Ingersoll et al., 1986).
Age of onset is an important factor in
that it can influence how a chronic ill-
ness will be handled. In situations where
the illness begins well before the teen
Chronic Illnesses in Adolescence 121
years, puberty and adolescence inevitably
pose new stresses and adjustments, even
among individuals who have adapted
well up to that time. And for those who
encounter the onset of illness while in
their teens, the stresses can be even
greater—especially if they do not see
themselves as being “different” and hence
do not comply with medical recommen-
dations. Since noncompliance can have
serious short- and long-term conse-
quences, parents need to work with med-
ical professionals, and sometimes with
their children’s teachers and employers,
to ensure that compliance is maintained.
Today, it is possible for the great major-
ity of teens with chronic illnesses to lead
healthy, productive, and satisfying lives.
Although many of these illnesses linger
for many years, life spans have been
increased greatly and are often as long for
chronically ill people as for those with-
out illness. However, medical and health
management procedures are critical
toward this end. Above all, teens and the
adults in their lives must work together
as a team to achieve their life goals.
John W. Hagen
Jennifer T. Myers
See also Cancer in Childhood and Adoles-
cence; Depression; Diabetes; Health
Promotion; Health Services for Adoles-
cents; Spina Bifida
References and further reading
Anderson, Barbara J., and James C. Coyne.
1993. “Family Context and Compliance
Behavior in Chronically Ill Children.”
Pp. 77–89 in Developmental Aspects of
Health Compliance Behavior. Edited by
Norman A. Krasnegor. Hillsdale, NJ:
Erlbaum.
Blum, Robert W. 1992. “Chronic Illness
and Disability in Adolescence.” Journal
of Adolescent Health 13, no. 5:
364–368.
122 Cigarette Smoking
Capelli, M., Patrick J. McGrath, C. E.
Heick, N. E. MacDonald, William
Feldman, and P. Rowe. 1989. “Chronic
Disease and Its Impact: The
Adolescent’s Perspective.” Journal of
Adolescent Health Care 10, no. 4:
283–288.
DiGirolamo, A. M., A. L. Quittner, V.
Ackerman, and J. Stevens. 1997.
“Identification and Assessment of
Ongoing Stressors in Adolescents with
a Chronic Illness: An Application of the
Behavior-Analytic Model.” Journal of
Clinical Child Psychology 26, no. 1:
53–66.
Hagen, John W., Jennifer T. Myers, and
Jennifer S. Allswede. 1992. “The
Psychological Impact of Children’s
Chronic Illness.” Pp. 27–47 in Lifespan
Development and Behavior, Vol. 11.
Edited by David Featherman, Richard
M. Lerner, and Marion Perlmutter.
Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Hanson, C. L., J. R. Rodrique, S. W.
Henggeler, M. A. Harris, R. C. Klesges,
and D. L. Carle. 1990. “The Perceived
Self-Competence of Adolescents with
Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus:
Deficit or Strength?” Journal of
Pediatric Psychology 15, no. 5:
605–618.
Ingersoll, G. M., D. P. Orr, A. J. Herrold,
and M. P. Golden. 1986. “Cognitive
Maturity and Self-Management among
Adolescents with Insulin-Dependent
Diabetes Mellitus.” Journal of
Pediatrics 10, no. 4: 620–623.
McAnarney, Elizabeth R. 1985. “Social
Maturation: A Challenge for
Handicapped and Chronically Ill
Adolescents.” Journal of Adolescent
Health Care 6, no. 2: 90–101.
Myers, Jennifer, and John Hagen. 1993.
“The Impact of Chronic Illness on the
Late Adolescent/Early Adult Transition:
Focus—Insulin-Dependent Diabetes
Mellitus.” (Presentation.) Family
Relationships and Psychosocial
Development in Physically Impaired
and Chronically Ill Adolescents, G.
Holmbeck, chair. Symposium
conducted at the biennial meeting of
the Society for Research in Child
Development (SRCD), New Orleans.
Orr, D. P., S. C. Weller, B. Satterwhite,
and Ivan B. Pless. 1984. “Psychosocial
Implications of Chronic Illness in
Adolescence.” Journal of Pediatrics
104, no. 1: 152–157.
Seiffge-Krenke, Inge. 1998. “Chronic
Disease and Perceived Developmental
Progression in Adolescence.”
Developmental Psychology 34, no. 5:
1073–1084.
Suris, J. C., N. Parera, and C. Puig. 1996.
“Chronic Illness and Emotional
Distress in Adolescence.” Journal of
Adolescent Health 19, no. 2: 153–156.
Cigarette Smoking
Since the 1964 Surgeon General’s report,
but especially during the 1990s, cigarette
smoking has been a topic of great contro-
versy. What follows is a discussion of
several issues related to this controversy:
the prevalence of cigarette smoking,
motivations for adolescent smoking, the
difficulty of quitting, and methods of
quitting.
The Prevalence of Cigarette Smoking
Many teenagers think that the majority
of people smoke. They may be surprised
to discover that only 27 percent of men
and 23 percent of women smoke, and that
adult smoking has decreased substan-
tially since the U.S. Surgeon General’s
report first pointed out the health dangers
of smoking in 1964. Moreover, fewer
teenagers than adults smoke—only about
18 percent of those between ages twelve
and seventeen in 1995, according to the
National Center for Health Statistics.
Teen smoking hit a peak in 1996 and has
gradually declined since then (Johnston,
O’Malley, and Bachman, 1999). Smoking
usually starts in the teenage years; most
individuals who go on to become adult
smokers try their first cigarette by age
sixteen. Conversely, those who finish
their high school years without smoking
are unlikely to start.

The fact that teenagers often overesti-
mate how common smoking is can itself
increase the likelihood that they will
smoke. In fact, research shows that non-
smoking teenagers who think that smok-
ing is particularly common are them-
selves more likely than their peers to be
smoking one year later (Chassin et al.,
1984). Perhaps teenagers who think that
smoking is common and normal also
view it as more acceptable.
Motivations for Adolescent Smoking
Given that the health dangers of smoking
are so clear and so well known, why do
some teenagers start to smoke? The
usual answer to this question is “peer
pressure.” It is true that peer smoking
plays a part. Teenagers who have friends
who smoke are much more likely to
begin smoking than are teenagers who do
not. But peer smoking is only part of the
picture.
Social Images Associated with Smokers.
Some teenagers start to smoke in order to
achieve the kind of image that is associ-
ated with being a smoker. In one study
(Barton et al., 1982), researchers pre-
sented slides containing pictures of
teenagers to high school students, who
were then asked to give their impressions
of these teenagers. (The students were
unaware that this was a study of cigarette
smoking.) Some of the students saw a
model who was holding a cigarette; oth-
ers saw the same model without the cig-
arette. The model holding the cigarette
was described in negative terms—as
more foolish, less intelligent, and less
healthy than the model without the ciga-
rette. But the cigarette-holding model
was also described in positive terms—as
older, more interested in the opposite
Cigarette Smoking 123
sex, and tougher. In addition, the
researchers asked nonsmoking teenagers
to tell them about the kind of person
they would like to be. Those teenagers
who valued the characteristics of the
smoker image (such as toughness, inter-
est in the opposite sex) also thought that
they themselves were more likely to
smoke in the future. The implication is
that some teenagers may smoke to attain
a particular social image.
The Role of Parental Smoking in Ado-
lescent Smoking. Not surprisingly, chil-
dren whose parents smoke are them-
selves more likely to become smokers.
These children may smoke because they
imitate their parents, because their par-
ents don’t discourage their smoking, or
because they have easy access to ciga-
rettes. However, there may be other rea-
sons as well. For example, some scien-
tists are working to discover whether
there are also genetic influences on
smoking: Perhaps children whose parents
smoke experience physiological reac-
tions to nicotine that make them more
likely to smoke. Others have suggested
that children who are exposed to their
mother’s smoking while still in the
womb may be more likely to smoke
(Griesler, Kandel, and Davies, 1998).
And, finally, it is possible that children
whose parents smoke, having been
exposed to secondhand smoke, become
desensitized to the negative aspects of
smoking such as coughing or nausea.
The Role of Cigarette Advertising.
Tobacco companies maintain that the
purpose of cigarette advertising is simply
to try to persuade adults who already
smoke to switch to their own brand.
They claim that their ads are not at all
124 Cigarette Smoking
intended to influence young nonsmokers
to start smoking. However, research on
the effects of advertising indicates other-
wise. One finding is that even very young
children are exposed to cigarette adver-
tisements and learn about smoking
through them. For example, a study by
Paul Fischer and his colleagues (1991)
found that, by age six, children recog-
nized Joe Camel, a cartoonlike character
from Camel cigarette ads, as easily as
they recognized Mickey Mouse. This
result caused great concern about the
true extent to which tobacco ads were
being aimed at young teenagers. In the
wake of the controversy, the tobacco
company was convinced to withdraw the
Joe Camel ad campaign.
Second, a relationship exists between
these ad campaigns and changes in the
number of teenagers who begin to smoke.
For example, a study by John Pierce and
Elizabeth Gilpin (1995) examined changes
in smoking initiation relative to the tim-
ing of tobacco advertising campaigns
from 1890 to 1977. The results indicate
that when advertising campaigns aimed
at males were begun, teenage boys started
to smoke at a higher rate than before—as
did teenage girls when advertising cam-
paigns aimed specifically at females were
begun. In short, the intended audience of
smoking ads seemed to respond favorably
to these ads.
Effects of Smoking on Stress. Many
smokers, when asked why they smoke,
express the belief that smoking helps
them cope with stress in their lives.
Teenagers appear to share this belief.
However, research suggests that smoking
may actually increase rather than reduce
one’s stress level (Parrott, 1999). In gen-
eral, smokers report experiencing more
stress than do nonsmokers, and adoles-
cents, as they begin to smoke, report
increasing amounts of stress. Moreover,
smokers who successfully quit report a
decline in their stress levels. It is possible
that what smokers interpret as stress
reduction from smoking is actually only
the satisfaction of their craving for nico-
tine (Parrott, 1999).
The Difficulty of Quitting
Many teenagers believe that it is not dif-
ficult for a smoker to quit; indeed, those
who intend to start smoking think that
they can smoke a little and stop anytime
they want. Unfortunately, this is a myth.
One study has shown that 70 percent of
teenagers who smoke at least once a
month are still smoking five years later
in young adulthood (Chassin et al., 1990).
Another common belief among teenagers
is that only illegal drugs are addictive;
but, in fact, cigarettes are equally addic-
tive, if not more so. In 1988, the U.S. Sur-
geon General’s report officially recog-
nized the addictive nature of cigarettes.
As with other addictive substances,
addicted smokers need to smoke increas-
ingly more cigarettes over time, view
themselves as dependent on cigarettes,
persist in smoking despite its negative
consequences, and suffer withdrawal
symptoms when they go without ciga-
rettes for a while.
Methods of Quitting
Most smokers, when asked, say they want
to quit. And although doing so is very dif-
ficult, some smokers succeed. Many quit-
smoking techniques are available. Smok-
ers can enter treatment programs where
they learn behavioral methods for con-
trolling their smoking. They can use nico-
tine replacement therapies such as nico-
tine patches or gum, which allow them to
slowly reduce their dependence on nico-

tine while distancing themselves from
other aspects of smoking. Interestingly,
most successful quitters stop smoking on
their own. However, most smokers who
try to quit are not successful on their first
attempt. Much more common is a period
of cessation, followed by a return to
smoking within the first six months.
With repeated attempts, many smokers
eventually succeed at quitting once and
for all.
Conclusion
Most teenagers do not plan to smoke cig-
arettes—but, as we know, some start
smoking even after stating their inten-
tion not to do so. The reasons for this
behavior are not entirely clear. However,
because smoking is such an important
and controversial subject, a large amount
of scientific research is currently being
conducted in an effort to better under-
stand why people choose to smoke, to
prevent them from starting to smoke,
and to develop better methods of helping
them quit.
Laurie Chassin
Clark C. Presson
Jennifer Rose
Steven J. Sherman
Nora Presson
See also Health Promotion; Health Ser-
vices for Adolescents; Peer Groups;
Peer Pressure; Peer Status; Peer Victim-
ization in School; Substance Use and
Abuse
References and further reading
Barton, John, Laurie Chassin, Clark C.
Presson, and Steven J. Sherman. 1982.
“Social Image Factors as Motivators of
Smoking Initiation in Early and Middle
Adolescents.” Child Development 53:
1499–1511.
Chassin, Laurie, Clark C. Presson, Steven
J. Sherman, and Debra Edwards. 1990.
“The Natural History of Cigarette
Cigarette Smoking 125
Smoking: Predicting Young Adult
Smoking Outcomes from Adolescent
Smoking Patterns.” Health Psychology
9: 701–716.
Chassin, Laurie, Clark C. Presson, Steven
J. Sherman, Eric Corty, and Richard
Olshavsky. 1984. “Predicting the Onset
of Cigarette Smoking in Adolescents: A
Longitudinal Study.” Journal of Applied
Social Psychology 14: 224–243.
Fischer, Paul, Meyer Schwartz, John
Richards, Adam Goldstein, and Tina
Rojas. 1991. “Brand Logo Recognition
by Children Aged 3–6 Years: Mickey
Mouse and Joe the Camel.” Journal of
the American Medical Association 266:
3145–3148.
Griesler, Pamela C., Denise B. Kandel, and
Mark Davies. 1998. “Maternal Smoking
during Pregnancy and Smoking by
Adolescent Daughters.” Journal of
Research on Adolescence 8: 159–185.
Johnston, Lloyd, Patrick O’Malley, and
Gerald Bachman. 1999. National
Survey Results on Drug Use from the
Monitoring the Future Study,
1975–1998. U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services, National Institute
on Drug Abuse, NIH Publication No.
99-4661. Washington, DC: U.S.
Government Printing Office.
Parrott, Andy C. 1999. “Does Cigarette
Smoking Cause Stress?” American
Psychologist 54: 817–820.
Pierce, John, and Elizabeth Gilpin. 1995.
“A Historical Analysis of Tobacco
Marketing and the Uptake of Smoking
by Youth in the United States:
1890–1977.” Health Psychology 14:
500–508.
U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services. The Health Consequences
of Smoking: Nicotine Addiction. A
Report of the Surgeon General.
Public Health Service, Centers for
Disease Control, Center for Health
Promotion and Education, Office on
Smoking and Health, DHHS
Publication No. (CDC) 88-8046.
Washington, DC: U.S. Government
Printing Office.
U.S. Public Health Service. 1964.
Smoking and Health: Report of the
Advisory Committee to the Surgeon
General of the Public Health Service.
U.S. Department of Health, Education,
and Welfare, Public Health Service,
Centers for Disease Control, PHS
126 Cliques
Publication No. 1103. Washington, DC:
U.S. Government Printing Office.
Preparation of the entry titled “Cigarette
Smoking” was supported by Grant
HD13449 from the National Institute
of Child and Health and Human
Development. Requests for reprints
should be addressed to Laurie Chassin,
Psychology Department, Box 871104,
Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
85287-1104.
Cliques
Within a friendship group there may be
significant subdivisions. One such subdi-
vision, known as a “clique,” consists of
(usually) three or more tightly knit young
people. Clique members see themselves
as mutual or reciprocating friends, and
they are seen by others as having a key
common identity or interest (e.g., athlet-
ics, socializing, academics). Cliques are
surrounded by a sort of “social mem-
brane,” in the sense that the youth
within them “hang out” more or less
exclusively with one another.
Researchers have found that both larger
and smaller groups—crowds and liaisons,
respectively—also develop during this
period. During the early years of adoles-
cence, friendships are structured in terms
of these crowds or liaisons, which tend to
be predominantly same-sex groups. How-
ever, by the beginning of high school,
most youth are in friendship cliques,
although crowds and liaisons continue to
form. In addition, a few adolescents
remain isolated in that they do not belong
to any identifiable friendship group.
Almost all youth have one or another
of these friendship types. For instance,
hearing-impaired adolescents form
friendships as do non-hearing-impaired
youth; however, hearing-impaired youth
tend to interact more with other hearing-
impaired youth than with their hearing
peers. Moreover, hearing-impaired youth
tend to form emotional bonds with their
hearing-impaired peers as opposed to
their hearing peers.
The crowds within which adolescents
gather may actually help them understand
the nature of social relationships. For
instance, as Harold D. Grotevant (1998)
notes, “First, crowds and the stereotypes
associated with them (‘brains,’ ‘jocks,’
etc.) help adolescents understand alterna-
tive social identities available to them;
second, crowd affiliations channel interac-
tions such that relationships among some
individuals are more likely than among
others; third, crowds themselves vary in
how relationships are structured in fea-
tures such as closeness and endurance
over time” (pp. 1115–1116).
Cliques, too, serve an important func-
tion in adolescence. Although the inci-
dence of membership in cliques decreases
across the second decade of life, such
membership is associated with psycho-
logical well-being and the capacity to
cope with stress.
Richard M. Lerner
See also Peer Groups; Peer Pressure; Peer
Status; Peer Victimization in School;
Social Development
References and further reading
Grotevant, Harold D. 1998. “Adolescent
Development in Family Contexts.” Pp.
1097–1150 in Handbook of Child
Psychology. Vol. 3, Social, Emotional,
and Personality Development, 5th ed.
Edited by W. Damon and N. Eisenberg.
New York: Wiley.
Hartup, William. 1993. “Adolescents and
Their Friends.” New Directions for
Child Development 60: 3–22.

During the early years of adolescence, friendships are often structured in terms of crowds and
liaisons, which tend to be predominantly same-sex groups. (Shirley Zeiberg)
———. 1993. “The Company They Keep:
Friendships and Their Developmental
Significance.” Child Development 67:
1–13.
Lerner, Richard M. In press. Adolescence:
Development, Diversity, Context, and
Application. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice-Hall.
Rubin, Kenneth A. 1998. “Peer
Interaction, Relationships, and Groups.”
Pp. 619–700 in Handbook of Child
Psychology. Vol. 3, Social, Emotional,
and Personality Development, 5th ed.
Edited by W. Damon and N. Eisenberg.
New York: Wiley.
Stinson, M. S., K. Whitmire, and T. N.
Kluwin. 1996. “Self-Perceptions of Social
Relationships in Hearing-Impaired
Adolescents.” Journal of Educational
Psychology 88, no. 1: 132–143.
Cognitive Development 127
Cognitive Development
For the parents and teachers of young
adolescents, the physical and behavioral
changes associated with puberty are
impossible to either miss or ignore. The
rapid increases in height and weight, the
alterations of body configuration, and
the bursts of emotional lability that
accompany pubescence are surprising
and even, at times, startling. By contrast,
the much less visible changes in adoles-
cent thinking often go unnoticed. Yet
these alterations are, in their own way,
every bit as momentous as the bodily
and emotional manifestations. Although
the cognitive changes that occur in
128 Cognitive Development
adolescence are well documented, there
is an ongoing controversy over three
issues in particular: (1) whether the
attainment of higher-level thought
is continuous or discontinuous, (2)
whether the changes in thinking are gen-
eral or domain specific, and (3) whether
the gender differences that appear to
arise during adolescence are genetically
or socially determined. These issues will
be touched on briefly at a later point, in
the context of social cognition; for now,
however, we consider Piaget’s concep-
tion of intelligence.
Piaget’s Conception of Intelligence
Although a number of writers such as G.
Stanley Hall (1904) and Arnold Gesell
(Gesell et al., 1956) have described ado-
lescent thinking, it was Barbel Inhelder
and Jean Piaget (1958) who gave the phe-
nomenon the most extensive treatment,
placing it in the context of Piaget’s (1950)
general theory of human intelligence,
adaptive thinking, and action. Indeed,
although some of its details have been
challenged, the Piagetian description of
mental growth is widely accepted.
In his theory, Piaget argued that
human intelligence is an extension of
biological adaptation, which, in turn,
involves the two invariant processes of
assimilation and accommodation. Both
biologically and psychologically, assimi-
lation has to do with the transformation
of environmental materials to conform
to the needs of the organism. At the bio-
logical level, food that has been ingested
is broken down to meet the individual’s
nutrient needs. At the psychological
level, new information is interpreted in
keeping with preexisting beliefs and atti-
tudes. Accommodation, on the other
hand, has to do with changes the individ-
ual must make to meet the demands of
the environment. At the biological level,
blood vessels expand or contract in
response to alterations in the tempera-
ture. And at the psychological level, peo-
ple accommodate every time they mod-
ify their thoughts or behaviors to better
adapt to the demands of the social world.
Good manners, to illustrate, are an
accommodation to social norms.
Although it is theoretically possible to
separate assimilation and accommoda-
tion, in reality they are always operating
at the same time. There can really be no
assimilation without accommodation,
and vice versa. The two processes operate
in such a way as to establish a transient
equilibrium that is the starting point for
a whole new set of accommodations and
assimilations. Both biological and psy-
chological growth are thus characterized
by an ongoing series of accommodations,
assimilation, and equilibria. Each new
level of equilibration, however, sets the
stage for new disequilibria that start the
process all over again. In effect, neither
biological nor psychological life ever
remains at a steady state.
The operation of these invariant
processes results in the progressive con-
struction of the mental structures of
intelligence. Piaget contended that these
mental structures evolve through a series
of stages that are related to age. Although
the age at which a given child attains a
particular set of mental structures will
vary with his or her genetic endowment
and environmental circumstance, the
sequence of stages is invariant. There are
four stages in the development of intelli-
gence, each of which is characterized by
a definable set of mental operations.
Intelligence thus involves both invariant
processes and variable structures.
Piaget viewed intellectual develop-
ment from two complementary perspec-

tives. On the one hand, he was concerned
with mental processes, with the progres-
sive attainment of new sets of mental
abilities that he likened to sets of arith-
metical and logical operations. On the
other hand, he was concerned with the
content of thought, with the child’s pro-
gressive attainment of concepts of reality
such as space, time, and number. Piaget
described children’s conceptions of real-
ity as constructions in the sense that
their form is provided by mental opera-
tions, whereas their content is provided
by experience. In effect, thanks to their
developing mental abilities, children
have to continually construct and decon-
struct reality out of their ongoing experi-
ences with the environment.
The Piagetian Stages. For purposes of dis-
cussion, the four stages of intellectual
development can be described in terms of
both the mental operations in play and
the type of reality that is being con-
structed. Infancy occurs during the senso-
rimotor stage, which is characterized by
sensory impressions and the construction
of a world of permanent objects. Next,
during the preoperational stage, young
children experience functional operations
in the sense that they perceive the world
from a practical perspective: A hole is “to
dig,” a bike is “to ride.” From the content
standpoint, preschool children are focused
on constructing a world of symbols. At
this time, young children are learning not
only to talk but also to engage in symbolic
play, to draw, and to use other forms of
symbolic representation.
From about the age of six or seven to
eleven or twelve, most children have at
their disposal a set of new mental abili-
ties that Piaget described as concrete.
These concrete operations, which are
similar to the operations of arithmetic,
Cognitive Development 129
enable the child to engage in elementary
reasoning and to construct a world of
classes, relations, and numbers. Finally,
after reaching puberty, most young peo-
ple attain a still higher and more
involved set of mental operations that
Piaget described as formal. Formal opera-
tions allow young people to entertain
ideas—that is, to construct abstract con-
ceptions of space, time, and causality.
Characteristics of Formal Operational
Thinking. The age of six or seven has,
since ancient times, been recognized as
the “age of reason.” What the ancients
meant by reason, however, was the syllo-
gistic reasoning described by Aristotle.
Syllogistic reasoning takes the form of a
major premise, a minor premise, and a
deduction or conclusion.
The classic syllogism is as follows:
Major premise: All men are mortal.
Minor premise: Socrates is a man.
Conclusion: Therefore, Socrates is
mortal.
Such reasoning enables children both to
learn and to employ rules. For this rea-
son, formal education was traditionally
not begun until the age of six or seven:
Inasmuch as instruction in the tool sub-
jects of reading, writing, and arithmetic
involves learning rules, it made little
sense to instruct children in skills that
they were too young to acquire. This
practice, what we today call “develop-
mentally appropriate practice,” is still
followed by many European countries in
which children do not attend public
schools until the age of six or seven.
What was so innovative about the
work of Inhelder and Piaget was their
proposal of what might be called a “sec-
ond age of reason,” attained at the time
130 Cognitive Development
of puberty. In its operations, this second
age of reason resembles the symbolic
logic of Boolean algebra—namely, formal
logic. Formal logic is distinguished from
syllogistic logic in a number of respects.
First, the latter deals with classes and
class membership, with the world as we
know it, whereas formal logic deals with
propositions, with the world as it might
or might not be. The following question,
for example, poses a formal reasoning
problem: In a world in which coal is
white, what color would snow be? Chil-
dren younger than twelve are not able to
deal with this contrary-to-fact proposi-
tion, whereas adolescents find it an easy
problem.
A second difference between formal
and concrete logic has to do with the
number of variables being reasoned
about. Formal logic enables the individ-
ual to deal with multiple variables,
whereas syllogistic logic is limited to at
most two variables. The performance of
children under twelve and adolescents on
Piaget’s “pendulum problem” illustrates
this difference. Both the children and the
adolescents are shown balls of different
weights tied to strings of different
lengths, all of which are attached to a
steel frame. The object is to figure out
what factors determine the speed at
which the pendulum swings through the
air. Children fail to distinguish among
the possible variables and thus, for exam-
ple, may compare weights without
checking for string length or vice versa.
In contrast, adolescents usually arrive at
four hypotheses. They reason that the
speed is determined by (1) the length of
the string, (2) the weight of the object
hung on it, (3) how high the object is
raised before it is released, and (4) how
forcefully the object is pushed. They then
test each of these hypotheses by holding
all of the other variables constant.
Through this system of experimentation
they eventually discover that only the
length of the string can account for dif-
ferences in the speed with which the pen-
dulum swings through the air.
A third achievement made possible by
formal operational thought is the ability
to reason about propositions, without
regard to their factual truth or falsity. In
one study, the experimenters showed
children and adolescents a pile of poker
chips and told them that some state-
ments would be made about the chips
(Osherson and Markman, 1975). Each
subject was then requested to make a
judgment as to whether the statements
were true, false, or ambiguous, as in the
following example:
“Either the chip in my hand is green
or it is not green.”
“The chip in my hand is green and it
is not green.”
The children based their judgments on
the actual properties of the poker chips.
In the example just noted, they regarded
both statements as ambiguous because
they could not see the chip in question.
However, when shown the chip, they
judged both statements to be true when
the chip was green and both statements
to be false when the chip was red. Ado-
lescents, by contrast, judged the first
statement to be true and the second to be
false without regard to the actual color of
the chip.
In summary, formal operational think-
ing allows the young person to deal with
contrary-to-fact statements, to take mul-
tiple variables into account when solving
problems, and to determine the logical
truth or falsity of statements without
regard to their empirical validity. Such

reasoning, however, also has a number of
social consequences.
Social Consequences of Formal Opera-
tional Thinking. The study of formal
operational thinking helps to explain
some typical, yet puzzling, adolescent
behaviors. For example, adolescents are
now able to construct ideals, including
ideal parents. They then proceed to com-
pare these ideal parents with their real
parents and find the latter sadly wanting.
It is for this reason that adolescents, who
as children believed their parents could
do no wrong, now view them as unable to
do anything right. This criticism of par-
ents, which characteristically emerges in
adolescence, thus has its roots, at least
partly, in the new capacity to idealize.
Idealization also helps to explain the
adolescent phenomenon variously re-
ferred to as having “a crush on” or “a
thing for” a person of the opposite sex—a
movie star, a musical performer, even a
fellow student. When adolescents develop
this sort of attachment, the idealization is
such that they will not listen to anyone
who says or implies anything negative
about the idol. In addition, crushes are
usually characterized by an obsessive
concern with the idealized figure. Though
often abruptly shattered by a harsh real-
ity, they sometimes last a lifetime.
Another social consequence of formal
operational thinking is what might be
called “pseudo-stupidity.” Because young
people can now take many variables into
account at the same time, decision mak-
ing is much more complicated than
before. For example, when asked a simple
question, adolescents may go into a long
discourse that is quite irrelevant, finding
it difficult to choose among the possible
answers. Paradoxically, because they
now possess the mental ability to think
Cognitive Development 131
of many alternatives, they may appear to
be stupid. Indeed, they may seem indeci-
sive for the same reason. Or they may
take the opposite course and make deci-
sions rashly without trying to consider
the alternatives.
Still other social consequences of the
attainment of formal operations derive
from the young person’s newfound abil-
ity to think about other people’s think-
ing. Children think, but they do not
really think about thinking. It is only
later, during the period of adolescence,
that young people begin to spontaneously
employ terms like thought, mind, and
belief. Incidentally, this newfound ability
should not be confused with “theory of
mind,” a phenomenon whereby young
children correctly use mental terms and
recognize what other children know and
do not know (e.g., Wellman, 1990).
Among children, these achievements are
always tied to very concrete materials
and experiences, whereas adolescents are
able to attribute thoughts to others in the
absence of any physical props or percep-
tual cues. In short, with the attainment
of formal operational thinking, adoles-
cents can create their own ideas about
what other people are thinking.
The capacity to think about thinking is
itself associated with a number of social
cognitive consequences. For example, the
ability to think about thinking helps ado-
lescents appreciate the privacy of their
thoughts. In fact, it is this new sense of
privacy that accounts for teenagers’
reluctance to share their thinking with
their parents. (“Where did you go?”
“Out.” “What did you do?” “Nothing.”)
In addition, because adolescents are so
concerned with the physical and emo-
tional changes they are undergoing, they
tend to be self-preoccupied. When they
think about other people’s thinking,
132 Cognitive Development
therefore, they often assume that the
other people are thinking what they are
thinking about—namely, themselves. In
the process, they construct what has
been termed an imaginary audience
(Elkind, 1967, 1985).
One consequence of the imaginary
audience is enhanced self-consciousness
in early adolescence. In one study involv-
ing an imaginary-audience scale given to
hundreds of students from elementary
through high school, self-consciousness
was found to peak in early adolescence
(ages thirteen to fourteen) (Elkind and
Bowen, 1979). This finding has since
been replicated by many other investiga-
tors using the same or other instruments
(Enright et al., 1979; Gray and Hudson,
1984; Goosens et al., 1992). Two other
consequences of the imaginary audience
that adolescents experience are a need for
peer-group approval and a need to pub-
licly separate from parents to demon-
strate their new “grownupness.”
A corollary of the imaginary audience
is the personal fable, a story that adoles-
cents tell themselves that is not true
(Elkind, 1967). When young people
believe that others are thinking about
them and concerned with how they look
and what they do, they also assume that
they are special and unique. They come
to believe that whereas other people will
grow old and die, or fail to realize their
life’s ambitions, they themselves will be
spared such fates. Although clinical expe-
rience supports the existence of the per-
sonal fable, an adequate scale to measure
it has not yet been devised. Nonetheless,
it is known to play a part in adolescent
risk taking. Many adolescents take risks
because they believe that getting preg-
nant, getting hooked on drugs, or becom-
ing infected with a venereal disease will
happen to others, not to them.
In sum, the cognitive changes associ-
ated with puberty have social as well as
intellectual consequences.
Issues in Social Cognition
Continuity versus Discontinuity. Some
information theorists, such as Robbie
Case (1992), although they generally sub-
scribe to Piaget’s theory of development,
see development as a more continuous
process of improvement in various psy-
chological processes than did Piaget him-
self. Indeed, as children approach adoles-
cence, their attention becomes more
selective and better adapted to the tasks
at hand; their improved strategies in-
crease the effectiveness of their informa-
tion storage and retrieval processes; their
store of facts and information increases,
making strategies more effective; and
their ability to process information
becomes both multifaceted and more
rapid.
There is a way to reconcile the infor-
mation-processing observations of conti-
nuity and the developmental observa-
tions of discontinuity. This is possible if
we think of the two approaches as using
different time scales. When behaviors are
viewed over hours and days (the informa-
tion-processing scale), they appear to be
continuous. When behaviors are com-
pared across months and years, however,
they appear discontinuous. From this
perspective it is the different time scales
that make the difference.
Stage Generality. Piaget’s theory is often
misunderstood to mean that once a
young person attains a particular level of
mental operations, he or she should
think at that level in all domains. Piaget
(1950) himself emphasized that he was
not a preformist—that the attainment of
operations only made possible the attain-

ment of concepts at that level, although
each content domain had to be conceptu-
alized on its own terms. That is why he
explored how children construct con-
cepts of number, space, time, geometry,
and much more. The same is true for for-
mal operations. Once these are attained,
the individual has to employ them in a
specific domain in order to become for-
mal operational in that domain. For
example, taking a college course
improves formal operational thinking
related to the course content (Lehman
and Nisbett, 1990).
Gender Differences. In general, one
finds few sex differences on Piagetian
measures during the concrete operational
period. At the formal operational stage,
however, sex differences do appear—par-
ticularly in the areas of math and sci-
ence. As noted, there is some controversy
over whether these differences are
genetic or cultural. The cultural explana-
tion suggests that social pressures are
such as to ensure that young women do
not elaborate their formal operational
abilities in science and math. In support
of this explanation is the finding that sex
differences in cognitive abilities of all
kinds have declined throughout the past
few decades. Put another way, the gap
between the scores of boys and girls on
tests of math and science has narrowed
over this time period. One factor in
reducing this difference has been the
increase in girls’ enrollment in school
math and science courses (Campbell et
al., 1997).
Conclusion
The cognitive changes that accompany
puberty move young people onto a whole
new plane of thought that changes both
their academic and social lives. The
Cognitive Development 133
attainment of these new abilities can be
viewed as either continuous (on a scale of
hours and days) or discontinuous (on a
scale of months and years). Young people
do not automatically reason at the formal
level in all domains once they give evi-
dence of this achievement. They have to
be engaged with a particular subject mat-
ter before they are able to think of it in a
formal operational way. Finally, although
sex differences in the areas of science and
math appear in adolescence, these seem
to be diminishing as more girls take
math and science courses. Although for-
mal operations are in part a function of
maturation, their full realization is very
much dependent on the individual per-
sonality of the adolescent and the socio-
cultural environment in which he or she
grows up.
David Elkind
See also Intelligence; Intelligence Tests;
Standardized Tests; Thinking
References and further reading
Campbell, J. R. et al. 1997. Trends in
Academic Progress. Washington, DC:
U.S. Government Printing Office.
Case, Robbie. 1992. The Mind’s Staircase:
Exploring the Conceptual
Underpinnings of Children’s Thought
and Knowledge. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Elkind, David. 1967. “Egocentrism in
Adolescence.” Child Development 38:
1025–1034.
———. 1985. “Egocentrism Redux.”
Developmental Review 5: 218–226.
Elkind, David, and Richard Bowen. 1979.
“Imaginary Audience Behavior in
Children and Adolescents.”
Developmental Psychology 15: 38–44.
Enright, Robert D., et al. 1979.
“Adolescent Egocentrism in Early and
Late Adolescence.” Adolescence 14:
687–695.
Gesell, Arnold, et al. 1956. Youth: The
Years from Ten to Sixteen. New York:
Harper.
Goosens, F. X., et al. 1992. “The Many
Faces of Egocentrism: Two European
134 College
Replications.” Journal of Adolescent
Research 7: 43–58.
Gray, William M., and Lynne M. Hudson.
1984. “Formal Operations and the
Imaginary Audience.” Developmental
Psychology 20: 619–627.
Hall, G. Stanley. 1904. Adolescence. New
York: Appleton.
Inhelder, Barbel, and Jean Piaget. 1958.
The Growth of Logical Thinking from
Childhood through Adolescence. New
York: Basic Books.
Lehman, Darrin R., and Richard E.
Nisbett. 1990. “A Longitudinal Study of
the Effects of Undergraduate Training
on Reasoning.” Developmental
Psychology 26: 952–960.
Osherson, Daniel N., and Ellen M.
Markman. 1975. “Language and the
Ability to Evaluate Contradictions and
Tautologies.” Cognition 2: 213–226.
Piaget, Jean. 1950. The Psychology of
Intelligence. London: Routledge and
Kegan Paul.
Wellman, Henry M. 1990. The Child’s
Theory of Mind. Cambridge, MA: MIT
Press.
College
Today, more than 90 percent of high
school seniors expect to attend college,
and more than 70 percent of them aspire
to work in professional jobs as adults.
Four decades ago, the picture was quite
different: Only 55 percent of high school
seniors expected to attend college, and
approximately 42 percent expected to
work in professional jobs (Schneider and
Stevenson, 1999). Most young people
today will graduate from high school, and
the predominant pattern of transition
will be from high school into some form
of postsecondary education. Recent
national surveys charting the transition
from high school to college or the labor
force show a steady increase in the num-
bers of young people selecting to enter
postsecondary schools. From 1987 to
1997, the percentage of high school grad-
uates attending college in the fall after
their senior year increased by 10 percent
(National Center for Education Statistics,
1999). Over 3 million high school gradu-
ates are expected to enter postsecondary
institutions by the fall of 2006 (National
Center for Education Statistics, 1996).
This continued increase in the num-
bers of young people opting for postsec-
ondary education immediately after high
school graduation points to a changing
transition pattern. As recently as two
decades ago, most young people took
full-time jobs after high school gradua-
tion. Today, the majority of them will
instead enroll in college, where many of
them will remain for more than four
years. Compared to college students a
decade ago, they will likely obtain a post-
secondary degree later, marry later, and
have children later. During this pro-
longed transition, students will face a
series of decisions that have significant
consequences for their futures. Many of
these decisions will be made in high
school, where students begin to think
about what courses they need to take,
what types of extracurricular activities
they should participate in, what types of
paid work they should undertake, and
what type of college they should attend.
More and more high school students
recognize the importance of a college
degree as an investment for improving
their earnings as adults. Many view a col-
lege degree in much the same way that
teenagers in the 1950s viewed the high
school diploma—as a necessary creden-
tial for obtaining stable employment. In
fact, a college degree is the minimal cre-
dential to which most of today’s young
people aspire. From 1972 to 1992, the
number of high school seniors who
expected to achieve more than a college
degree doubled from 14 percent to more
than 30 percent. These high educational

More and more high school students recognize the importance of a college degree as an
investment for improving their earnings as adults. (Leif Skoogfors/Corbis)
expectations are not confined to any par-
ticular group of students: Among both
females and males, as well as students
from different racial and ethnic groups
and different socioeconomic back-
grounds, the overwhelming majority now
expect to attend college (Green, Dugoni,
and Ingels, 1995).
Students’ high educational expecta-
tions are matched by high occupational
aspirations. Since 1955, the percentage of
seniors aspiring to professional jobs has
steadily increased, with the sharpest rise
occurring after 1980. Specifically, from
1980 to 1992, the percentage of students
desiring professional jobs increased from
54 percent to more than 70 percent. Con-
versely, teenage aspirations for nearly all
other occupational categories, including
College 135
salespeople, service workers, technicians,
manual laborers, farmers, and homemak-
ers, have steadily declined over the past
forty years. In fact, the number of jobs in
service and other occupations projected
for the year 2005 far exceeds the number
of adolescents who want to fill them
(Schneider and Stevenson, 1999).
This rise in educational expectations
can largely be attributed to the academic
preparation that young people are receiv-
ing in high school as well as to the influ-
ence of their teachers, counselors, and
parents. American high schools are com-
monly referred to as comprehensive
because the curriculum is designed to
provide learning opportunities both for
students who plan to enter the labor force
full-time directly after high school and
136 College
for students who plan to attend college.
Over the last forty years, American high
schools have undergone a major transfor-
mation marked by a steady increase in
the number of academic courses being
offered and a decline in the number of
vocational courses and programs. This
change has been spurred in part by the
national movement to increase gradua-
tion requirements, particularly in the
areas of mathematics and science. The
effects of these academic requirements
have been noticeable; indeed, consider-
ably more high school students now take
four years of mathematics and science
(Blank and Langesen, 1999). This push for
academic standards, combined with the
preparation of more students for college,
has blurred the boundaries separating the
college preparatory and vocational curric-
ular strands in the comprehensive high
school.
Regardless of what courses students
take, high school counselors encourage
the overwhelming majority of them to
attend college. No longer perceived as
“gatekeepers” who sort young people into
college and noncollege tracks, high school
counselors and teachers are now strong
advocates for college attendance. Results
from national surveys indicate that over
90 percent of students report that their
teachers and counselors encourage them
to attend college. Even students who take
vocational courses are directed to two-
year community colleges for additional
skills and training opportunities. Similar
percentages are reported among parents,
whose educational expectations and
career aspirations for their teenagers
match those of the teens themselves.
In deciding on a college, students con-
front a number of complex choices:
whether to attend a public or private
institution, a small or large one, a tradi-
tional liberal arts college or a school with
specialized programs in fields like engi-
neering or film. A fundamental distinc-
tion among postsecondary institutions is
the type of degree offered: Four-year
institutions offer primarily bachelor of
arts or bachelor of science degrees. Com-
munity and junior colleges offer associ-
ate degrees in the arts or sciences that
typically require two years of full-time
study. And proprietary institutions offer
a range of certificates in such fields as
cosmetology, trucking, or heating and
air-conditioning repair. These certificate
programs vary in length, but many can be
completed in less than a year. Some com-
munity or junior colleges also offer voca-
tional and technical certificate programs
that take a year or less to complete (Dic-
tionary of Postsecondary Institutions,
1997).
Most high school graduates do not
choose to enroll in certificate programs
following graduation. These programs
attract the fewest number of graduating
high school seniors and have been steadily
decreasing in size over the past two
decades. Recent analyses of data from sev-
eral national longitudinal studies show
that in 1977, 5.3 percent of high school
graduates chose to pursue such certifi-
cates, compared to 5 percent in 1982 and
only 2.9 percent in 1992 (Schneider and
Stevenson, 1999).
As suggested earlier, the dominant
transition pattern among young adults is
to go from high school to college. Of
those who choose to attend postsec-
ondary institutions, one-third enter com-
munity or junior colleges and the
remainder attend four-year colleges.
Although the proportion of high school
graduates opting for college has steadily
increased over the past three decades, the
distribution of students entering two-

year and four-year institutions immedi-
ately after high school has remained
fairly stable since 1972 (Adelman, 1999).
Community College Students
Research has consistently found that
community colleges tend to enroll stu-
dents who have been traditionally under-
represented at four-year institutions,
including racial and ethnic minorities
and those from less advantaged socioeco-
nomic backgrounds. Many young people
who decide to begin their education at a
community college are concerned about
the costs of higher education, underpre-
pared academically, and unsure of what
career they would like to pursue after
completing their degree. The costs of
higher education are particularly prob-
lematic for community college students,
who typically have limited resources.
Yet, ironically, although most commu-
nity college students need financial assis-
tance to attend school, the proportion of
students who apply for financial aid
tends to be lower at two-year versus four-
year institutions. Many community col-
lege students lack information on finan-
cial assistance, however, and may be
discouraged from applying by the lengthy
and complicated procedures for obtaining
aid—especially those who are first-time
college-goers in their families (Grubb and
Tuma, 1991). Moreover, with respect to
academic preparation, recent analyses
continue to demonstrate that students
who opt for community college tend to
have taken fewer advanced-level mathe-
matics and science courses in high school
than those who matriculate to four-year
institutions. Thus, they may fail the
entry-level examinations in these sub-
jects and be required to take remedial
courses that do not carry credit hours
toward degree completion. Under such
College 137
circumstances, it appears that the focus
on remedial work in community college
would be more beneficial if students took
more academically rigorous courses in
high school.
One characteristic that students at
community colleges share with those at
four-year colleges is high expectations.
More than 70 percent of students who
enroll in two-year colleges expect to earn
a four-year degree. These high ambitions
do not seem to lessen even among stu-
dents who remain at two-year institu-
tions for more than two years. However,
although the majority of community col-
lege students plan to transfer to four-year
institutions, few of them actually suc-
ceed in doing so. The rising educational
expectations of students at two-year col-
leges further complicates the mission
and resource allocations of these institu-
tions. Many community colleges attempt
to provide vocational education and
training as well as to prepare students for
entry into four-year colleges. These two
missions are often at odds, resulting in
problematic advising programs for the
students.
Four-Year College Students
Young people who enter four-year college
programs tend to be more academically
prepared than those who enter commu-
nity colleges or who delay their entrance
into college. With respect to background
characteristics, students who enter four-
year institutions are more likely to be
white, to come from traditional two-par-
ent families, and to have more economic
and social resources than students who
attend community colleges. The number
of whites and African Americans who
enroll in college immediately after high
school has continued to grow over the
last two decades, whereas the number of
138 College
Hispanics has remained stable. However,
if certain factors are held constant—
namely, family background and academic
performance, including test scores and
course-taking behaviors—African Ameri-
cans turn out to be four times more
likely than whites to attend four-year
colleges (Schneider et al., 1999).
Even though low-income and minority
students are now more likely to enroll in
postsecondary institutions than they
have been historically, several barriers
continue to limit their access to higher
education. Rising tuition costs still place
some institutions out of reach for stu-
dents in families with limited resources.
Access to higher education for minority
students appears at great risk as more
states eliminate affirmative action poli-
cies in making admissions determina-
tions (Bowen and Bok, 1998). And among
the low-income and minority students
who matriculate to four-year institu-
tions, persistence rates continue to be
disproportionately lower than among
students in other groups.
Approximately one-third of recent high
school graduates have chosen not to
attend college, and for these young adults,
labor force participation will likely be a
primary or immediate concern after high
school. However, given changes in the
labor markets open to high school gradu-
ates (and, indeed, those who leave high
school without a diploma), the opportuni-
ties for stable, long-term employment
look increasingly problematic (Murphy
and Welch, 1989). Economists have differ-
ing opinions about the labor market
needs for the next century, but most agree
that the “credentials floor” for stable jobs
that pay more than the minimum wage
will likely continue to rise. This trend is
evidenced by the fact that many such jobs
now require associate or bachelor’s
degrees. Supporting a family and main-
taining a reasonable lifestyle with only a
high school diploma thus seems a very
unlikely scenario, at least in the near
future.
Young adults who go to work directly
after high school are predominately male
and, compared to those who enroll in col-
lege, are more likely to be Hispanic,
African American, or Asian American.
Over the past twenty years, the propor-
tion of high school graduates entering the
labor force who are nonwhite has
increased from almost 14 percent to 27
percent (Stevenson, Kochanek, and
Schneider, 1998). Compared to students
ten or twenty years ago, those who now
enter the workforce directly after high
school are, on the one hand, more likely
to have parents with at least some col-
lege education but, on the other, less
likely to have had formal vocational
training.
Many American employers today want
to see good basic academic skills among
their prospective employees (Shapiro and
Goertz, 1998). Comparisons of data from
several longitudinal studies suggest that
students entering the labor force directly
after high school do not have lower cog-
nitive abilities skills than students in
similar circumstances ten years ago.
However, today’s young workers do
appear to have had more behavioral prob-
lems in high school. Compared to stu-
dents who enter college, they are more
likely to have been late to school, to have
gotten into trouble at school, to have
been considered troublemakers by their
classmates, and to have been suspended
from school (Stevenson, Kochanek, and
Schneider, 1998). For these reasons, high
school graduates who currently enter the
labor market directly after high school do
not fit either the skill and knowledge

profile or the social profile of the Ameri-
can worker recommended by various fed-
eral policy panels (Secretary’s Commis-
sion on Achieving Necessary Skills,
1991).
Barbara Schneider
See also Academic Achievement; Career
Development; Vocational Development
References and further reading
Adelman, Clifford. 1999. Answers in the
Tool Box: Academic Intensity,
Attendance Patterns, and Bachelor’s
Degree Attainment. Washington, DC:
U.S. Department of Education, Office of
Educational Research and
Improvement.
Blank, Rolf, and Doreen Langesen. 1999.
State Indicators of Science and
Mathematics Education: State by State
Trends and New Indicators from the
1997–98 School Year. Washington, DC:
Council of Chief State School Officers.
Bowen, William G., and Derek Bok. 1998.
The Shape of the River: Long-Term
Consequences for Considering Race in
College Admissions. Princeton, NJ:
Princeton University Press.
Dictionary of Postsecondary Institutions,
Vol. 2. 1997. Washington, DC: U.S.
Department of Education.
Green, Patricia, Bernard L. Dugoni, and
Steven Ingels. 1995. Trends among
High School Seniors, 1972–1992.
Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Education.
Grubb, Norton, and John Tuma. 1991.
“Who Gets Student Aid?: Variation in
Access to Aid.” Review of Higher
Education 14, no. 3: 359–382.
Murphy, Kevin, and Finnis Welch. 1989.
“Wage Premiums for College
Graduates: Recent Growth and Possible
Explanations.” Educational Researcher
18, no. 4: 17–26.
National Center for Education Statistics
(NCES). 1996. Projections of Education
Statistics to 2006. Washington, DC:
U.S. Department of Education.
———. 1997. Postsecondary Persistence
and Attainment. Washington, DC: U.S.
Department of Education, Office of
Educational Research and
Improvement.
Computer Hacking 139
———. 1999. The Condition of Education
1999. Washington, DC: U.S.
Department of Education.
Schneider, Barbara, and David Stevenson.
1999. The Ambitious Generation:
America’s Teenagers, Motivated but
Directionless. New Haven, CT: Yale
University Press.
Schneider, Barbara, Fengbin Chang,
Christopher Swanson, and David
Stevenson. 1999. “Social Exchange and
Interests: Parents’ Investments in
Educational Opportunities.” Paper
presented at the annual meeting of the
American Sociological Association,
Chicago (August).
Secretary’s Commission on Achieving
Necessary Skills. 1991. What Work
Requires of Schools: A SCANS Report
for America 2000. Washington, DC:
U.S. Department of Labor.
Shapiro, Daniel, and Margaret Goertz.
1998. “Connecting Work and School:
Findings from the 1997 National
Employer Survey.” Paper presented at
the annual meeting of the American
Educational Research Association, San
Diego (April).
Stevenson, David, Julie Kochanek, and
Barbara Schneider. 1998. “Making the
Transition from High School: Recent
Trends and Policies.” Pp. 207–226 in
The Adolescent Years: Social Influences
and Educational Challenges, National
Society for the Study of Education
Yearbook. Edited by Kathryn Borman
and Barbara Schneider. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press.
Computer Hacking
The term computer hacker has at least
two definitions. According to one of
these, a computer hacker is an exception-
ally competent computer programmer.
Hacking in this context means using
one’s computer programming abilities to
explore the Internet, develop skills, and
gain knowledge. It does not include ille-
gal activities. According to another defi-
nition, however, computer hacker is
someone who uses his or her knowledge
of computers or the Internet to steal or
140 Computer Hacking

Four teenagers involved in hacking into a computer pay network participate in a press
conference, California 1983. From left to right are Wayne Correia, 17, Gary Knutson, 15, Greg
Knutson, 14, and David Hill, 17. (Bettmann/Corbis)

damage property—whether physical
property or intellectual property such as
corporate secrets, software products, and
personnel information. Hacking in this
context means using one’s abilities for
material gain or mischief. The use of a
computer for such purposes is a crime
and can result in incarceration. If the ille-
gal activity involves the Internet, it is a
federal offense because the Internet
crosses state boundaries. People who use
the Internet for illegal purposes have
been called “crackers” within the hacker
community in order to distinguish them
from people who are simply demonstrat-
ing their knowledge; in addition, people
who use their skills to make long-dis-
tance calls without paying for them have
been called “phreaks.” Thus, hackers are
a diverse group of individuals. Further-
more, merely referring to a person as a
computer hacker does not make that per-
son one. She or he must demonstrate
extensive knowledge about technology or
telecommunications systems.
Many interesting examples of com-
puter crime can be cited. Probably the
first hacker arrested for illegal activity
was John Draper, also known as “Captain
Crunch.” Repeatedly arrested for phone
tampering during the 1970s, Draper used
a plastic whistle he found in a cereal box
to gain access to free long-distance tele-
phone calls. Another famous case is that

of Kevin Mitnick, who was arrested and
incarcerated in the 1980s for reading cor-
porate e-mail. After he was freed, he
returned to hacking in 1992 and hid from
the police for several years. Mitnick was
the first computer hacker to be put on
the FBI’s most-wanted list. Captured in
1995, he was charged with computer
fraud and theft of corporate information
and millions of dollars’ worth of com-
puter software.
Since the beginning of the 1990s, com-
puter crime has been on the rise. Com-
puter hackers have broken into a variety of
different computer systems including mil-
itary bases, government agencies, research
institutes, phone companies, airlines,
computer companies, and even banks. In
fact, hackers stole $70 million from the
Bank of Chicago using a computer. Hack-
ers have been known to flood computer
systems with thousands of e-mail mes-
sages, a practice called spamming, in order
to cause the systems to slow down or fail.
The Department of Defense computer sys-
tem is attacked hundreds of thousands of
times each year. And not just businesses
and government agencies are affected by
computer crime: Computer viruses are a
constant threat to members of the general
public who use e-mail and the Internet.
These viruses are computer programs
designed to destroy or damage computer
files. They are passed from computer to
computer or from network to network
over the Internet or e-mail. Over a short
period of time, a single virus can cause
extensive damage all over the world. In
1998 the government responded to these
various computer crime threats by creat-
ing the National Infrastructure Protection
Center; its purpose is to prevent hackers
from jeopardizing the nation’s telecommu-
nication, transportation, and technology
Computer Hacking 141
systems. In addition, the FBI has created
cybercrime units in many cities in the
United States. Computer hacking is one of
our newest forms of crime and juvenile
delinquency. Many countries are taking
this threat to their infrastructures very
seriously.
How widespread is adolescent com-
puter hacking? Currently, researchers do
not know what percentage of the adoles-
cent population participates in computer
crime. The stereotype found in the media
is that of the intellectually gifted teenager
with antisocial attitudes who continues
to break the law until he or she is
stopped. It is not clear that this stereotype
always holds true, as the characteristics
of long-term computer hackers are
unknown. But if computer hacking is
similar to other forms of juvenile delin-
quency, it can be argued, by extension,
that there are at least two different groups
of adolescents participating in illegal
computer-related activities. According to
Terrie Moffitt’s (1993) theory of the devel-
opment of antisocial behavior, one of
these groups—the smaller of the two—
consists of teenagers who continue to
commit criminal acts as they move into
adulthood. These career criminals usually
begin their antisocial behavior early in
development. They can be distinguished
from other teens by a combination of per-
sonal characteristics and negative envi-
ronmental influences that work as risk
factors. For example, they may have had a
conduct disorder problem in childhood,
similar to that of their aggressive peers.
They may have trouble fitting in socially
or academically in school, although given
their computer programming abilities,
they are probably very intelligent. And
they may be sensation seekers who are
willing or eager to take unusual chances.
142 Computer Hacking
For instance, Kevin Mitnick, the well-
known computer hacker mentioned ear-
lier, claimed that he hacked into com-
puter systems to challenge himself—not
to gain personal wealth.
The majority of adolescent computer
crime, however, is probably committed
by teens who do not continue these
activities in adulthood. Moffitt’s theory
holds that these temporary criminals are
testing their knowledge and skills as a
way of achieving status and power. They
break the law and seek attention because
society considers them socially imma-
ture, even though they are biologically
mature individuals. It is this “maturity
gap” in our culture that leads many
teenagers to commit crimes. In short,
many teens imitate their more antisocial
peers and explore forbidden territory
while still in adolescence, but once these
individuals obtain independence and
responsibility in adulthood, they stop
their antisocial behavior.
It is easy to see how computer hacking
might be an effective way for adolescents
to demonstrate their knowledge and
power to other people. In fact, many peo-
ple praise teens for such behavior because
it requires a great deal of intellectual
skill. Moreover, since these adolescents
can presumably use their computer-
related knowledge in their future careers,
their behavior may appear harmless or
even beneficial to their development. Yet
computer hacking can result in hundreds
of thousands of dollars’ worth of damage
to companies and research institutes.
This damage is due in part to lost produc-
tivity and information and in part to the
cost of paying personnel to repair and
rebuild damaged computer systems. Par-
ticipating in illegal computer activities
can also be detrimental to the teenage
hackers themselves—for instance, by
limiting their future career opportunities.
Indeed, executives in some computer
companies have voiced their reluctance
to hire computer hackers who have com-
mitted criminal acts. Not surprisingly,
they are nervous about handing sensitive
or private information to people who do
not respect other people’s privacy and
property and the laws that protect them.
Other executives, however, have actually
hired computer programmers to hack
into their computers in order to test the
company’s security system and software.
This practice, called “ethical computer
hacking,” can uncover computer security
breaks and prevent future damage to a
company’s computer system. It is a legal
activity because it involves the active
consent of the target of the hacking.
The social factors contributing to ado-
lescent computer crime probably include
parental influences, such as modeling of
antisocial attitudes and failure to monitor
the teen’s computer-related activities. But
an even larger influence is likely to be the
teenager’s peer group. The need for peer
acceptance is at its height during the mid-
dle-childhood and adolescent years, and
the peer group is considered a significant
source of knowledge and encouragement
during this time. Moreover, contrary to
the popular notion that computer hackers
are social isolates, hackers probably have
many friends on the Internet. In fact, sev-
eral online gangs have claimed responsi-
bility for attempting to hack into govern-
ment Web sites and computer systems.
These online gangs seem to have the
same characteristics as the better-known
adolescent gangs that commit physical
crimes, including antisocial attitudes,
praise for criminal acts by the delinquent
peer group, tutoring in illegal behaviors,

and strong leadership and loyalty among
group members. Indeed, teenagers can
obtain information about computer hack-
ing on the Internet itself. Although they
may seem to be staying out of trouble
because they are working alone on their
computers, in actuality they are being
taught how to engage in criminal activi-
ties by an extensive, sometimes interna-
tional, peer group. Still other Internet
sites teach specific skills, such as how to
deface another person’s Web site and how
to create computer programs that help
decode passwords and encrypted informa-
tion. One can also learn these skills by
reading newsletters and magazines pro-
duced by hacker interest groups. Hackers
meet online in chat rooms, form online
groups and gangs, and travel to conven-
tions where they exchange ideas and test
each other’s knowledge. It is important to
point out that these conventions and
groups include not just people who are
learning and teaching illegal behavior but
also those who are participating in legal
hacking activities.
Illegal hacking can be traced back at
least 120 years, when a group of
teenagers abused the country’s first tele-
phone system. Modern computer hack-
ing, on the other hand, originated in the
late 1960s, during the first of three major
events: the beginning of the study of arti-
ficial intelligence and the development
of the Internet at universities such as the
University of California–Berkeley and
the Massachusetts Institute of Technol-
ogy. At this time, computers and the
Internet had started to become impor-
tant to both science and society and
computer programmers had begun to
communicate with each other and work
together, leading to a second event that
was relevant to the emergence of com-
Computer Hacking 143
puter hacking: the development of a sub-
culture revolving around computers.
Computer clubs and magazines were cre-
ated to teach people how to use the tele-
phone system and the computer to
explore their abilities—or to break the
law. Some early hackers in these clubs
moved into profitable careers, creating
much of the modern computer industry.
As these computer clubs grew, so did the
government’s interest in computer crime
and illegal Internet activities. In the
early 1980s, many countries developed
laws against such activities, including
the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act in
the United States. Law-enforcement
efforts began to crack down on illegal
hacking, and programmers were arrested
for breaking into federal and business
computers. A third event linked to com-
puter hacking was the emergence of the
Internet’s role in our larger culture—
made official, perhaps, by coinage of the
term cyberspace in William Gibson’s
book Neuromancer. All three events and
their consequences have led to society’s
interest in children and teenagers who
exhibit exceptional computer-related
skills and possibly use their knowledge
to break the law.
Shirley McGuire
See also Aggression; Computers; Conduct
Problems; Delinquency, Trends in;
Moral Development; Rebellion
References and further reading
“Hackers Are Necessary.” Retrieved from
the World Wide Web on 5/17/99:
http://www.cnn.com/TECH/specials/
hackers/qandas/
“Hacking Is a Felony.” Retrieved from the
World Wide Web on 5/17/99:
http://www.cnn.com/TECH/specials/
hackers/qandas/
“A History of Hacking.” Retrieved from
the World Wide Web on 8/17/99:
144 Computers
http://www.sptimes.com/Hackers/
history.hacking.html
Moffitt, Terrie E. 1993. “‘Adolescent-
Limited’ and ‘Life-Course-Persistent’
Antisocial Behavior: A Developmental
Taxonomy.” Psychological Review 100:
674–701.
Computers
A computer is a programmable electronic
machine that performs a series of high-
speed mathematical calculations or logi-
cal operations in order to assemble, store,
correlate, or otherwise process informa-
tion. One can argue that no technological
advance over the last century has
affected the whole society of America,
and indeed the world, as quickly and pro-
foundly as the computer. Twenty-five
years ago it was two teenagers, Bill Gates
and Paul Allen, who ignited the com-
puter revolution that changed the lives of
people everywhere. The current genera-
tion of adolescents, sometimes referred
to as the “Nintendo Generation,” are
standard-bearers in the technological rev-
olution, having never known anything
else. From video games to chat rooms to
Web surfing, adolescents have sparked
exciting new computer trends over the
last decade, and within these young
minds lie radical new visions and infinite
possibilities in computer technology.
Computers are used to perform an
enormous variety of functions, and more
uses are created every day, providing
greater and more flexible access to all of
society’s resources. For several years,
businesses have relied on computers for
maintaining large inventories, tracking
sales, communicating with customers,
and transferring information electroni-
cally. Today, the focus of businesses lies
in e-commerce, online stock trading, and
high-speed wireless communications. For
years, educators have incorporated com-
puter technology into lesson plans, class-
room projects, and research. Today, there
is a focus on online homework, online
tutorial chat sessions, and even com-
pletely virtual classrooms and colleges.
The list of computer uses is practically
endless, as well as constantly changing.
Scientists use computers to organize
complicated data, build complex models,
and improve research tools and methods.
The military use computers in radar sys-
tems, communications systems, security
systems, and advanced machines and
weaponry. Doctors use specialized com-
puters to track patient records and sup-
plies, perform difficult surgeries and pro-
cedures, and monitor critical dosages.
Musicians use computers to produce and
fine-tune studio compositions as well as
enhance live performances.
Computers are also being used to make
everyday life more efficient and manage-
able. They are used in home appliances
such as microwaves, VCRs, stereos, and
home security systems. They are being
used in automobiles to regulate fuel sys-
tems and speedometers. Computers are
used in ATM machines, cellular phones,
video games, cameras, and supermarket
checkouts. Extensive computer networks
are in place to manage such things as traf-
fic control systems, airline reservation
systems, public utilities, and financial
systems. It seems almost impossible
nowadays to imagine living in a world
without computer technology. Those
without computer skills find themselves
struggling to keep up as computers
become a greater part of our life and work.
History and Development of
Computers
Early Computers. There are many peo-
ple who deserve credit in the develop-

ment of computers over the last century,
but it all began with the nineteenth-cen-
tury British mathematician Charles Bab-
bage (1792–1871), often referred to as the
“father of computing.” In 1834, Babbage
began designing his Analytical Engine, a
mechanical digital device capable of per-
forming mathematical operations as a
modern computer does. The engine was
“programmable” using punched cards,
contained a “store” for saving data, a
“mill” for processing data, and also a
printer. Babbage had trouble convincing
his financiers that such a machine would
prove useful, so he never came up with
the funding to finish builiding it.
If Babbage is known as the father of
computing, then his brilliant female col-
league deserves to be called its mother.
Augusta Ada Byron, Lady Lovelace
(1815–1852), daughter of the poet Lord
Byron, was working in mathematics at a
time when women were generally dis-
couraged from pursuing such a field. She
took notice of the universality of Bab-
bage’s ideas, and, in 1843, she translated
an Italian paper on Babbage’s Analytical
Engine, adding her own notes and theo-
ries to the manuscript. Her comments
included her predictions that such a
machine might be used to compose com-
plex music, to produce graphics, and
would be used for both practical and sci-
entific use. Lovelace later suggested that
Babbage write a plan for how the engine
could calculate Bernoulli equations. This
plan is now regarded as the first com-
puter program, and a software language
developed by the U.S. Department of
Defense in 1979 was named “Ada” in
Lovelace’s honor.
It took a period of time for people to see
promise in the work of Babbage and
Lovelace; crucial advances in electro-
mechanical engineering still had to be
Computers 145
made. From 1936 to 1945, at least three
different groups designed the first elec-
tronic digital computer, each group un-
aware of the others because of World War
II communication barriers. German scien-
tist Konrad Zuse (1910–1995) independ-
ently created a series of programmable,
digital-computing machines beginning
with the Z1 in 1936. A team of British sci-
entists, led by Alan Turing (1912–1954),
developed an electronic digital computer,
called Colossus, in 1943. It was designed
to break codes. American scientists cre-
ated the Automatic Sequence Controlled
Calculator (Mark I) in 1944 and the Elec-
tronic Numerical Integrator and Com-
puter (ENIAC) in 1945. Both were used for
military purposes. ENIAC weighed thirty
tons, measured 100 feet long and 8 feet
high, and contained 17,468 vacuum tubes.
At its top speed, it performed 5,000 addi-
tions per second.
In the late 1950s, transistors replaced
electron tubes in computers, allowing a
reduction in the size and power con-
sumption of computer components. In
1958, Jack S. Kilby (b. 1923) and Robert
Noyce (1927–1990) revolutionized the
industry by each independently invent-
ing the integrated circuit, which allowed
further reductions in component size
and increases in reliability. An integrated
circuit chip, created with a silicon wafer,
is smaller and thinner than a baby’s fin-
gernail yet equivalent to thousands of
electronic components all operating
simultaneously. The integrated circuit
represented the first great invention that
dealt with the storing, processing, and
interpretation of information, and it
paved the way for the development of
microcomputers.
The Microcomputer. In 1968, Noyce
joined with Gordon Moore to start Intel,
146 Computers
a company dedicated to developing and
producing the integrated circuit. In 1974,
Intel introduced the 8080 microproces-
sor, considered to be the first micro-
processor powerful enough to build a
computer around. This microprocessor
and its clones came to dominate the
microcomputer industry for the next four
years.
Ed Roberts, founder of Micro Instru-
mentation Telemetry Systems (MITS),
used the Intel 8080 to design the first per-
sonal computer, the Altair 8800, even
before there was demand for a single
unit. The machine included the Intel
8080 microprocessor and 256 bytes of
RAM for $395. Users had to create and
enter their programs in binary code by
flipping switches on the front panel of
the machine. MITS planned on selling
400 units the first year, but after the
Altair debuted on the cover of the Janu-
ary 1975 issue of Popular Electronics,
800 units were sold in the first month.
Among those intrigued by this com-
puter were two nineteen-year-old Har-
vard students—Bill Gates and Paul Allen.
In the spring of 1975, Allen arrived at
MITS headquarters in Albuquerque car-
rying a version of a computer language
called BASIC on a roll of paper tape. The
previously untested program written by
the two teenagers worked perfectly, and
Allen was hired as manager of software.
Gates and Allen went on to build the
multibillion-dollar Microsoft computer
software empire partly from system soft-
ware they wrote for the Altair.
Computers and Societal Transformation.
As a result of the brilliant innovations by
Roberts, Gates, and Allen, there was a
flooding of new computer technology into
society throughout the last two decades of
the twentieth century. The development
of faster, cheaper microcomputers brought
computing down to a personal level.
Gates and Allen started a software explo-
sion that redefined the tools people use for
writing, calculating, organizing, storing,
and playing. Electronic mail and the Inter-
net set new standards in high-speed com-
munications, enabling individuals to
cheaply and easily publish quality infor-
mation and exchange it with people
around the world. E-commerce is chang-
ing the way people shop and do business.
Laptops, palm computers, and cell phones
are now allowing people flexible, mobile
access to computers and wireless net-
working. Yet the impact of computers on
society so far is modest in comparison to
the potential impact. The most exciting
developments in computer technology
and computer use are still brewing in the
minds of today’s adolescents.
One of the most exciting aspects of the
computer revolution is that younger gen-
erations have as much involvement in it
and influence on how it plays out as older
generations, if not more. Computer sci-
ence is a young field and developing at a
rapid pace. Today’s hottest computer
technologies, such as Web design and
wireless networking, are mere foretastes
of the potential technologies. Adoles-
cents are not only making use of com-
puter technology but are becoming pio-
neers of its expansion. Today’s teenagers
are the backbone of the exciting new
trends, issues, and developments that are
already changing the social atmosphere
and creating new lifestyles.
One of the current social issues related
to computer technology deals with intel-
lectual property rights and digital copy-
righting. The debate centers on whether
or not the usual copyright laws should

apply to information that is loose on the
Internet. Standing in the front lines of
this debate is an adolescent named Shawn
Fanning. At age eighteen, Fanning created
an online music-swapping computer pro-
gram called Napster that transforms per-
sonal computers into servers for exchang-
ing Mp3 music files over the Net. Within
a year Napster became a multimillion-
dollar company with more than forty
employees. The Recording Industry Asso-
ciation of America (RIAA) and several
musicians, led by the rock band Metal-
lica, have sued Napster, claiming that the
service violates their music production
copyrights. The case will become a prece-
dent for shaping future laws about intel-
lectual property rights.
Another issue involves concerns about
the isolating effects of computers on the
adolescent world. Some parents and crit-
ics worry that computer use, like televi-
sion, may damage children and their
social interaction. Such social isolation,
they fear, can also lead to misuse of com-
puters and the Internet for such things as
hacking, harassment, and pornography.
However, such critics assume that com-
puter use necessarily reduces sociation
because it saps time and energy and low-
ers adolescent self-esteem.
Alternatively, other critics believe
computers actually promote better social
interaction. For instance, on the Inter-
net, nobody knows whether you are
black, white, short, tall, attractive, or
ugly. Anyone, regardless of age, race, reli-
gion, or gender, can publicize their views
and their work to an international audi-
ence. For many adolescents, the com-
puter is a tool for personal expression
and self-empowerment. The Internet
also provides the curious adolescent with
exciting opportunities for exploration,
Computers 147
discovery, and investigation. Teenagers
today are becoming more globally ori-
ented and open-minded.
How Computers Work
Modern computers, or digital computers,
are designed to process data directly in
numerical form using the binary system.
Binary digits are expressed in the com-
puter circuitry by the presence (1) or
absence (0) of a current. A string of eight
such bits, called a “byte,” is the funda-
mental data unit of digital computers. A
digital computer can store the results of
its calculations, compare results with
other data, and use comparisons to change
the series of operations it performs.
The operations of a digital computer
are carried out by digital computer cir-
cuits capable of performing up to trillions
of arithmetic or logic operations per sec-
ond, thus permitting the rapid solutions
of long problems that would normally be
impossible for humans to solve by hand.
The development of the integrated cir-
cuit in 1958 spurred the creation of
smaller and more powerful digital com-
puters. Large “mainframe” computers,
which were sometimes large enough to
walk through, have been reduced to more
manageable cabinet-sized computers and
“microcomputers” that can sit on a desk-
top, a lap, or even in the palm of a hand.
Microcomputer Structure. The physical
computer and its components are known
as hardware. Computer hardware in-
cludes the memory that stores data and
instructions, the central processing unit
(CPU) that carries out instructions, the
bus that connects the various computer
components, the input devices that allow
the user to communicate with the com-
puter, and the output devices that enable
148 Computers
the computer to present information to
the user.
When a computer is turned on it
searches for instructions in its memory.
Usually, the first set of these instructions
is a special program called the operating
system, the software that makes the
computer work. It prompts the user or
other machines for commands, reports
the results, stores and manages data, and
controls the sequence of software and
hardware actions. When the user
requests that a program run, the operat-
ing system loads the program in the
computer’s memory and runs the pro-
gram. Popular microcomputer operating
systems, such as Microsoft Windows and
Macintosh operating systems, have a
graphical user interface (GUI)—that is, a
display that uses tiny pictures, or icons,
to represent various commands. To exe-
cute these commands, the user clicks the
mouse on the icon or presses a combina-
tion of keys on the keyboard.
To process information electronically,
data is stored in a computer in the form
of binary digits, or bits, each having two
possible representations (0 or 1), as
explained above. Eight bits is called a
byte; a byte has 256 possible combina-
tions of 0s and 1s. A byte is a useful quan-
tity in which to store information
because it provides enough possible pat-
terns to represent the entire alphabet, in
lower- and uppercases, as well as numeric
digits, punctuation marks, and several
character-sized graphics symbols. A byte
also can be interpreted as a pattern that
represents a number between 0 and 255.
A kilobyte—1,024 bytes—can store about
1,000 characters; a megabyte can store
about 1 million characters; and a gigabyte
can store about 1 billion characters.
The physical memory of a computer is
either random access memory (RAM),
which can be read or changed by the user
or computer, or read-only memory
(ROM), which can be read by the com-
puter but not altered. One way to store
memory is within the circuitry of the
computer, usually in tiny computer chips
that hold millions of bytes of informa-
tion. The memory within these com-
puter chips is RAM. Memory also can be
stored outside the circuitry of the com-
puter on external storage devices, such as
hard drives, floppy disks, ZIP drives, and
CD-ROM drives.
The bus is usually a flat cable with
numerous parallel wires. The bus enables
the components in a computer, such as
the CPU and memory, to communicate.
Input devices, such as a keyboard or
mouse, permit the computer user to
communicate with the computer. Other
input devices include joysticks, scanners,
light pens, touch panels, and micro-
phones. Information from an input
device or memory is communicated via
the bus to the CPU. The CPU is a micro-
processor chip—that is, a single piece of
silicon containing millions of electrical
components. Once the CPU has executed
the program instruction, the program
may request that information be commu-
nicated to an output device, such as a
video display monitor, printer, projector,
VCR, or speaker.
Computer Programs and Software. In
order to solve problems and become a
diverse and powerful machine, a com-
puter must first be programmed by being
given a set of instructions called a pro-
gram. Each instruction in the program is
a single step telling the computer to per-
form an operation.
While program describes a single, com-
plete, and self-contained list of instruc-
tions, often stored in a single file, the

term software describes some number of
instructions, which may consist of one or
more programs or parts thereof. Software
can be split into two main types, system
software and application software. Sys-
tem software is any software required to
support the production or execution of
application programs but not specific to
any particular application. Most pro-
grams and software applications rely
heavily on various kinds of system soft-
ware for their execution. Examples of
system software would include operating
systems, compilers, editors, and sorting
programs. Examples of application soft-
ware would include accounting packages,
word processing programs, multimedia
software, educational software, and com-
puter games.
Sean Kennedy
See also Homework; Media; Media,
Effects of; Schools, Full-Service
References and further reading
InfoStreet, Inc. 1999. InstantWeb: Online
Computing Dictionary.
http://www.instantweb.com/~foldoc/
contents.html
Lee, John A. N. 1999. The Machine That
Changed the World.
http://ei.cs.vt.edu/~history/TMTCTW.
html
Microsoft Corporation. 1999. Microsoft
Corporation Interactive Software and
Computer History Museum.
http://www.microsoft.com/mscorp/
museum/home.asp.
Tanenbaum, Andrew S. 1998. Structured
Computer Organization. Englewood
Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Conduct Problems
Conduct problems encompass a wide
range of behaviors that are antisocial
(against the basic principles of society).
These behaviors are inappropriate and
unacceptable according to societal rules
Conduct Problems 149
and expectations. Some antisocial behav-
ior is normal and expected during adoles-
cence. There is no clear-cut distinction
between normal conduct and problem-
atic conduct—it is a matter of degree.
Frequency and intensity of the behaviors
are central features that determine
whether the child is identified as clini-
cally impaired, as having a behavior dis-
order. Antisocial acts that occur fre-
quently or across many situations
indicate a problem; however, some anti-
social acts that happen seldom but are
extremely serious, such as fire setting,
can also indicate a disorder.
Normal Antisocial Behavior
Many antisocial behaviors emerge in
some form over the course of normal
development. During adolescence, the
process of developing one’s own identity
involves a movement away from family
and may result in less affection toward
parents and less time spent with them.
Adolescents begin to think abstractly and
question parental values, standards, and
beliefs, resulting in an increase in argu-
ments and rule testing. For instance, in
one study, disobedience at home was
reported as a problem by parents for
approximately 20 percent of sixteen-year-
olds. Conflict between parents and
teenagers may rise as families argue
about small things, such as chores, cur-
fews, choice of clothing, or keeping one’s
room clean. Increasing expectations,
from school, parents, or work, place addi-
tional stress on adolescents. The antiso-
cial behavior usually subsides as adoles-
cents adjust to the changes happening
around and within them. Antisocial
behavior that exceeds normal develop-
ment results in conduct problems, which
at the extreme can become behavior dis-
orders.
150 Conduct Problems
Behavior Disorders
Clinically diagnosable disorders of
behavior include, but are not limited to,
conduct disorder (CD) and oppositional
defiant disorder (ODD). The essential fea-
tures of conduct disorder are a repetitive
and persistent pattern of behavior that
involves violation of the basic rights of
others and of the major age-appropriate
social norms. Conduct problems are evi-
dent at school, in the home, within the
community, and with peers, and com-
monly feature physical aggression, dam-
aging property, lying, stealing, and cheat-
ing. Less serious than conduct disorder,
oppositional defiant disorder involves a
pattern of hostile and defiant behavior
such as losing one’s temper, arguing with
adults, defying rules, and being spiteful
and vindictive. The prevalence ranges
from 2 percent to 9 percent for CD and
from 6 percent to 10 percent for ODD.
Etiology of Conduct Problems
It is unclear whether conduct problems
are primarily learned behaviors or biolog-
ically predisposed. Studies show a link of
parents with antisocial behaviors—such
as antisocial personality disorder—to
children with conduct disorder. This
does not, however, imply a genetic link.
A variety of parent and family character-
istics have been identified as risk factors,
including criminality, antisocial behav-
ior, and alcoholism in the parents, mari-
tal discord, and harsh and inconsistent
discipline practices. For instance, harsh
parenting, such as verbal abuse, threat,
and deprivation of privileges, as well as
physical punishment, may encourage
problem behavior.
Individual traits may play a role in the
development of conduct problems. Some
individuals with conduct problems show
cognitive processing problems such as
cognitive distortions (i.e., attributing
hostile intentions to ambiguous acts) or
cognitive deficiencies (i.e., using aggres-
sion rather than socially appropriate
solutions to interpersonal problems).
Certain personality traits such as impul-
sivity or disinhibition also encourage
problem behavior. It is likely that indi-
vidual traits, which may be inherited or
learned, interact with the environment
to produce problem behavior.
Gender Differences
Boys exhibit more conduct problems and
tend to develop them at an earlier age
than girls. On average, boys are five
times as likely as girls to be diagnosed
with conduct disorder. For boys, age of
onset for CD is typically before age ten,
whereas for girls, age of onset is typically
in the early teens (ages thirteen to six-
teen). Boys are generally found to engage
more frequently in stealing, fighting, tru-
ancy, destructiveness, and lying over the
course of development than girls.
Continuity and Stability
In general, antisocial behaviors typically
decline over the course of development.
However, extreme problem behavior
exhibited in children is likely to persist
into adolescence and sometimes into
adulthood. Children who are high in con-
duct problems remain higher than their
peer group over time. The precise bases
for this continuity (i.e., gene action, envi-
ronmental factors) are not well estab-
lished. The stability and continuity of
conduct problems suggest that interven-
tions need to be designed to ameliorate
these behaviors.
Current Treatments
Adolescents whose antisocial behaviors
exceed that of normal development are

likely to have a broad range of dysfunc-
tion in social behaviors, academic per-
formance, and cognitive processes, in
addition to the conduct problem behav-
iors. Since the development of conduct
problems has many contributing factors,
there are many points for intervention.
Treatments target the child, parent, or
entire family and may be individual or
group approaches. Many treatments
emphasize problem-solving skills. Parent
training and family therapy aim to
improve communication skills among
family members. Parents may learn alter-
natives to punitive and inconsistent par-
enting practices. School and community-
based programs aimed at preventing
conduct problems incorporate problem-
solving skills, emphasize prosocial activ-
ities, and foster more positive peer con-
nections.
Susan Averna
See also Aggression; Cheating, Academic;
Delinquency, Mental Health, and Sub-
stance Abuse Problems; Disorders, Psy-
chological and Social; Juvenile Crime;
Risk Behaviors; School Dropouts
References and further reading
American Psychiatric Association. 1994.
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition.
Washington, DC: American Psychiatric
Association.
Gemelli, Ralph. 1996. Normal Child and
Adolescent Development. Washington,
DC: American Psychiatric Press.
Herbert, Martin. 1987. Conduct Disorders
of Childhood and Adolescence: A Social
Learning Perspective. New York: Wiley.
Kazdin, Alan. 1987. Conduct Disorders in
Childhood and Adolescence, Vol. 9,
Developmental Clinical Psychology
and Psychiatry. London: Sage
Publications.
Kendall, Philip. 2000. Childhood
Disorders. United Kingdom: Psychology
Press.
Peterson, Anne. 1985. “Pubertal
Development as a Cause of
Conflict and Stress 151
Disturbance: Myths, Realities, and
Unanswered Questions—Genetic,
Social, and General.” Psychology
Monographs 111, no. 2: 205–232.
Robins, Lee. 1966. Deviant Children
Grown Up. Baltimore: Williams and
Wilkins.
Conflict and Stress
The transition from childhood to adoles-
cence has changed in several qualitative
and quantitative aspects over the past
few decades. The age at which adoles-
cents complete their education and enter
the work force is later, their physical
maturation is accelerated, and, due to
more liberal norms and values, they
begin heterosexual relations earlier. In
America, as in other modern democratic
societies, there is a noticeable trend
toward “value pluralism,” which, on the
one hand, calls for positive, tolerance-
promoting values but, on the other hand,
has led to the disintegration of existing
value systems. Today’s adolescents are
thus left with a vaguely defined behavior
code through which to solve their age-
specific developmental tasks. These
changes are further complicated by
increasing numbers of single-parent fam-
ilies and stepfamilies, higher rates of
unemployment and economic hardship,
and the continuous migration of foreign
families, many from poverty-stricken
backgrounds, into American society with
its high Western standards. These condi-
tions summarize the developmental con-
text in which adolescent development
unfolds within the biological, cognitive,
and social domains. Taken together, the
sheer number of changes occurring dur-
ing adolescence, compared with other
developmental stages, is unusually high.
Such changes lead to stress, which in
turn may exert an impact on health.
152 Conflict and Stress
The challenges of modern life often place
adolescents under considerable stress.
(Shirley Zeiberg)
Recent years have witnessed wide-
spread interest in identifying the proper-
ties that make events stressful. Research
on adolescents, in particular, has uncov-
ered two types of stressful events that dif-
fer in frequency, predictability, control,
and negative impact on health: normative
stressors and non-normative stressors.
Normative stressors are defined as
events that occur at about the same time
for the majority of individuals in this age
group and are associated with specific
developmental tasks and corresponding
expectations of family, friends, and soci-
ety. These stressors are highly predictable,
relatively frequent, and perceived as
mildly stressful and controllable. The ado-
lescent years are characterized by numer-
ous biological, cognitive, and social
changes. In American society, increased
responsibilities, accessibility to adult
rights, and school changes mark the tran-
sition to adulthood. In particular, early
adolescence (approximately ages eleven to
thirteen years) is considered to be a diffi-
cult yet challenging phase due to pubertal
developments, relational changes, and
school transition. Most early adolescents
enter a new school, and the strain associ-
ated with adjusting to new academic and
social environments may be potentiated
by the biological developments occurring
in puberty, such as changes in physical
size and body concept or the emergence of
sexual desires and anxieties about sexual-
ity. Feelings of being different, not meet-
ing the norm, having matured too quickly
or not quickly enough represent addi-
tional stressors that arise in the pubertal
phase of development. In addition, parent-
child relationships change, and the adoles-
cent’s interactions with and acceptance by
friends become increasingly important. In
midadolescence, the adolescent’s needs
for peer acceptance are especially great,
and the adolescent begins to spend more
time with peers outside of the home.
Thus, stressors emerge in relation to these
changes, that is, there are more disputes
with parents about curfews, clothing,
driving, and personal freedom. Increased
rates of parent-adolescent conflict have
been consistently found in research for
decades, particularly in early and mid-
adolescent samples. Dating and the initia-
tion of intimate, heterosexual relation-
ships also occur in this phase and may be
accompanied by stressors such as fear of
rejection or feelings of incompetence. In
late adolescence, the increasing indepen-
dence from parents may result in the ado-
lescent’s establishing an independent
household. Graduation from high school
is considered to be a significant juncture
in the transition to adulthood.
In addition to these changes, other, non-
normative stressors or critical life events
can increase the likelihood of maladapta-
tion. Non-normative family stressors
have been studied intensively. Adoles-
cents are more at risk for developing psy-
chopathology when the family situation

is unstable or when there is serious mari-
tal discord. In extreme cases, marital dis-
cord may lead to divorce, a phenomenon
that has increased in the United States
over the years and currently resulted in
every second marriage being dissolved.
The influence of parental divorce on a
child’s well-being has been frequently
studied. The chronicity of the stressors is
also relevant. Often high levels of stress
precede the event and persist long after it
has occurred. Many of the non-normative
stressors experienced by adolescents are
controlled or influenced by family situa-
tions and are chronic in nature. Ongoing,
stressful family situations can produce
more discrete life events, such as separa-
tion or divorce. Psychiatric illness in one
or both parents is another chronic, stress-
ful life situation. Most studies on this
kind of stressor have focused on maternal
dysfunction and its impact on adolescent
health; little attention has been devoted
to paternal disorders. Additional sources
of familial stress occur following the
death of a relative, instances of child
molestation or abuse, parental drug abuse
or criminal activities, or chronic illness in
the family. To summarize, these stressors
are critical life events that are relatively
infrequent, hardly predictable, and
extremely burdensome. Because most of
these events are hardly foreseeable and
can seldom be controlled or influenced by
the adolescents, anticipatory preparation
for or coping with the stressor is
extremely difficult. Consequently, the
emergence of non-normative stressors
may have more dramatic health conse-
quences for adolescents than normative
stressors. However, due to the unusual
timing and the high stressfulness of non-
normative events, social support may be
greater and thus buffer the potentially
damaging effects on health.
Conflict and Stress 153
In evaluating the effects of normative
and non-normative stressors, number,
timing, and synchronicity of changes
have to be considered. By definition, non-
normative stressors occur quite seldomly;
however, should they occur simultane-
ously or in rapid sequence with norma-
tive or developmentally related stressors,
serious health damage may result. The
risk for an unfavorable outcome increased
exponentially with increased number of
critical life events experienced by adoles-
cents. Adolescents did not show an
increased risk for psychopathology as
long as only one non-normative stressor
was involved. When two major stressors
occurred simultaneously, the risk became
four times as great. Thus, non-normative
stressors potentiate one another so that
the combination of stressors is more than
the sum of effects of individual stressors.
Furthermore, additional non-normative
stressors may appear in their wake. This
link has been confirmed frequently; most
studies revealed a correlation of r = .30
between major and minor stressors. The
different types of stressors that occur
within a developmental phase interact
with one another in a yet unknown way
to produce health-damaging effects.
Although normative stressors such as
school change, physical maturation, and
the onset of romantic relationships are
expected, age-appropriate, and moder-
ately stressful, the accumulation of
diverse normative stressors may also
have deleterious effects. School changes
are particularly stressful for girls. Due to
their more rapid maturational develop-
ment in puberty, physical changes are
more likely to occur around the time
they enter a new school. Owing to their
slower development, boys are less likely
to be confronted with both normative
stressors simultaneously. Research has
154 Conflict and Stress
further shown that girls are more likely
than boys to experience more conflicting
demands during this period. The
demands of popularity and achievement
orientation can produce emotional con-
flict in early adolescent girls.
In addition, the timing of events has
been found to influence health outcomes,
particularly in normative stressors. This
has been extensively researched with
respect to pubertal timing. A large body
of work has indicated that, when the tim-
ing of pubertal development deviates
from normative expectations, problem-
atic outcomes may be the result. Again,
girls are more affected. Early maturing
girls are more likely to develop a more
negative body image and are also more
likely to develop eating disorders or
behavioral and emotional symptoms.
Unusual timing of a normative event like
physical maturity may touch off changes
in relationships with parents and peers.
In summary, early adolescence is a
period of rapid cognitive, social, emo-
tional, and physical changes. Although
these changes per se have few harmful
effects on most adolescents, there are cer-
tain vulnerable subgroups. Unusual tim-
ing of normative stressors, a cumulation
of non-normative stressors, or an interac-
tion between non-normative and norma-
tive stressors can be considered as risk
factors. There are fewer changes in late
adolescence than in early or midadoles-
cence, which probably accounts for the
finding that the transition to adulthood
does not present major adaptation prob-
lems. From midadolescence to late ado-
lescence, parent-adolescent conflict
decreases. The power relation between
parents and adolescents has changed, and
a new balance between closeness and
separateness has been established. Fur-
ther, relationships with close friends
have matured and romantic relations
developed. In addition, while the average
youth shows a decline in school achieve-
ment in early and midadolescence,
achievement is improved as adolescents
enter college or take up full-time jobs.
Research has frequently demonstrated
gender differences in stress perception.
Female adolescents experience changes in
their environment and in themselves as
being very stressful and threatening.
Comparing a number of minor events, it
became obvious that females perceive the
same events as more stressful and more
permanent than males did. In addition,
they report more relationship stressors
than males and felt four times more
threatened by these same stressors than
males. This suggests that females are
more affected by conflicts in close rela-
tionships and perceive most stressors,
particularly relationship stressors, as hav-
ing a chronic nature. There is also evi-
dence that males are less affected by nor-
mative stressors, whereas non-normative
stressors have greater health conse-
quences for them, compared to females.
Empirical studies provided mixed evi-
dence for the explanatory power of stress
in the etiology of various psychological
and somatic disorders. Frequent, sus-
tained daily stressors, due to their
chronic nature, might play a greater role
in the development of psychopathology
than the occurrence of isolated major life
events. This finding is probably due to
the higher amount of social support
when experiencing non-normative stress-
ors, which protects the adolescent from
more severe health damage.
It is not fully clear how gender differ-
ences in stress perception are linked with
the emergence of gender-specific psy-
chopathology and differences in help-
seeking behavior. Several authors argue

for higher levels of minor stressors in
females as compared to males. However,
there are also studies speaking against a
typically higher level of stress in females
and arguing that, generally, males are
more vulnerable to the effect of major
losses, that is, events such as marital dis-
cord and parental divorce than females.
Currently, research neither provides a
clear support for the links between gender
differences in stress perception and subse-
quent symptomatology, nor does it con-
sistently support the hypothesis of an
increase in stressors across the adolescent
years only in females. However, there is
some evidence that females experiencing
both biological and psychosocial changes
are more vulnerable for depression or
depressive symptoms, but research focus-
ing on this issue in males is still meager.
As mentioned, numerous studies have
documented an increase in parent-child
conflicts during adolescence and a
decline thereafter. Also, gender differ-
ences in frequency of conflicts have been
established, documenting particularly
high rates of conflicts in the mother-
daughter dyad. However, a link between
an increase in conflict with mothers and
elevated levels of symptomatology of
daughters, as compared to sons, did not
emerge consistently. Prospective studies
covering the time span of several years
revealed, for example, that the relations
between family conflicts and depressive
outcome were similar for male and
female adolescents. More recently,
health consequences of poor peer rela-
tions, including peer rejection and the
amount of conflict, has been established
via aversive social exchange patterns
between adolescents and their friends.
Taken together, the research findings
reviewed so far suggest that females are
more sensitive to relationship stressors,
Conflict Resolution 155
but the health consequences of these per-
ceived elevated levels of stress are not
clear. Most symptoms were experienced
on a subclinical level. Whether the long-
term outcome may lead to more severe
health damage should be examined in
future research. This is a challenging
task, because the factors contributing to
adolescents’ maladaptation are complex
and closely intertwined with normative
developmental changes.
Inge Seiffge-Krenke
See also Conflict Resolution; Develop-
mental Challenges; Family Relations;
Storm and Stress
References and further reading
Compas, Bruce E., B. R. Hinden, and C. A.
Gerhardt. 1995. “Adolescent
Development: Pathways and Processes
of Risk and Resilience.” Annual
Review of Psychology 46: 265–293.
Gore, Susan A., and R. H. Aseltine. 1995.
“Protective Processes in Adolescence:
Matching Stressors with Social
Resources.” American Journal of
Community Psychology 23: 301–327.
Laursen, Brett, Katherine C. Coy, and W.
Andy Collins. 1998. “Reconsidering
Changes in Parent-Child Conflict
across Adolescence: A Meta-Analysis.”
Child Development 69: 817–832.
Seiffge-Krenke, Inge. 1995. Relationships
in Adolescence. Mahwah, NJ:
Earlbaum.
———. 1998. Adolescents’ Health: A
Developmental Perspective. Mahwah,
NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Conflict Resolution
Conflict resolution is a strategy that pro-
motes the positive interaction between
people who are in disagreement. This
method emphasizes the use of strong
communication skills, understanding,
respect, and cooperation in order to pro-
mote peaceful approaches to conflict.
156 Conflict Resolution
During adolescence, it is important to learn
conflict resolution skills in order to control
problems before they escalate to physical
violence. (Skjold Photographs)
Conflict arises when two or more people
believe that their opinions, wishes, and
needs clash with those of their friends,
family members, teachers, or others.
Some conflicts, such as those resulting
from insults or rumors, may seem less
significant than conflicts associated with
stolen belongings or physical fights.
When people do not manage conflicts
properly, violence is a likely conse-
quence. Indeed, it is important to learn
conflict resolution skills in order to con-
trol problems before they escalate to
physical violence. Studies have shown
that although relatively few conflicts
result in injury, conflicts among students
do occur with frequency—and that with-
out conflict resolution skills, students
tend to deal with problems in ways that
ignore the importance of their relation-
ships with friends. Fortunately, research
also indicates that conflict resolution and
peer mediation programs are effective in
teaching both elementary and secondary
school children how to use conflict man-
agement strategies to bring about posi-
tive outcomes to their problems. When
students learn and use constructive con-
flict management, schools witness a
reduction in the numbers of student-to-
student conflicts reported by teachers
and administrators.
Although many people are uncomfort-
able with conflict, it is not always a bad
thing. What’s important is how people
deal with the conflict that is present in
their lives. During conflict, people may
experience humiliation, distrust, and
frustration; they may also have a difficult
time seeing the situation from a perspec-
tive other than their own. However,
when constructive approaches to conflict
are used, beneficial results often follow.
Through active conflict resolution, peo-
ple are essentially forced to seek creative
approaches to their problems, allowing
them to clarify differing points of view
and to improve relationships and lines of
communication.
Although conflict resolution is effec-
tive, certain common assumptions about
conflict make it difficult for many people
to use its beneficial techniques. One such
assumption is that conflict results from
the failure of only one person, as when a
girl directs her anger solely at her father
because her parents divorced and he
moved away. Another false notion is that
there is no best way to deal with conflict;
for example, a boy may get into a physi-
cal fight while arguing with his friend,

not realizing that a better approach is
available. A third misconception about
conflict is that it always leads to destruc-
tive outcomes; a case in point is the girl
who decides after an argument with her
best friend that their friendship is over.
In actuality, conflicts result from dif-
fering perspectives on life, and their out-
comes and degree of seriousness depend
on the way in which people handle them.
People have three options when dealing
with conflict in their lives. They can fight
the person who causes them pain or trou-
ble, they can avoid the problem by fleeing
from it, or they can engage in problem
solving. This last option involves clearly
communicating feelings, assessing the
facts surrounding the problem, and think-
ing about favorable outcomes.
The winner and loser in any argument
are determined by the approach to con-
flict that is chosen. (1) When a person
fights the source of conflict, by attacking
verbally or physically, one person wins
and the other loses. (2) When flight is the
method used, both people lose because
the problem, now avoided or ignored, will
likely persist. (3) When problem solving is
employed, both people win. The reason is
that problem solving encourages each
person to understand the nature of the
conflict, to voice his or her own concerns,
to listen to the other person involved, and
to work with that other person to develop
an appropriate solution. Conflict resolu-
tion skills, when learned and practiced,
can indeed help people choose option (3)
as their approach to conflict.
Problem solving requires strong com-
munication skills, active listening, and
critical thinking. Communication skills
are necessary for problem solving
because they enable the people involved
in a conflict to clearly voice their con-
cerns. Active listening is important
Conflict Resolution 157
because it allows people to accurately
hear the needs of others. And critical
thinking helps people to review all possi-
ble options before they agree on the best
solution to their problem.
“I” statements can be used to effec-
tively communicate concerns, needs, and
feelings. Starting with the word “I” helps
speakers clearly express their thoughts in
a way that helps listeners understand
what they are thinking—without getting
defensive. Unfortunately, people com-
monly start with the word “you” when
talking about a problem. Doing so often
makes the problem worse, because the
listeners feel that they are being blamed,
and they blame back. Both speakers and
listeners become more agitated, and the
problem remains unsolved. Starting
instead with the word “I” helps speakers
voice their concerns without accusing
their listeners.
An “I” statement can be formed by
means of the following formula:
I feel . . . (name your feeling)
When . . . (name the behavior that
troubles you)
Because . . . (explain the result or
effect of the behavior)
Suppose Joey’s mother tells him to take
his sister to her friend’s house and this
makes him late for the movies. Joey
could respond with an “I” statement and
say: “Mom, I felt angry when you asked
me to drive Julie to her friend’s house
because it made me late for the movies.”
Here, Joey names the problem (having to
drive his sister) and expresses his feeling
(anger) with the word “I.” Instead of plac-
ing blame on his mother, he voices his
frustration with nonthreatening words.
This direct expression of feelings may
help Joey’s mom better understand their
158 Conflict Resolution
argument. Of course, “I” statements are
especially effective when the recipient of
the message understands the importance
of listening for the facts and feelings
being expressed.
As noted, active listening is another
component of effective problem solving.
Active listening is a response indicating
that the listener has correctly heard what
the speaker has said. Paraphrasing is one
way to actively listen. Through para-
phrasing, listeners state in their own
words what speakers have said, without
adding new facts, opinions, or interpreta-
tions. By restating what they have heard,
the listeners can accurately reflect the
speaker’s feelings.
The formula used for paraphrasing is as
follows:
You feel . . . (include feelings and
facts)
When/Because . . . (state the cause of
the feeling)
When Joey said, “Mom, I felt angry when
you asked me to drive Julie to her friend’s
house because it made me late for the
movies,” Joey’s mom could have para-
phrased by saying, “It sounds as if you are
feeling pretty frustrated because my
request made you late for the movies.” By
means of this statement, Joey’s mother
would have let him know that she heard
what he said and that she is aware of how
her request made him feel. If Joey believes
that his emotions are being regarded, he
will be more willing to openly express his
concerns to his mother. And in the
future, this honesty will make it easier for
both mother and son to identify and work
through their conflicts before they esca-
late into larger arguments.
Another way to show effective listen-
ing skills is through body language. Eye
contact and leaning forward indicate that
a listener is attentive to what the speaker
is saying. Suppose that Joey’s mother was
paying bills while Joey vented his frustra-
tion. Even if she used her paraphrasing
skills, Joey may not have felt listened to
if she was looking down at her paper-
work. If she instead made eye contact
with Joey and placed her bills to the side,
Joey may have better sensed his mother’s
undivided attention.
Each of these communication skills
helps parties in conflict to brainstorm
possible solutions to their problem. This
is the stage at which critical thinking
comes into play. Once all of the issues
have been laid out on the table and each
person has voiced his or her own concerns
and listened to the needs of the others
involved, the parties in conflict are ready
to find the best solution to their problem.
The goal of critical thinking is to find an
agreement that benefits all parties.
However, even with all of these helpful
problem-solving skills, some conflicts
are difficult to resolve. In such cases, the
people involved may benefit from having
a conflict management procedure to fol-
low. Mediation is one such procedure.
In fact, many schools use peer media-
tion programs to teach youngsters how to
help their fellow students manage con-
flict. These programs, which are usually
supervised by a trained teacher or guid-
ance counselor, empower students to
become active participants in their envi-
ronments by helping to create safe and
secure schools.
The students who have volunteered to
be peer mediators are given fifteen to
twenty hours of training that provides
the essential skills necessary for active
listening and conflict prevention. They
are also instructed to be as neutral as pos-
sible when they mediate conflicts; in

other words, during a mediation process,
they must avoid taking sides, giving
advice, and assuming responsibility for
resolution of the problem. Rather, their
objectives are to facilitate the civil com-
munication between conflicting parties
in ways that help each side fully under-
stand the nature of the conflict and to
assist the parties in reaching a formal
agreement to the problem. Peer media-
tors are assigned specific days and hours
of the week during which they are on call
to handle conflicts in their schools.
When a conflict arises, both parties are
sent to mediation, and two peer media-
tors are assigned to the case.
Peer mediation programs in the schools
give students an alternative to dealing
with conflict through violence. They do
so by encouraging the use of communica-
tion and conflict resolution skills, which
in turn leads to problem solving and crit-
ical thinking about beneficial solutions to
conflicts. Indeed, peer mediation allows
students the opportunity to personally
deal with their conflicts before the school
administrators get involved.
Jessica Beckwith
See also Conflict and Stress
References and further reading
Benson, A. Jerry, and Joan M. Benson.
1993. “Peer Mediation: Conflict
Resolution in Schools.” Adolescence
28, no. 109: 244–245.
Gerber, Sterling, and Brenda Terry-Day.
1999. “Does Peer Mediation Really
Work?” Professional School Counseling
2, no. 3: 169–171.
Johnson, David W., and Roger T. Johnson.
1996. “Conflict Resolution and Peer
Mediation Programs in Elementary and
Secondary Schools: A Review of the
Research.” Review of Educational
Research 66, no. 4: 459–506.
Kowalski, Kathiann M. 1998. “Peer
Mediation Success Stories: In Nearly
10,000 Schools Nationwide, Peer
Conformity 159
Mediation Helps Teens Solve Problems
without Violence.” Current Health 25,
no. 2: 13–15.
Lindsay, Paul. 1998. “Conflict Resolution
and Peer Mediation in Public Schools:
What Works?” Mediation Quarterly 16,
no. 1: 85–99.
Stomfay-Stitz, Aline M. 1994. “Conflict
Resolution and Peer Mediation:
Pathways to Safer Schools.” Childhood
Education 70, no. 5: 279–282.
Conformity
In our democratic society, conformity is
often perceived in a negative way, espe-
cially by educated people. It is typically
associated with the lack of freedom and
seen as an antonym to independence and
personal choice. Nevertheless, conform-
ity is a very important societal character-
istic, for it is the guarantee of stability and
mutual understanding between the mem-
bers of the society. During adolescence,
conformity plays a strong role in the
course of self- and social development.
In social psychology, conformity may
be defined as a tendency of human behav-
ior—one that comes into play when a
person fits in with the norm of the soci-
ety or with a given group. This definition
helps explain why conformity is often
perceived negatively—because fitting in
with the norm limits personal freedom.
On the other hand, no society can exist
without norms, either written or unwrit-
ten, that guide each member’s behavior.
The dream about an utterly free, norm-
less society is very old and not realistic.
Norms were invented by people for peo-
ple to make sure that people in general
behaved in line with a set standard. On
the other hand, the same norms that
guide behavior often slow progress and
inhibit necessary change. Accordingly,
for a society to function and develop
there must be a reasonable balance of
Conformity plays a strong role in the course of self- and social development. (Skjold
Photographs)

both conformity and personal freedom.
There must be conformity in order to
keep the society together, and freedom to
allow it to move forward. Cultures differ
in the way they interpret what this bal-
ance between conformity and freedom
should be. Western culture tends to put a
higher value on freedom and individual-
ity. On the other hand, there are more
collectivist countries (such as China)
that place more importance on the inter-
dependence of its members, on tolerance
and self-control, on attaining group goals,
and on maintaining harmony.
Conformity, like many other psycho-
logical phenomena, has an adaptive
value—to survive, an individual needs to
fit into the society, and to fit into the
society, he needs to accept its goals and
values; to preserve itself, the society
needs to coordinate the efforts of many
people and to promote norms and punish
deviation. This importance of conformity
to survival can be seen in many societies
where nonconformists are disliked,
unwanted, and rejected. This, too, varies
from culture to culture and is more likely
to appear in more collectivist cultures. In
the West, the situation is paradoxical: in
a postmodern democratic society, where
personal initiative and independence are
so valued, to be independent is actually
to conform to the societal norm. One
could argue that this paradox is one of the
most positive characteristics of modern
Western culture.
One important way to think about
conformity is to recognize that it is
important for building one’s self-concept
by identifying with the group and accept-
ing its values and standards. In general,
self-psychology (psychology that focuses
on the nature of the self) tells us that the
tendency to conform is different at differ-
ent stages of self-development. In fact, a
Conformity 161
strong tendency to conform can be
viewed as a stage in self-development.
The role of conformity in adolescent
development is complex. Adolescents
find themselves in a group between the
worlds of childhood and adulthood and
use this peer group for support and for
identity. However, it is not inevitable
that adolescents will conform to a peer
group; young adolescents show the high-
est rates of conformity to peers.
In addition to age, gender plays a role
in the intensity of an adolescent’s con-
formity with peers. Although girls are
more interested in peer acceptance than
boys, boys are more likely to conform to
peer pressure by engaging in antisocial
behavior. Conformity in adolescence,
however, is more likely to be limited to
clothes, music, and language. For serious
moral matters, adolescents’ views tend to
be in line with their parents. This differ-
ential in conformity serves a protective
role, since teens can safely conform to
peers on some issues to gain acceptance,
thus allowing them to continue to con-
form to parental standards on more seri-
ous matters.
By the end of adolescence conformity
plays a lesser role, and teens begin to
place importance on their own individu-
ality. Conformity does not, however,
become totally dormant; the transition
to adulthood brings with it a new set of
social standards and challenges.
Janna Jilnina
See also Cliques; Identity; Peer Groups;
Peer Pressure; Peer Status; Peer Victim-
ization in School; Rebellion
References and further reading
Camerena, Phame. 1991. “Conformity in
Adolescence.” In Encyclopedia of
Adolescence. Edited by Richard M.
162 Contraception
Lerner, Anne C. Petersen, and Jeanne
Brooks-Gunn. New York: Garland.
Daniel Gilbert, Susan Fiske, and Gardner
Lindzey, eds. 1998. The Handbook of
Social Psychology. New York: McGraw-
Hill.
Loevinger, Jane. 1976. Ego Development.
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Youniss, Richard P. 1958. Conformity to
Group Judgments in Its Relation to the
Structure of the Stimulus Situation and
Certain Personality Characteristics.
Washington, DC: Catholic University
of America Press.
Contraception
Contraception is the term that refers to
efforts to prevent pregnancy. Many con-
traceptive methods are available today.
There is a method for everyone, but it
requires thoughtful consideration and
sometimes experimentation for someone
to find the method that is best. Good
contraceptive methods are effective and
safe both for the woman and the man.
Most importantly, people need to choose
a method that they will use. Contracep-
tion does not work effectively unless it is
used each time a man and a woman have
intercourse.
This entry provides a general overview
of available contraceptive methods. Read-
ers need to discuss their specific needs
with their physician, nurse practitioner,
or nurse midwife to determine what
method is most appropriate for them.
A key point to remember is that the
purpose of contraception is to prevent
pregnancy, and when used correctly it is
successful at doing so. However, when-
ever one is engaging in sexual activity it is
also essential to protect one’s self from
sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) by
using or having the partner use a male
condom. In addition, once women become
sexually active, they need to have a gyne-
cologic exam and pap smear (screening
test for cervical cancer) every year. Once
men become sexually active, they need to
let their doctor or nurse practitioner know
so that they can be checked for STDs
when they have their school or yearly
physical.
Contraceptive methods for women
generally fall into two major categories,
hormonal methods and barrier methods.
The male condom remains the only con-
traceptive that men can use.
Women can get contraceptive care in a
number of different settings. Many physi-
cians, particularly obstetricians and gyne-
cologists, offer contraceptive services in
their offices. Family-planning services
such as Planned Parenthood are available,
and college health services frequently
offer contraceptive services for their stu-
dents. Hospitals usually have women’s
health services that provide contraceptive
services, and local health departments
may as well. Nurse practitioners, nurse
midwives, and physicians are the kind of
providers who offer these services.
Hormonal Methods
Hormonal contraceptives use the hor-
mones estrogen and/or progestin to pre-
vent pregnancy. They come in different
forms and may be taken as pills, by injec-
tion, or by implantation under the skin.
Some intrauterine devices (IUDs) are also
considered hormonal contraceptives.
However, IUDs will not be discussed
here, because they are only prescribed for
women in monogamous relationships
who have completed their families.
Hormonal methods of contraception
are very effective (in other words, if they
are used properly, the risk of pregnancy is
less than 1 percent). However, they are
all prescription medicines that affect the
woman’s entire body. People who are
thinking about using one of these meth-

ods need to discuss their health history
with their healthcare provider and ask for
complete information about how the par-
ticular hormonal method acts on their
body and what the side effects and risks
are for them. For example, these methods
are not safe for women who have high
blood pressure. Some women also experi-
ence mood changes when taking hor-
monal contraceptives, so women with a
history of depression may want to use
another method of contraception.
Hormonal contraceptives act on a
woman’s body in a number of ways to
prevent pregnancy. They prevent ovula-
tion, the process that prepares an egg to
be ready for fertilization. They act on the
endometrium or lining of the uterus,
making implantation unlikely, and they
change the cervical mucus, making it dif-
ficult for sperm to reach the upper repro-
ductive tract to fertilize an egg.
Hormonal contraceptives also change
the bacteria and other organisms nor-
mally present in the vagina, which
makes the vagina more vulnerable to
STDs. Hence, it is important to use a
male condom along with these methods
to protect both the man and the woman
from STDs.
Oral contraceptives, often referred to
as the Pill, must be taken daily at about
the same time each day to be effective.
Certain antibiotics and antiseizure med-
ications may make the Pill ineffective. It
is important for any health care provider
caring for a woman on the Pill to know
that she is taking the Pill. If a woman
needs to take one of these medications,
she should use a backup method, like
condoms or spermicide, to protect herself
from pregnancy, or switch to another
contraceptive method.
A monthly pack of oral contraceptive
pills costs between $15 and $30 a month.
Contraception 163
Good contraceptive methods are effective
and safe both for the male and female.
(Reuters NewMedia Inc./Corbis)
Most pill packs contain twenty-eight
pills, twenty-one with hormones and
seven that are inactive (no hormones). A
woman’s period will occur while she is
taking the inactive pills. Generally peri-
ods are lighter while taking the Pill and
cramping is mild, if it occurs at all. In
fact, sometimes the Pill is prescribed for
women who have difficult, painful peri-
ods (“dysmenorrhea”) because of this
effect on the period. Once a person stops
taking the Pill, her fertility should return
to what it was before she started taking it.
Different oral contraceptives contain
different amounts of estrogen and pro-
gestin. As a result, different pills can cause
different side effects. If someone chooses
the Pill and finds changes in her body that
worry her or that she doesn’t like, she
should talk to her healthcare provider
about changing to a different type of pill
rather than stopping the medication.
Some common side effects are break-
through bleeding (bleeding between peri-
ods), breast tenderness, decreased men-
strual bleeding and cramping, weight gain
(especially in pills with progestin), nau-
sea, and vomiting. Another side effect for
one type of pill is improving acne. (Some
164 Contraception
women might choose this pill because
they want this side effect.)
There is no evidence that the Pill
increases the risk of breast cancer.
Recent research indicates that women
who take (or have taken) the Pill are
more likely to detect breast cancer early
than women who never took the Pill,
perhaps because they are more active in
their own healthcare.
Emergency contraception (EC) refers to
a combination of oral contraceptive pills
taken in a specific way to prevent preg-
nancy. Timing is very important, because
EC must be taken within seventy-two
hours of unprotected intercourse. It is
essential to contact a healthcare provider
or a family planning clinic, or call 1-888
NOT-2-LATE for information right away
if EC is desired. When used correctly EC
changes the environment in the uterus,
making implantation of a fertilized egg
impossible. EC can cause nausea and
vomiting. If a woman needs to use EC,
she should be sure to make an appoint-
ment to get a contraceptive for regular
use. EC is used in specific situations only
and is not a regular contraceptive method.
Another hormonal method is depo-
provera, given by injection (i.e., shot) at a
clinic or doctor’s office, with the first
injection being given during or just after
the woman has her period. The medica-
tion is effective for twelve weeks (about
three months), and the injection must be
repeated every twelve weeks. Each injec-
tion costs between $35 and $50. Once
depo-provera is stopped, it may be up to a
year before ovulation returns.
Many women experience abnormally
long and heavy bleeding during the first
three months after getting depo-provera,
but many of these women also stop hav-
ing periods after being on depo-provera for
nine to twelve months. Some side effects
that occur while taking depo-provera are
weight gain, breast tenderness, depres-
sion, decreased high density lipoprotein
(HDL) cholesterol levels, and decreased
bone density in long-term users. How-
ever, depo-provera also decreases the fre-
quency of seizures and is not affected by
antibiotics.
Lunelle is also given by injection, but
unlike depo-provera, it requires one shot
a month. Lunelle is under review by the
FDA and may be available soon. Women
interested in this method should ask
their provider if it is available.
Norplant is a hormonal contraceptive
that is inserted into the inner part of the
upper arm. Six thin capsules are placed in
the arm through a small surgical incision
to form either a star or fanlike pattern.
There may be a bruise or swelling for a
few days where the norplant was placed.
The capsules are removed through a sur-
gical incision, and once removed, fertility
should return to what it was prior to
their insertion.
Norplant costs about $500 to $700, but
it lasts five years, which works out to
about $8 to $12 a month. Not all
providers insert norplant, so it may not
be as easily available as other contracep-
tive methods.
Women using norplant might experi-
ence irregular or absent periods, breast ten-
derness, weight gain, increased acne, and
depression. The effectiveness of norplant
is not decreased by antibiotics, but it can
be decreased by antiseizure medications.
Women who take antiseizure medications
should consider depo-provera, or have
their partners use a male condom as a
backup method for preventing pregnancy.
Barrier Methods
Barrier methods fall into two general cat-
egories, physical barriers and chemical

barriers. Physical barriers include the
diaphragm, the cervical cap, contracep-
tive sponge, and both male and female
condoms. Chemical barriers are spermi-
cidal foam, cream, jelly, suppository, and
film. Sometimes physical and chemical
barriers are used together. Although the
barrier methods have varying degrees of
effectiveness (.5 to 40 percent), they are
all most effective when used as directed
each time a man and a woman have
intercourse. Fertility is not affected by
barrier contraceptives. Although it is
unlikely, physical barrier methods that
are inserted into the vagina may cause
toxic shock syndrome (TSS), a rare but
serious illness for women. This risk is
increased when the barrier is left in the
vagina for prolonged periods of time. The
symptoms of TSS are sudden high fever
(more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit), vom-
iting, diarrhea, muscle aches, and a sun-
burnlike rash.
Spermicides come in the form of
cream, jelly, foam, film, and supposito-
ries or tablets that contain a sperm-
killing chemical. Nonoxynol-9 is the
most common sperm-killing chemical
used. Spermicides are available at drug or
grocery stores, and may be sold at some
family-planning clinics. Spermicides cost
about a dollar for each single use (e.g.,
each episode of intercourse), but come in
multiple-use packaging and cost between
$10 and $12 for the package.
To be effective, spermicides need to be
inserted less than one hour before sex and
must cover the cervix. They must be
inserted with enough time to dissolve
and spread out in the vagina. Each prod-
uct has specific directions that need to be
followed to maximize the effectiveness of
the chemical barrier. Cream, jelly, and
foam are put in the vagina by a plastic
applicator and need to be inserted in as
Contraception 165
short a time as possible before inter-
course. Contraceptive film is placed over
the cervix, and suppositories are inserted
into the vagina. These two methods work
only for one hour after insertion, and a
new one must be used for each inter-
course. Both require a specific amount of
time to become effective. Some women
experience vaginal soreness or itching
when using certain spermicidal products.
If this happens, it is a sign to try a differ-
ent product.
The diaphragm is a rubber, dome-
shaped cup with a flexible rim, which
holds spermicidal cream or jelly next to
the cervix. It prevents pregnancy by pre-
venting sperm from reaching the egg and
by inactivating sperm. Some women like
the diaphragm because it can be inserted
up to four hours before intercourse. How-
ever, using the diaphragm requires that a
woman be comfortable enough with her
body to insert it, and she must be willing
to use it each time she has sex and to use
it as directed.
Diaphragms are available only with a
prescription and need to be fitted by a
doctor, nurse practitioner, or nurse mid-
wife. The healthcare provider fits a
diaphragm by inserting rings into the
vagina to determine which size will best
cover the cervix. The cost of a diaphragm
varies with the type of clinic. Family-
planning or other public clinics may be
less expensive than some office settings.
The exam may cost between $30 and
$150, depending on site and geographic
location, the diaphragm between $30 and
$40. Insurance may cover one or both of
these costs.
The chance of becoming pregnant with
the diaphragm has been reported to range
from 6 percent to 20 percent, depending
upon whether the diaphragm fits and is
used properly, and the woman’s position
166 Contraception
during intercourse. The diaphragm is
most effective when the man is on top
during intercourse. If a woman gains or
loses ten pounds or more, or has a baby,
she needs to have her diaphragm
rechecked to make sure it fits properly
before she can safely rely on it as a
method of contraception. To use the
diaphragm effectively, one must leave it
in place for six hours after the last inter-
course to allow the spermicide enough
time to work. Additional spermicide
must be inserted into the vagina, leaving
the diaphragm in place over the cervix,
each time a woman has intercourse if she
has it more than once. The diaphragm
should not be left in place for more than
twenty-four hours because of the risk of
TSS. The diaphragm needs to be washed
after use, stored in a container, and
checked for holes on a regular basis. Oil-
based lubricants, like vaseline or baby oil,
should not be used because they make
the rubber in the diaphragm deteriorate.
Occasionally the diaphragm causes
pressure on the bladder or rectum and
may be uncomfortable. A different size
diaphragm may help with this problem.
However, some women experience uri-
nary tract or yeast infections as a result
of diaphragm use, and should consider
another method if these infections hap-
pen frequently.
The cervical cap prevents pregnancy in
a way similar to the diaphragm and has a
similar degree of effectiveness. Like the
diaphragm, it must be obtained from a
healthcare provider. The cost is similar
to the diaphragm and will vary with the
setting. The cervical cap also has a simi-
lar risk for urinary tract infections, and
women who keep the cap in place for
over forty-eight hours are at increased
risk for developing TSS. The cervical cap
cannot be used while a women has her
period for this same reason.
The cervical cap is a deep rubber cup
with a firm rim, which is placed over the
cervix. The cap is about one-third filled
with spermicide and then placed over the
cervix. It is held in place by suction.
Some people recommend that the cap be
inserted at least thirty minutes before
intercourse to allow the suction to
develop. The cap must remain in place
for six to eight hours after sex to be effec-
tive, but can be left in place for up to
forty-eight hours without problems.
There is some controversy regarding
insertion of additional spermicide if
intercourse occurs more than once,
because applying more spermicide may
cause the cap to slip.
The contraceptive sponge is a barrier
method not currently available in the
United States and so will not be dis-
cussed in detail here. It is a polyurethane
sponge with spermicide, which is pro-
duced in one size. Effectiveness varies
between 9 and 40 percent because the
sponge may not be sufficiently moist-
ened or in place long enough before inter-
course, or may be taken out too soon
after intercourse.
The female condom or vaginal pouch is
a relatively new contraceptive choice for
women. Like the male condom, it has the
added advantage of protecting against
both pregnancy and STDs. The female
condom is a soft, loose-fitting poly-
urethane sheath with an inner and outer
ring. The inner ring is little like the ring
in the diaphragm. It is placed deep in the
vagina so that it covers the cervix while
the outer ring remains at the vaginal
opening. The female condom can be
inserted up to eight hours before inter-
course. It is used once and then dis-

carded. A new female condom must be
used for each act of intercourse.
Some women like the control over
contraception that a female condom pro-
vides them. Others find the outer ring
stimulates the clitoris and makes sex feel
better. Some men like the female con-
dom because they like the looseness of
the sheath.
The female condom is marketed under
the name Reality and costs about $3. Its
effectiveness is similar to that of the
diaphragm and cervical cap. However, it
is not necessary to use spermicide with
the female condom, but all lubricants
(both water- and oil-based) are safe to use
with it. Unlike other birth control meth-
ods, the female condom cannot be used
together with the male condom. If used
together, the female condom will cause
the male condom to fall off.
The male condom is a tight-fitting
sheath made of latex, designed to fit over
an erect penis. The male condom pre-
vents pregnancy by trapping semen
(which contains sperm) in its tip so that
it does not get into the woman’s body.
Condoms can be purchased inexpen-
sively (usually less than a dollar per con-
dom) at drug or grocery stores, and are
available at many family-planning clinics
for free. Male condoms are most com-
monly made from latex. They have no
side effects, but some people have an
allergic reaction to the latex and cannot
use them. Fortunately, male condoms
made from polyurethane are being devel-
oped, and more will be available in the
future. An advantage of polyurethane
condoms is that, unlike latex condoms,
oil-based lubricants do not make them
more likely to break.
The effectiveness of latex condoms
varies greatly with the skill and knowl-
Contraception 167
edge of the user. When used properly, the
chance that a woman will become preg-
nant using the male condom is between
.5 and 7 percent (Haignere, Gold, and
McDanel, 1999). Some authors report
that condoms do not work between 12
and 70 percent of the time and that con-
doms tear and break, but laboratory
research, Consumer Reports, and research
regarding couples, where one person is
infected with HIV and the other is not, all
demonstrate that the problem is how
male condoms are used, not the condom
itself.
The most common mistake people
make when using male condoms for con-
traception is to not use them consis-
tently. Male condoms are only effective if
they are used every time a man and a
woman have intercourse. Also, male con-
doms should not be washed out and
reused. A fresh condom should be used
every time.
Male condoms are tested to make sure
that they do not have holes or weak
points where they might break: Con-
doms break when the people using them
make any one of five mistakes. First, if
someone stores a male condom in a hot
place like a car glove compartment or a
man’s wallet, the latex becomes brittle
and more likely to break. Second, if
someone uses a stale condom that is past
its due date, it is more likely to break.
Either the man or the woman should
check the due date printed on the outside
of the condom wrapper to make sure the
condom is not too old to use. Third, peo-
ple sometimes tear or damage the con-
dom if they are not careful opening the
wrapper containing the condom. Fourth,
women can tear the condom accidentally
with their fingernails if they are not care-
ful putting it on the man’s penis. Fifth,
168 Contraception
people use oil-based lubricants (baby
oil, vaseline, lipstick, medicinal vaginal
creams with oil in them) that make the
latex in male condoms weak and easy to
tear. Using lubricants is not a bad idea:
Putting the right type of lubrication
inside the male condom can make it
more comfortable for the man, and put-
ting it on the outside can make it more
comfortable for the woman. However,
the only lubricants that are safe are
water-based lubricants like the ones that
come on prelubricated male condoms
and those used in spermicides. Other safe
lubricants that are water-based and avail-
able in the drugstore include K-Y Jelly
and Astroglide. Look for lubricants that
say “water-based” on the box or “safe for
latex condoms.”
Male condoms slip off when they are
not used properly. For instance, a male
condom will come off if the man ejacu-
lates, but waits to remove his penis from
the woman’s vagina. This is because the
male condom will not stay on if the penis
is no longer erect. A male condom can
also come off if no one holds the base of
the condom firmly against the penis
while the penis is withdrawn from the
vagina. It is especially important to hold
onto the male condom if one uses extra
water-based lubricant.
Two other things that can cause a con-
dom to fail are not putting the condom
on before any contact between the vagina
and penis, or putting the condom on
upside down so it doesn’t unroll and then
flipping it over and using it once it is
right side up. Both of these actions
decrease a condom’s effectiveness, be-
cause when a man is sexually excited a
little seminal fluid comes out of his penis
and this fluid can contain sperm. If this
sperm comes into contact with the vagi-
nal area (even the outside of the vagina),
it can migrate into the vagina and on up
through the woman’s reproductive sys-
tem where it can fertilize one of her eggs.
This is why a male condom should be put
on before there is any contact between
the penis and the vagina, and why con-
doms that are first put on upside down
should be thrown away.
Male condoms sound complicated to
use, but they merely require practice and
knowledge to be an effective method of
contraception. Like the female condom,
they have the added advantage of pro-
tecting against STDs as well as preg-
nancy. Some men and women also like
them because they make sex less messy
and can make the man last longer during
sex.
Anne E. Norris
Monica J. Hanson
See also Abortion; Abstinence; Adoption:
Exploration and Search; Adoption:
Issues and Concerns; Dating; Gonor-
rhea; Health Promotion; HIV/AIDS;
Love; Pregnancy, Interventions to Pre-
vent; Sex Education; Sexual Behavior;
Sexual Behavior Problems; Sexually
Transmitted Diseases
References and further reading
Alan Guttmacher Institute,
http://www.agi-usa.org
The American Social Health Association,
http://www.iwannaknow.org
Association of Reproductive Health
Professionals, http://www.arhp.org
Bell, Ruth, and other coauthors of Our
Bodies, Ourselves, with members of
the Teen Book Project. 1998. Changing
Bodies, Changing Lives, 3rd ed. New
York: Random House.
The Boston Women’s Health Book
Collective. 1998. Our Bodies,
Ourselves. New York: Simon and
Schuster.
Haignere, Clara S., Rachel Gold, and
Heather J. McDanel. 1999. “Adolescent
Abstinence and Condom Use: Are We
Sure We Are Really Teaching What Is

Safe?” Health Education and Behavior
26: 43–54.
Hatcher, Robert A., James Trussell, Felicia
Stewart, Willard Cates Jr., Gary K.
Stewart, Felicia Guest, and Deborah
Kowal. 1998. Contraceptive
Technology. 17th rev. ed. New York:
Ardent Media.
Planned Parenthood,
http://www.plannedparenthood.org,
http://www.teenwire.com
http://ec.princeton.edu/ecEmergency
Contraception Web site (Princeton
University).
http://www.virtualhospital.org, general
health Web site (University of Iowa).
Coping
Stressful experiences and cumulative
change are ubiquitous during the adoles-
cent years. Accordingly, the adolescent’s
ability to cope with different types of
stressors is critically important. In par-
ticular, adaptive and maladaptive coping
responses are thought to moderate the
effects of different types of stressors on
adolescent health. Coping is defined as a
process of managing external or internal
demands. This process has three key fea-
tures: the individual’s action, the specific
context of coping, and the way the indi-
vidual’s actions change as the stressful
encounter unfolds. Psychologists charac-
terize coping as a process of continuous
appraisals and reappraisals of a changing
person-environment relationship. The
reappraisals in turn influence subsequent
coping efforts. The coping process is thus
continuously mediated by cognitive reap-
praisals and, optimally, should lead to a
person-environment fit. The entire cop-
ing process can occur within a few
moments or hours, or it can continue
over weeks or even years.
In the past, several conceptualizations
of coping have been developed using ado-
Coping 169
lescent samples. One such approach
reveals a distinction between two main
types of coping: coping that is problem-
focused (i.e., directed at altering the prob-
lem that causes the distress) and coping
that is emotion-focused (i.e., directed at
regulating emotional responses). A second
approach favors an approach-avoidance
model that differentiates between
approach-oriented coping (which includes
cognitive attempts to understand or
change ways of thinking about stress and
behavioral attempts to deal with stress-
ors) and avoidant coping (which includes
cognitive attempts to deny and minimize
stress). Yet another approach focuses on
the immediate outcome of coping and dis-
tinguishes between functional and dys-
functional coping styles. Functional cop-
ing refers to efforts to manage a problem
by defining it clearly, actively seeking
support, reflecting on possible solutions,
and taking concrete action. Conversely, a
dysfunctional coping style might include
efforts to withdraw from or deny the exis-
tence of the stressor and avoiding the
seeking of solutions, as a result of which
the problem remains unsolved. This dis-
tinction between the active approach of
tackling problems versus avoidance and
withdrawal is found in most studies of
adolescent coping methods.
Research further indicates that, when
faced with normative demands and
minor stressors, North American adoles-
cents employ the two functional modes
of coping (e.g., active support seeking and
internal reflection of possible solutions)
more frequently than they resort to
avoidant coping and withdrawal. Among
diverse cross-cultural samples as well,
functional coping occurs four times more
frequently than dysfunctional coping.
Thus, the normative demands typical of
this age group tend to be approached in an
170 Coping
Coping involves managing external and internal demands. (Skjold Photographs)
adaptive way, revealing such coping
strategies as taking action, seeking social
support, and seeking information. Indeed,
adolescents can largely be considered
competent copers, able to deal well with
problems arising in such different
domains as school, romance, and rela-
tions with parents and peers.
This generalization is somewhat quali-
fied by evidence that coping strategies
vary in terms of the stressors themselves
(with respect to their perceived stressful-
ness, controllability, and imminence),
the domain in question, and, finally, age
and gender. These variables will be dis-
cussed in turn.
The role of stressors in the life of ado-
lescents can be explored from two differ-
ent perspectives: (1) anticipatory coping,
which occurs prior to a confrontation
with the stressor, and (2) coping after an
event has happened. As a rule, the former
is assessed in large representative sam-
ples, whereas the latter is examined by
means of process-oriented interviews in
small groups immediately after the stress-
ful event has occurred. Analysis of the dif-
ferent phases of adolescent coping reveals
that the first or primary appraisal of the
event as being a challenge, a threat, or a
loss is generally followed by reactions
that include confusion, strong emotions,
and preliminary cognitive coping efforts,
whereas in the secondary appraisal, ado-
lescents consider their own coping
resources, scope of action, and expecta-
tions of success or failure. Next, the
actual coping process occurs, directed
either at altering the problem that has
caused the distress or at regulating emo-

tional responses. Then, after the coping
process has ended and during reappraisal,
a decrease in negative emotions is fre-
quently observed. Anticipatory coping is
characterized by a greater emphasis on
active support seeking, whereas in coping
immediately after the stressor occurred, a
less active, more internal style was found.
Adolescents who had experienced a struc-
turally similar event are highly concor-
dant in their coping responses. For exam-
ple, adolescents experiencing mildly
stressful events with high controllability
react most often with active, approach-
oriented coping, whereas those experienc-
ing a highly stressful, less controllable
event react most often with avoidant cop-
ing and passivity.
Coping also occurs in domain-specific
ways. When family stressors occur, ado-
lescents tend to address the problem
directly. Some try to find a compromise;
others attempt to cope with parent-ado-
lescent conflicts by venting emotions or
seeking distraction. Adolescents also fre-
quently seek comfort from and discuss
possible solutions with peers who are hav-
ing similar experiences. On the other
hand, when problems with a peer, close
friend, or romantic partner arise, adoles-
cents rarely turn to parents or other
adults. Instead, they usually deal with the
person concerned and discuss possible
solutions with friends who are in a simi-
lar situation. Older adolescents named
more use of alcohol and drugs as a means
of forgetting problems relating to roman-
tic partners. They also reported much
more “giving in” in romantic relations
than in conflicts with friends and parents.
Yet older adolescents are still willing to
discuss school-related stressors and
future-related problems with their par-
ents, as well as to seek help from institu-
Coping 171
tions and to look for information in media
and literature.
Midadolescence seems to be a turning
point in the use of certain coping strate-
gies. It is well known that, compared to
children, adolescents are more involved
and intimate with peers and friends,
turning to them for support formerly pro-
vided by the family. Accordingly, after
the age of fifteen, adolescents increas-
ingly discuss everyday stressors with
same-aged peers and more frequently try
to obtain support from peers and friends
whose circumstances are similar. In
cases where the stressor in question
involves interpersonal conflict, they are
also more likely to speak openly about
the problem with the concerned individ-
ual. These developmental changes in the
use of social support tend to be inter-
twined with changes in social and cogni-
tive development, leading to increased
cognitive complexity and social matu-
rity. Adolescents older than fifteen
increasingly adopt the perspective of sig-
nificant others and are more willing to
make compromises or yield to the wishes
of others. And because they reflect more
about possible solutions, their overall
approach is characterized by a variety of
coping options. The link between the
level of social-cognitive maturity and
functional coping style becomes even
more obvious when we compare factor
structures in early adolescent and
midadolescent samples: Two basic cop-
ing modes, approach-oriented coping and
avoidant coping, can be established for
younger adolescents (eleven to fifteen
years), whereas for older adolescents (six-
teen to nineteen years), the approach
dimension has both a behavioral and a
cognitive component, and the avoidance
dimension remains the same.
172 Coping
The findings are more controversial
with respect to emotion-focused and
problem-focused coping. There is some
debate as to whether age-related changes
in problem-focused coping and emotion-
focused coping take place consistently
from childhood through adolescence.
Some findings suggest that the use of
problem-focused coping does not
increase from middle childhood through
adolescence because such skills have
already been acquired and used at an ear-
lier stage, whereas learning processes
related to emotion-focused coping con-
tinue throughout adolescence. However,
other findings appear to show an increase
in both problem-focused coping and emo-
tion-focused coping, suggesting further
developmental changes in these styles.
Gender differences have also been
reported with respect to certain coping
strategies. “Boys play sports and girls
turn to others” describes one such differ-
ence, inasmuch as girls are much more
likely to seek social support than boys.
They more frequently discuss a problem
or event with the person concerned and
more often ask for help and assistance.
These trends continue into adulthood,
indicating a general tendency among
females to rely more heavily on social
networks than males and to seek help in
extrafamilial settings. By contrast, male
adolescents worry less about problems,
expect less negative consequences, and
use distraction more frequently. Gender
differences in both active approach-
oriented coping and withdrawal have also
been found: Females exhibited higher
scores in both coping styles, suggesting a
more ambivalent coping pattern of
approach and avoidance.
These gender differences in coping
styles have been linked to the emergence
of psychopathology in adolescence. Sev-
eral researchers suggest, for example,
that girls enter adolescence with a style
of responding to certain types of stressors
that is less efficacious and action ori-
ented than that of boys, and that this
avoidant coping style is related to the
emergence of gender differences in disor-
ders such as depression. In fact, among
adults, depression is twice as frequent in
females than in males; it is also linked to
a ruminative coping style, which pro-
longs depressive episodes. The strong
gender differences in adolescents’ coping
styles may thus be predictive of depres-
sion in female adults, especially if
avoidant coping is considered a precursor
to ruminative coping. These different
coping styles may be fostered by stereo-
typical gender-specific socialization
processes. For example, the male stereo-
type of being active and ignoring moods
may lead to an increase in distracting
responses to depressive mood, and the
female stereotype of emotionality and
inactivity may lead to rumination
instead of distraction from depressive
mood. Rumination has been found to
maintain and increase depressive mood,
whereas distraction tends to alleviate
depressive mood.
Research analyzing the links between
certain coping styles and adaptation has
indeed profited from findings generated
in the field of developmental psy-
chopathology. Psychologists’ understand-
ing of the reasons for which some chil-
dren are not damaged by deprivation and
highly stressful living conditions has
been enriched by numerous studies of
the relationships among stress, social
support, and general adaptation (e.g.,
Werner and Smith, 1982). In particular,
these studies have found protective fac-
tors such as “invulnerability” or
“resiliency” among adolescents exposed

to various risk factors and cumulative
stressors, demonstrating that resilient
adolescents are able to continue a rela-
tively healthy emotional development
despite unfavorable life situations. In
contrast, nonresilient adolescents lack
social support systems and show signs of
accumulated stress.
What resilient adolescents appear to
have in common are families with rela-
tively intact parent-child relationships.
In these families, the adolescents’
attempts to achieve autonomy are not
thwarted, and rules and limits are clearly
defined. Above all, resilient adolescents
are competent in their choice of and
identification with resilient models of
social support. Their coping capacities
exhibit two particularly outstanding
qualities. First, although many of these
adolescents live in poverty-stricken, dan-
gerous conditions and are exposed to
marital conflict, they deal with such life
stressors in a competent and active way,
specifically by acting and not just react-
ing. Second, when faced with distur-
bances in their parent-child relation-
ships, they seek support and refuge from
alternative caregivers in the household or
neighborhood.
Another important finding is that ado-
lescents’ coping styles affect not only
their dealings with immediate stressors
but also the availability of their social
support. Indeed, ineffective coping
responses may lead to poor interpersonal
relationships, thereby further reducing
their available coping resources, as when
an adolescent who copes through inap-
propriate demonstration of anger, or
excessive emotion, becomes unpopular
with friends.
Accumulating evidence also suggests
that avoidant coping is a risk factor in
depression, delinquency, antisocial behav-
Coping 173
ior, and conduct disorders. Whereas
healthy adolescents rarely employ
avoidant coping and withdrawal, these
coping styles are very prominent in all of
the clinical conditions just listed; the
rates at which such styles are used among
diverse patients are two to three times
higher than those for healthy controls. In
addition, depressed adolescents rely on
approach-oriented coping to a signifi-
cantly lesser degree than any of the other
clinical groups, and adolescents diagnosed
as antisocial and delinquent show a
deficit in internal coping in that they
reflect significantly less about possible
solutions. With respect to drug-dependent
adolescents, however, the results are not
as clear.
Most research examining the links
between coping and well-being has
found that approach-oriented coping is
linked with better adjustment and
avoidant coping with poorer adjustment:
Approach-oriented copers report the
fewest behavioral and emotional symp-
toms, whereas avoidant copers report
the most. Studies have also established
the long-lasting effects of dysfunctional
coping styles. Adolescents who change
over time from approach-oriented to
avoidant coping display a significant
increase in symptomatology, whereas
behavioral and emotional symptoms
tend to decrease in subjects who switch
from avoidant to approach-oriented cop-
ing over time. Thus, all forms of
avoidant coping exhibited in early ado-
lescence, whether stable or not, are
linked with higher levels of symptoms in
middle and late adolescence. In these
studies, gender differences in avoidant
coping did not emerge consistently, sug-
gesting that the links between avoidant
coping and maladaptation are similar for
male and female adolescents.
174 Counseling
Ultimately, a vicious cycle is created.
Deficits in relationships and problems in
acquiring and using social support lead
to dysfunctional coping, which itself
generates more deficits and more prob-
lems. The resulting accumulation of
stressors, in turn, may adversely affect
adolescents’ health. This chain of events
has clear implications for prevention and
intervention.
Inge Seiffge-Krenke
See also Conflict and Stress; Counseling;
Health Promotion; Psychotherapy
References and further reading
Gjerde, Per F., and Jack Block. 1991.
“Preadolescent Antecedents of
Depressive Symptomatology at Age 18:
A Prospective Study.” Journal of Youth
and Adolescence 20: 217–231.
Lazarus, Richard S., and Susan Folkman.
1991. Stress, Appraisal, and Coping,
3rd ed. New York: Springer-Verlag.
Lewinsohn, Peter M., Robert E. Roberts,
John R. Seeley, Paul Rohde, Ian H.
Gotlib, and Hyman Hops. 1994.
“Adolescent Psychopathology. II.
Psychosocial Risk Factors for
Depression.” Journal of Abnormal
Psychology 103: 302–315.
Nolen-Hoeksema, Susan, and Joan S.
Girgus. 1995. “Explanatory Style and
Achievement, Depression, and Gender
Differences in Childhood and Early
Adolescence.” Pp. 57–70 in Explanatory
Style. Edited by G. M. Buchanan and
M. E. P. Seligman. Hillsdale, NJ:
Erlbaum.
Seiffge-Krenke, Inge. 1995. Stress, Coping,
and Relationships in Adolescence.
Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates.
Werner, Emmy E., and Ruth S. Smith.
1982. Vulnerable but Invincible: A
Study of Resilient Children. New York:
McGraw-Hill.
Counseling
Counseling is an interpersonal process by
which a person comes to recognize the
ways in which past events and personality
variables affect past and current thoughts,
feelings, and behaviors. Empowerment,
hope, and effective ways of relating to oth-
ers are generated through growing insight,
altered expectations, and the identifica-
tion of novel ways of being and behaving.
Counseling, sometimes referred to as ther-
apy or psychotherapy, is usually provided
by psychologists and social workers; psy-
chiatrists address emotional and behav-
ioral problems by prescribing medication.
The majority of adolescents navigate
their teen years without an abundance of
problems. However, there are numerous
physical, cognitive, and social changes
that make adolescence a particularly dif-
ficult time for some youth, and counsel-
ing can help.
Developmental Challenges
Psychological and behavioral problems,
such as depression and delinquency,
often escalate during adolescence, even
among youths who have long suffered
difficult life situations. What is it about
adolescence that produces the apparently
sudden onset and increase of symptoms?
Developing cognitive abilities and
numerous psychosocial and biological
events partially spur this change in men-
tal health status. In addition to new and
intimidating social and interpersonal
challenges, adolescents are endowed
with greater cognitive abilities, such as
improved reasoning, attention, memory,
and abstract thought, that render them
increasingly able to evaluate their past
and anticipate their future. It is a time
when some youths become capable of
understanding the meaning and implica-
tions of painful life events they suffered
while they were children. Helplessness,
hopelessness, anger, and other emotions
may be expressed through depression and

Counseling may help adolescents cope with difficult physical, cognitive, and social changes.
(Shirley Zeiberg)
suicide, eating disorders, drug and alco-
hol abuse, school-related problems, and
delinquency. In general, adolescent
females are more likely to experience
internalizing disorders, such as depres-
sion, headaches, and anxiety, so called
because problems are inner-directed. In
contrast, adolescent males exhibit
greater tendencies toward behavioral
expressions that clash with the environ-
ment. Often referred to as acting-out or
undercontrolled behaviors, these exter-
nalizing disorders include conduct disor-
der and oppositional defiant disorder and
are associated with aggression, delin-
quency, and school-related problems.
Though much less common, psychiatric
disorders such as schizophrenia and bipo-
Counseling 175
lar disorder (manic-depressive illness)
usually first appear during adolescence or
young adulthood, suggesting a geneti-
cally time-bound component.
Coping
Although half of all youths report experi-
encing considerable home- and/or school-
related stress, many cope fairly well and
never seek the help of a mental health
professional (Steinberg, 1996). Why, then,
do stressors affect some adolescents more
than others? Research suggests that the
difference is related to coping abilities,
which depend on the number and severity
of stressors that a youth is simultaneously
facing; internal resources, such as self-
esteem, competency, and social skills;
176 Counseling
social support from friends, parents, rela-
tives, and others; and proficiency of cop-
ing strategies. Problem-focused coping
strategies involve attempts to solve prob-
lems (e.g., upcoming exam) through con-
crete tasks or acts (e.g., studying). Emo-
tion-focused coping strategies involve
reducing uncomfortable feelings (e.g.,
avoiding studying through distractions).
Though there are advantages to both, the
former generally results in better adjust-
ment and less stress.
Numerous life experiences have been
identified that undermine coping abili-
ties, including early loss, neglect or
abuse, rejection, family instability or
breakdown, problems with parents, and
psychiatric disorders in parents, particu-
larly depression. Thus, resiliency, the
ability to withstand adverse events, usu-
ally depends on the number of negative
events that were previously endured or
are concurrently faced, internal
resources, and external support.
When to Seek Help
It is sometimes difficult to determine
whether a youth is experiencing normal
developmental angst or is in need of
counseling. The following five points,
proposed by Steinberg and Levine, are
useful guidelines for assessing when
parental help is insufficient and counsel-
ing is warranted: One, when an adoles-
cent is experiencing severe behavior prob-
lems, such as drug addiction, anorexia
nervosa, suicidal thinking, self-injurious
acts, serious school-related problems, or
multiple delinquent behaviors. Two,
when a parent observes unusual behavior
(e.g., significant withdrawal or social iso-
lation) but is unsure of its meaning and
the teenager is unable or unwilling to dis-
cuss it. Proper diagnosis by a mental
health professional will help determine
whether it is the result of depression, drug
abuse, shyness, or something else. Three,
when a parent has repeatedly attempted
to address a problematic behavior, such as
recurrent truancy or aggressive acts, with-
out success. Four, when a problem
extends beyond the adolescent and
involves the family, such as chronic and
intense arguing. Family therapy may help
all members to see their part in the con-
flict. Five, when an adolescent displays
significant symptoms of distress (e.g.,
depression, significant alcohol consump-
tion) related to extreme family circum-
stances (e.g., divorce, death).
It is often difficult for adolescents to
request or accept help from a mental
health professional, because they are
frightened or hold erroneous stereotypes
about what it means to do so. Adoles-
cents may dread the judgment of the
counselor or rejection by friends who find
out that they are seeing a “shrink.”
Indeed, many who have never been in
therapy believe that they will be “ana-
lyzed” by a bearded, cigar-smoking man
with a German accent while reclining on
a couch. They are often ashamed or
embarrassed to admit to themselves or
others that they need help, fearing this
means that they are weak, “crazy,” or
bad. In fact, seeking help is often a sign of
strength and mental health. Some condi-
tions, such as depression, can leave a
teen with such low energy that she does
not have sufficient strength or motiva-
tion to seek help. At these times, encour-
agement from a parent, friend, or teacher
might be invaluable.
Types of Counseling
Counseling, whether obtained from a
high school guidance counselor, a col-
lege/university health center mental
health provider, or an independent thera-

pist practicing in the community, comes
in numerous forms. Individual counsel-
ing occurs between a counselor and a
youth, whereas family counseling con-
sists of the counselor, the youth, and the
youth’s parents and possibly siblings.
Group counseling is comprised of one
counselor and several youths. There are
many techniques of counseling, but they
usually fall into one of four categories.
Insight-oriented or psychodynamic
techniques facilitate exploration of feel-
ings, thoughts, needs, wishes, internal
conflicts, and the ways in which a youth
interacts with others. The goal is to con-
nect these emotions and behaviors with
previous life events and highlight the
ways in which past experiences continue
to affect, or determine, current experi-
ences. These techniques are often referred
to as “talk therapies.” Though appropri-
ate for a variety of concerns, this
approach is particularly helpful for treat-
ing depression, bereavement, relationship
issues, low self-esteem, and post-trau-
matic stress disorder.
Cognitive and cognitive-behavioral
techniques focus on identifying and
changing irrational or unfounded thoughts
that result in maladaptive emotions and
behaviors. Participants are trained to
monitor their thoughts and feelings, uti-
lize problem-solving strategies, and evalu-
ate outcomes of their old and new ways of
interacting with the environment. Little
attention is directed toward in-depth
exploration of early life history. These
techniques successfully treat depression,
panic disorder, generalized anxiety disor-
der, post-traumatic stress disorder, eating
disorders, and poor social skills. They can
also reduce aggressive behavior and
impulsive anger.
Behavioral techniques focus on chang-
ing specific maladaptive or harmful
Counseling 177
thoughts, feelings, and behaviors with-
out necessarily attempting to under-
stand their origin. Change is achieved
through such mechanisms as reinforce-
ment of positive behavior, punishment
of negative behavior, countercondition-
ing, and extinction following exposure to
feared stimuli. Anxiety disorders such as
panic attacks and phobias, obsessive-
compulsive disorder, sexual dysfunction,
insomnia, stuttering, alcoholism and
drug abuse, and pain (e.g., headaches) are
most successfully treated through this
modality.
Family therapy conceptualizes the fam-
ily as a system, or organization, rather
than a group of individual components.
Because it is an interrelated structure,
changing even one component of the sys-
tem will reverberate throughout the struc-
ture, resulting in overall change. Goals are
to identify and change unhealthy commu-
nication patterns, reduce dysfunctional
styles of interaction, encourage differenti-
ation of self (e.g., “I am myself, not my
mother”), and facilitate greater flexibility
so that the family can adapt to new situa-
tions (e.g., a child going through adoles-
cence). Among other issues, this approach
effectively treats couples problems, eating
disorders, alcoholism, and schizophrenia.
Counseling is often helpful for reveal-
ing the ways in which symptoms conceal
underlying concerns. For example, alco-
hol and drug abuse and anorexia nervosa
are behavioral manifestations, or symp-
toms, that often conceal underlying sad-
ness. Once the true issue (sadness) is
exposed and explored, the behavioral
manifestation diminishes or disappears
altogether. Similarly, counseling can help
a youth recognize that abusing alcohol or
drugs is an attempt to reduce social anx-
iety and that anorexia nervosa is an
attempt to provide structure and control
178 Counseling
during times of anxiety and helplessness.
In addition to formal counseling, coun-
selors often teach youths to use regular
exercise, proper nutrition, and correct
sleep hygiene to control symptoms such
as depression and anxiety and to facili-
tate overall physical and mental health.
Counseling also helps foster life skills
development through training in key
areas: Stress management, which helps
with anxiety, panic disorder, social pho-
bia, post-traumatic stress disorder, and
depression; social competence, which
reduces shyness, engenders assertiveness,
and increases effective verbal communica-
tion, empathy, and perspective taking;
assertiveness, which reduces depression
and helplessness; coping, which facilitates
management of stress more efficiently;
time management, which helps overcome
procrastination and academic anxiety;
self-esteem development, which raises
self-worth; decision making, which fos-
ters critical thinking. Two other useful
approaches are support groups, which
address clinical issues (e.g., depression,
relationship problems, drug and alcohol
addiction, eating disorders) through educa-
tion and discussion with those experienc-
ing similar concerns; and bibliotherapy,
which uses books, including the self-help
variety, and other reading materials to
facilitate self-understanding and provide
information and coping strategies.
A counselor’s ability to convey warmth,
support, accurate empathy, positive
regard, respect, and genuineness are more
powerful than specific therapy techniques
per se in facilitating growth in the client.
At the same time, however, client vari-
ables such as negativism, hostility, low
motivation, dislike of the therapist, and
defensiveness contribute to poorer ther-
apy outcome.
When an adolescent experiences
extreme or protracted distress, psy-
chotropic (mind-altering) medications
are sometimes used to reinstate feelings
of stability and contentment. Drug ther-
apy can help alleviate unwanted and dis-
ruptive feelings when these symptoms
are severe, appear to be the consequence
of irregular levels of neurotransmitters
(brain chemicals that affect thoughts and
feelings), or are life-threatening and
involve harm to self or others. Psy-
chotropic medications are usually deliv-
ered by a psychiatrist, a medical doctor
whose specialty is mental health and
whose primary focus is symptom reduc-
tion and management of medication side
effects. Drugs such as antidepressants are
administered until symptoms are in
remission for an extended time and in
conjunction with ongoing counseling.
Indeed, for many problems, such as
depression, the combination of drugs and
therapy works better than either alone.
Psychotropic medications effectively
treat anxiety, social phobia, bipolar disor-
der, depression, schizophrenia, obsessive-
compulsive disorder, eating disorders,
and other disorders.
Crisis intervention is a method for
maintaining psychological integrity that
is necessary during periods of acute cri-
sis, such as following a trauma (e.g., rape,
battery), extreme suicidal tendencies, or
psychosis (e.g., severe mental confusion,
hallucinations). Immediate efforts are
necessary to reduce symptoms and stabi-
lize an adolescent. This can be achieved
in a hospital where speedy assessment
and short-term treatment are provided.
Youths are then released, within a few
hours to a few weeks, to parents and may
be referred to a therapist. The goals of cri-
sis intervention are to reduce symptoms,

strengthen coping abilities, return the
person to her or his previous level of
functioning, and avert further emotional
deterioration or breakdown.
There are times when counseling must
follow other interventions. For example,
severe drug or alcohol abuse usually
requires a period of detoxification and
possibly rehabilitation in a drug treat-
ment facility before counseling can
begin. Severe anorexia nervosa in which
a youth has lost enough weight to risk
heart failure is another example when a
period of stabilization, perhaps at an in-
patient treatment facility (usually a hos-
pital), is required prior to outpatient
(community) care.
Outcome of Counseling
Adolescents of both sexes respond to
counseling almost as well as do adults,
although there is some evidence that
girls benefit more from treatment than
boys. Thus, counseling should be consid-
ered a viable strategy for the treatment of
problematic behavior in adolescents. Per-
haps the greatest contribution of coun-
seling is that it can renew hope, the belief
that things can and will get better and
that the youth has a future. As adoles-
cents struggle to articulate often previ-
ously unstated thoughts and feelings
within the context of a counselor’s sup-
port and unconditional acceptance, they
gradually shed feelings of shame and
inadequacy and achieve understanding as
the disparate pieces of their life coalesce
like pieces of a puzzle uniting to convey
a story. They often experience greater
feelings of control, reduced symptoma-
tology, and diminished belief that they
are crazy. Life feels more manageable.
Kenneth M. Cohen
Cults 179
See also Career Development; Conflict
and Stress; Conflict Resolution; Health
Promotion; Psychotherapy
References and further reading
Coleman, John C., and Leo B. Hendry.
1999. The Nature of Adolescence, 3rd
ed. New York: Routledge.
Lewis, Michael, and Suzanne M. Miller,
eds. 1990. Handbook of Developmental
Psychopathology. New York: Plenum
Press.
Silverman, Wendy K., and Thomas H.
Ollendick, eds. 1999. Developmental
Issues in the Clinical Treatment of
Children. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Steinberg, Laurence. 1996. Adolescence.
4th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Steinberg, Laurence, and Ann Levine.
1990. You and Your Adolescent: A
Parent’s Guide for Ages 10 to 20. New
York: HarperPerennial.
Tolan, Patrick H., and Bertram J. Cohler,
eds. 1993. Handbook of Clinical
Research and Practice with
Adolescents. New York: Wiley.
Cults
A cult is a group that is organized around
some symbol, philosophy, or belief. How-
ever, unlike other groups organized on
the basis of such ideas, a cult uses decep-
tion and coercive control to recruit and
maintain members. Although histori-
cally cults have been based around fringe
religious organizations, today they are
also organized around self-improvement
groups, political organizations, and busi-
ness-improvement groups; still, the
majority are religious in orientation. Of
course, not every small religious organi-
zation that seems peculiar or different is
a cult, as most do not use deception or
coercion to find and retain members.
Nevertheless, an adolescent should use
great caution when approached by any-
one offering something that sounds too
good to be true.
180 Cults
Recruiting Tactics
Recruiting for cults can occur any-
where—at school, on the street, in reli-
gious organizations, even at home and on
the Internet. Typically, recruiters are
friendly people who seem very interested
in the adolescent’s life, provide much
praise, and claim to have all the answers.
They never acknowledge that they are
part of a cult but, rather, attempt to cre-
ate a bond with the teenager that allows
them to get the teen more and more
involved in the cult before he or she real-
izes what is really happening. Cults offer
young people a place to belong, and
recruiters convince these young people
that they will be helping themselves by
finding salvation and an emotional (or
sometimes even physical) home, or that
they will be helping others through fund-
raising or volunteer work.
Often adolescents are lured into a cult
because they see it as a group that is both
interesting and apparently able to fulfill
their needs for friendship, safety, love,
and a sense of accomplishment. They are
then typically subjected to “love bomb-
ing” (intense praise, hugs, touching, and
so on), which is intended to gain their
trust, to allow them to feel good about
themselves, and to create a desire within
them to be part of the group.
Once the teens are drawn in, various
forms of behavior modification and
social influence techniques are employed
to enmesh them. The mind control used
by cults is, in principle, not different
from the techniques used by advertisers
to entice consumers to try their products
or by a sports team to promote team
spirit. However, cults use these tech-
niques more intensely, more persistently,
for a much longer duration, and with the
goal of virtually total control over the
young person’s mind and behavior.
Toward this end, such techniques are
also used in combination with isolation,
sleep deprivation, food deprivation,
reward and punishment, and methods of
inducing fear and guilt in the adolescent.
Vulnerability
Teenagers are particularly vulnerable to
cults because they are at an age when
many transitions are occurring. Cults
will take advantage of teens’ search for
identity by offering them a place to
belong, and they will take advantage of
teens’ rebellion against parents by giving
them a sense of control. In reality, how-
ever, cults are stripping control from
their young recruits.
Other factors that make teenagers vul-
nerable are loneliness, the stressful shift
from high school to college, and their
sense of dissatisfaction with the meaning
of life. Often adolescents are lured to a
cult because they are seeking a new or
higher form of spirituality, which the
cult may seem to offer.
Warning Signs
There are many warning signs to look for
when deciding whether an organization
is a cult. First, cults use behavior modifi-
cation, chanting, coercion, and manipu-
lation to gain influence over the adoles-
cent. Second, cult leaders are often
charming and captivating people (of
either sex) who claim to have special
powers from God or special knowledge
that can be shared only if one obeys
them. Third, recruits are often asked to
raise money for the organization without
full disclosure as to where the money is
going or, for that matter, asked to relin-
quish their own money, property, and
savings. Fourth, cults not only promote
the idea that nonmembers of the group
will somehow suffer for their lack of faith

but also encourage (and eventually force)
recruits to sever ties with family and
friends, to quit their jobs, and to leave
school.
Another strong warning sign is the
existence of two sets of rules—one for
members of the group and one for the
leader. For example, cults often discour-
age sexual relations among members of
the group, whereas the group leader is
permitted to have sexual relations with
multiple members. Cults also promote
other forms of unethical behavior, such as
soliciting illegally, while at the same time
claiming divinity and righteousness.
Not all of these factors need be present
to ascertain that an organization is a cult.
But if some combination of them exists,
the organization very likely is a cult and
therefore a danger to adolescents and
their development.
Dangers of Cult Membership
The dangers of belonging to a cult are
many, especially for a young person.
Above all, membership in a cult prevents
adolescents from establishing an inde-
pendent and healthy sense of self—an
identity—which is a crucial developmen-
tal task. Inadequate development occurs
because cults demand that the group
become the young person’s identity. This
loss of individuality also has harmful
effects on adolescents’ sense of auton-
omy. Since the teens are often restricted
in terms of friendships and romantic part-
ners, they are unable to master the ability
to form intimate relationships based on
reality. This failure results in isolation.
Some cults are not just emotionally
abusive but physically and sexually abu-
sive as well, particularly toward mem-
bers who start to question the leader’s
authority. Members (especially women)
are often forced into sexual relationships
Cults 181
with the leader in the name of sacrament
and honor, and in cults that restrict the
amount of food and sleep a person gets,
adolescents can becomes ill from malnu-
trition and sleep deprivation.
Leaving a Cult
Leaving a cult can be difficult for young
people because they have been convinced
that they are going against the will of
God and bad things will happen to them.
In the past, parents have used aggressive
techniques to remove their children from
cults, but today most of these tactics are
illegal. For the most part, in order for
teens to leave a cult, they must want to
leave. This happens when they begin to
sense the inconsistencies in cult life.
For these young people the most effec-
tive strategy for escape is to connect with
an exit counselor. These professionals,
who have experienced cults themselves,
are able to provide support for young peo-
ple during the exit process. Exit coun-
selors are also able to connect the young
people with other former cult members
who can attest that nothing disastrous
happened as a result of leaving. The
counselors are able to help young people
get their lives back.
Deborah L. Bobek
See also Peer Groups; Peer Pressure; Peer
Victimization in School; Religion, Spiri-
tuality, and Belief Systems
References and further reading
Galanter, M. 1996. “Cults and
Charismatic Group Psychology.” Pp.
269–296 in Religion and the Clinical
Practice of Psychology. Edited by E. P.
Shafranske. Washington, DC: American
Psychological Association.
Hunter, E. 1998. “Adolescent Attraction
to Cults.” Adolescence 33: 709–714.
Singer, M. T. 1995. Cults in Our Midst.
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
 D
Dating
Dating, or the process of experimenting
and establishing romantic relationships
with peers, is an important developmen-
tal task in adolescence. Teens and adults
often recall how important the making
and breaking of their teen dating relation-
ships were in their development, but
social scientists are only beginning to
understand the origins, development, and
consequences of adolescent dating rela-
tionships. Involvement in romantic rela-
tionships, which more than doubles dur-
ing the primary teen years (seventh to
twelfth grade), is considered to be part of
a larger process by which teens negotiate
increasing autonomy and independence
from the family while developing closer
ties with their peers. Although teens thus
often sacrifice time devoted to family
members to accommodate their dating
relationships, dating, by itself, does not
appear to compromise the quality of fam-
ily relations. Teens with dating partners
report that their relationships with par-
ents and siblings are just as close and
influential in their lives as those of teens
without dating partners.
Many, if not most, teens begin dating
between twelve and fifteen years of age.
Initiating dating is a very challenging and
stressful process for teens. Tendencies for
children to develop friendships with
same-sex peers during childhood and
183
preadolescence create social worlds that,
in some ways, are very different for boys
and girls. In the process, children gain
only limited understanding of the oppo-
site sex. Thus, as teens become increas-
ingly interested in romantic relationships,
they face the struggles and awkward chal-
lenges of learning how to relate to oppo-
site-sex peers who often have different
experiences and styles of affiliating. Dat-
ing at this age usually occurs in the con-
text of outings (e.g., to the mall, movies,
or parties) within larger mixed-sex friend-
ship networks. Although some level of
intimacy and sexual experimentation is
not uncommon during this period, the
primary concerns of early adolescents do
not center on the fulfillment of intimacy,
support, or sexual needs. Rather, given
their relative isolation from the other sex
throughout childhood, the main business
at hand for early teens involves (1) gaining
the knowledge and skills necessary to
effectively relate to other-sex peers, (2)
ascertaining their attractiveness to the
opposite sex, and (3) establishing their
identity and status within the group.
Same-sex friendships within the larger
mixed-sex group serve as “social halfway
houses” between the familiarity and com-
fort of the friendship world to the excit-
ing, but novel, world of opposite-sex peers
and dating relationships. More specifi-
cally, these friendships appear to help
184 Dating
Teens and adults often recall how important
the making and breaking of their teen
dating relationships were for them, but
social scientists are only beginning to
understand the origins, development, and
consequences of adolescent dating
relationships. (Shirley Zeiberg)
teens adjust to the new world of dating
by serving as bases of support, sources of
information for establishing other-sex
relations, and channels for receiving feed-
back about their success in other-sex
relations.
Although dating still typically occurs
within mixed-sex groups during middle
adolescence (fifteen to seventeen years),
middle adolescent couples increasingly
go on dates by themselves. In these more
intimate settings, gaining peer approval
and learning about the opposite sex are
no longer reported to be primary advan-
tages of dating for teens. Instead, middle
adolescents are increasingly concerned
with companionship (i.e., shared activi-
ties and interaction), intimacy (i.e., estab-
lishment of a deep, meaningful relation-
ship), and sexual experimentation in
their dating relationships. As part of this
process, teens are increasingly likely to
establish committed, exclusive (i.e.,
steady) dating relationships that are often
characterized by intense positive emo-
tion and excitement, preoccupation and
fantasizing, beliefs that the relationship
can weather any challenge, and even
love. However, because middle adoles-
cents do not have a firm concept of how
their partner fits into their future plans,
their feelings are often confined to the
immediate or short-term period of the
relationship. Moreover, teens are often
conflicted about these relationships, as
evidenced by their views that commit-
ment and negative interpersonal rela-
tions are major disadvantages of steady
relationships. The end result is that even
serious, satisfying relationships last an
average of only a few months. Middle
adolescence may best be summarized as
a transitional period for romantic rela-
tionships, replete with passionate, but
short-lived, bonds with dating partners.
Teens in late adolescence (seventeen to
nineteen years) often begin experiment-
ing with lengthier committed relation-
ships with a single partner that can last
years. Signs of a deeper level of closeness
and intimacy often emerge as romantic
partners increasingly rely on each other
for support, security, advice, and caregiv-
ing. However, many teens do not fully
develop this type of mature mutual-
attachment relationship. One reason is
that mature, enduring relationships
require some degree of self-sacrifice at a
time when late adolescents are still grap-
pling with trying to understand them-
selves (“Who am I?”) and develop their
identities (“What do I want out of life?”).

Uncertainties may arise as to whether it
is possible to sacrifice their developing
identities without completely losing
their freedom and themselves in the rela-
tionship. Perhaps not surprisingly, older
teens are more likely to define intimate
relationships in terms of sharing, sexual
interaction, trust, and openness than in
terms of commitment, security, caregiv-
ing, and self-sacrifice. In addition, many
social scientists believe that a truly deep
mutual-attachment bond becomes fully
developed only after a minimum of two
years in a romantic relationship. Thus,
for many teens whose relationships com-
monly last less than a couple years, a
deeper level of closeness is achieved but
not fully formed into a mutual-attach-
ment relationship.
Although little is known about the
effects of dating on teen development,
there is some evidence suggesting that
dating paves the way for healthy develop-
ment in many areas of functioning. First,
dating has been characterized by social
scientists as a healthy forum for develop-
ing and refining communication skills,
interpersonal relations, and conflict man-
agement abilities. Research has shown,
for example, that increases in dating in-
volvement are accompanied by increases
in the sharing of personal information
and by decreases in conflict within close
friendships. Second, success in securing
dating partners can be a means of enhanc-
ing social status, peer relations and
approval, and, eventually, emotional
adjustment. For example, companionship
and enhancement of social status are
commonly cited by teens as key advan-
tages of dating. Moreover, teens who are
more heavily involved in dating have
greater self-confidence and self-esteem,
report fewer signs of depression, and per-
ceive themselves to be more socially
Dating 185
skilled than teens who are less involved
or uninvolved in dating. Third, dating
may promote teen characteristics that
help them successfully adapt to the
demands of adulthood. Dating is specifi-
cally considered to be a training ground
for the development of psychological and
sexual intimacy and sharing—which are
key building blocks for forming mature,
satisfying, and enduring romantic rela-
tionships in adulthood.
However, the effects of dating are not
uniformly beneficial for teens. Whether
dating has benefits or costs for teens’
mental health depends largely on the tim-
ing, history, and quality of their dating
relationships. According to one theory,
early onset of dating or casual dating
among multiple partners reflects teens’
attempts to develop stronger ties with
peers—attempts that, in turn, involve
accepting the behaviors and values of a
peer culture that in some cases are at odds
with societal and familial rules of con-
duct. Endorsement of rule violations in
the peer culture are commonly reflected
in minor acts of delinquency, sexual activ-
ity, and experimentation with substances
such as alcohol. Supporting this theory is
the finding that early onset of dating fore-
casts not only higher self-confidence and a
greater sense of autonomy but also
increased problem behaviors in the form
of alcohol use, substance use, delin-
quency, and academic difficulties. Like-
wise, adolescents who develop casual dat-
ing relationships with multiple partners
experience increased alcohol use, sexual
activity, and delinquency. Although this
increase in problem behaviors is under-
standably a concern for many parents, it is
important to note that some increase in
problem behaviors is a normal part of teen
experimenting and, for most teens, is
likely to be temporary. Indeed, evidence
186 Dating
suggests that as older teens gain experi-
ence in more serious, mature relation-
ships, support and closeness in the rela-
tionship may help them seek more
independence from peer influence, criti-
cally evaluate deviant peer norms, and,
ultimately, cycle out of experimentation
in deviant activities.
Although temporary emotional dis-
tress (e.g., depression, loneliness) over the
short-lived nature of adolescent romantic
relationships is normal, another set of
theories maintains that dating may actu-
ally be a source of enduring emotional
problems under certain conditions.
Demands for intimacy and commitment,
particularly within steady, exclusive dat-
ing relationships, may overwhelm the
developing emotional maturity of adoles-
cents and prematurely limit the opportu-
nities and experiences necessary to gain a
solid understanding of themselves and
others. The formative years of dating,
which typically take place during early
and middle adolescence, are often charac-
terized as being fraught with mistrust
and distress over losing a romantic part-
ner along with the contrasting fear of los-
ing one’s independence and identity if the
relationship continues. In support of this
idea, teens cite commitment, negative
interpersonal relations, and worry and
jealousy as primary disadvantages of
involvement in romantic relationships.
Based on such evidence, establishing
long-term serious relationships may jeop-
ardize teens’ self-esteem, isolate them
from potentially valuable social relation-
ships (e.g., peers, friends, family), and
increase their depressive symptoms.
Additional evidence indicates that dat-
ing may have a negative impact on teen
adjustment if it is accompanied by cer-
tain challenging or stressful events. For
girls in particular, socializing with mem-
bers of the opposite sex is often initiated
at the same time that they are coping
with the onset of menstruation,
increased body fat resulting from
puberty, and the transition from the
small, intimate settings of elementary
school to the larger, more demanding,
and impersonal settings of middle school.
Striving to maintain thinness in the
belief that it will increase their success in
the dating world in the larger, more
impersonal setting of the school is a diffi-
culty that may compound the stressful-
ness of establishing dating relationships.
The resulting burden appears to intensify
girls’ emotional distress, body dissatis-
faction, and unhealthy dieting practices,
including eating problems. Note that,
although psychologists have made some
headway in identifying some of the risks
associated with dating, the complexity of
their results prevents any firm conclu-
sions from being drawn at this point.
Teens’ psychological characteristics
and aspects of their social lives are
thought to play an important role in
accounting for why adolescents differ in
their dating experiences. On the one
hand, sociability, communication and
conflict resolution skills, and achieve-
ment of close, supportive friendships are
critical ingredients for success in subse-
quent romantic relationships; on the
other hand, problem behaviors in the
form of minor delinquency, sexual activ-
ity, and higher levels of alcohol use in
friendship networks during early and
middle adolescence are predictive of
more dating involvement. This pattern of
sociability and participation in a “party-
ing” network of peers may facilitate dat-
ing by (1) permitting information
exchanges on the best methods of han-
dling dating relationships, (2) affording
opportunities to initiate more informal

and intimate interactions with potential
dating partners, and (3) further refining
communication and conflict manage-
ment skills necessary to successfully
forge romantic relations. Very adverse
family experiences, such as a history of
physical abuse or neglect, also increase
teens’ vulnerability for becoming victims
or perpetrators of violence in dating rela-
tionships. Nevertheless, very little is
known about why teens differ in such
aspects of their dating experiences as
timing (early versus late), quality (sup-
portive, unsupportive, violent), and
course (enduring versus short-lived). In
short, although the consensus is that
teens’ experiences in the dating world are
products of peer relations, psychological
disposition (e.g., temperament, social
competence, depression), perceptions of
social relationships, and the quality of
family relationships, the specific and
combined effects of these factors are still
poorly understood.
Patrick Davies
See also Dating Infidelity; Developmental
Challenges; Gender Differences; Loneli-
ness; Love; Peer Pressure; Sex Differ-
ences; Sex Roles; Sexual Behavior; Sex-
ual Behavior Problems; Sexuality,
Emotional Aspects of; Transitions of
Adolescence
References and further reading
Davies, Patrick T., and Michael Windle.
2000. “Middle Adolescents’ Dating
Pathways and Psychosocial
Adjustment.” Merrill-Palmer Quarterly
46: 90–118.
Montemayor, Raymond, Gerald R.
Adams, and Thomas P. Gullotta, eds.
1994. Personal Relationships during
Adolescence. Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage.
Shulman, Shmuel, and W. Andrew
Collins, eds. 1997. Romantic
Relationships in Adolescence:
Developmental Perspectives. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Dating Infidelity 187
Dating Infidelity
Dating infidelity refers to engaging in sex-
ual or other behavior considered inappro-
priate for one in a committed (“going
out” or engaged) relationship. Up to a
quarter of college students admit that
they have been “unfaithful” to their cur-
rent partner, and up to 50 percent note
that their friends who are going out with
someone have been unfaithful to their
current partner. These numbers are in
accord with the percentage of married
people who say they have engaged in mar-
ital infidelity. This is an important con-
cern because discovering that one’s part-
ner has been unfaithful often can lead to a
dissolution of the relationship, which is a
primary cause of adolescent suicide.
There is a wide range of behaviors
included in those considered indicative of
infidelity, and these are quite similar for
both going-out and engaged couples. For
instance, along with sexual intercourse,
dating another person, and flirting, kiss-
ing, and petting with another person, are
very much viewed as acts of infidelity.
Spending time with another person of the
same gender as your partner and being
close friends with someone of the same
gender as your partner are generally not
considered indicators of infidelity. Behav-
iors that might indicate infidelity include
betraying the partner’s confidence, keep-
ing secrets from one’s partner, and being
emotionally involved with another per-
son. The ambiguity involved in determin-
ing whether these behaviors indicate infi-
delity lies perhaps in what confidences are
betrayed, what secrets kept, and the
degree of emotional involvement with
another. If the betrayal of confidence, the
secrets kept, and the emotional involve-
ment are likely to result in the dissolution
of the relationship, they may constitute
acts of infidelity.
188 Dating Infidelity

Adolescents are unfaithful for many of the same reasons adults are: dissatisfaction with the
person and dissatisfaction with the relationship. Learning about committed relationships is
one of the areas in which adolescence is a transition into adulthood. (Lawrence Manning/
Corbis)

Adolescents are unfaithful for much
the same reasons adults are: dissatisfac-
tion with the person (e.g., anger, revenge,
jealousy) and dissatisfaction with the
relationship (e.g., lack of communica-
tion, testing the relationship, and lack of
commitment). These differing reasons for
being unfaithful relate to the type of infi-
delity one may show. For example, being
bored with one’s partner is related more
strongly to sexual than emotional infi-
delity; being angry toward one’s partner
is more strongly related to emotional
than sexual infidelity.
Males engage in more dating infidelity,
and are more accepting of infidelity, than
are females. In general, both male and
female adolescents regard marital infi-
delity as more severe than dating infi-
delity, and sexual infidelity as more
severe than emotional infidelity.
Learning about behavior in committed
relationships is one of the areas in which
adolescence is a transition into adulthood.
This can be an exciting if challenging tran-
sition. Unfortunately, this at times can
also include learning about some unpleas-
ant aspects of committed relationships.
Jerome B. Dusek
See also Dating; Moral Development

References and further reading
Roscoe, Bruce, Lauri E. Cavanaugh, and
Donna R. Kennedy. 1988. “Dating
Infidelity: Behaviors, Reasons, and
Consequences.” Adolescence 23: 35–43.
Shackelford, Todd K., and David M. Buss.
1997. “Cues to Infidelity.” Personality
and Social Psychology Bulletin 23:
1034–1045.
Sheppart, Viveca J., Eileen S. Nelson, and
Virginia Andreoli-Mathie. 1995.
“Dating Relationships and Infidelity:
Attitudes and Behaviors.” Journal of
Sex and Marital Therapy 21: 202–212.
Decision Making
Decision making is an essential life skill
that we use every day, and learning how
to make good decisions is considered one
of the essential goals for healthy adoles-
cent development. During adolescence,
young people become more interested in
making their own decisions. They are
also more capable of doing so, due in part
to cognitive changes, including develop-
ment of the ability to think abstractly
and to consider future consequences.
Society expects adolescents to make
decisions in areas such as friendship, aca-
demics, extracurricular involvement,
and consumer choices. But adults are
also concerned about some of the deci-
sions that adolescents make that can
have serious consequences, and as a
result, laws that limit the decision-mak-
ing authority of adolescents have also
been enacted.
Some decisions are fairly easy to make,
like whether to have juice or milk with
breakfast. Other choices are more diffi-
cult, such as decisions that can have
uncertain or serious consequences or
ones that involve choices between
options that seem equal. Decisions tend
to be easier to make when one knows
what the consequences of the choice will
Decision Making 189
be. If one knows that it is raining outside,
the decision about whether to wear a
raincoat has known consequences and is
probably not a difficult one. It is a some-
what different experience to decide about
a raincoat when rain is forecast but it
looks clear outside. Many of the deci-
sions that people make are based on
uncertainty. Decisions can also be hard
to make when they involve conflicting
goals. Choosing to stay home and study
rather than going out with friends may be
a hard decision for a person who values
friendship as well as getting good grades
in school. Choices are also generally
harder to make when the potential con-
sequences are serious.
Competent Decision Making
Programs that have been designed to
teach decision-making skills identify five
steps that are involved in competent
decisions. The first step involves identi-
fying one’s options. Although people
often think in terms of two choices (for
example, going out with friends or stay-
ing home), the competent decision maker
is able to consider a broader range of
options. Using the example above, a third
option might be to study for two hours
and join friends later in the evening.
After identifying possible options, the
competent decision maker considers
what might happen if a particular option
were chosen. Staying home would proba-
bly be disappointing, involve doing some-
thing that is not a lot of fun, and would
probably lead to a better grade in class.
Getting a better grade would please par-
ents and would also allow for getting on
the football team, which requires a cer-
tain level of school performance. On the
other hand, the plans for the evening
with friends would be really fun, and it
190 Decision Making
may be the only chance to see a particular
friend who is leaving soon on vacation.
The next two steps involve assessing
how likely each of these outcomes is, and
how desirable or undesirable they are.
What is the chance that going to the
party will actually result in a poor grade
on the test? Risk assessment is an impor-
tant component of the decision-making
process. In order to make informed, com-
petent choices that are likely to result in
positive outcomes, one needs to have a
sense of the potential for negative out-
comes and some realistic assessment of
that potential. Studies of adolescents’
capacity for considering consequences
have shown that even young adolescents
have the ability to consider risks and
benefits associated with medical proce-
dures and the consequences of engaging
in risky behaviors.
Part of the difficulty of making deci-
sions is that the choices involve both
risks and benefits. Furthermore, risks
may not be equally negative, just as
some benefits may be more desirable
than others. The competent decision
maker considers not only highly proba-
ble outcomes but also those that are less
likely but extremely negative were they
to occur. Understanding the value of the
potential benefits of various choices is
also important.
All of the above components are
essential to competent decisions. The
challenge for the decision maker is to
factor in the possible options, risks, and
benefits in a systematic way that will
optimize the probability of achieving
positive outcomes. Competent decision
making also involves a balance between
making one’s own decision and recogniz-
ing the value of obtaining advice from
others. Being able to make one’s own
decisions means the ability to resist
undue influence from others and a cer-
tain degree of self-reliance—having a
sense of control over one’s life and pos-
sessing initiative. Self-reliance not only
allows the decision makers to have con-
fidence in their ability to make decisions
but also to move forward on implement-
ing decisions. But knowing when and
where to turn for advice and whether to
follow it is also essential. Competent
decision makers have a good sense of
balance between independence and lis-
tening to others. The ability to make
one’s own decisions appears to increase
between ages ten and eighteen, with sus-
ceptibility to peer pressure subsiding
sometime between twelve and sixteen
years of age.
Finally, competent decision making
also involves a certain amount of impulse
control. Utilizing the other capacities,
such as taking the future into account, in
making decisions requires one to have
enough impulse control. The ability to
think about the future, impulse control,
and self-reliance continue to increase
well into the late adolescent years.
Adolescents’ Competence as
Decision Makers
The only real-world studies of adolescent
decision making have focused on preg-
nancy-related/abortion decision-making
competence. These studies show little
difference in competence between ado-
lescents and adults. However, the gener-
alizability of the findings to other adoles-
cents or to other types of decisions is
unknown. Studies that ask adolescents to
make hypothetical decisions and those
that examine decision making in labora-
tory settings show mixed findings, with
some concluding that adolescents are as
competent as adults, and others showing
important differences between the two.
 Delinquency, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Problems
Regardless of these differences, one
thing is clear—many adolescents, even
older adolescents, do not show high lev-
els of competence. In fact, both adults
and adolescents show lower levels
of decision-making competence than
expected given normative models of deci-
sion making. So the answer to whether
adolescents are competent decision mak-
ers may vary depending on whether one
considers the gold standard to be adult
levels of competence or a model of how
decisions ought to be made. Given that
many of the attributes that are thought
to be essential for competent decision
making, such as resistance to peer pres-
sure, self-reliance, perspective taking,
future time perspective, and impulse
control, show age differences, it is likely
that future studies will show that deci-
sion-making competence continues to
improve throughout adolescence, and
quite possibly beyond.
Susan Millstein
See also Cognitive Development; Think-
ing
References and further reading
Beyth-Marom, Ruth, and Baruch
Fischhoff. 1997. “Adolescents’
Decisions about Risks: A Cognitive
Perspective.” Pp. 110–135 in Health
Risks and Developmental Transitions
during Adolescence. Edited by John
Schulenberg, Jennifer L. Maggs, and
Klaus Hurrelmann. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Byrnes, James P. 1998. The Nature and
Development of Decision Making: A
Self-Regulation Model. Mahwah, NJ:
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Gittler, Josephine, M. Quigley-Rick, and
Michael J. Saks. 1990. Adolescent
Health Care Decision-Making: The
Law and Public Policy. Washington,
DC: Carnegie Council on Adolescent
Development.
Lewis, C. C. 1981. “How Adolescents
Approach Decisions: Changes over
191
Grades Seven to Twelve and Policy
Implications.” Child Development 52:
538–544.
Mann, L., R. Harmoni, and C. Power.
1989. “Adolescent Decision-Making:
The Development of Competence.”
Journal of Adolescence 12: 265–278.
Scott, Elizabeth R., N. Dickon Reppucci,
and Jennifer Woolard. 1995. “Evaluating
Adolescent Decision Making in Legal
Contexts.” Law and Human Behavior
19, no. 3: 221–244.
Steinberg, Laurence C., and Elizabeth
Cauffman. 1996. “Maturity of Judgment
in Adolescence: Psychosocial Factors in
Adolescent Decision Making.” Law and
Human Behavior 20, no. 3: 249–272.
Weithorn, Lois A., and Susan B.
Campbell. 1982. “The Competency of
Children and Adolescents to Make
Informed Treatment Decisions.” Child
Development 53: 1589–1598.
Delinquency, Mental Health, and
Substance Abuse Problems
Juvenile delinquency is one of our soci-
ety’s most pressing social problems. In
1996, nearly 2.9 million arrests were
made of persons under age 18, including
135,100 violent offenses, 720,300 prop-
erty offenses, and 1,996,300 nonindex
offenses (FBI, 1997). Juveniles accounted
for 19 percent of all arrests, 19 percent of
all violent crime arrests, and 35 percent
of all property crime arrests Across all
offense types, most juveniles arrested
were male (75 percent) and between ages
15 and 17 (68 percent). However, dra-
matic increases in delinquent behaviors
and arrests have been noted for girls over
the past two decades. Arrests for most
offense types increase with age, peaking
in late adolescence and declining there-
after at varying rates. These recent data
confirm long-standing trends in arrest
patterns for violent offending, with
younger segments of the population (age
15 to 34) consistently showing higher
rates than older adults (FBI, 1997).
192 Delinquency, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Problems
Recent trends in juvenile offending dif-
fer by offense type. Between 1980 and
1996, arrest rates for property crimes
remained relatively stable, hovering near
2,500 per 100,000 juveniles aged 10 to 17.
In contrast, arrest rates for violent crimes
increased dramatically after 1989, peak-
ing in 1994, and declining 12 percent
between 1994 and 1996. However, the
1996 juvenile violent crime arrest rate
(465/100,000) was approximately 50 per-
cent higher than during the early 1980s,
with higher rates of increase for younger
juveniles (up 68 percent for ages 10 to 14)
than for older juveniles (up 42 percent for
ages 15 to 17). Comparisons with older
age groups are equally striking; from
1989 to 1994, homicide arrest rates for
adolescents aged 14 to 17 increased
41percent, for young adults 18 to 24
these rates increased 18 percent, and for
adults over 25 these rates decreased 19
percent. Ongoing shifts in the age struc-
ture of the U.S. population are expected
to influence current rates of juvenile
crime, with current juvenile arrest rates
projected to double by 2010 (OJJDP,
1996). Although in recent years, juvenile
arrest rates, and in particular those for
violent crimes, have continued to
decline, juvenile delinquency and juve-
nile offending remain serious social prob-
lems in the United States.
Adolescent Substance Use and Abuse
Substance use and abuse by the general
population of adolescents are also press-
ing social concerns. Current national sur-
vey data suggest a problem of wide scope.
For example, in 1999, the majority of
high school seniors reported using one or
more substances including alcohol (73.8
percent), illicit drugs (42.1 percent), or
cigarettes (34.6 percent). This suggests
that at least experimental substance use
is common among middle and late ado-
lescents. More worrisome, however, are
the proportions of adolescents reporting
more serious substance use problems.
Epidemiological studies suggest that
among high school students, approxi-
mately 8 to 10 percent meet diagnostic
criteria for substance abuse at some point
during their lifetime, and 4 percent to 5
percent qualified for this diagnosis based
on their patterns of use during the past
year. With regard to specific substances,
many high school seniors report heavy
patterns of substance use including daily
marijuana use (6 percent), daily drunken-
ness (3.4 percent), binge drinking during
the past two weeks (30.8 percent), or
smoking half a pack or more of cigarettes
daily (13.2 percent) (University of Michi-
gan, 1999). Similar to recent trends in
juvenile delinquency, rates of substance
use and abuse have increased faster for
females than for males in recent years
and appear to be converging. This is a
departure from historical gender differ-
ences in patterns of substance use and
abuse, suggesting the potential for sub-
stantial increases among females in sub-
stance-related morbidity and mortality.
Substance Use among Juvenile Delin-
quents and Juvenile Offenders
Compared to the general population of
adolescents, juvenile offenders are more
likely to use alcohol, tobacco, and other
drugs, and are more likely to have sub-
stance use problems. At the time of
arrest, approximately half of juvenile
offenders can be identified as having
problems related to substance use/mis-
use based on scores from standardized
assessment instruments. Adolescents’
self-reports are typically confirmed using
drug-testing methods such as hair or fin-
gernail testing. These findings are some-
 Delinquency, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Problems 193

A girl detained in a room at a juvenile detention center, 1975 (Urban Archives, Philadelphia)

what similar to trends among adults that delinquency. Delinquent or antisocial

suggest the majority of adult offenders
are substance involved at either the time
that they commit their offense or at the
time they are arrested. There are only
minor gender differences in the percent-
ages of juvenile offenders who report
substance use problems. Similarly, there
are only minor differences in the propor-
tions of Hispanic and non-Hispanic
offenders who report substance use prob-
lems, although substance use problems
are significantly more common among
white than black juveniles. There is a
long history of clinical and research-
based literatures documenting signifi-
cant relations between substance use and
adolescents report higher levels of sub-
stance use, and they tend to initiate sub-
stance use at earlier ages than non-
offending adolescents. In addition,
juvenile delinquents with more serious
patterns of substance use and misuse are
more likely to commit additional
offenses, more violent offenses, and to
participate in serious, chronic patterns of
antisocial behavior than delinquents
with less substance involvement.
Relations between Juvenile Offending
and Substance Use or Abuse
It is well established that there is a sig-
nificant relation between substance use
194 Delinquency, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Problems
and antisocial behavior among both ado-
lescents and adults. However, delinquent
behaviors are observed among teenagers
who do not use alcohol or illicit sub-
stances. Furthermore, the majority of
adolescents who engage in substance use,
including the heaviest users, do not
engage in serious delinquent behavior.
Existing research suggests that delin-
quent, antisocial behavior emerges in
adolescence before the development of
substance use problems among substance-
abusing delinquents. However, it is
unclear how adolescent substance use
and offending are related to each other
over time, in particular how they may
maintain each other and escalate
together. It is clear that juvenile offend-
ers are at significantly higher risk for sub-
stance use problems than the general
population of adolescents.
Although juvenile offending and sub-
stance use are significantly related to one
another, the degree to which these prob-
lem behaviors overlap varies considerably
across studies. The severity of juvenile
offending is positively associated with
adolescents’ use of alcohol and marijuana.
For example, adolescents who are serious
or chronic offenders are more likely to be
substance users/abusers than adolescents
who are less serious offenders. Moreover,
juvenile offenders who report multiple
problems (e.g., past victimization, school
failure, or mental health problems) and
substance abuse are more than twice as
likely to be serious offenders than those
who do not report substance abuse. In
addition to significant relations between
adolescent substance use/abuse and juve-
nile offending at a single point in time,
available research suggests significant
relations between substance use and
delinquency across the period of adoles-
cence. Early substance use (i.e., before age
12) is an important predictor of serious
delinquency in late adolescence. In addi-
tion, studies of adolescents over time sug-
gest that relations between substance use
and delinquency persist over this period,
with continuous patterns of substance
use in adolescence associated signifi-
cantly with continuous patterns of delin-
quent behavior.
Prevalence of Psychiatric Disorders
among Juvenile Offenders
Juvenile offenders appear to be signifi-
cantly more likely to report psychiatric
symptoms and disorders than the gen-
eral population of adolescents. A large
body of research suggests that most
juvenile offenders would qualify for a
diagnosis of conduct disorder (CD) or
antisocial personality disorder, with
estimates ranging from 75 percent to
100 percent. Substance use disorders
(SUDs) also are commonly diagnosed
among juvenile offenders, with esti-
mates across studies ranging from 27
percent to 63 percent. These findings are
significant because they suggest that CD
and SUD commonly co-occur in samples
of juvenile offenders. This particular
combination of psychiatric disorders
greatly complicates efforts to provide
treatment (i.e., for substance abuse) or
intervention (i.e., for antisocial behav-
ior), as one set of problem behaviors
tends to perpetuate the other. For exam-
ple, continued substance abuse tends to
promote recidivism. In turn, repeat
offenders are difficult to engage in sub-
stance abuse treatment, and they experi-
ence high rates of relapse.
Depressive and/or mood disorders are
also prevalent among juvenile offenders,
with prevalence rates ranging from 18
percent to 48 percent. Some studies sug-
gest that as many as 60 percent of juve-
 Delinquency, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Problems
nile offenders report significant levels of
depressive symptoms. Juvenile offenders
also demonstrate elevated rates of anxi-
ety disorders, which commonly co-occur
with depression. For example, some
research has found significantly higher
rates of anxiety disorders (70 percent vs.
35 percent) and post-traumatic stress dis-
order (PTSD) (40 percent vs. 15 percent)
among substance-abusing delinquents
with comorbid diagnoses of depression
than among those offenders without
depression. Therefore, many juvenile
offenders with substance abuse problems
also experience persistent emotional
problems. Recent studies establish that
over half of incarcerated juvenile offend-
ers meet full or partial diagnostic criteria
for PTSD, suggesting substantial overlap
between victimization and offending.
Positive diagnosis of PTSD has been
associated with significantly higher lev-
els of depression and anxiety, and lower
levels of impulse control and aggression
suppression.
Finally, one of the most consistent
developmental antecedents of juvenile
offending is the commonly occurring
symptom constellation of hyperactivity,
attention deficits, and impulsivity. Nearly
half of adolescents with a joint diagnosis
of CD and SUD also are diagnosed with
attention deficit with hyperactivity disor-
der (ADHD). This finding is significant
because male juvenile delinquents with
higher levels of ADHD symptoms show
more severe and earlier onset CD, more
SUD diagnoses, and more comorbid
depression and anxiety. These externaliz-
ing behavior problems (i.e., ADHD symp-
toms) show significant stability from
childhood through adolescence, and they
are reliable predictors of violent offending
and recidivism across a wide range of
juvenile delinquents. In addition, exter-
195
nalizing problems commonly co-occur
with internalizing problems or emotional
distress. Taken together, these patterns of
emerging findings indicate the presence of
extensive psychiatric comorbidity among
juvenile offenders.
The Continuity of Juvenile Offending,
Substance Use during Adolescence
At present, the continuity of juvenile
offending, in particular violent offending,
and how it is maintained are not well
understood. Childhood antecedents of
juvenile delinquency or antisocial behav-
ior have been reliably identified and
include childhood aggression, poverty,
family disruption, inconsistent and coer-
cive parenting. Yet factors related to the
escalation of offending (e.g., early arrest,
ineffective parenting, deviant peers) are
less well understood, with even less
available research related to the desis-
tance from offending. Although there is
significant stability of delinquent behav-
ior from late childhood to young adult-
hood, some studies suggest wide differ-
ences in both the timing of onset of
delinquent or antisocial behavior and the
continuity of its expression.
Recent research has described signifi-
cant developmental differences between
individuals with childhood, adolescent,
and adult onsets of delinquent behavior,
as well as individual differences in the
continuity of delinquent behavior from
adolescence to young adulthood (Loeber
and Hay, 1997). At present, there is a
great deal of debate regarding the devel-
opmental pathways that may account for
these differences. Efforts are currently
focused on determining the number of
pathways to and away from offending, as
well as the factors clearly related to the
development or maintenance of offend-
ing (Loeber and Farrington, 1998). Accu-
196 Delinquency, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Problems
mulating evidence suggests many possi-
ble patterns of delinquent behavior
across adolescence, with regard to timing
of onset, continuity, escalation, or desis-
tance from offending. Similarly, wide
ranges in developmental outcomes
among juvenile offenders highlight the
importance for preventative interven-
tions of identifying modifiable risk
processes related to continued offending
or recidivism.
At present, few conclusions can be
drawn regarding the continuity or dis-
continuity of substance use and sub-
stance use problems across adolescence.
Different studies reach varying conclu-
sions based on the samples involved and
the analytic techniques used to address
specific research questions. Although
some studies describe significant stabil-
ity across time in patterns of substance
use, other studies describe a wide range
of patterns of change in adolescent prob-
lem behaviors including substance use.
Specific longitudinal trajectories for sub-
stance use have been linked to a range of
individual-, family-, and peer-level vari-
ables, many of which promote continued
substance use via deviant peer affilia-
tions. A growing literature provides evi-
dence for multiple pathways to substance
use problems and suggests that effective
interventions will be shaped by the ini-
tial and subsequent levels of multiple
problem behaviors of adolescent clients
(e.g., Cicchetti and Rogosch, 1999).
The Continuity of Relations
between Juvenile Delinquent/
Antisocial Behavior and Adolescent
Substance Use
A growing body of evidence suggests that
delinquent behavior and substance use
influence and maintain each other. For a
small portion of first-time juvenile
offenders, maintenance or escalation of
these behaviors is likely to result in pat-
terns of serious and chronic offending.
Substance use and abuse is associated
with delinquency and adult offending in
several ways. For example, the majority
of offenders were under the influence of
drugs or alcohol at the time of their
offense or arrest. In addition, substance
abuse remains a chronic problem among
released offenders, who typically do
poorly in substance abuse treatment
while incarcerated, relapse upon release,
and are rearrested (Simon, 1998). Among
samples of juvenile offenders, however,
the role of substance use upon the conti-
nuity of offending is somewhat equivo-
cal, although the prevention of substance
use following arrest may reduce substan-
tially risk for reoffending. Some studies
indicate that substance use (i.e., cocaine
use) at time of arrest is a significant pre-
dictor of additional arrests, while other
studies have not found this relationship.
There is, however, growing evidence that
drug and alcohol use are associated with
patterns of reoffending among juveniles.
In their pioneering study, Inciardi,
Horowitz, and Pottieger (1993) drew on
several literatures to describe four mecha-
nisms that may explain how substance
use and delinquent behaviors interact to
promote repetition of each behavior,
potentially increasing risk for reoffending.
First, substance use dependence increases
adolescents’ preoccupation with obtain-
ing and using drugs, leading to escalating
patterns of use. Second, the need to pay
for heavy patterns of substance use may
lead to repeat offending. Third, substance
use and juvenile offending may both be
aspects of an unconventional lifestyle
that is rewarding to a specific subgroup of
adolescents. Fourth, criminal offenses
may occur while juveniles are under the
 Delinquency, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Problems
influence of substances. Inciardi et al.
found that the youths’ offending and sub-
stance use careers emerged at the same
time in early adolescence and progressed
by middle adolescence to include fre-
quent, heavy polysubstance use and fre-
quent involvement in drug-related
offenses (trafficking, vice, shoplifting, and
dealing stolen property). These findings
suggest that for some groups of adoles-
cents, substance use and delinquent
behavior actively maintain each other and
promote a wide range of additional prob-
lems (e.g., mental health problems).
Intervention Approaches with Adoles-
cents at Risk for Juvenile Delinquency
As in other periods of rapid developmen-
tal transitions, both continuous and dis-
continuous behavior patterns are found
during adolescence. An adolescent who
previously has shown consistency in how
challenges are resolved now may show
drastic changes in behavior or significant
discontinuity along a developmental tra-
jectory. It is often the case that adoles-
cence brings changes in behavior patterns
that create stresses for the adolescent and
his or her family that are not easily
addressed. When patterns of negative or
maladaptive behaviors are first displayed,
the family is often slow to react. For this
reason, it is critical that prevention and
intervention programs for delinquent or
antisocial behavior include all segments
of the community (e.g., family, school,
church, and other organizations) and tar-
get multiple risk factors for juvenile
delinquency.
In recent years, increased efforts have
been made to better inform schools of
early warning signs for juvenile delin-
quency and related behavior problems.
Community outreach programs have
become more popular, and they address a
197
wide range of emotional and behavioral
problems of adolescents. These programs
have shown success in steering at-risk
youth toward positive developmental
outcomes by connecting them with
appropriate supportive services. The pro-
grams that have been most successful are
those that have targeted directly young
adolescents in their school and family
settings. These programs focus on reduc-
ing environmental and individual risk
factors while increasing key protective
factors.
Some of the most significant environ-
mental risk factors include unsafe schools
and the surrounding communities. Given
recent increases in prevalence and visibil-
ity of school violence, schools are increas-
ing efforts to create safe learning environ-
ments. Furthermore, many communities
are committed to providing safe play
areas for children. Law enforcement col-
laboration should be considered a critical
element in initiating positive change at
the community level. These changes
have included many different types of
interventions. For example, increasing
numbers of schools have installed metal
detectors to increase safety on school
property. Other schools are providing
supervised after-school care on their
grounds. In these cases, inadequate moni-
toring of adolescents was a critical struc-
tural feature of schools that increased
environmental risk for interpersonal vio-
lence and other forms of offending.
Individual risk factors for juvenile
delinquency have been targeted success-
fully through individual and group coun-
seling. Behavioral and cognitive-behav-
ioral therapies are commonly used in
prevention or intervention efforts to
reduce delinquent behavior. Adolescents
respond most favorably when these ther-
apies are used to promote positive inter-
198 Delinquency, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Problems
personal skills including anger manage-
ment, conflict resolution, asking for
advice/help, and prosocial peer interac-
tion. These therapies also have been used
to enhance the ability of adolescents’
families to promote positive change.
Intervention and prevention programs
have targeted parenting practices in the
assumption that harsh, inconsistent, or
coercive parenting styles model and pro-
mote behaviors conducive to juvenile
offending. Positive parenting skills are
widely considered to be significant pro-
tective factors against both environmen-
tal and individual risk factors for delin-
quent behavior. Targets in efforts to
enhance parenting skills and home envi-
ronments often include conflict resolu-
tion practices, parent management train-
ing, monitoring skills, parental mental
health, the stability of family structure
and economic well-being, and parents’
educational or occupational aspirations
for their children.
Adolescents are more likely to be able
to resist or desist from delinquent behav-
ior when the multiple systems involved
(e.g., family, school, community systems)
actively participate in partnerships to
reduce exposure of vulnerable adolescents
to risk factors for juvenile delinquency.
For example, schools must commit them-
selves to each child’s development, and
communities must decide that juvenile
delinquency is a critical social problem
that warrants the investment of resources
in a long-term plan of action. More
importantly, families must be encouraged
and supported as they work to enhance
their strengths and the skills necessary to
provide realistic alternatives to juvenile
delinquency. These complex issues are
often considered too entrenched for inter-
ventions to be effective with populations
at greatest risk for serious and chronic
juvenile offending, that is, children who
display early-onset problem behavior.
However, program evaluations have
shown that serious and violent juvenile
offenders, both incarcerated and paroled,
benefit from intervention efforts.
Across different types of prevention or
intervention programs, those that have
followed a multisystemic approach have
been the most likely to demonstrate pos-
itive results reducing levels of delinquent
or antisocial behavior. Unfortunately,
these intervention programs are complex,
intensive, and very costly. Multi-sys-
temic interventions with juvenile offend-
ers include the twenty-four-hour avail-
ability of multidisciplinary therapeutic
teams for the duration of the client’s
treatment. This approach requires that
the intervention team be able to work on
multiple issues involving different mem-
bers of the family system, as well as links
between the family and larger social sys-
tems. Maintaining this schedule of avail-
ability for multiple cases becomes a
daunting task for service coordinators and
frontline workers. Current research sug-
gests that the implementation of multi-
systemic interventions can produce posi-
tive behavioral change with benefits at
the individual, family, and community
levels. Although expensive, these pro-
grams are expected to yield significant
short- and long-term benefits. For this
particular social problem, comprehensive
interventions at the grassroots level
appear to be a promising direction to pur-
sue as new intervention and prevention
programs are developed and future policy
shifts are debated.
Jonathan G. Tubman
Emily Branscum

See also Aggression; Alcohol Use, Risk
Factors in; Alcohol Use, Trends in;
Conduct Problems; Counseling; Delin-
quency, Trends in; Disorders, Psycho-
logical and Social; Drug Abuse Preven-
tion; Intervention Programs for
Adolescents; Juvenile Crime
References and further reading
Chesney-Lind, Meda, and Randall G.
Shelden. 1998. Girls, Delinquency, and
Juvenile Justice. 2nd ed. Belmont:
West/Wadsworth.
Cicchetti, Dante, and Fred A. Rogosch.
1999. “Psychopathology as Risk for
Adolescent Substance Use Disorders: A
Developmental Psychopathology
Perspective.” Journal of Clinical Child
Psychology 28, no. 3: 355–365.
Federal Bureau of Investigation. 1997.
Crime in the United States: 1996.
Washington, DC: U.S. Government
Printing Office.
Hawkins, J. David, ed. 1996. Delinquency
and Crime: Current Theories. New
York: Cambridge University Press.
Inciardi, James A., Ruth Horowitz, and
Anne E. Pottieger. 1993. Street Kids,
Street Drugs, Street Crime. Belmont:
Wadsworth Publishing.
Loeber, Rolf, and David P. Farrington, eds.
1998. Serious and Violent Juvenile
Offenders: Risk Factors and Successful
Interventions. Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage.
Loeber, Rolf, and Dale Hay. 1997. “Key
Issues in the Development of
Aggression and Violence from
Childhood to Early Adulthood.”
Annual Review of Psychology 48:
371–410.
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention. 1996. (March). Combating
Violence and Delinquency: The
National Juvenile Justice Action Plan.
Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention.
Rutter, Michael, Henri Giller, and Ann
Hagell, eds. 1998. Antisocial Behavior
by Young People. New York: Cambridge
University Press.
Sharp, Paul M., and Barry W. Hancock,
eds. 1998. Juvenile Delinquency:
Historical, Theoretical, and Societal
Reactions to Youth, 2nd ed. Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Delinquency, Trends in 199
Simon, Leonore M. J. 1998. “Does
Criminal Offender Treatment Work?”
Applied and Preventative Psychology 7,
no. 3: 137–159.
University of Michigan. 1999. (December
18). “Drug Use among American Young
People Begins to Turn Downward.”
News and Information Services Press
Release.
Waters, Tony. 1999. Crime and
Immigrant Youth. Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage.
Delinquency, Trends in
Official records documenting trends in
juvenile delinquency and crime indicate
that rates of offending and victimization
among adolescents have dropped consid-
erably since the early 1990s. For example,
between 1994 and 1997, the number of
murders known to have been committed
by juveniles dropped 39 percent (Snyder
and Sickmund, 1999). Moreover, contrary
to recent media portrayals suggesting a
widespread juvenile crime problem, only
a small proportion of the adolescent pop-
ulation is involved in the majority of
criminal offenses. Although these trends
are encouraging, they tell only part of the
story.
Official statistics, such as those
reported by the Federal Bureau of Investi-
gation, are limited because they describe,
by definition, cases that are processed by
the juvenile justice system. For this rea-
son, official records tend to underesti-
mate the occurrence of adolescent delin-
quent behavior. Many crimes never come
to the attention of law enforcement
authorities, and numerous delinquent
behaviors are considered too trivial to
result in arrest and adjudication. Thus, as
a supplement to official statistics, re-
searchers rely on self-report studies of
community samples (e.g., high school stu-
200 Delinquency, Trends in
dents), which ask adolescents to describe
their own behaviors and experiences.
These studies indicate that, although
there are differences based on age, gender,
race, and socioeconomic status, the
majority of adolescents participate to
some extent in a range of delinquent
activities. Many of these activities are
relatively minor in nature (e.g., skipping
school), but their persistent expression
may contribute to serious problems (e.g.,
school suspension). Moreover, some
delinquent activities are more serious
(e.g., vandalism) and can be costly to soci-
ety and have lasting consequences for vic-
tims and offenders. Seeking to under-
stand the reasons why adolescents engage
in delinquent behavior, researchers have
identified a number of individual, inter-
personal, and cultural factors that
increase the risk or probability that boys
and girls will engage in delinquency. Sev-
eral factors have also been identified that
are associated with lower levels of delin-
quency among adolescents, such as hav-
ing close relationships to family and
strong commitments to school.
A joint consideration of official statis-
tics and self-report studies reveals that
rates of juvenile delinquency vary consid-
erably by age, gender, race and ethnicity,
and socioeconomic status. As mentioned
previously, the majority of boys and girls
participate in some level of delinquent
behavior during adolescence. For most
individuals, delinquent activity increases
gradually through the early adolescent
years and peaks in middle adolescence
(around age sixteen or seventeen). Thus,
the high school years represent a period
during the life course in which involve-
ment in a range of problem behaviors
(e.g., skipping school, stealing, alcohol
and drug use) is relatively normal. Such
involvement typically decreases dramati-
cally during late adolescence, as young
men and women mature and assume the
responsibilities of family and employ-
ment in young adulthood. For a small
proportion of boys and girls (e.g., approxi-
mately 5 percent of males), criminal and
delinquent behavior begins in early child-
hood and persists throughout adolescence
and into adulthood (Moffitt, 1993).
Although such individuals are few in
number, they account for the majority of
more serious criminal and delinquent
offenses in adolescence.
In addition to these developmental
trends, there are clear gender differences
in rates of juvenile crime and delin-
quency. In general, a higher proportion of
boys participate in a range of delinquent
behaviors compared to girls. Moreover,
the frequency or intensity of boys’
involvement in delinquency typically
exceeds that of girls’ involvement. As
offenses become more serious, these gen-
der differences tend to increase. There
are, however, certain behaviors that girls
appear to engage in more often than boys,
such as cigarette smoking and running
away from home. An important area for
future research is to explain this gender
gap in juvenile crime and delinquency.
There is evidence also that offending
among adolescents varies by race, partic-
ularly for more serious acts of delin-
quency. For example, a higher proportion
of blacks than whites are arrested for
serious violent crimes, such as murder
and assault. However, caution must be
exercised when interpreting results such
as these, for at least two reasons. First,
differences in arrest and adjudication
rates may reflect bias in the juvenile jus-
tice system that works against African
Americans, Hispanics, and other racial
and ethnic minorities. Second, racial and
ethnic differences in delinquency are tied

closely to socioeconomic status. The
highest rates of crime and delinquency
are concentrated in disadvantaged urban
neighborhoods that, for historical and
economic reasons, are populated predom-
inantly by nonwhites. Delinquency has
strong roots in the poverty and disorgan-
ization that characterize these areas.
Regardless of age, gender, race, or
socioeconomic status, delinquency has
negative consequences for society and
individuals. The Office of Juvenile Jus-
tice and Delinquency Prevention
(OJJDP) of the U.S. Department of Jus-
tice estimates that it costs society
approximately $2 million for each boy or
girl that drops out of school due to crime
and delinquency (Snyder and Sickmund,
1999). Of course, the personal costs to
victims of criminal and delinquent acts
are often intangible and cannot be esti-
mated. Moreover, even minor, noncrimi-
nal acts of delinquency can have lasting
negative effects for the boys and girls
who participate in them, and such
effects can limit opportunities for future
constructive outcomes (e.g., stable jobs,
stable families).
The high costs of adolescent delin-
quency have motivated scientific efforts
to understand why boys and girls partici-
pate in such behavior. Although research
has not progressed to the point of uncov-
ering the specific causes of delinquent
behavior, a number of risk factors, as
they are called, that increase the proba-
bility that adolescents will engage in
delinquency have been identified. These
influences include a broad range of
genetic and biological factors, cognitive
and personality factors, interpersonal
factors, and structural (e.g., socioeco-
nomic influences) and cultural (e.g.,
media influences) factors. Neurological
problems (e.g., brain injury) experienced
Delinquency, Trends in 201
early in life, even within the womb, can
place boys and girls at increased risk for
conduct problems and delinquency. Bio-
logically based temperament (e.g., impul-
sivity) and personality characteristics
(e.g., low self-control) also play a role in
delinquent behavior. Peer influences are
also important, as the majority of delin-
quent acts are committed by boys and
girls within the peer context. Addition-
ally, having delinquent friends is one of
the strongest risk factors for involve-
ment in both more frequent and more
serious delinquent behavior. Finally,
broader structural factors such as
poverty are associated with increased
risk for delinquency, and cultural influ-
ences, such as the entertainment indus-
try (e.g., through films that glorify vio-
lence), can play a role in the delinquent
behavior of adolescents.
Researchers also have identified factors
that are associated with less frequent
involvement in delinquent activity. For
example, higher levels of family warmth
and support and higher levels of parental
supervision may reduce the probability
that boys and girls will engage in delin-
quent behavior. Close ties to school and
religious institutions also have been
associated with reduced delinquent con-
duct. As this research further develops,
this information will be used for the
development of effective delinquency
intervention and prevention programs.
W. Alex Mason
Michael Windle
See also Aggression; Alcohol Use, Risk
Factors in; Alcohol Use, Trends in;
Computer Hacking; Conduct Problems;
Conformity; Counseling; Cults; Delin-
quency, Mental Health, and Substance
Abuse Problems; Disorders, Psychologi-
cal and Social; Homeless Youth; Inter-
202 Dental Health
vention Programs for Adolescents; Juve-
nile Crime; Juvenile Justice System;
School Dropouts; Youth Gangs
References and further reading
Elliott, Delbert S., David Huizinga, and
Suzanne S. Ageton. 1985. Explaining
Delinquency and Drug Use. Beverly
Hills, CA: Sage Publications.
Moffitt, Terrie E. 1993. “Adolescence-
Limited and Life-Course Persistent
Antisocial Behavior: A Developmental
Taxonomy.” Psychological Review 100:
674–701.
Rutter, Michael, Henri Giller, and Ann
Hagell. 1998. Antisocial Behavior by
Young People. Cambridge, UK:
Cambridge University Press.
Snyder, Howard N., and Melissa
Sickmund. 1999. Juvenile Offenders
and Victims: 1999 National Report.
Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
Dental Health
Literally and figuratively, the oral
health of the adolescent represents
growth and transition. In adolescence,
the last of the primary or “baby” teeth
are lost, and the permanent teeth com-
plete their eruption into place. In many
cultures, “shed tooth” rituals mark this
meaningful passage from childhood to
young adulthood.
Oral health is fundamental to social
well-being, effective verbal and nonver-
bal communication, nutritional status,
and other life functions. Its importance
to overall health in adolescents, or people
of any age, cannot be overstated. Listed
below are highlighted topics “from the
mouths of teens.”
Promoting Oral Health
In humans of any age, dental disease is
largely preventable. Tooth decay, gum or
periodontal disease, and oral cancer are
all caused, at least in part, by factors that
can be controlled. The special circum-
stances of adolescence, however, can
increase risk for certain oral diseases and
conditions.
Regardless of age or other individual
characteristics, a comprehensive routine
of good home care, including daily brush-
ing with fluoride toothpaste and flossing,
is a strong predictor for oral health. Along
with good oral hygiene, regular visits to a
dental health professional are recom-
mended. Additionally, some teens may
benefit from cavity-preventing sealants or
home fluoride therapies.
Preventing disease and maintaining
good oral health—these are the aims for
today’s teens and tomorrow’s adults.
Tooth Decay
The rate of tooth decay in the United
States has dropped steadily over the past
twenty years, but adolescents remain at
high risk. The cavity-free proportion of
the population drops from 97 percent of
five-year-olds to only 16 percent of sev-
enteen-year-olds. For teens who live in
communities with nonfluoridated drink-
ing water, the risk of tooth decay is even
higher.
What causes cavities? A combination
of less-than-optimal oral hygiene and a
diet high in refined carbohydrates is
largely to blame. Poor oral hygiene
allows plaque, a dynamic mass of normal
oral bacteria and food debris, to accumu-
late. When the bacteria feast on food
debris, highly acidic by-products are
formed. If left on the teeth, these acids
will erode the tooth structure. Eventu-
ally, the tooth may become so damaged
that repair in the form of a restoration, or
filling, is needed. Anyplace that plaque
accumulates—between teeth, around
orthodontic brackets, beneath retainers
or sports mouth guards—is at increased
risk for tooth decay.

Nutritional Risks
Where tooth decay is concerned, not all
foods are created equal. Sweet, sticky, or
sugary carbohydrates—cookies, chips,
and gummy bears, for example—are
among the worst. Acidic by-products
from these foods act more quickly and
are more destructive than those from
other food types. Not only are they poor
nutritional sources, they cause cavities.
What can be done to minimize such
nutritional risks? Cluster consumption
of high-risk snacks with regular meals to
minimize acid production and exposure.
Overhaul between-meal snacks to
include vegetables, fruits, and other
whole foods. If you snack, brush after-
ward or chew sugar-free gum. Even rins-
ing with water can help neutralize the
“acid attack.”
Healthy Gums
Without good oral hygiene, the soft tissues
around the teeth and throughout the
mouth become irritated. When plaque
builds up along the gums, or gingiva, they
become swollen and sensitive. They may
look red or puffy and bleed easily. This
condition is called gingivitis, or inflamma-
tion of the gums, and hormonal changes
during adolescence can aggravate it. Good
home care—thorough brushing and daily
flossing—is the key to great gums.
Six out of every 1,000 teens experi-
ence a rare type of gum disease known
as juvenile periodontitis. Caused by bac-
teria, it affects the supporting bone
around certain teeth, loosening them to
the point where a tooth may be lost.
This disease appears to run in families,
affecting African Americans fifteen to
twenty-two times more than Cau-
casians. Juvenile periodontitis is a seri-
ous oral ailment that should be treated
by a specialist.
Dental Health 203
Orthodontic Care
Teens are acutely sensitive to image and
its effect on acceptance. Although no one
would define orthodontia as a fashion
accessory, misaligned teeth can have sig-
nificant impact on physical, oral, and
emotional health. Orthodontic treatment
is often initiated in pre-teen years to take
advantage of rapid growth.
Unfortunately, bands, wires, brackets,
and other implements of orthodontia
trap dental plaque. If left on the teeth, the
acidic by-products mentioned above will
literally etch the tooth surfaces. The
resulting white decalcification spots are
most obvious when braces are removed.
Their impact on aesthetics mars the out-
come so eagerly anticipated. In short,
scrupulous oral hygiene is essential dur-
ing orthodontic care.
The hardware of orthodontic treatment
can also irritate the soft tissues of the
mouth. Especially after band placement
and adjustments, sore spots can develop.
A dab of wax placed around the offending
bracket will relieve the pressure. The
orthodontist can provide the right type of
wax.
Following removal of braces, it’s impor-
tant to wear a retainer as directed. Teeth
and bone have good “memories” and will
shift without stabilization, so wearing a
retainer is mandatory if you want to keep
that new smile. Brush the retainer on a
daily basis and treat it with care. Leaving
a retainer on the lunch tray at school or in
the locker room is not a good move. And
watch out for the family pet—dogs, in
particular, love to chew retainers. Need-
less to say, after it’s been in the dog’s
mouth, it isn’t going back into yours.
Tobacco
Using tobacco is harmful to health, in
the mouth and beyond. No matter what
204 Dental Health
kind—cigarettes, spit tobacco, cigars—
any form of tobacco is harmful. Because
most adult smokers started as teens or
even younger, avoiding this habit in ado-
lescence decreases the chance of picking
it up later and increases the chance of liv-
ing a healthier life.
Tobacco use is a risk factor for oral can-
cer. Oral cancer kills approximately
8,000 people each year in the United
States, and teens who use tobacco are in
danger of developing it. Aside from this
serious health risk, tobacco use stains the
teeth, dries out the mouth, contributes to
gum disease, and causes bad breath. A
dental professional can help teens kick
the tobacco habit.
Eating Disorders
Like tobacco use, eating disorders such as
anorexia nervosa or bulimia are harmful
behaviors that affect the entire body.
Bulimia, which involves bingeing and
purging, is especially damaging to the
mouth. During purging episodes, highly
acidic fluids from the stomach erode the
gum line and the inside surfaces of the
teeth. The teeth become thin and brittle,
potentially developing cavities as the
harder surface is destroyed and the softer
layer underneath is exposed. In addition,
the tongue, gingiva, and other soft tissues
of the mouth may feel sore and tender.
Brushing after purging or even rinsing
with water helps soothe the mouth and
preserve the teeth.
Dentists or dental hygienists may be
the first to recognize the oral signs of an
eating disorder. They can suggest ways to
minimize the damage to the mouth and
strategies for accessing professional help
for treatment of the disorder.
Habits such as constantly sucking on
hard candies or drinking sweetened soft
drinks may also damage the teeth. Eating
certain foods, especially those with high
sugar or acid content, may cause a distinct
pattern of tooth decay along the gum line.
Canker Sores and Cold Sores
Not everyone gets canker sores or cold
sores, but anyone who does knows how
painful they can be.
Canker sores (also known as recurrent
apthous ulcers) are very common, affect-
ing up to 30 percent of the population.
They typically occur on loose soft tissues
inside the mouth, such as the tongue, or
on the inside surfaces of the lips or
cheeks. The lesions are round with a red
halo, and they may occur individually or
in groups. Canker sores heal within two
weeks. Their exact cause is not known,
but they can be treated with topical anes-
thetics to ease the discomfort.
Cold sores are better understood but no
less aggravating. They are caused by the
herpes simplex virus, which, after initial
infection, lies dormant until some-
thing—sun exposure, a certain type of
food, or stress, for example—triggers an
outbreak. Cold sores tend to occur on or
around the lips, on the gingiva, or on the
roof of the mouth. Active lesions are
infectious, as is contaminated saliva.
Oral herpes can be transmitted to the
genitals through skin contact or oral sex;
alternatively, genital herpes can infect
the mouth. Although the two types of
lesions are usually caused by different
strains of the herpes simplex virus, self-
infection does occur. The resulting
lesions are identical, emerging in clusters
of vesicles that rupture and then heal
over a week’s time or more. Topical
treatment is available, but care should be
taken to choose the proper regimen. As
cold sores and canker sores are not the

same, they need to be treated with differ-
ent medications.
Prevention of Trauma
Sports mouth guards are not just for con-
tact sports. Any activity involving a risk
of trauma to the mouth—skiing, tennis,
kayaking, and gymnastics, to name a
few—should include a mouth guard as
standard equipment.
Although “boil and bite” mouth guard
kits are available over the counter, cus-
tom-made mouth guards are considerably
less bulky and better looking. Because a
mouth guard is useful only if it is in the
mouth, comfort is important. The addi-
tional expense of a dentist-fabricated
mouth guard is well worth the improve-
ment in comfort, appearance, and usage.
Third Molars
In late adolescence, the wisdom teeth or
third molars begin to make their move.
As the last of the permanent teeth to
develop, they are the least likely to actu-
ally fit into the mouth. Many third
molars simply cannot erupt and remain
“impacted,” hidden beneath the gums
and bone. Among those that partially
erupt, irritation and localized infection of
the overlying gum tissue may cause a
painful condition called pericornitis.
Pericornitis may be the first sign of the
presence of wisdom teeth.
Many dentists feel that removal of
third molars is the proper treatment.
Many teens feel that “having wisdom
teeth pulled” is a rite of passage they
could do without. In any case, consulta-
tion with a dentist and/or oral surgeon is
recommended. Questions of why, when,
how, and “will I be awake” can all be
answered by these professionals. Most
teens sail through the procedure, experi-
Depression 205
encing nothing worse than soreness and
puffy cheeks. And it’s worth remember-
ing that this extraction is a onetime deal,
because third molars don’t grow back.
Kerry Maguire
See also Body Image; Health Promotion;
Health Services for Adolescents
References and further reading
Bimstein, Enrique. 1991. “Periodontal
Health in Children and Adolescents.”
Pediatric Clinics of North America 38:
1183–1207.
DeBiase, Christina. 1991. Dental Health
Education: Theory and Practice.
Philadelphia: Lea and Febiger.
Epps, Roselyn P., Marc W. Manley, and
Thomas J. Glynn. 1995. “Tobacco Use
among Adolescents: Strategies for
Prevention.” Substance Abuse 42:
389–401.
Gluck, George M., and Warren M.
Morganstein. 1998. Jong’s Community
Dental Health. St. Louis, MO: Mosby.
Hicks, M. John, and Catherine M. Flaitz.
1993. “Epidemiology of Dental Caries
in the Pediatric and Adolescent
Population: A Review of Past and
Current Trends.” Journal of Clinical
Pediatric Dentistry 18: 43–49.
Laskaris, George. 2000. Color Atlas of
Oral Diseases in Children and
Adolescents. Stuttgart: Thieme.
Shafer, William G., Maynard K. Hine, and
Barnet M. Levy. 1983. Oral Pathology.
Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders.
Depression
Depression is an emotional problem that
can occur in any phase of the life span. It
is identified in terms of certain emo-
tional, cognitive, motivational, and
physical symptoms. Emotional symp-
toms include sadness, anger and irritabil-
ity, feelings of boredom, disinterest or
restlessness, crying, loss of sense of
humor, feeling unloved, and feeling sorry
for oneself. Cognitive symptoms include
206 Depression
Depression is identified in terms of
emotional, cognitive, motivational, and
physical symptoms. (Skjold Photographs)
a negative view of oneself, a view of the
future as hopeless, difficulty concentrat-
ing and making decisions, preoccupation
with death, and a tendency to blame one-
self when things go wrong. Motivational
symptoms include withdrawal from con-
tact with friends and family members
and loss of motivation to achieve at
school. And physical symptoms include
loss of energy and feelings of being tired,
decreased or increased appetite, sleep
problems (being unable to sleep, being
unable to wake up and get out of bed,
sleeping during the day and staying up at
night), increased aches and pains, and
changes in movement (either becoming
very slow or being in a constant state of
motion).
The term depression is used in differ-
ent ways. Sometimes it refers to “symp-
toms”; at other times it refers to “syn-
dromes” or “disorders.” A syndrome is a
group of symptoms occurring together,
and a disorder is diagnosed when a syn-
drome continues over a period of time
and interferes with school, work, or
social relationships. Most teenagers
experience some depressive symptoms
once in a while, and not all depressive
symptoms are experienced by every per-
son who is depressed. Thus, teenagers
who experience one or more symptoms
frequently or who experience many such
symptoms simultaneously should talk to
a parent, guardian, or school counselor
who can assist them in finding a trained
mental health professional. This profes-
sional, in turn, can help to discover the
extent of their symptoms and determine
whether the teens might benefit from
therapy. Ten to 20 percent of adolescents
experience depression that is not likely
to get better on its own. Medications are
sometimes used in the treatment of
depression, but less is known about their
effectiveness for children and adoles-
cents than about their effectiveness for
adults.
Obtaining help for depression can be
very important in preventing additional
problems associated with this condition,
such as school failure, eating disorders,
substance abuse, and even suicide. Some
teens experience one outbreak of depres-
sion in adolescence and never become
depressed again, but others suffer depres-
sive episodes that continue into adult-
hood, along with difficulties in school,
work, friendships, and family relation-
ships. The best advice for all teens is to
seek early help to prevent the develop-

ment of more serious and long-lasting
problems.
The rate of depression among children
is much lower than that among
teenagers. Between the years of late child-
hood and early adolescence, both boys
and girls begin to report symptoms of
depression, which increase in frequency
throughout adolescence. Starting in mid-
dle adolescence, however, girls begin to
report more depressive symptoms than
boys and continue to do so throughout
adulthood. Researchers have sought to
understand why depression becomes
more frequent during adolescence and
why girls report more depression than
boys. Although current findings do not
provide complete answers to these ques-
tions, knowledge has increased. One find-
ing concerns stress. The many changes
that teenagers experience as they move
from childhood to adolescence are
sources of stress and thus may be impli-
cated in depression. Consider the hor-
monal and physical changes that accom-
pany puberty; when these changes occur
in combination with other changes,
stress is likely to escalate. Indeed, for
early adolescents who move from the
protected environment of the elementary
school at the same time that they are
going through puberty, the transition to
middle school can be quite stressful. Mid-
dle school brings with it more difficult
academic work and the need to work
with many teachers rather than the single
teacher who knew them well. Going
through puberty earlier than peers can
add to the stress of early adolescence,
especially for girls. For example, girls
who are physically mature may develop
friendships with older teens who, in turn,
may bring them into situations that the
younger teens are not ready to handle.
And because of society’s emphasis on
Depression 207
being thin, girls may become anxious
about the weight gain that accompanies
puberty and develop negative feelings
about their bodies.
In addition, relationships with parents
often change during adolescence, espe-
cially as teens become more independent.
If parental support and supervision are
taken away too quickly, teens may feel
abandoned or come to believe that they
can do anything they want. And if parents
divorce, remarry, or undergo a big change
in financial status, teens may find the
challenges of adolescence particularly dif-
ficult. Family conflict, economic difficul-
ties, neighborhood violence, and sexual
abuse are just a few of the stressful events
that can increase the risk for depression
among teens. Some researchers suggest
that increased stress, in conjunction with
declining support from caring adults, has
contributed to a rise in depression among
youth.
Some teens may also have a genetic
predisposition toward depression, evi-
denced by a high frequency of depression
among biological relatives. When this
genetic risk interacts with life stress,
depression becomes a likelier outcome.
But the finding that depression runs in
families does not prove that depression is
genetically caused; environmental fac-
tors may figure in, too. For example,
many of the positive and negative coping
strategies that teens rely on to respond to
life’s challenges are learned in the home.
Whether or not these challenges result
in depression can depend on how pre-
pared the teens are to deal with them.
Developing a positive view of them-
selves, talking with and getting help from
parents and other caring adults, learning
how to solve problems and cope with
stress in active and positive ways rather
than blaming themselves or turning to
208 Developmental Assets
drugs and alcohol—all of these coping
skills can help teens deal effectively with
the challenges incurred during the sec-
ond decade of life.
Above all, teens need to know that
there are mental health professionals
who can work with them to develop
these important coping skills so that seri-
ous emotional problems, such as depres-
sion, can be avoided.
Maureen E. Kenny
See also Counseling; Emotions; Loneli-
ness; Psychotherapy; Sadness
References and further reading
Allgood-Merten, Betty, Peter Lewinsohn,
and Hyman Hops. 1990. “Sex
Differences in Adolescent Depression.”
Journal of Abnormal Psychology 99, no.
1: 55–63.
Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne. 1991. “How
Stressful Is the Transition to
Adolescence for Girls?” Pp. 131–149 in
Adolescent Stress: Causes and
Consequences. Edited by M. E. Colten
and S. Gore. New York: Aldine de
Gruyter.
Kovacs, Maria. 1997. “Depressive
Disorder in Childhood: An
Impressionistic Landscape.” Journal of
Child Psychology and Psychiatry 38:
287–298.
Reynolds, William M., and Hugh F.
Johnston, eds. 1994. Handbook of
Depression in Children and
Adolescents. New York: Plenum Press.
Developmental Assets
Why do some adolescents grow up with
ease, while others struggle? Why do some
adolescents get involved in dangerous
activities, while others spend their time
contributing to society? Why do some
adolescents “beat the odds” in difficult
situations, while others get trapped?
Researchers have learned a great deal
about these questions. Factors such as
family dynamics, support from commu-
nity adults, school effectiveness, peer
influence, values clarification, and social
skills have all been identified as con-
tributing to healthy development. How-
ever, these different areas of study are
typically disconnected from each other.
In an effort to draw together many ele-
ments that contribute to healthy develop-
ment among adolescents, Search Institute
developed the framework of developmen-
tal assets (Benson, 1997; Benson et al.,
1998). The forty assets are concrete, posi-
tive experiences and qualities that have a
tremendous influence on young people’s
lives and the choices they make. These
forty assets have roots in adolescent
development research, resiliency research
(which identifies factors that increase
young people’s ability to rebound in the
face of adversity), and prevention research
(Scales and Leffert, 1999).
To understand the importance of devel-
opmental assets and how young people
experience them, Search Institute sur-
veys sixth- to twelfth-grade youth in
communities. Each year, several hundred
communities conduct the survey. Search
Institute periodically compiles results
from many communities into an aggre-
gate data set. The discussion that follows
cites data from 99,462 student surveys
during the 1996–1997 school year. The
sample includes surveys from 213 U.S.
communities in twenty-five states. (Ben-
son et al., 1999).
Eight Categories of Developmental
Assets
The assets are organized into two broad
categories. The first twenty assets,
“external assets,” focus on positive expe-
riences that young people receive from
the people and institutions in their lives.
The remaining twenty assets, “internal
assets,” focus on the internal qualities

that guide choices and create a sense of
centeredness, purpose, and focus. All
forty assets are listed and defined in
Table 1, which also shows the percent-
ages of youth who have each asset, based
on the surveys mentioned above.
In addition to the internal and external
groupings, the forty assets are organized
into eight categories, which offer a help-
ful structure for understanding the scope
of the framework. Here are the eight cat-
egories, along with information from the
research about young people’s experi-
ences of these assets.
Support—Support refers to a range of
ways in which young people experience
love, affirmation, and acceptance. Ideally,
young people experience an abundance of
this kind of support, not only in their
families but also from many people
across many settings, including neigh-
borhoods and schools.
Despite the importance of support in
young people’s lives, these assets are frag-
ile in every community studied. Indeed,
five of the six support assets are experi-
enced by less than half of the youth sur-
veyed. Furthermore, the percentage of
young people reporting that they have
the support assets declines through the
middle and high school years in all cate-
gories except adult relationships (asset 3).
Empowerment—The empowerment
assets relate to the key developmental
need for youth to be valued and feel valu-
able. The empowerment assets highlight
this need, focusing on community per-
ceptions of youth (as reported by youth)
and opportunities for youth to contribute
to society in meaningful ways.
The perception of safety (asset 10) is an
important underlying factor of youth
empowerment. Students who feel safe
are more likely to feel valued and able to
make a difference than students who feel
Developmental Assets 209
afraid at home, at school, or in the neigh-
borhood. It is an ideal that our children
deserve to realize, but one that is too
rarely achieved.
The percentage of youth who experi-
ence two of the four empowerment
assets is quite low. Only 20 percent of
youth surveyed perceive that the adults
in their community value youth (asset 7,
one of the assets least reported by youth),
and only 24 percent report being given
useful roles to play within community
life (asset 8). On the other hand, half of
all youth say they are involved in service
to others, with females being more likely
than males to report this involvement
(asset 9).
Boundaries and Expectations—Bound-
aries and expectations assets highlight
young people’s need for clear and
enforced standards and norms to comple-
ment support and empowerment. They
need to know what kinds of behaviors are
“in bounds” and what kinds are “out of
bounds.” Ideally, young people experi-
ence appropriate boundaries in their fam-
ilies, schools, and neighborhoods (as well
as other settings), receiving a set of con-
sistent messages about acceptable behav-
ior across socializing systems.
High expectations are likewise impor-
tant for young people. High expectations
can challenge young people to excel and
can enhance their sense of being capable.
Adult role models provide another
important source for modeling what
communities deem important. Finally,
although peer pressure is most often
viewed negatively, peers can also play a
positive role in helping shape behavior in
healthy ways.
Although clear and consistent bound-
ary messages are crucial, only a minority
of youth report experiencing such clear
boundary messages in their families,
 TABLE 1 The Forty Developmental Assets

Support External Assets

1. Family support Family life provides high levels of love and support. (64%)

2. Positive family Young person and her parent(s) communicate positively, and young
communication person is willing to seek advice and counsel from parent(s). (26%)
3. Other adult Young person receives support from three or more nonparent adults.
relationships (41%)
4. Caring Young person experiences caring neighbors. (40%)
neighborhood
5. Caring school School provides a caring, encouraging environment. (24%)
climate
6. Parent involvement Parent(s) are actively involved in helping young person succeed in
in schooling school. (29%)

Empowerment
7. Community Young person perceives that adults in the community value youth.
values youth (20%)
8. Youth as resources Young people are given useful roles in the community. (24%)

9. Service to others Young person serves in the community one hour or more per week.
(50%)

10. Safety Young person feels safe at home, at school, and in the neighborhood.
(55%)

Boundaries and Expectations

11. Family boundaries Family has clear rules and consequences and monitors the young
person’s whereabouts. (43%)
12. School boundaries School provides clear rules and consequences. (46%)
13. Neighborhood Neighbors take responsibility for monitoring young people’s
boundaries behavior. (46%)
14. Adult role models Parent(s) and other adults model positive, responsible behavior. (27%)
15. Positive peer Young person’s best friends model responsible behavior. (60%)
influence
16. High expectations Both parent(s) and teachers encourage the young person to do well.
(41%)

Constructive Use of Time

17. Creative activities Young person spends three or more hours per week in lessons or
practice in music, theater, or other arts. (19%)
18. Youth programs Young person spends three or more hours per week in sports, clubs,
or organizations at school and/or in the community. (59%)
19. Religious Young person spends one or more hours per week in activities in a
community religious institution. (64%)
20. Time at home Young person is out with friends “with nothing special to do” two or
fewer nights per week. (50%)
 TABLE 1 continued

Commitment to Learning Internal Assets

21. Achievement Young person is motivated to do well in school. (63%)
motivation
22. School engagement Young person is actively engaged in learning. (64%)
23. Homework Young person reports doing at least one hour of homework every
school day. (45%)
24. Bonding to school Young person cares about his school. (51%)
25. Reading for Young person reads for pleasure three or more hours per week. (24%)
pleasure

Positive Values
26. Caring Young person places high value on helping other people. (43%)
27. Equality and Young person places high value on promoting equality and reducing
social justice hunger and poverty. (45%)
28. Integrity Young person acts on convictions and stands up for her beliefs. (63%)
29. Honesty Young person “tells the truth even when it is not easy.” (63%)
30. Responsibility Young person accepts and takes personal responsibility. (60%)
31. Restraint Young person believes it is important not to be sexually active or to
use alcohol or other drugs. (42%)

Social Competencies
32. Planning and Young person knows how to plan ahead and make choices. (29%)
decision making
33. Interpersonal Young person has empathy, sensitivity, and friendship skills. (43%)
competence
34. Cultural Young person has knowledge of and comfort with people of different
competence cultural/racial/ethnic backgrounds. (35%)
35. Resistance skills Young person can resist negative peer pressure and dangerous situa-
tions. (37%)
36. Peaceful conflict Young person seeks to resolve conflict nonviolently. (44%)
resolution

Positive Identity
37. Personal power Young person feels he has control over “things that happen to me.”
(45%)
38. Self-esteem Young person reports having a high self-esteem. (47%)
39. Sense of purpose Young person reports that “my life has a purpose.” (55%)
40. Positive view of Young person is optimistic about her or his personal future. (70%)
personal future

N = 99,462 sixth- to twelfth-grade youth in public and alternative schools in 213 communities
in twenty-three states during the 1996–1997 school year.
212 Developmental Assets
their schools, and their neighborhoods.
Only one boundaries and expectations
asset (15, positive peer influence) is
reported by most youth. Interestingly,
young people are twice as likely to report
peers being a positive influence (60 per-
cent) as they are to report having positive
adult role models (27 percent, asset 14).
Constructive Use of Time—One of the
prime characteristics of a healthy com-
munity for youth is a rich array of struc-
tured opportunities for children and ado-
lescents. Whether through schools,
community organizations, or religious
institutions, these structured activities
contribute to the development of many
of the assets. They not only help build
young people’s peer relationships and
skills, they also connect youth to princi-
pled, caring adults.
In addition, structured time use can
serve as a constructive alternative to the
idle time now common for youth. Such
idle time, although not always unproduc-
tive or dangerous, increases the probabil-
ity of negative peer influence and overex-
posure to the mass media. The need for
these activities must be balanced with
the need to spend time at home (asset
20), relaxing, reconnecting, reflecting,
and participating in family life.
When we examine young people’s
experiences of these assets, we find that
three of the four constructive use of time
assets are experienced by half or more of
the youth surveyed. However, creative
activities (asset 17) is the least reported
of all the forty assets.
Commitment to Learning—The first
category of internal assets, commitment
to learning, is essential to young people in
today’s changing world. Developing intel-
lectual curiosity and the skills to gain new
knowledge and learn from experience is
an important task for members of a work-
force that must adapt to rapid change.
A commitment to learning can be nur-
tured in all young people, not just in those
who excel academically. The commit-
ment to learning assets measure several
dimensions of a young person’s engage-
ment with learning in school. In addition,
they touch on informal, self-motivated
learning and discovery through reading
for pleasure (asset 25).
Three of the five commitment to learn-
ing assets are experienced by at least half
of the youth surveyed. However, reading
for pleasure (asset 25) is among the least
reported of the forty assets. It is also
important to note that females are much
more likely than males (at least a 10 per-
cent difference) to report all of the com-
mitment to learning assets.
Positive Values—Positive values are
important internal compasses that guide
young people’s priorities and choices.
Although we seek to nurture many posi-
tive values in our young people, the asset
framework focuses on six widely held
values that help prevent high-risk behav-
iors and promote caring for others.
The first two positive values assets are
prosocial values that involve caring for
others and the world. For the well-being
of any society, young people need to learn
how and when to suspend personal gain
for the welfare of others. The four
remaining positive values assets focus
more on personal character. These values
provide a basis for wise decision making.
Almost two-thirds of young people see
themselves as having three of the posi-
tive values related to personal character:
integrity (asset 28), honesty (asset 29),
and responsibility (asset 30). Less com-
mon are the values of caring for others
and the world. Valuing restraint (asset 31)

is also reported by less than half of the
youth surveyed (42 percent).
Social Competencies—The social com-
petencies assets reflect the important
personal skills young people need to
negotiate through the maze of choices
and challenges they face. Two of the
social competencies assets (32, planning
and decision making, and 35, resistance
skills) emphasize making personal
choices. The other three (33, interper-
sonal competence; 34, cultural compe-
tence; and 36, peaceful conflict resolu-
tion) focus on healthy interpersonal
relationships. These skills also lay a
foundation for independence and compe-
tence as young adults. They give young
people the tools they need to live out
their values, beliefs, and priorities.
Each of the five social competencies is
experienced by fewer than half of the
young people surveyed. In addition, there
is a considerable gap between the reports
of females and males in the social com-
petencies, with females being more
likely to report all of the social compe-
tencies assets.
Positive Identity—The positive iden-
tity assets focus on young people’s view
of themselves. Without these assets,
young people risk feeling powerless and
without a sense of initiative and purpose.
These assets may be particularly impor-
tant for young people whom the domi-
nant culture identifies as different,
whether that difference has to do with
gender, skin color, spiritual beliefs, sex-
ual orientation, size and shape, or any
number of other possibilities.
Two of the positive identity assets
(asset 39, sense of purpose, and asset 40,
positive view of personal future) are
reported by more than half of the youth
surveyed. A positive view of one’s per-
Developmental Assets 213
sonal future has the highest percentage of
any of the forty assets. Unlike other cat-
egories of assets, reports of the positive
identity assets remain relatively stable or
actually increase from sixth to twelfth
grade. Personal power (asset 37) climbs
by 16 percentage points across the grade
span. One might expect reports of the
positive identity assets to increase over
the course of adolescence, because ado-
lescence is a time in which a great deal of
this development takes place.
The Power of Developmental Assets
Developmental assets are powerful pre-
dictors of behavior across all cultural and
socioeconomic groups of youth. They
serve as protective factors, inhibiting, for
example, alcohol and other drug abuse,
violence, sexual intercourse, and school
failure. They serve as enhancement fac-
tors, promoting positive developmental
outcomes. The more of the assets a
young person has, the lower the involve-
ment in high-risk behavior (protection)
and the greater the positive outcomes
(enhancement).
The Protective Power—The develop-
mental assets inoculate youth against a
wide range of risk-taking behaviors, rang-
ing from substance use to violence and
school failure. As assets rise in number,
all forms of risk taking decrease (Leffert
et al., 1998). Table 2 shows the percent-
age of sixth- to twelfth-grade students
who engage in several different patterns
of high-risk behavior as a function of how
many assets they have. In every case,
each increase in the level of assets is tied
to a substantial decrease in each form of
behavior.
The Enhancing Power—Healthy devel-
opment should not be defined only on the
basis of reducing health-compromising
214 Developmental Assets

TABLE 2 Youth Who Report Engagement in Each High-Risk

Behavior Pattern, by Levels of Developmental Assets

Youth Youth Youth Youth

with with with with
0–10 11–20 21–30 31–40
High-Risk Behavior Pattern and Definition Assets Assets Assets Assets

Antisocial Behavior—Young person has been 52% 23% 7% 1%

involved in three or more incidents of shoplifting,
trouble with police, or vandalism in the past
12 months.
Depression and/or Attempted Suicide—Young person 40% 25% 13% 4%
reports being frequently depressed and/or having
attempted suicide.
Driving and Alcohol—Young person has driven after 42% 24% 10% 4%
drinking or ridden with a drinking driver three or
more times in the past 12 months.
Gambling—Young person has gambled three or more 34% 23% 13% 6%
times in the past 12 months.
Illicit Drug Use—Young person has used illicit drugs 42% 19% 6% 1%
three or more times in the past 12 months.
Problem Alcohol Use—Young person has used alcohol 53% 30% 11% 3%
three or more times in the past 30 days or has gotten
drunk once or more in the past two weeks.
School Problems—Young person has skipped school 43% 19% 7% 2%
two or more days in the past four weeks and/or has
below a C average.
Sexual Intercourse—Young person has had sexual 33% 21% 10% 3%
intercourse three or more times in her or his lifetime.
Tobacco Use—Young person smokes one or more 45% 21% 6% 1%
cigarettes every day or frequently chews tobacco.
Violence—Young person has engaged in three or 61% 35% 16% 6%
more acts of fighting, hitting, injuring a person,
carrying or using a weapon, or threatening physical
harm in the past 12 months.

N = 99,462 sixth- to twelfth-grade youth in public and alternative schools in 213 communities
in twenty-three states during the 1996–1997 school year.

behavior. Healthy development also in- increase dramatically as the number of

cludes the proactive embrace of life-
enhancing attitudes and behaviors.
Developmental assets also promote
positive actions and dispositions, which
we call indicators of thriving (Scales, Ben-
son, and Leffert, 2000). Positive choices
assets increase. This is true in many dif-
ferent areas of thriving, including school
success, the affirmation of diversity,
choosing to show care and concern for
friends or neighbors, gravitating to leader-
ship, and taking care of one’s health
 Developmental Assets 215

TABLE 3 Youth Who Report Experiencing Each Thriving

Indicator, by Levels of Developmental Assets

Youth Youth Youth Youth

with with with with
0-10 11-20 21-30 31-40
Thriving Indicator and Definition Assets Assets Assets Assets

Succeeding in School—Young person reports getting 7% 19% 35% 53%

mostly A’s on her or his report card.
Valuing Diversity—Young person places high 34% 53% 69% 87%
importance on getting to know people of other
racial and ethnic groups.
Helping Others—Young person helps friends or 69% 83% 91% 97%
neighbors one or more hours per week.
Overcoming Adversity—Youth report that they 57% 69% 79% 86%
do not give up when things get difficult.
Delaying Gratification—Young person saves
money for something special rather than spending 27% 42% 56% 72%
it all right away.
Resisting Danger—Young person avoids doing 6% 15% 29% 43%
things that are dangerous.
Exhibiting Leadership—Young person has been a 48% 67% 78% 87%
leader of a group or organization in the past 12 months.
Maintaining Good Health—Young person pays 25% 46% 69% 88%
attention to healthy nutrition and exercise.

N = 99,462 sixth- to twelfth-grade youth in public and alternative schools in 213 communities
in twenty-three states during the 1996–1997 school year.

through good nutrition or exercise, as across communities and in different sub-

shown in Table 3.
Gaps in Experiences of
Developmental Assets
Thus, the developmental assets are pow-
erful influences in young people’s lives.
Children and adolescents are best able to
navigate through the challenges of grow-
ing up when they are armed with these
assets. The more of these assets young
people experience, the better.
Yet too few youth experience enough
of these assets. Young people report hav-
ing, on average, eighteen of the forty
assets. Although we see some variation
groups of youth, the variation does not
detract from the overall pattern: The vast
majority of youth—regardless of age, gen-
der, race/ethnicity, family composition,
family income level, and community
size—experience far too few of these
forty developmental assets.
This portrait of developmental assets
is unsettling. We cannot be sure what
happens in the long term to the high per-
centage of American youth who do not
currently possess asset strength. Calcu-
lated at a personal level, the effects may
be somewhat imperceptible. But calcu-
lated at a national level, summing across
216 Developmental Assets
millions of youth, the cumulative effects
on society will be substantial.
Rebuilding the Foundation
In addition to providing a benchmark for
understanding the challenges facing
today’s adolescents, the framework of
developmental assets offers a vision to
guide communities in setting priorities
and taking action. The asset-building
vision reaches beyond programs and
schools to focus energy on mobilizing
and equipping individual residents and
all community sectors to reclaim their
responsibility for young people. Search
Institute has identified seven goals for
transforming communities into places
that are rich with asset building (Benson,
1997).
1. A Shared Vision—A shared vision
for asset building in the community is a
powerful tool for communicating the gap
between the real and the ideal among our
youth and for motivating all residents
and systems to redirect their energy
toward fulfilling the vision. The frame-
work and language of developmental
assets make possible broad public sup-
port for and positive engagement in the
lives of children and youth throughout
the community.
2. Widely Shared Norms and Beliefs—
Activating a community’s asset-building
power requires the broad acceptance of
the belief that all residents have capacity
and the responsibility to promote assets.
These beliefs need to become self-percep-
tions internalized by all residents and
normative expectations that residents
have for each other.
3. Connections across Socializing Sys-
tems—Currently, socializing systems in
communities work in isolation. Building
partnership across neighborhood, family,
schools, religious institutions, youth
organizations, and businesses requires
creating mechanisms of dialogue and
consensus building. The goal of connec-
tion building is to increase consistency in
asset building across socializing systems.
4. Spontaneous Acts of Asset Build-
ing—Perhaps more than half of a com-
munity’s asset-building potential resides
in daily relationships—some fleeting,
some sustained—between young people
and adults, and between children and
adolescents. Some of these acts are sim-
ple gestures, some are conversations,
some are moments of recognition and
value.
5. Unleashing the Power of Organiza-
tions and Systems—In the same way that
individuals must be moved to build
assets, a parallel goal is to stimulate and
empower organizations and institutions
to become intentional about asset build-
ing. Included here are the primary social-
izing systems (families, schools, religious
institutions, neighborhoods, youth
organizations) that have regular, ongoing,
and direct contact with young people. In
addition, the secondary systems (such as
businesses, healthcare providers, founda-
tions, justice systems, the media, govern-
ment) play an important role, as their
actions and policies undergird—or inter-
fere with—creating a caring community
for young people.
6. Identifying and Expanding the
Reach of Formal Asset-Building Activi-
ties—Though asset building is largely a
relational process, it also needs a pro-
grammatic face. Programs not only offer
structured opportunities for intentional,
focused asset building, but they give
opportunities to enhance asset-building
skills and strengthen relationships. Com-
munities must identify the positive activ-
ities, make them known and available,
equip them and strengthen their effec-

tiveness, and work diligently to expand
their reach.
7. Introduce New Initiatives—What
else happens in an asset-building com-
munity? New initiatives should be
planned and implemented, guided by an
audit of what is and is not available. An
audit should address questions about
available safe and enriching places for
young people to spend time, opportuni-
ties for intergenerational contact and
relationship, opportunities to lead and
serve, adequate support for families, and
activities that strengthen and enrich spe-
cific cultural traditions.
Peter L. Benson
See also Cognitive Development; Devel-
opmental Challenges; Self-Esteem;
Temperament
References and further reading
Benson, Peter L. 1997. All Kids Are Our
Kids: What Communities Must Do to
Raise Caring and Responsible Children
and Adolescents. San Francisco: Jossey-
Bass.
Benson, Peter L., Nancy Leffert, Peter C.
Scales, and Dale A. Blyth. 1998.
“Beyond the ‘Village’ Rhetoric:
Creating Healthy Communities for
Children and Adolescents.” Applied
Developmental Science 2: 138–159.
Benson, Peter L., Peter C. Scales, Nancy
Leffert, and Eugene C. Roehlkepartain.
1999. A Fragile Foundation: The State
of Developmental Assets among
American Youth. Minneapolis, MN:
Search Institute.
Leffert, Nancy, Peter L. Benson, Peter C.
Scales, Anu R. Sharma, Dy R. Drake,
and Dale A. Blyth. 1998. “Develop-
mental Assets: Measurement and
Prediction of Risk Behaviors among
Adolescents.” Applied Developmental
Science 2: 209–230.
Scales, Peter C., and Nancy Leffert. 1999.
Developmental Assets: A Synthesis of
the Scientific Research on Adolescent
Development. Minneapolis, MN:
Search Institute.
Developmental Challenges 217
Scales, Peter C., Peter L. Benson, and Nancy
Leffert. 2000. “Contribution of
Developmental Assets to the Prediction
of Thriving among Adolescents.” Applied
Developmental Science 4: 27–46.
Developmental Challenges
At the beginning of the second decade of
life, internal and external bodily changes,
cognitive and emotional changes, and
relationship changes begin to occur. At
this point, a person can be said to be an
adolescent. It is with these three sets of
changes—biological, psychological, and
social—that the person must deal if he or
she is to move adaptively through the
period of adolescence. In fact, dealing
with these changes constitutes the major
developmental challenge of this period of
life.
Biology
Adolescence is certainly a matter of biol-
ogy: Teenagers must cope with both
changing physical appearance, such as
new bodily characteristics, and changing
physiological functions, such as the
beginning of the menstrual cycle or the
first ejaculation. Indeed, when they look
in the mirror, they see themselves differ-
ently: Hair is growing in places where it
has not grown before, the complexion is
changing, and the body is taking on a dif-
ferent shape. Moreover, new feelings,
new “stirrings,” are emanating from the
body, and the teens begin to wonder
what all this means and what they will
become.
These biological changes must be
understood and accepted as part of the
self if adolescents are to avoid becoming
alienated or even frightened and confused
by what is happening to them. They
must come to accept these changes as
part of who they are now and what they
The person must deal with three sets of changes—biological, psychological, and social—if he
or she is to move adaptively through adolescence. (Shirley Zeiberg)

may become. For example: “I am a per-
son who has breasts, who can become
pregnant, who can be a mother.” In short,
these biological changes must be coped
with—understood—if an adaptive sense
of self is to emerge.
Psychology
Interrelated with the biological changes
just noted are psychological changes
that involve thinking, feeling, and self-
definition (identity), and these arise
because adolescence is also a matter of
psychology. New characteristics of cog-
nition and emotion arise during this
period: Teenagers can now think in
terms of abstractions and hypotheticals,
and they begin to experience feelings
relating to genital sexuality. These new
psychological characteristics must
themselves be coped with. Indeed, ado-
lescents need to recognize abstractions
and hypotheses as different from reality
if they are to interact adaptively in the
world, and they must find socially
appropriate ways to deal with their sex-
uality if they are to avoid problems of
health and adjustment.
It is, most centrally, the development
of new cognitive abilities that allows
adolescents to understand their current
physical and physiological characteris-
tics and to contemplate what these char-
acteristics are likely to mean for them as
individuals. For example: “My breasts
probably won’t grow much more, but I’m
sure my complexion will clear up. I’ll be
pretty. And I think I’ll be able to attract a
nice-looking guy someday.”
Put another way, adolescents’ new
thought capabilities allow them to know
who they are, given their changing char-
acteristics as individuals; allow them to
guess who they might become; and allow
Developmental Challenges 219
them to plan what they may do with
their new feelings.
The main demand imposed by the psy-
chological changes of adolescence is to
form a revised sense of self—a new self-
definition. It is this self-definition that,
in recognition of who adolescents under-
stand themselves to be and plan to
become, allows them to choose where
they want to end up in life. For example:
“I’m too skinny and small to play in
team sports. Besides, I like reading and
writing more than athletics. If I work
hard in school, I think I can become a
teacher.”
Society and Culture
The psychological changes associated
with adolescence blend inextricably with
certain social changes. Indeed, adoles-
cence is also a time in which individuals
learn about the range of activities and
roles available in their social world and
come to understand their value. Here,
the developmental task is a matter of
understanding who one is physically and
psychologically in order to find the right
role, the correct niche, in one’s society.
This developmental task—finding one’s
social role—is crucial to adaptive (i.e.,
healthy, positive, and successful) func-
tioning. It is one’s social role that gives
meaning to life, and it is one’s responsible
and successful performance of this role
that will elicit from society the protec-
tions, rights, and privileges that safeguard
one as a person and allow for continued
healthy functioning.
Indeed, achievement of a social role
that is suitable to adolescents as individ-
uals as well as helpful to society will be
adaptive both for the teens themselves
and their social lives. Thus, there is—ide-
ally—a convergence among the three
220 Diabetes
developmental challenges of adoles-
cence, one that allows adolescents to best
integrate their changing selves with their
social lives.
Richard M. Lerner
See also Conduct Problems; Dyslexia;
Learning Disabilities
References and further reading
Demos, David. 1986. Past, Present, and
Personal. New York: Oxford University
Press.
Lerner, Richard M. In press. Adolescence:
Development, Diversity, Context, and
Application. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice-Hall.
Lerner, Richard M., and Nancy Galambos.
1998. “Adolescent Development:
Challenges and Opportunities for
Research, Programs, and Policies.” Pp.
413–446 in Annual Review of
Psychology, Vol. 49. Edited by J. T.
Spence. Palo Alto, CA: Annual
Reviews.
Petersen, Anne C. 1988. “Adolescent
Development.” Pp. 583–607 in Annual
Review of Psychology, Vol. 39. Edited
by R. M. Rosenzweig. Palo Alto, CA:
Annual Reviews.
Diabetes
Since the beginning of this century, the
spectrum of somatic illnesses in the pop-
ulation has changed. Those groups of ill-
nesses that formerly predominated—
infectious diseases and deficiencies such
as malnutrition—have lost much of their
significance; today, it is the chronic ill-
nesses that hold sway. Juvenile diabetes or
Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus
(IDDM) is the most common metabolic
disease of adolescence. The National
Health Interview Survey on a representa-
tive sample of the American population
revealed a prevalence of 150 cases in
100,000 children and adolescents between
the ages of ten and seventeen in 1995.
Diabetes is characterized by a gradual
beginning and a progressive, possibly life-
shortening course, which poses no severe
impairments for the affected adolescent.
After a more labile initial phase, most
patients of diabetes show a relatively sta-
ble course. The manifestation of juvenile
diabetes ensues more rapidly, unlike the
adult form of diabetes, and may occur
within several weeks. The typical course
displays a series of distinct phases. With
appropriate therapy, an initial remission
is achieved and the need for insulin
decreases. A second phase of relative
metabolic stability follows, which turns
into a phase of full diabetes after the
exhaustion of the body’s own production
of insulin. The need for insulin increases
again during puberty (“labile pubertal
phase”) and adjustment becomes diffi-
cult. As puberty draws to a close, a con-
dition of relative metabolic stability
gradually emerges, with a constant but
high need for insulin (“postpubertal sta-
bilization phase”).
Complications of diabetes are the dia-
betic coma, a direct consequence of an
insulin deficit; further delays in growth
due to the chronic lack of insulin; and,
finally, long-term damage that chiefly
affects the eyes and kidneys (such as
retinopathy and nephropathy). The devel-
opment of this long-term damage is more
closely associated with the level of meta-
bolic control than with illness duration.
The frequency and severity of vascular
changes are disproportionately smaller in
well-adjusted patients than in patients
with poor or fluctuating metabolic con-
trol. Medical adaptation can be clearly
ascertained through metabolic control
(HbA1 and HbA1c-values), and the quality
of metabolic control is directly related to
short- and long-term complications.

Juvenile diabetes or Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (IDDM) is the most common
metabolic disease of adolescence. (Roger Ressmeyer/Corbis)
HbA1 values greater than 9 are associated
with a rapid rise to 30 percent in the risk
of long-term damage.
The therapeutic demands on patients
and their parents are complex, involving
the injection of insulin, monitoring glu-
cose levels in the blood and urine, and
attending to dietary regulations on a
daily basis. Treatment focuses on the
necessary insulin substitutions, associ-
ated diet, and physical exercise. These
three factors must be sensibly combined
and supported by metabolic control.
Obviously, diabetes therapy can only be
successful if both the adolescent and his
or her parents understand the treatment.
Accordingly, while adolescents must be
intensively and adequately treated med-
Diabetes 221
ically, the quality of the doctor-patient
relationship will also decisively influ-
ence their motivation to follow the doc-
tor’s advice. The relationship between
doctor and patient is thus recognized as
essential for compliance and dealing with
the illness.
Sensible medical treatment should not
focus exclusively on sugar levels; it must
take the patient’s entire psychosocial situ-
ation into consideration. In general, theo-
retical knowledge and skills in practical
self-control increase with the level of cog-
nitive development. From the age of about
nine years onward, most children with
diabetes are able to inject the necessary
insulin by themselves, while reliable urine
tests are first observed at about twelve
222 Diabetes
years. Adequate cognitive insight repre-
sents a necessary but not sufficient condi-
tion for successful coping and—espe-
cially—compliance. Very little attention
has been paid to developmental factors
that can impair the understanding of the
diagnosis or occurrence of the illness.
Willingness to accept medical offers is
often low in adolescents not only with dia-
betes but also with other chronic illnesses.
A good metabolic control continually
demands very much of the adolescent;
the problematic metabolism despite pre-
cise obedience to doctor’s orders in
puberty may make all the initiatives look
pointless. Compliance is further dimin-
ished by the low perceived severity of the
illness, the low perceived benefit of pre-
ventative or curative behaviors, and the
considerable barriers that stand in the
way of health-related activities such as
insulin injections and diet. These barriers
are particularly large when medical pro-
cedures hamper age-typical behaviors
with the peer group. This is especially a
problem in adolescence when the peer
group’s eating and drinking patterns,
mobility, and risk-taking behavior pre-
sent significant temptations for the ill
adolescent. Diabetic adolescents fre-
quently withdraw socially from healthy
peers and perceive themselves as less
attractive in the eyes of healthy romantic
partners. They have to solve the dilemma
between adaptation to the illness and
overall developmental progression, some-
times at the cost of deterioration of meta-
bolic control. Some studies revealed that
diabetic adolescents share the same
developmental goals and that their pro-
gression in diverse tasks across adoles-
cence is impressive, particularly with
respect to developing professional compe-
tence. There are, however, also indica-
tions of a delay in tasks relating to close
relationships, suggesting that diabetic
adolescents show lower levels of inti-
macy and reciprocity in relationships
with close friends and romantic partners,
and take up romantic relationships later.
Diagnosis and management of the ill-
ness also present major long-term stress-
ors for the parents. Although some fami-
lies have the capacity to adjust to the
illness by exploring new behaviors, other
families are incapable of devising new
strategies. They continue along familiar
paths and apply earlier methods to try to
meet the adolescent’s needs in the new
situation. One parent might devote him-
self or herself to the ill adolescent totally,
thereby withdrawing from the other
members of the family, a behavior seen
most commonly in mothers of diabetic
adolescents. In this respect, it is impor-
tant to clarify the father’s role in the fam-
ily’s coping, and whether the relationship
between the ill adolescent and his or her
siblings is affected. Open and concealed
conflicts could arise in the family, and
these may undermine treatment and
impair the adolescent’s adjustment. A
fundamental question is how the chronic-
ity of the stressors contributes to dysfunc-
tional behaviors in the family. The stress
of an illness could, in itself, possibly be
coped with well, but its chronicity can
lead to rigidity or a breakdown of coping
even in a family that initially functioned
well. This is evidenced in the highly
structured family climate in most fami-
lies of adolescents with diabetes, which is
independent of illness duration, gender,
age, and level of metabolic control. This
suggests a developmentally inhibitive
effect on all afflicted adolescents.
Inge Seiffge-Krenke

See also Chronic Illnesses in Adolescence;
Health Promotion; Health Services for
Adolescents
References and further reading
Ahmed, Paul I., and Nancy Ahmed., eds.
1985. Coping with Juvenile Diabetes.
Springfield, IL: Thomas.
National Adolescent Health Survey. 1989.
A Report on the Health of America’s
Youth. Oakland, CA: Third Party.
Sayer, Aline G., Stuart T. Hauser, Alan
M. Jacobson, John B. Willett, and
Charlotte F. Cole. 1995.
“Developmental Influences on
Adolescent Health.” Pp. 22–51 in
Adolescent Health Problems:
Behavioral Perspectives. Advances in
Pediatric Psychology. Edited by J. L.
Wallander and L. J. Siegel. New York:
Guilford Press.
Seiffge-Krenke, Inge. 2001. Diabetic
Adolescents and Their Families: Stress,
Coping, and Adaptation. New York:
Cambridge University Press.
Discipline
Because a major component of parenting
is encouraging children to conform to
external standards of behavior, discipline
plays a central role in parent-child rela-
tionships. On the other hand, because
adolescence is marked by a sharp
increase in the extent to which teenagers
must act appropriately in the absence of
direct supervision, a major challenge is to
move teens from relying on external dis-
cipline imposed by the parent to fostering
the development of internal discipline.
Indeed, rapid changes in the developmen-
tal needs of adolescents around the time
of puberty require adjustment of previ-
ously occurring patterns of discipline.
For example, parents need to recognize
adolescents’ growing need to act more
autonomously, their desire for increased
responsibility, and their greater ability to
understand the reasoning behind parental
behavioral demands (Holmbeck, Paikoff,
Discipline 223
and Brooks-Gunn, 1995). Over the course
of adolescence, the move from externally
imposed to internal discipline results in a
gradual shift to a more symmetrical
power arrangement (Fuligni and Eccles,
1993). Because parents expect their now
physically mature children to act in a
socially mature manner, the disparity
between parent and adolescent expecta-
tions may be especially great (Collins,
1990) and the shift from external to inter-
nal discipline correspondingly problem-
atic, resulting in heightened conflict
between parent and child.
The word discipline connotes the
means by which natural or intrinsically
motivated behaviors are consciously
replaced by behaviors that are more
socially or functionally desirable. Two
key characteristics of discipline are (1)
that discipline changes behavior from its
natural course and (2) that the change is
evoked by conscious processes. Consider,
for example, a situation in which it might
be necessary to encourage an adolescent
to stop playing a video game and to read a
class assignment. Discipline would be
involved if playing the video game is a
desired behavior and reading the assign-
ment is less desirable. But if the adoles-
cent reads the assignment for enjoyment
(i.e., for the love of knowledge), discipline
is not involved because behavior has not
been altered from its natural course. Sim-
ilarly, if the parent begins to read inter-
esting sections of the assignment out
loud and the adolescent leaves the video
game to join the parent in reading, disci-
pline is not involved because the change
in behavior was motivated by an uncon-
scious increase in the desirability of read-
ing the assignment.
In order for parents to engage in effec-
tive discipline, several criteria must be
224 Discipline
High, consistent levels of parental discipline are associated with decreased adolescent
involvement in problem behaviors and better performance in school. (Jennie Woodcock;
Reflections Photolibrary/Corbis)
met: (1) Their standards for adolescent
behavior must be different from those of
the child, (2) the parents must clearly
communicate their standards for desired
behaviors, (3) the parents must monitor
compliance to their standards, and (4)
the parents must react differentially to
compliance and noncompliance by re-
warding conformity and/or punishing
noncompliance. Parenting style varies
according to how parents approach
issues of discipline or socialization
(Baumrind, 1991):
• Uninvolved parents make few
attempts to discipline their adoles-
cents or communicate standards,
exhibit low levels of parental moni-
toring, and are inconsistent in their
use of punishments and rewards.
• Authoritarian parents are highly
oriented toward discipline and
conformity, and overextend into
the personal domain the “conven-
tional” domain that both parents
and adolescents agree parents have
the right to set standards for
(Smetana, 1995). They clearly com-
municate both their standards and
the consequences of noncompli-
ance to their children, often mak-
ing use of punitive discipline.
Authoritarian parents use rela-
tively high levels of behavioral
control to establish discipline, but
they also make use of psychologi-

cal control, employing guilt induc-
tion, withdrawal of love, and
shaming to induce compliance
(Barber, 1996). Conversely, these
parents make little use of explana-
tion. On the basis of their overt
authority, they expect adolescents
to conform to their standards. And
because of this power-assertive dis-
ciplinary style, they may have dif-
ficulty monitoring the behavior of
their adolescents as the latter
begin to spend less and less time
under the direct supervision of
adults, and the parents themselves
become more dependent upon ado-
lescent disclosure (Darling, Cum-
sille, and Dowdy, 1998). This may
be especially true for authoritar-
ian-directive parents, who are
highly intrusive.
• Indulgent, or permissive, parents
make few disciplinary demands for
conformity to social or parental
standards, overextending the “per-
sonal” domain in which both par-
ents and adolescents agree that the
adolescent should be solely respon-
sible for his or her own decisions
(Smetana, 1995). Indulgent parents
are warm and communicate
clearly to their child, but they also
rely heavily on the internal disci-
pline of the adolescent for compli-
ance, avoid confrontation, are non-
contingent in their use of rewards,
and inconsistent in sanctioning
violations of standards. Two types
of indulgent parents can be distin-
guished: democratic parents, who
are conscientious, communicate
high standards, and successfully
monitor compliance, and nondi-
rective parents, who are warm but
provide little external discipline.
Discipline 225
• Authoritative parents are effective
in all four areas necessary for effec-
tive discipline: (1) They clearly
communicate high standards and
expectations for conformity. (2)
Their use of explanations, willing-
ness to compromise, and encour-
agement of discussion facilitates
monitoring, communication, and
the development of adolescent
self-discipline in the context of
parental regulation. (3) Though
consistent in punishing inappropri-
ate behavior, they focus on sup-
portive rather than punitive disci-
pline and make effective use of
rewards. (4) Their use of high
behavioral control but low psycho-
logical control allows adolescents
to develop autonomy and self-dis-
cipline within a safe context of
clear parental authority.
High, consistent levels of parental disci-
pline are associated with decreased adoles-
cent involvement in problem behaviors
and better performance in school (Baum-
rind, 1991). However, the context of disci-
pline is critical. Power assertion, extreme
punishment, and lack of follow-through (a
pattern called “coercive” parenting) are
associated with adolescent psychopathol-
ogy and high rates of problem behaviors.
Whereas punishment tends to inhibit neg-
ative behavior in children without adjust-
ment difficulties, it increases negative be-
haviors in antisocial children (Patterson,
1982; Holmbeck, Paikoff, and Brooks-
Gunn, 1995). One reason that authorita-
tive parents may be successful in main-
taining external discipline and inculcating
internal discipline in their adolescents is
that they combine high, consistent levels
of discipline with discussion that legiti-
mates and validates their authority. By
226 Disorders, Psychological and Social
contrast, firm control in the absence of
legitimacy and compromise can under-
mine children’s feelings of self-reliance
and intrinsic motivation, thereby disrupt-
ing development of the internal discipline
that is the ultimate goal of socialization
(Holmbeck, Paikoff, and Brooks-Gunn,
1995).
Nancy Darling
See also Parent-Adolescent Relations;
Parental Monitoring; Parenting Styles;
Physical Abuse
References and further reading
Barber, Brian K. 1996. “Parental
Psychological Control: Revisiting a
Neglected Construct.” Child
Development, 67, no. 6: 3296–3319.
Baumrind, Diana. 1991. “The Influence of
Parenting Style on Adolescent
Competence and Substance Use.”
Journal of Early Adolescence 11, no. 1:
56–95.
Collins, W. Andrew. 1990. “Parent-Child
Relationships in the Transition to
Adolescence: Continuity and Change in
Interaction, Affect, and Cognition.” Pp.
85–106 in Advances in Adolescent
Development: From Childhood to
Adolescence: A Transitional Period?
Vol. 2. Edited by R. Montemayor, G.
Adams, and T. Gullotta. Beverly Hills,
CA: Sage.
Darling, Nancy, Patricio E. Cumsille, and
Bonnie Dowdy. 1998. “Parenting Style,
Legitimacy of Parental Authority, and
Adolescents’ Willingness to Share
Information with Their Parents: Why
Do Adolescents Lie?” Paper presented
at the June 1998 meeting of the
International Society for the Study of
Personal Relationships, Saratoga, NY.
Fuligni, Andrew U., and Jacquelynne S.
Eccles. 1993. “Perceived Parent-Child
Relationships and Early Adolescents’
Orientation toward Peers.”
Developmental Psychology 29:
622–632.
Holmbeck, Grayson N., Roberta L.
Paikoff, and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn. 1995.
“Parenting Adolescents.” Pp. 91–118 in
Handbook of Parenting. Vol. 1,
Children and Parenting. Edited by
Marcus H. Bornstein. Mahwah, NJ:
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Patterson, Gerald R. 1982. Coercive
Family Processes. Eugene, OR: Castalia.
Smetana, Judith G. 1995. “Parenting
Styles and Conceptions of Parental
Authority during Adolescence.” Child
Development 66: 299–316.
Disorders, Psychological and Social
Psychological and social disorders are
often a consequence of deviation from
the typical development pattern. Many of
these disorders begin earlier than adoles-
cence but become more apparent or more
problematic during the teen years. The
deviation may have biological causes; for
example, some mood disorders have been
linked to chemical imbalances in the
brain. Alternatively, it may surface as a
result of environmental/social causes; for
example, family dysfunction can produce
unusually high levels of stress in some
teenagers. Understanding the vulnerabil-
ity of teenagers to psychological or social
disorders is the first step in helping to
prevent and treat them. Among adoles-
cents, such difficulties can have long-
term implications as they may impact all
aspects of functioning. Some difficulties
are easier to diagnose and treat than oth-
ers, but the key is getting help.
Stress and Coping
When considering psychological and
social disorders in teenagers, we need to
understand a little bit about stress and
coping. Stress can be defined as emo-
tional tension. As human beings we all
experience emotional tension at one time
or another, and many people experience
low to moderate levels of stress on a reg-
ular basis. Stress may result from normal
(even positive) life events such as a tran-
sition from a small middle school to a

larger high school, a first relationship, or
a tryout for a theatrical performance or a
sports team. However, stress may also
result when one feels threatened or
unsafe. For example, disturbance in one’s
family may cause feelings of insecurity
and uncertainty that in turn produce
high levels of unrelenting stress. Two
important factors to consider when
thinking about stress are chronicity (a
measure of how long the stress contin-
ues) and ability to cope. Some stress is
related to specific events, ending when
the event is over or when the individual
develops a coping strategy. Final exams
are a case in point. They may be a stress-
ful time for some students, but, in the
majority of cases, the feelings of stress
decline once the exams are over and may
decline somewhat even as the individual
begins to study and feel more prepared
for the exams. Chronic stress, by con-
trast, continues without much of a
respite. For example, a teen living with
an abusive parent may be in a situation of
unrelenting chronic stress.
Two teens in a similar situation may
have very different reactions based on
their interpretation of the situation and
their ability to cope with or manage their
reactions to the situation. Coping can be
defined as the effort made to manage
stress. Some teens whose lives are unusu-
ally stressful have better coping strate-
gies than others in similar circum-
stances. Those teens who experience
high levels of stress but are less able to
cope are at risk for developing psycholog-
ical and social disorders. Practicing suc-
cessful coping with stress helps some
people become even better at actually
coping. Feeling supported by others dur-
ing a stressful time can also be helpful in
terms of coping. This last point suggests
the importance of finding someone who
Disorders, Psychological and Social 227
Psychological and social disorders are often
a consequence of deviation from typical
developmental patterns. (Skjold
Photographs)
can be a source of support. Peers are cer-
tainly capable of providing support to one
another, but adults are perhaps even
more critical sources of support for teens
experiencing stress. Teenagers typically
use a variety of coping strategies, such as
listening to or playing music, engaging in
physical activity, playing video games,
and hanging out with friends. Teens may
also experiment with substances (alcohol
and drugs) as a means of alleviating feel-
ings of stress—a behavior sometimes
called self-medication. Although this,
too, is a coping strategy and may offer a
temporary escape from stress, it is mal-
adaptive because substance use can cause
both short- and long-term harm to the
individual.
Stress and coping are important vari-
ables in many common teenage prob-
lems. Once diagnosed, however, the vast
majority of these problems can be suc-
cessfully addressed and treated.
Learning Disabilities
Learning disabilities are an example of a
common problem that can be addressed
once diagnosed. They usually involve
228 Disorders, Psychological and Social
some kind of difficulty with processing
information. For example, some learn-
ing-disabled people have difficulty read-
ing or following oral instructions. These
people are not unintelligent; they simply
process information differently and may
therefore need assistance in developing
strategies for completing school-based
tasks. Learning disabilities that remain
undiagnosed prevent appropriate school
progress and may thus have long-term
consequences for emotional well-being.
Disruptive Behavior Disorders
Another category of problems experi-
enced by adolescents is known as disrup-
tive behavior disorders. One example is
attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD). Teenagers with ADHD exhibit
a pattern of behavior that includes diffi-
culty sustaining attention, distractibility,
impulsiveness, and hyperactivity. Those
whose ADHD has not been diagnosed
may be labeled as behavior problems in
school when in fact they are in need of
treatment—and, indeed, treatment is
available that can be quite effective in
helping them to control their behavior.
Another example is oppositional defi-
ant disorder (ODD), which involves a
pattern of uncooperative, hostile behav-
ior toward authority. The chronicity of
ODD is what differentiates it from typi-
cal teen opposition to being told what to
do. Teens with ODD generally have little
self-understanding and are limited in
their ability to take responsibility for
consequences. They are also quick to
blame others for their own shortcomings
and slow to recognize their own respon-
sibility. Symptoms even more extreme
than those associated with ODD, such as
physical aggression, violence, and law
breaking, may point to conduct disorder.
Conduct disorder involves serious distur-
bance and in many cases is diagnosed
only after teens have become involved in
criminal activity requiring the interven-
tion of law enforcement and juvenile jus-
tice agencies.
Eating Disorders
Eating disorders are among the most
common psychological disorders of ado-
lescence. They are often linked to soci-
ety’s obsession with thinness and look-
ism, and with the individual’s need to
exercise control over the environment.
Once believed to be primarily restricted
to females, eating disorders are now
increasingly being diagnosed in teenage
males. Although the vast majority of
those diagnosed are still female, the
recognition of risk signs in males is
important in terms of both prevention
and intervention. Athletes, male as well
as female, whose athletic participation
may hinge on weight and size (e.g.,
wrestlers, gymnasts) may be at particu-
larly high risk for developing eating dis-
orders.
Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa
are the two major categories of eating dis-
orders. Anorexia nervosa involves an
intense fear of gaining weight and a
grossly distorted body image. Anorexic
individuals may report feeling fat though
in reality they are emaciated. The disor-
der usually involves overly restricted
caloric intake, often accompanied by
excessive exercise. Ultimately, individu-
als with anorexia nervosa suffer from
self-starvation and, without treatment,
can die from this condition. Bulimia ner-
vosa (which is sometimes combined with
anorexia nervosa) can also become a life-
threatening condition. Occurring in peo-
ple of below-, average, and above-average
weight, bulimia is characterized by binge
eating, a fear of not being able to control

the binge eating, recognition that the eat-
ing pattern is not normal, and feelings of
low self-worth following each binge
episode. Bulimia may also involve purg-
ing (i.e., vomiting or use of laxatives),
excessive exercise, and overly restricted
caloric intake following a binge cycle.
Why do some adolescents develop eat-
ing disorders? Despite the prevalence of
these disorders, psychologists have not
yet arrived at a definitive answer to this
question. Most experts do agree, however,
that no single factor is implicated. Indeed,
many factors, including developmental
stage, culture, personality, and family
functioning, must be considered. Devel-
opmental stage refers to the changes that
take place in early and late adolescence.
These many changes, which include
transformation of the body from that of a
child to that of an adult, an emerging
sense of identity, and new social and aca-
demic challenges, help explain why eat-
ing disorders are so common among ado-
lescents. Culture refers to the many
cultural standards for attractiveness.
Attractiveness is defined differently in
different cultures and even in the same
culture in different eras. For example, a
full figure and curves were once consid-
ered the standard of feminine beauty.
However, our present culture, as reflected
by popular models, values thinness. Per-
sonality refers to the personality develop-
ment of the individual. Some experts sug-
gest that individuals with certain
personality types are at higher risk for eat-
ing disorders. For example, some experts
believe that individuals suffering from
anorexia nervosa are high achievers who
strive for perfection and control. Family
refers to a variety of factors involved in
family functioning. Some experts believe
that eating disorders can be traced to
these family-functioning variables.
Disorders, Psychological and Social 229
Eating disorders are complex in nature;
for more information on this issue, see
“Eating Problems” in this volume.
Depression
Depression is a type of affective disorder.
Affective disorders are mood related and
are believed to be linked to an imbalance
in some brain chemicals. Depression can
be of long or short duration, of low or high
intensity. Depression as a clinical term
does not mean having a bad day or feeling
down; it refers to an inability to experi-
ence pleasure from activities or relation-
ships that would have, prior to the depres-
sion, been sources of happiness and
pleasure. In certain circumstances, such
as in reaction to a death in the family,
feelings of depression may be a normal
and appropriate response. Depression
becomes problematic when it occurs in
inappropriate circumstances, continues
for a long period, or is of such great inten-
sity as to be out of proportion to the
cause. Depression can be harmful to a
teen’s well-being when it interferes with
the capacity to go about one’s daily busi-
ness (school/work), to relate to others, or
to maintain the healthy functioning of
essential physical needs for sleep, nutri-
tion, and personal hygiene. Typical signs
of depression are changes in everyday life
patterns, for example, major changes in
sleep patterns (sleeping much more than
usual or much less than usual; may also
include insomnia, which is an inability to
sleep), weight gain or weight loss, loss of
appetite and/or overeating. Behavior
changes are also typical warning signs of
depression. For instance, loss of interest in
activities, loss of pleasure in activities,
excessive fatigue, and restlessness may all
be signs of depression. In teenagers,
depression may also manifest itself with
agitation, irritability, and anger. These
230 Disorders, Psychological and Social
symptoms are often overlooked or misin-
terpreted because they do not seem typi-
cal of the stereotyped low energy of
depression. Yet these signs are important
to notice in teens because they may be the
only way a struggling teen, who may be
unaware that s/he needs help, or unable to
ask for the help that is needed, can show
signs of distress. Although not all
depressed teens are suicidal, teens suffer-
ing from depression are at increased risk
for suicide. This risk further highlights
the importance of intervention for teens
suffering from depression because timely
intervention can help to prevent a tragedy.
The most common treatments for depres-
sion are psychotherapy, which involves
talking with a trained professional, and/or
medication that is prescribed by a physi-
cian (often in conjunction with psy-
chotherapy). In some more severe cases,
hospitalization may be necessary to
ensure the safety of the individual until a
treatment plan can be established. For
more information and detail see the entry
on “Depression.”
Schizophrenia and Borderline
Personality Disorder
Schizophrenia and borderline personality
disorder are more serious psychological
disorders and much less common than
mood disorders. Schizophrenia is usually
not diagnosed until late adolescence or
early adulthood, and there are often other
diagnoses before the schizophrenic diag-
nosis is reached. An inability to think
and behave rationally is characteristic of
schizophrenia. Although many teenagers
may have moments of seemingly irra-
tional thought, extreme irrationality and
bizarre behavior is the norm for someone
suffering from schizophrenia. Though
there are some newer, more promising
treatments for schizophrenia, it is a dis-
ease that can be difficult to treat.
Although serious mental disorders are
relatively unusual in adolescents, border-
line personality disorder is another men-
tal disorder sometimes recognized in
teenagers. Borderline personality disorder
is sometimes diagnosed in teenagers who
do not have the fully developed symp-
toms of schizophrenia but show some
signs of distorted thinking. However,
unlike those suffering with schizophre-
nia who may experience great difficulty
with daily functioning, individuals with
borderline personality disorder may be
able to function suffering from periodic
rather than constant breakdowns of
rational thought. These breakdowns are
sometimes triggered by stress and/or
major life changes (like a change in
schools). Difficulty maintaining relation-
ships is characteristic of individuals suf-
fering from one of the forms of psycho-
logical disturbance.
Suicide
Mood disorders and other serious mental
disturbance may be accompanied by sui-
cidal feelings. Sadly, many teens may feel
so troubled or hopeless that they contem-
plate suicide. There are numerous warn-
ing signs of a suicidal teen. However, a
teen can be suicidal without showing
many overt signs. Unfortunately, adults
who may have heard about the warning
signs for suicide often watch for teens to
show all or many of the signs before
intervening. Sadly, this waiting can lead
to a tragic loss of life. The warning signs
for suicide are similar to those for depres-
sion. And as mentioned previously,
depressed teens are at a higher risk for
suicide than their nondepressed peers.
These warning signs include (but are not

restricted to) changes in sleeping and eat-
ing patterns, changes in personality (pre-
viously outgoing individuals may become
withdrawn), changes in friends/friend-
ships (avoiding friends or social contacts),
drug and alcohol use, boredom and
lethargy, risk-taking behaviors (car/bicy-
cle accidents), a preoccupation with
death, giving away possessions, and suici-
dal comments (you’d be better off with-
out me, I wish I were dead). A troubling
or traumatic life event (for example, loss
of a loved one, the suicide of a friend or
relative, an assault) are also risk factors
for suicide in teens. All of the above are
important warning signs of significant
distress and should never be ignored.
Anxiety Disorders
Also important when thinking about psy-
chological and social problems of adoles-
cents are issues of anxiety and phobias.
All people experience some anxiety and
this is normal and natural. Change and
uncertainty can trigger normal feelings of
anxiety, so it is not surprising that ado-
lescents who may be experiencing much
change may also feel somewhat anxious.
However, when anxiety lasts for a long
time and is fairly intense, it can interfere
with normal functioning. Symptoms of
an anxiety problem may include restless-
ness, feelings of low self-worth, excessive
worrying, and fearfulness. Extreme anxi-
ety may also be accompanied by physical
symptoms like headaches and muscle
aches. These symptoms may signal a
problem and need for intervention.
Some individuals who suffer from anxi-
ety disorders may experience panic
attacks. Panic attacks are sudden attacks
of intense anxiety. During panic attacks
individuals experience both physical and
psychological symptoms. The physical
Disorders, Psychological and Social 231
symptoms may include heart racing,
excessive sweating, dizziness, chest pains,
and nausea. Sufferers may believe that
they are having a heart attack. The psy-
chological symptoms can include exces-
sive worries of impending doom, feelings
of a lack of control, and feelings that one
is crazy.
Phobias are another form of anxiety
disorder. A phobia is an excessive (and
often unexplained) fear that is out of pro-
portion to the object of the fear. Because
the fear is much greater than the actual
threat, feelings that result from phobias
are not considered rational. The focus of
an individual’s phobia may change with
age (from monsters as a child to social
situations as a teen). A specific example
of phobias in adolescents is school phobia
or school avoidance. School phobia may
develop when a teen experiences a prob-
lem (either academic or social) that is so
overwhelming that s/he withdraws and
feels unable to attend school. School pho-
bia may not be obvious at first because
the teen may have accompanying psy-
chosomatic symptoms (symptoms that
may seem like physical health problems
but have no known medical or organic
cause). Therefore, the student may be
absent from school because of these com-
plaints long before anyone realizes that
there may be an underlying anxiety prob-
lem. Individuals suffering from phobias
should receive treatment to prevent sig-
nificant impairment of daily function.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is
a mental health issue that has received
increased attention in recent years.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder involves
a driving need to engage in or repeat cer-
tain behaviors in a ritualized way. As the
232 Divorce
name indicates, obsessive-compulsive
disorder involves both obsessions and
compulsions. Obsessions are character-
ized as intrusive thoughts that push their
way into the mind of the teen (for exam-
ple, excessive thoughts and worries
about germs). Compulsions are repeated,
ritualized behaviors that the teen feels
s/he must perform (for example, check-
ing, double checking, and triple checking
a locked door). The need to perform these
ritualized behaviors, for example, exces-
sive hand washing, can significantly
interfere with and impair a teen’s normal
daily functioning. Untreated, obsessive-
compulsive disorder can severely impair
normal functioning. Research suggests
that there is a biochemical component to
OCD, which means that it can often be
successfully treated with medications
that target certain brain chemicals. Indi-
viduals suffering from OCD may not rec-
ognize that they are suffering from a dis-
order and may instead be ashamed of
their behavior and reluctant to ask for
help.
A disorder that is sometimes related to
OCD is Tourette’s disorder. Tourette’s
disorder is characterized by tics, which
are quick, repetitive muscle twitches or
vocalizations (noises). Tics are some-
times accompanied by behaviors similar
to those found with OCD and ADHD.
Tourette’s disorder is also often treated
with medication.
Deborah N. Margolis
See also Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity
Disorder (ADHD); Depression; Eating
Problems
References and further reading
Kaysen, Susanna. 1993. Girl Interrupted.
New York: Vintage Books.
Rapoport, Judith. 1989. The Boy Who
Couldn’t Stop Washing. New York:
Plume.
Divorce
Divorce is commonplace in today’s soci-
ety. About half of American children
experience the divorce of their parents
before they reach the age of eighteen. This
circumstance is not easy at any age; in the
short term, many of the affected children
and teenagers exhibit such problems as
poor school effort and grades; depressed,
anxious, or angry moods; and noncompli-
ant or antisocial behavior (Emery, 1999).
Typically, emotional and behavioral dis-
turbances are temporary, with most chil-
dren improving markedly by the second
year after the divorce (Hetherington,
1989; Buchanan, 2000). In the longer
term, as discussed below, divorce is asso-
ciated with an increased risk of mental,
emotional, behavioral, and relational
problems. Still, many teenagers do quite
well after divorce. Positive functioning
after divorce is predicted by such factors
as low interparental conflict, positive par-
ent-child relationships, and low levels of
overall life stress and instability. Rela-
tively speaking, custody arrangement has
little to do with long-term adjustment
(Buchanan, Maccoby, and Dornbusch,
1996).
Teenagers whose parents have divorced
are at an increased risk for internalizing
problems (e.g., depression), externalizing
problems (e.g., aggression, deviance, early
sexual behavior), and problems in aca-
demic achievement, including high
school dropout (Allison and Furstenberg,
1989; Amato and Keith, 1991). Yet there
is evidence that a divorce during a child’s
adolescent years is less damaging in the
long run than a divorce that occurs when
a child is younger (Allison and Fursten-
berg, 1989; see also Emery, 1999, for
detailed information on age effects). The
risk for teenagers may be lower than that
for younger children owing to teenagers’

greater cognitive competence to under-
stand the divorce and their more numer-
ous social networks outside of the family
that can provide support. At all ages,
however, there is a risk associated with
divorce.
The good news is that the magnitude
of the increased risk explained by divorce
is small, with parents’ marital status typ-
ically accounting for between 1 and 3
percent of the variance in adolescent and
young adult adjustment (Allison and
Furstenberg, 1989; Amato and Keith,
1991). In fact, the most notable finding
from research on long-term adjustment
after divorce is the variability present in
both postdivorce family functioning and
children’s adjustment (Amato, 1993;
Buchanan, Maccoby, and Dornbusch,
1996). Some children thrive; others
flounder. Most function in the normal
range (Emery, 1999).
Recent research has focused on the
question of what factors explain the vari-
ability in functioning after divorce. What
follows is a discussion of some of the
major individual and situational predic-
tors of adjustment among teenagers who
have experienced the divorce of their par-
ents. (See Buchanan, 2000, for a more
extensive treatment of these and other
factors.)
Interparental Conflict
The extent to which conflict continues
after divorce (and how it is handled when
it does continue) is one of the most impor-
tant factors in a child’s adjustment
(Amato, 1993; Emery, 1999). Conflict in
couples often peaks at the time of a
divorce (Cummings and Davies, 1994). In
most cases, conflict subsides after the first
year or two following divorce, but about
one-quarter or fewer of divorcing couples
continue to experience moderate to high
Divorce 233
conflict over the longer term (e.g., Mac-
coby and Mnookin, 1992). Research is
consistent in showing that interparental
conflict is a more powerful predictor of
children’s adjustment than is divorce sta-
tus, and that accounting for the level of
conflict a couple experiences usually
reduces or even eliminates the relation
between divorce and adjustment (e.g.,
Emery, 1999; Simons et al., 1999). Fur-
thermore, when interparental conflict
decreases following a divorce, children
adjust significantly better than when con-
flict continues at a high level (e.g., Emery,
1999).
Parenting and the Parent-Child
Relationship
A positive, close relationship between
teenagers and their custodial parents,
especially if that custodial parent is the
mother, appears critical to postdivorce
adjustment—perhaps in part because a
close relationship facilitates parental
monitoring of adolescents’ behavior
(Buchanan, Maccoby, and Dornbusch,
1996). Parental monitoring—that is,
knowledge of the adolescent’s activities
and whereabouts—repeatedly surfaces as
a critical factor in the adjustment of
teenagers from both divorced and nondi-
vorced homes (Buchanan, Maccoby, and
Dornbusch, 1996; Patterson, 1986), as do
other aspects of competent parenting
such as setting firm limits but avoiding
harsh punishments (Simons et al., 1999).
Continued closeness to the noncustodial
parent also appears to be beneficial to
adjustment of adolescents—especially if
the adolescents also feel close to the cus-
todial parent. Finally, symbolic gestures
of commitment by the noncustodial par-
ent, such as remembering birthdays and
other special days, appear to be quite
important to teenagers, perhaps more
234 Divorce
important than the absolute amount of
time spent in visitation with that parent
(Buchanan, Maccoby, and Dornbusch,
1996).
Loyalty conflicts are associated with
increased depression and deviance among
teenagers in divorced families (Buchanan,
Maccoby, and Dornbusch, 1996). Parental
behaviors linked to loyalty conflicts
include asking the child to carry mes-
sages between parents, asking the child to
“spy on” or answer questions about the
ex-spouse’s home or behavior, and deni-
grating the ex-spouse in the child’s pres-
ence. Alignments between a parent and
child (whereby a child strongly takes
sides with one or the other parent) are
linked with lower levels of anxiety than
are loyalty conflicts but also with higher
levels of anger (Lampel, 1996). Children
appear to be best adjusted when allowed
and able to sustain positive, close rela-
tionships with both parents.
Life Stresses
The total number of life stresses experi-
enced by teenagers whose parents divorce
is another strong predictor of their adjust-
ment (Amato, 1993; Buchanan, Maccoby,
and Dornbusch, 1996). This conclusion is
consistent with research findings on
stress more generally, indicating that the
greater the total number of life stresses,
the greater the probability of psychologi-
cal, behavioral, emotional, or health
problems. Such stresses might include, in
addition to the divorce itself or any exist-
ing interparental conflict, moving from
one house to another, changing neighbor-
hoods or schools, changing contacts or
relationships with friends or extended
family, and changing extracurricular
activities. Conversely, when the number
of stresses coinciding with the divorce or
other family problems is minimized,
teenagers tend to adjust more positively.
Custody and Visitation Arrangements
In general, the type of custody or visita-
tion arrangement is of little importance
relative to the factors considered above
(Buchanan, Maccoby, and Dornbusch,
1996; Buchanan, 2000). There are well-
adjusted and poorly adjusted adolescents
in all types of arrangements. Joint cus-
tody is a case in point. When parents are
not in high conflict, joint custody allows
children to sustain close relationships
with both parents and to avoid loyalty
conflicts more effectively than in other
arrangements (Buchanan, Maccoby, and
Dornbusch, 1996). However, when par-
ents remain in high conflict, joint cus-
tody is associated with especially high
levels of loyalty conflicts as well as other
adjustment problems and is ill-advised
(Emery, 1999).
Christy M. Buchanan
See also Conflict and Stress; Coping;
Parent-Adolescent Relations
References and further reading
Allison, Paul D., and Frank F. Furstenberg
Jr. 1989. “Marital Dissolution Affects
Children: Variations by Age and Sex.”
Developmental Psychology 25:
540–549.
Amato, Paul R. 1993. “Children’s
Adjustment to Divorce: Theories,
Hypotheses, and Empirical Support.”
Journal of Marriage and the Family 55:
23–38.
Amato, Paul R., and Bruce Keith. 1991.
“Parental Divorce and the Well-Being of
Children: A Meta-Analysis.”
Psychological Bulletin 100: 26–46.
Buchanan, Christy M. 2000. “The Impact
of Divorce on Adjustment during
Adolescence.” Pp. 179–216 in
Resilience across Contexts: Family,
Work, Culture, and Community. Edited
by Ronald D. Taylor and Margaret C.

Wang. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates.
Buchanan, Christy M., Eleanor E.
Maccoby, and Sanford M. Dornbusch.
1996. Adolescents after Divorce.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press.
Cummings, E. Mark, and Patrick Davies.
1994. Children and Marital Conflict:
The Impact of Family Dispute and
Resolution. New York: Guilford Press.
Emery, Robert E. 1999. Marriage, Divorce,
and Children’s Adjustment, 2nd ed.
Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
Hetherington, E. Mavis. 1989. “Coping
with Family Transitions: Winners,
Losers, and Survivors.” Child
Development 60: 1–14.
Lampel, Anita K. 1996. “Children’s
Alignment with Parents in Highly
Conflicted Custody Cases.” Family and
Conciliation Courts Review 34:
229–239.
Maccoby, Eleanor M., and Robert H.
Mnookin. 1992. Dividing the Child:
Social and Legal Dilemmas of Custody.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press.
Patterson, Gerald R. 1986. “Performance
Models for Antisocial Boys.” American
Psychologist 41: 432–444.
Simons, Ronald. L., Kuei-Hsiu Lin, Leslie
C. Gordon, Rand D. Conger, and
Frederick O. Lorenz. 1999. “Explaining
the Higher Incidence of Adjustment
Problems among Children of Divorce
Compared with Those in Two-Parent
Families.” Journal of Marriage and the
Family 61: 1020–1033.
Down Syndrome
Down syndrome is a genetic disorder
that is usually identified at birth. It
occurs in approximately 1 in every 900
births and affects individuals of all ethnic
groups and incomes. In the United
States, approximately 350,000 individu-
als have Down syndrome. Down syn-
drome is the most common genetic cause
of mental retardation. Among individu-
als with Down syndrome, the severity of
Down Syndrome 235
mental retardation and the extent of
learning disability vary significantly.
Most cases of Down syndrome (about
95 percent) are caused by a trisomy (i.e., a
third chromosome on chromosome num-
ber 21) that affects all cells of the body.
Therefore, Down syndrome is sometimes
called Trisomy 21. In a small number of
individuals with Down syndrome, only
some groups of cells have the trisomy;
this condition is referred to as
mosaicism. In other individuals, only a
small amount of extra genetic material,
not an entire chromosome, is located on
the twenty-first chromosome—a condi-
tion known as translocation.
Trisomy is often caused by a failure of
cells to separate, referred to as nondis-
junction. This error in cell division is
more likely to occur in women aged
thirty-five or older than in younger
women. Women over thirty-five have a 1
in 400 chance, and women over forty-five
have a 1 in 35 chance, of conceiving a
child with Down syndrome. Nondisjunc-
tion can also occur as a result of faulty
cell division in the father’s sperm, but
the proportion of births affected in this
way is only 5 percent. Although Down
syndrome is associated with advancing
maternal age, approximately 80 percent
of children with Down syndrome are
born to parents younger than thirty-five
years of age.
Down syndrome was first identified by
Langdon Down in 1866 based on certain
physical characteristics of children at
birth. Those characteristics include extra
folds of skin in the corner of the eyes
(called “epicanthal folds”), a short neck,
and a noticeable crease across the palm of
the hand. Individuals with Down syn-
drome also tend to be short in stature.
Incorrect terms, such as Mongoloid, have
236 Down Syndrome
Due to advances in medical care, especially for heart defects, many individuals with Down
syndrome now live to the age of sixty and beyond. (Laura Dwight)
been used in the past to refer to individu-
als with Down syndrome, largely based
on facial characteristics and the faulty
assumption that individuals with Down
syndrome belong to the same ethnic
group.
Individuals with Down syndrome are
more likely than other people to have
particular health problems. The most
common of these are heart defects and
congenital heart disease, which occur in
about one-third to one-half of children
with Down syndrome. In the United
States, the majority of children with
Down syndrome who have heart defects
undergo reparative surgery during the
first year of life. Other health problems
frequently affecting individuals with
Down syndrome are abnormalities of the
gastrointestinal tract, kidney malforma-
tions, and chronic respiratory infections
and ear infections. In addition, their risk
of developing leukemia is fifteen to
twenty times greater than that of other
children, especially during the first three
years of life. Often their vision needs to
be corrected with lenses; their hearing
sometimes requires correction as well.
Previously, the life span of individuals
with Down syndrome was short; in 1929,
for example, their life expectancy was
only nine years. However, because of
advances in medical care, especially for
heart defects, many individuals with
Down syndrome now live to the age of
sixty and beyond. Recent research indi-

cates that Alzheimer’s disease, a demen-
tia that affects memory during older
adulthood, occurs at higher rates (about 9
percent) and at an earlier age (fifty-two to
fifty-four years) in individuals with Down
syndrome compared to other individuals.
As children with Down syndrome
grow up, they tend to develop skills more
slowly than other children. Language
often occurs at a later age and develops at
a slower rate than among same-aged
peers. Some children with Down syn-
drome have difficulty articulating certain
sounds—a condition partly due to the
enlarged protruding tongue and facial
muscular structure that are characteris-
tics of the syndrome. This difficulty with
articulation may also be related to hear-
ing loss caused by fluid retention in the
ears. As children with Down syndrome
get older, they sometimes have difficulty
forming grammatically correct sen-
tences. Many children with Down syn-
drome learn to read, however. Teenagers
with Down syndrome are like other
teens in most ways. Some hold jobs
beginning in high school. Many develop
strong friendships and romantic relation-
ships. They often attend classes with
their age-mates, but they are likely to
require additional assistance or instruc-
tion with academic tasks. They also
often participate in athletics, although
their skills may be somewhat diminished
due to poor motor tone.
Little has been written about the sex-
ual-identity development of teens with
Down syndrome. Puberty begins at the
same age and follows the same course as
that of teens without Down syndrome.
Approximately 50 to 80 percent of
women with Down syndrome are fertile,
and they have a 50 percent probability of
giving birth to a child with the syn-
Down Syndrome 237
drome. Most males with Down syn-
drome are sterile.
Stereotypes exist about individuals
with Down syndrome. One incorrect
assumption is that all individuals with
Down syndrome are quite similar to each
other in intelligence and personality. In
fact, individuals with Down syndrome
are as different from each other as are any
other individuals. Another myth is that
people with Down syndrome are very
cheerful, affectionate, and stubborn.
These characteristics, too, are as likely to
appear in individuals with Down syn-
drome as in other individuals.
Only a few decades ago, many teens
with Down syndrome lived in institu-
tions; today, most live at home with their
families. Current attitudes and expecta-
tions of society are changing the life pos-
sibilities of those with Down syndrome.
During adult life, individuals with Down
syndrome often hold jobs, live indepen-
dently or in group homes, and sometimes
marry. Organizations such as the
National Down Syndrome Association
help individuals with Down syndrome
advocate for their rights, in addition to
providing information and publishing
newsletters with the most recent research
information on Down syndrome. Finally,
at least one book has been written by
individuals with Down syndrome about
their life experiences: Count Us In, by
Jason Kingsley and Mitchell Levitz.
Additional information can be obtained
from the following Web sites: (1) the
National Down Syndrome Society at
http://www.ndss.org and (2) “Trisomy 21:
A Genetic Biography” at http://www.
ds-health.com.
Penny Hauser-Cram
Angela Howell
238 Drug Abuse Prevention
See also Cognitive Development; Mental
Retardation, Siblings with
References and further reading
Brown, Roy I. 1996. “Partnership and
Marriage in Down Syndrome.” Down
Syndrome: Research and Practice 4:
96–99.
Carr, Janet. 1995. Down Syndrome:
Children Growing Up. London:
Cambridge University Press.
Cicchetti, Dante, and Marjorie Beeghly,
eds. 1990. Children with Down
Syndrome: A Developmental
Perspective. New York: Cambridge
University Press.
Hodapp, Robert M. 1996. “Down
Syndrome: Developmental, Psychiatric,
and Management Issues.” Child and
Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of
North America 5: 881–894.
Kingsley, Jason, and Mitchell Levitz.
1994. Count Us In: Growing Up with
Down Syndrome. San Diego: Harcourt
Brace.
Kumin, L. 1994. Communication Skills in
Children with Down Syndrome.
Rockville, MD: Woodbine House.
Pueschel, Sigfried M., and Maria Sustrova.
1997. Adolescents with Down
Syndrome: Toward a More Fulfilling
Life. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes.
Drug Abuse Prevention
Drug abuse prevention is a major goal of
society in the struggle to deter individu-
als from destroying their own lives and
the lives of others when they abuse alco-
hol and other drugs. Society can deliver
messages of drug abuse prevention
through the media, the educational sys-
tem, and the community; however, the
family can deliver the strongest and most
persuasive message to prevent substance
abuse from occurring at all. Teenagers
whose parents talk to them regularly
about the dangers of drugs are 42 percent
less likely to use drugs than those whose
parents do not (Partnership for a Drug-
Free America, 1999). Messages that suc-
cessfully reach young people can prevent
a lifetime of addiction and despair that
can easily lead to physical and mental ill-
ness, incarceration, or even death.
Drug abuse prevention programs can
take many different forms but usually
fall into three general categories (Ray and
Ksir, 1996). First, primary prevention is
aimed at individuals who have not yet
tried the substance in question. In the
educational system today, children are
given primary prevention as part of their
regular curriculum. Second, professionals
in the field direct secondary prevention
to those who may have tried drugs but
are not yet addicted; they may also target
so-called social drinkers. An example of
secondary prevention is a program aimed
at getting people not to drink when driv-
ing. The usual goal of this type of pre-
vention is to change attitudes to prevent
harm. Third, individuals who have
become addicted or who use drugs in an
abusive way require more intensive treat-
ment—namely, tertiary prevention,
which aims at preventing people with
substance abuse problems from experi-
encing a relapse or recurrence of addic-
tion. An individual is said to be addicted
if either physical or psychological
dependence on a drug has occurred.
The word drug is defined as any sub-
stance, whether artificial or natural, that
alters the structure or nature of a living
organism (Ray and Ksir, 1996). However, it
is also important to understand that many
drugs with the potential for abuse may
have a great deal of medical significance.
For instance, morphine, which has a high
potential for abuse, may ease the pain of
people suffering from a terminal illness.
Thus, drugs, drug abuse, and drug abuse
prevention are not black-and-white issues;

Society can deliver messages of drug prevention through the media, the educational system,
and the community; however, the family can deliver the strongest, most persuasive message.
(Leif Skoogfors/Corbis)
they encompass many areas of gray, and
society must recognize those areas in
order to promote the appropriate use of
drugs. The fact remains that when an indi-
vidual uses drugs for nonmedical purposes
in a chronic or habitual manner, that per-
son is at serious risk for developing a sub-
stance abuse disorder or becoming physi-
cally or psychologically addicted to drugs.
Illicit drug use is usually defined in
terms of possession or use of a drug that
is unlawful (Ray and Ksir, 1996)—a defi-
nition complicated by the fact that many
illicit drugs are legal for those who
acquire them through a medical doctor
by prescription. In the absence of a pre-
scription, the drug is illicit. Traditionally,
Drug Abuse Prevention 239
alcohol and tobacco have not been con-
sidered illicit substances, even though
the public should view both as drugs
with potential for abuse.
Money spent on prevention of alcohol
and tobacco abuse is money well spent,
as the consequences of these drugs cost
our society billions of dollars (NCADD,
1999). By itself, teen alcohol use—which
results in traffic crashes, violent crimes,
burns, drowning and suicide attempts,
fetal alcohol syndrome, and alcohol poi-
sonings—incurs expenses totaling more
than $58 billion a year. The use of alco-
hol and other drugs of abuse can have
other negative impacts on teenagers as
well. Among sexually active teens, those
240 Drug Abuse Prevention
who average five or more drinks daily are
three times less likely to use condoms,
placing them at greater risk for HIV and
other sexually transmitted diseases.
Tobacco is even worse. In the United
States and elsewhere, it causes more
medical problems, and more deaths, than
any other substance. Yet cigarettes and
other tobacco products have only
recently come to be seen as drugs. Unfor-
tunately, prevention efforts directed
against this form of drug abuse have not
been as successful as other such efforts;
the percentage of teens who smoke ciga-
rettes has remained relatively stable
since 1988—about 18 percent of youths
age twelve to seventeen (SAMSHA,
1998). Moreover, both cigarettes and
alcohol are often viewed as “gateway”
drugs, meaning that use of these sub-
stances at a young age can lead to a
greater risk for more serious drug abuse
in an individual’s future. Youths age
twelve to seventeen who currently
smoke cigarettes are eleven times more
likely to use illicit drugs and sixteen
times more likely to drink heavily than
nonsmoking youths.
Deviant drug use is considered uncom-
mon within the context of our society’s
norms and is disapproved of by the
majority of the members of that society.
Drug misuse generally refers to the use of
prescription drugs in amounts not rec-
ommended or prescribed by a physician
or dentist. Drug abuse refers to use of a
substance in a way that creates problems
or greatly increases the chances that
problems will occur. Drug dependence
and abuse affect the youth of America in
a profound way: In 1995, 21 percent of
clients who were admitted to drug treat-
ment programs were under the age of
twenty-four, including 18,194 who were
under the age of fifteen (SAMSHA, 1998).
Among the drugs that have potential
for abuse are narcotics, which include
heroin, morphine, methadone, opium,
and substances derived from opium.
Depressants, another class of drug that
has a high potential for abuse, include
alcohol, barbiturates, and sedatives.
Street drugs that doctors have not pre-
scribed or that have no medical value
include stimulants, such as cocaine,
crack, and methamphetamine. Hallu-
cinogens, including marijuana, LSD, and
psilocybin mushrooms, are another class
of drugs of abuse. In addition, athletes
and body builders have been known to
abuse anabolic steroids and human
growth hormones to increase their mus-
cle mass.
Since about 1980, however, prevention
to stop the abuse of illicit substances has
had an effect. Findings from the Sub-
stance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration reveal that whereas 25
million Americans used an illegal sub-
stance during the preceding month in
1979, this figure had decreased by nearly
50 percent to almost 13 million by 1997
(SAMSHA, 1998). School and commu-
nity efforts have also paid off as drug
abuse prevention has become increas-
ingly important throughout the United
States. The percentage of youths age
twelve to seventeen who reported cur-
rent use of illicit drugs in 1998 was
nearly 10 percent, a marked decrease
from the estimated 12 percent in 1997.
The rate of drug use among youths was
highest in 1979, when it totaled an
astounding 16 percent.
Apart from alcohol and tobacco, the
drug most commonly abused by teens is
marijuana (SAMSHA, 1998). In 1998, a
little more than 8 percent of youths age
twelve through seventeen were current
users of marijuana, but this percentage,

too, has decreased dramatically in the
last twenty years, having reached a peak
of more than 14 percent in 1979. Never-
theless, many youths—56 percent of
those surveyed in 1998—claim easy
access to marijuana. As for other drugs of
abuse, including cocaine, heroin, hallu-
cinogens, barbiturates, sedatives, and
inhalants, 14 percent of the youths sur-
veyed reported that they had been
approached by someone selling drugs in
the previous thirty days.
Drug abuse prevention programs can
have a huge impact at all levels ranging
from individuals and families to entire
communities (SAMSHA, 1998). Research
has shown that effective prevention pro-
grams can improve parenting skills and
family relationships; it has also suggested
that early prevention efforts are effective
in deterring an individual from abusing
substances later on. Indeed, successful
prevention programs can reduce delin-
quent behaviors among youth who are
often associated with substance abuse
and drug-related crime.
These dramatic findings are likely due
to the increased efforts directed at drug
abuse prevention programs in communi-
ties throughout the United States. Many
of these programs were developed during
the middle to late 1980s and took new
directions throughout the 1990s. Our
society will no doubt make even more
progress in the twenty-first century.
In the beginning, drug abuse preven-
tion programs were primarily educa-
tional in nature, taking a top-down
approach whereby administrators or oth-
ers in authority told students about the
dangers of drugs and alcohol (Ray and
Ksir, 1996). Programs such as DARE, for
example, are headed up by local police
and firefighters and implemented in
school systems. And one of the biggest
Drug Abuse Prevention 241
drug abuse prevention strategies to come
out of the 1980s was Nancy Reagan’s
“Just Say No” campaign. Although the
latter was criticized as ineffective in
stopping substance abuse from occurring,
it proved to be a long-standing approach
to the war on drugs.
In the 1990s, drug education and pre-
vention began to emphasize interven-
tion, which worked to change behaviors,
attitudes, and perceptions (Ray and Ksir,
1996). One reason that young people may
wish to use drugs is to feel excitement,
relaxation, or a sense of control in terms
of what they do to and with their bodies.
Likewise, individuals may take drugs due
to the influence of peers. Helping chil-
dren and adolescents to know and under-
stand these feelings—and to express
them—may be effective in preventing
drug abuse.
It is also essential that young people
clarify their values (Coughlin, 1997).
Through the education system, the com-
munity, and the family, emphasis must
be placed on their decision-making skills.
This can be done in a variety of ways, one
of which is to ask them how they would
react in a hypothetical situation where
they were given a choice between using
drugs or not using them.
Peer counseling can also be an impor-
tant strategy in prevention. Recommend-
ing that students talk with their peers
about alcohol and drug problems has
proven effective in some situations. Sim-
ilarly, respected members of student sub-
groups, such as athletes, can be asked to
advocate drug and alcohol awareness and
prevention. Indeed, both schools and
community organizations can use peer
education in innovative and informative
ways—for example, through improvisa-
tional skits depicting real-life situations
about drugs and their abuse.
242 Dyslexia
It is also important to provide alterna-
tives to substance use—for example, by
teaching teens about the powerful natural
high that can be gained from activities
such as vigorous exercise, relaxation,
meditation, and sports. Toward this end,
communities need to support teen cen-
ters that offer interesting forms of youth
entertainment. By involving teens with
others through organized clubs or school
sports, individuals learn to communicate.
On a wider scale, by means of the
media, social marketing has made its
way into the forefront of alcohol and drug
abuse prevention. Having selectively bor-
rowed its principles and processes from
the commercial world, this method
works to convey realistic social norms
through the use of “campaigns.” Its mes-
sages and images, though as carefully
developed as those in the commercial
world, are adapted to health advocacy
and other large-scale efforts for positive
social change. One approach used by
social marketing is to convince teens
that most of their peers do not drink,
smoke, or do drugs—thereby leading
them to change their behavior.
The most salient form of drug abuse
prevention, however, is to be found
through family values that are clarified in
the home. Parents who talk with their
children realistically about drugs, and
about the dangers and risks associated
with them, give their children a better
chance to combat these dangers when
actually confronted with them. In turn,
children raised by caretakers who have a
healthy relationship with alcohol and
other drugs are much less likely to have
future problems with drug dependence or
abuse themselves.
Melinda M. Roberts
See also Alcohol Use, Risk Factors in;
Cigarette Smoking; Health Promotion;
Health Services for Adolescents; Inter-
vention Programs for Adolescents; Sub-
stance Use and Abuse
References and further reading
Coughlin, Eileen V., ed. 1997. Successful
Drug and Alcohol Prevention
Programs. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
National Council on Alcoholism and
Drug Dependence (NCADD). 1999.
Youth, Alcohol and Other Drugs: An
Overview. http://www.ncadd.org
National Household Survey on Drug
Abuse. 1998. News Release.
Partnership for a Drug-Free America.
1999. News Release.
http://www.drugfreeamerica.org
Ray, Oakley, and Charles Ksir. 1996.
Drugs, Society and Human Nature, 7th
ed. St. Louis, MO: Mosby Year Book.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration (SAMSHA).
1998. “Prevention Works.” News
Release. http://www.samhsa.gov
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a condition characterized by
serious difficulties with reading and other
aspects of written language such as
spelling and writing. Features of dyslexia
change over the life span, beginning with
severe problems in learning to read and
evolving in adolescence to spelling and
writing problems as well as slow labori-
ous reading. Dyslexia manifests itself in
two different ways: Acquired dyslexia
refers to adults who lose their ability to
read as a result of brain injury (e.g., after a
stroke), whereas developmental dyslexia
refers to children who unexpectedly expe-
rience difficulty in learning to read,
despite adequate to superior intelligence,
motivation, and schooling. Researchers
have become increasingly confident in
their assumption that developmental
dyslexia results from differences in the

underlying structure of the regions in the
brain involved in the processing of writ-
ten language. Inasmuch as important
advances have also been made in the
study of reading, many children with
dyslexia now respond successfully to
timely and appropriate interventions.
The National Institute of Health esti-
mates that in 2000 approximately 15 per-
cent of Americans had learning disabili-
ties—a figure that included 2.4 million
schoolchildren. Among students with
learning disabilities who receive special
education services, 80 to 85 percent have
basic deficits in language and reading.
Dyslexia occurs in all groups of people,
regardless of age, race, or socioeconomic
status. Research indicates the existence
of a genetic component, given that the
condition appears to run in families. In
addition, a higher incidence of dyslexia
has been found among males. Some
research, however, suggests that more
girls than suspected have dyslexia—and
that they simply have not been referred
and diagnosed. Incidentally, some very
famous people were, or are, dyslexic,
including Hans Christian Andersen,
Michelangelo, Franklin D. Roosevelt,
Albert Einstein, Thomas A. Edison,
Whoopi Goldberg, Lindsay Wagner, and
Dr. Harvey Cushing (the father of modern
brain surgery).
Causes of Dyslexia
Dyslexia is best described as a heteroge-
neous group of disorders, with several
underlying explanations for distinct sub-
types of reading-disabled students. Many
scientists in the first half of the twenti-
eth century believed that dyslexia was
based on visual problems; the commonly
observed “reversal of letters” in children
was seen as an indicator of such prob-
Dyslexia 243
lems. But, in fact, most dyslexics have
normal vision and do not “see back-
wards.”
Since the mid-1970s, researchers have
come to agree that one central difficulty
associated with dyslexia is a deficit in
phonological processing. According to
the phonological-deficit hypothesis, chil-
dren with dyslexia have difficulty devel-
oping an awareness that words, both
written and spoken, can be broken down
into smaller units of sounds. Thus, for
example, it is difficult for them to recog-
nize a rhyme, to delete a sound from a
word, or, more generally, to make the
connection between symbols (i.e., letters)
and the sounds they represent. As a
result, they cannot learn to sound out
words (i.e., to decode), which is the first
step in reading.
Recent cutting-edge research in the
cognitive neurosciences has demon-
strated a second major area of difficulty
as well: naming-speed deficits. Specifi-
cally, dyslexics are slow to retrieve the
names of familiar visual symbols such as
letters and numbers. These deficits
reflect an impairment in the processes
underlying recognition and retrieval of
visually presented letters. What this find-
ing means for reading is only beginning
to be understood. The same factors that
slow down retrieval processes may also
impede the development of rapid letter
pattern recognition—an impairment that
may in turn slow down word identifica-
tion, which is critical for fluent reading.
Fortunately, research on the deficits that
underlie different groups of reading dis-
abilities is rapidly progressing. This
research is ultimately aimed at inform-
ing educators about which interventions
are best suited for each individual
involved.
244 Dyslexia
Identification of Dyslexia
Indicators of dyslexia in early childhood
include late development of spoken lan-
guage, slow reading of letter names, and
difficulties in sounding out words,
whereas indicators of dyslexia in adoles-
cence include slow and inaccurate read-
ing of words, poor reading comprehen-
sion, and spelling difficulties such as
reversed letter order, deletion of letters,
and misrepresentation of the sounds in a
word. Some adolescent dyslexics may
also have difficulty associating the letters
with the sounds they represent.
Note, however, that many adolescents
with dyslexia have only minor decoding
problems with simple and regularly
spelled words. Rather, their major diffi-
culty is slow, dysfluent reading, which
prolongs the time they need to compre-
hend the material. Indeed, the majority of
dyslexics have more difficulty expressing
themselves in written language than in
spoken language. Their writing problems
usually include spelling and organization
of their ideas.
Traditionally, dyslexia has been diag-
nosed by comparing intellectual ability
with achievement in reading. Because
bright students with an unexpected diffi-
culty in reading are usually considered
dyslexics, IQ tests are generally used to
assess dyslexia in school-aged children.
In fact, eligibility for special education
programs in public school is usually
based on this discrepancy. However,
complicating the diagnosis for some
dyslexic adolescents is the possibility
that their reading deficiency has affected
their knowledge of vocabulary—a knowl-
edge that is assessed in IQ tests. This cir-
cumstance diminishes the usefulness of
IQ tests in diagnosing dyslexia.
Although adolescent dyslexic readers
become more accurate with time, they
never become fully automatic or fluent in
their reading. The failure either to recog-
nize or to measure this lack of automatic-
ity in reading is perhaps the most common
error made in the diagnosis of dyslexia
among accomplished young adults.
For such individuals, identification of
dyslexia would be facilitated by use of a
questionnaire regarding the history of
their development of language and read-
ing. Also helpful would be a combination
of tests measuring reading, spelling, lan-
guage, and cognitive abilities, along with
a battery of neurological, psychological,
and educational assessments. Indeed, no
diagnosis of dyslexia should ever be based
on a single test.
Treatment of Dyslexia
Individuals with dyslexia often need spe-
cial programs to learn to read, write, and
spell. In the early years, direct instruction
in associating letters and sounds is critical.
Research has demonstrated that these
decoding skills are best taught step-by-
step, in an incremental manner. Then, as
the children grow older, their reading com-
prehension is enhanced by work on read-
ing rate, vocabulary, and general fluency.
Of specific importance to young adults
are the rules governing written language
and the strategies necessary for purpose-
ful reading and writing. At the same
time, however, each individual student’s
strengths and learning pace must be iden-
tified. Recent research has concluded
that despite their difficulties, many ado-
lescents with learning disabilities have a
healthy self-concept and sense of self-
worth—a noteworthy finding given that
dyslexic individuals often rate their aca-
demic abilities and achievement lower
than their normally achieving peers do.
Research in this field has begun to
indicate the efficacy of interventions

that provide structured reading and writ-
ing strategies for adolescents with
dyslexia. But crucial to their success are
the following additional factors: assis-
tance with study skills such as planning
and organizing, time set aside to check
their work, extra time on written exami-
nations, advocacy for accommodations
on exams, and, finally, self-advocacy by
parents, teachers, and the students them-
selves.
Tami Katzir-Cohen
See also Cognitive Development; Devel-
opmental Challenges; Intelligence;
Intelligence Tests; Learning Disabili-
Dyslexia 245
ties; Learning Styles and Accommoda-
tions; Standardized Tests; Thinking
References and further reading
International Dyslexia Association Web
site at http://www.interdys.org
Lerner, Janet. 1997. Learning Disabilities,
7th ed. New York: Houghton Mifflin.
Lovett, Maureen. 1992. “Developmental
Dyslexia.” Pp. 163–185 in Handbook of
Neuropsychology, Vol. 7. Edited by
Sydney J. Segalowitz. Amsterdam:
Elsevier Science Publishing.
Shaywitz, Sally. 1998. “Dyslexia.” New
England Journal of Medicine 338, no 5:
307–312.
Wolf, Maryanne, and Patricia G. Bowers.
1999. “The Double-Deficit Hypothesis
for the Developmental Dyslexias.”
Journal of Educational Psychology 91,
no. 3: 1–24.
 E
Eating Problems
The term eating problems refers to a pat-
tern of abnormal attitudes and behaviors
relating to food. Often such abnormalities
begin with normal dieting practices that
subsequently become severely disturbed.
In the past, eating problems were most
prevalent among middle- and upper-class
Caucasian women living in Western cul-
tures; today, however, such problems can
be found in countries throughout the
world, affecting males and females of all
social classes and ethnicities.
Females are nevertheless nine to ten
times more likely than males to be diag-
nosed with an eating disorder. In the
United States, an estimated 3 percent of
young women suffer from one of the three
main eating disorders; many more than
that report subclinical eating and body
disturbances. The onset of eating prob-
lems commonly occurs between early
adolescence and early adulthood—a par-
ticularly vulnerable time for females, who
are forming their identities in the context
of a culture that stresses the presumed
importance of beauty and slimness.
The three main eating disorders are clas-
sified as anorexia nervosa, bulimia ner-
vosa, and binge eating disorder. Some indi-
viduals with eating problems do not fit
these categories exactly; others exhibit
symptoms that are not severe enough to be
diagnosable but put the persons at risk for
247
pathological conditions and serious conse-
quences. Note that obesity is excluded
from the list of main eating disorders; the
reason is that it is generally considered a
medical condition rather than an emotion-
ally based disorder—even though emo-
tional factors may play a role in its devel-
opment and maintenance.
Anorexia Nervosa
Anorexia is defined as a loss of appetite,
but, in actuality, anorexic individuals
deny their appetite despite feelings of con-
stant hunger. Anorexia nervosa is charac-
terized by maintenance of a minimally
normal body weight (i.e., less than 85 per-
cent of expected weight), intense fear of
gaining weight despite being underweight,
disturbances in perceptions of body
weight and shape, and loss of three con-
secutive menstrual cycles in postmenar-
cheal women (a condition known as
amenorrhea). Research suggests that
anorexics restrict food intake as a means
of gaining control over some aspect of
their lives in a world where they feel pow-
erless. In addition to restricting their food
intake, some anorexics engage in binge
eating or purging behavior.
Individuals with anorexia tend to deny
that they have a serious problem, which
makes it difficult for them to recover from
their eating attitudes and behaviors.
Anorexics become obsessed with the
248 Eating Problems
The three main eating disorders are
classified as anorexia nervosa, bulimia
nervosa, and binge eating. (Shirley Zeiberg)
notion of being thin, continuing to engage
in weight-loss behaviors well after they
have achieved their target body weight
and shape. They often feel depressed,
socially withdrawn, irritable, worthless,
and unaccepted. It is common for anorex-
ics to restrict their diets to a few foods
and to exhibit unusual eating behaviors
(e.g., cutting food into tiny pieces, taking
small bites and chewing slowly, moving
food around on the plate), excessive body-
shape and weight-estimation techniques
(e.g., constant weighing and body measur-
ing), and excessive exercise. These behav-
iors have serious consequences including
lethargy, cold intolerance, dryness of
skin, dull and brittle hair, slowed pulse
rate, vital organ damage, and sometimes
even death. In fact, anorexia is associated
with a higher annual mortality rate (i.e.,
0.56 percent) than any other psychiatric
disorder. This rate reflects deaths result-
ing from starvation, body chemistry
imbalance, and suicide.
Bulimia Nervosa
The most common eating disorder
among young females is bulimia nervosa,
which typically begins in late adoles-
cence. This disorder involves repeated
instances of binge eating—consuming
large amounts of food in a short period of
time—followed by inappropriate com-
pensatory behaviors such as self-induced
vomiting, fasting, misuse of laxatives or
diuretics, and excessive exercise. The
food eaten by bulimics usually consists of
high-calorie substances such as sweets.
Binges usually occur in secrecy and are
characterized by a lack of control: Bulim-
ics often feel as though they cannot stop
eating. In fact, they usually continue eat-
ing until they feel uncomfortably and
painfully full or until they are interrupted
by the presence of others. Thus, a binge
may last anywhere from several minutes
to several hours. Bulimics tend to feel
depressed, self-critical, and shameful
after a binge. Accordingly, they engage in
the compensatory behaviors noted ear-
lier, as a means of preventing weight gain,
relieving physical discomfort, and easing
stress after the binge. In order to be diag-
nosed with full-blown bulimia nervosa,
the individual must engage in binge eat-
ing and inappropriate compensatory
behaviors twice a week for a period of
three months.
Although individuals with bulimia
tend to be in the normal weight range,
they may struggle with weight fluctua-
tion. Compared to anorexics, they tend to

have a more accurate perception of body
weight and shape (although they are sim-
ilar to anorexics in basing their self-eval-
uations on this perception). They gener-
ally exhibit a more impulsive personality,
which contributes to their addictive
behavior. And they are more likely to
acknowledge that they have a problem
and thus more likely to seek help. Never-
theless, bulimics tend to feel isolated and
alone, depressed, unattractive, unworthy,
high strung, and unsatisfied with life.
Given this distress, it is believed that
individuals with bulimia use food as a
means to satisfy their inner needs and
purge as means of achieving temporary
control. Bulimia can lead to physical
complications such as fatigue, menstrual
irregularity, dental problems, abdominal
pain, and heart irregularities and failure.
Binge Eating
Binge eating is commonly referred to as
compulsive overeating. Like bulimia ner-
vosa, it is characterized by repeated
episodes of uncontrolled food consump-
tion; however, the binge eater does not
make use of inappropriate compensatory
behaviors. The binges may occur either
in one setting or over long periods of
snacking. Many binge eaters restrict their
food intake throughout the day and are
thus quite hungry in the evening. At that
point they often break their diet and con-
tinue eating because they feel they have
failed. Whereas many people occasion-
ally engage in binge eating behaviors, the
full-blown diagnosis of binge eating is
reserved for those cases in which the
individual exerts excessive amounts of
time and energy bingeing, thinking about
bingeing, and feeling powerless and out
of control about food and her body.
Binge eaters often have low self-
esteem, find it difficult to express their
Eating Problems 249
feelings, appear content on the outside
but feel alone and sad on the inside, and
are insecure in their identities. Research
suggests that their compulsive eating is a
form of self-medication, that they binge
in an attempt to deal with feelings of
fatigue, anxiety, anger, isolation, pain, or
boredom. Indeed, binges are often trig-
gered by feelings of tension and anxiety,
and they usually provide the individual
with temporary freedom from these feel-
ings. However, although binge eaters
usually feel less tense after a binge, they
also feel shameful and uncomfortable
with their bodies—feelings that reinforce
their general sense of negativity. Binge
eaters are at risk for experiencing weight
problems, becoming obese, and develop-
ing medical complications associated
with obesity such as diabetes, hyperten-
sion, respiratory disease, and cancer.
Obesity
Obesity occurs when adipose tissue (fat)
comprises a greater than normal percent-
age of total body weight. (The normal
range is 20 to 25 percent.) The number of
obese individuals in the Western world
has dramatically increased since 1950.
Today, an estimated one-third of the
adult population is obese. Although
genetic factors are implicated in obesity,
this condition is also caused by con-
sumption of excessive amounts of food in
brief periods of time—as in binge eating.
In fact, an estimated 25 to 46 percent of
obese individuals report that they engage
in binge eating behavior a minimum of
twice a week. Many obese people also
restrict their food intake during the day,
consume large meals in the evening, and
avoid physical activity in the interim.
Individuals with obesity are at serious
risk for hypertension, cardiovascular dis-
ease, and diabetes.
250 Eating Problems
Etiology of Eating Problems
Eating disturbances may be understood
as existing along a continuum of severity.
With the exception of genetically predis-
posed obesity, these problems often begin
with dieting as a means of controlling
weight. Dieting can sometimes lead to
eating attitudes and behaviors that are
subclinical in the sense that the individ-
ual exhibits symptoms of an eating disor-
der that are not severe enough to warrant
a diagnosis but are nevertheless danger-
ous. Subclinical eating problems that
become more pathological often result in
full-blown eating disorders.
Although many eating problems begin
with dieting, not all individuals who diet
will develop eating problems. Thus, it is
likely that other factors, such as heredity
and environment, contribute to the
development and maintenance of these
problems.
There is some evidence that disturbed
eating attitudes and behaviors run in
families, thus suggesting a genetic predis-
position toward these problems. For
example, families may transmit certain
personality characteristics (e.g., impul-
sivity, overreaction to stress) or biochem-
ical makeups that increase a person’s vul-
nerability to the development of eating
problems. It is also likely, however, that
other influences interact with genetic
factors to predispose the individual to
these disturbances. Given that eating
problems are most common among ado-
lescent females, it is important to under-
stand the context in which they are
embedded.
One key aspect of this context is the
obsession with fitness in Western cul-
tures. And for women, being fit is often
associated with thinness and beauty. For
men, on the other hand, fitness is
equated with muscularity and strength;
thus, males are less likely to be con-
cerned with their weight or to engage in
dieting behavior. Women are bombarded
by media images of unrealistically slim
females—images whose message seems
to imply that success and thinness go
hand in hand. This message poses an
especially serious problem for adolescent
females, who typically gain weight dur-
ing puberty. In short, the adolescent
female body undergoes normative devel-
opmental changes that contradict the
images being portrayed, leading to dis-
tress at a time when teens are forming
their identities. Accordingly, many
young females begin dieting as a means
of preventing this normal weight gain.
As noted earlier, however, not every
individual who diets develops eating
problems. Other factors seem to play a
role in increasing the vulnerability of
some individuals to these problems.
First, individuals with eating problems
tend to exhibit certain personality char-
acteristics. Some are people-pleasers who
seek the approval of others and set unre-
alistically high expectations for them-
selves. Others, especially those with
anorexic-like symptoms, tend to be per-
sistent and orderly, to display extreme
rigidity, and to exhibit overcontrol of
their own emotions and intolerance of
others’ emotions. Still others, including
those with bulimic and binge eating
symptoms, tend to display poor impulse
control and emotional instability.
A second factor concerns family inter-
actions. Some individuals with eating
problems come from families that inad-
vertently promote disturbed eating atti-
tudes and behaviors by overemphasizing
perfectionism, slenderness, youthfulness,
and reliance on external sources for self-
esteem. Others have families that lack
empathy and nurturance and tend to be

overcontrolling, belittling, or blaming.
Still others come from families whose
members do not openly express their
emotions and feelings and are thus pre-
vented from learning to identify their own
needs and emotions as well as discour-
aged from forming their own identities.
Finally, some eating problems are trig-
gered by significant life stressors. For
example, researchers have suggested that
in some cases there is a relationship
between disordered eating and sexual
abuse. In any case, it is likely that eating
problems are affected by several contex-
tual factors, and that their severity along
the continuum is determined by the pres-
ence or absence of these factors.
Treatment of Eating Problems
Recovery from eating problems usually
requires the support of some treatment
modality. For individuals struggling with
abnormal eating attitudes and behaviors,
treatment provides a safe place to deal
with and talk about their problems. Dis-
turbed eating patterns are treatable, but
the best prognosis is for individuals who
seek treatment early. The treatment
modalities available to people with eat-
ing problems include individual therapy,
group therapy, family therapy, medica-
tion, nutritional counseling, support
groups, and self-help groups. These in
turn are provided by professionals such
as psychiatrists, physicians, psycholo-
gists, social workers, dietitians, and pas-
toral counselors. Depending on the sever-
ity of the problem, some individuals may
benefit from a combination of these
treatment modalities.
Treatment can occur in either an inpa-
tient or outpatient setting. It is usually
structured in such a way as to help indi-
viduals regulate food intake, monitor
physical complications, and deal with and
Emancipated Minors 251
express feelings associated with their dis-
turbed eating attitudes and behaviors. In
order to identify appropriate treatment
modalities, the individual is advised to
contact a physician, school counselor,
and/or mental health association. Other
options such as the reference section in
libraries, telephone books, and women’s
organizations are useful resources as well.
Anna Chaves
See also Anxiety; Body Fat, Changes in;
Body Image; Depression; Nutrition;
Puberty: Physical Changes; Self-
Consciousness
References and further reading
American Psychiatric Association. 1994.
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders, 4th ed. Washington,
DC: American Psychiatric Association.
Hsu, L. K. George. 1990. Eating Disorders.
New York: Guilford Press.
Lemberg, Raymond, and Leigh Cohn, eds.
1999. Eating Disorders: A Reference
Sourcebook. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press.
Pipher, Mary. 1994. Reviving Ophelia:
Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls.
New York: Ballantine Books.
Emancipated Minors
Emancipated minors are children under
the age of eighteen years who are legally
independent from their parents, guardians,
or custodians. The parents of emancipated
minors no longer have the right to make
decisions about or for these children, and
no longer have the duty to provide finan-
cial or material support. Emancipated
minors must be able to take care of them-
selves independently, and they are entitled
to some—but not all—adult rights and
privileges.
There are three major reasons for
which minors may choose to petition for
emancipation: (1) to gain control over
their own finances (as in the many well
252 Emancipated Minors
publicized cases of child stars who estab-
lish emancipation because they claim
their parents have mishandled their earn-
ings), (2) to escape an extremely difficult
home life (for instance, a conflict-ridden
situation that is intolerable for both the
parents and themselves), and (3) to obtain
independence, responsibility, and space.
Laws concerning emancipation vary
from state to state, but, in general, teen-
agers are considered emancipated when
they turn eighteen, marry, or join the
armed forces. Minors may also be eman-
cipated through the legal system,
through either a court order or some
other legal means, depending on state
regulations. In most states, minors must
be at least sixteen to petition, although a
few states allow children as young as
fourteen to do so.
Above all, minors must prove that they
are capable of supporting themselves.
Different laws apply in different states,
but the granting of emancipation is gen-
erally based on the following criteria.
First, the minors must show that they are
able to manage their own finances
(gained through a legal source of income)
without depending on their parents. Sec-
ond, they must demonstrate that they are
able to live independently from their par-
ents. (Some states require a separate resi-
dence; others allow emancipation of
minors who live in their parents’ home
but pay rent or otherwise show inde-
pendence.) Third, they must establish
that emancipation is in their best inter-
est, and that failure to receive emancipa-
tion would be harmful (as in situations
where the youth’s earnings are being mis-
handled by the parents).
Although parents sometimes choose to
seek emancipation for their own chil-
dren, the law does not allow parents to
emancipate a minor who is dependent
upon them for support. Increasingly,
courts are hearing cases in which parents
attempt to emancipate their children by
proving that they are financially inde-
pendent. Those parents who can con-
vince the courts to grant emancipation
no longer have to assume any financial
responsibility for their children.
Emancipation ends parents’ legal duty
to support the minor; it also ends the
parents’ right to make decisions about
the minor’s residence, education, and
healthcare, and to control the minor’s
conduct. Although states’ laws vary,
emancipation generally ensures a num-
ber of adult rights and responsibilities
for emancipated minors. When emanci-
pated, they have the right to live inde-
pendently in their own home and the
right to make their own financial, social,
and educational decisions. They have
the right to access their own earnings,
though they can also be sued in their
own name. They have the right to enter
into binding contracts such as leases.
And they can give informed consent for
healthcare services.
Although emancipation provides
minors with many important adult
rights, it does not provide them with
access to all adult privileges. For exam-
ple, emancipated minors are subject to
numerous legal health and safety regula-
tions that are dependent on age. If
accused of a crime, they can be treated as
an adult only under the same circum-
stances that apply to minors who are not
emancipated. And like all individuals,
they must be eighteen years old to vote
and twenty-one years old to buy and con-
sume alcohol.
Generally, the law does not presume
emancipation, even if a minor is living
independently. Emancipation is usually
established through legal procedures that

require clear and compelling evidence
that emancipation is the best option.
Although each state has its own specific
procedures, minors or parents seeking
emancipation of a minor must complete
application forms and provide docu-
mented evidence.
Key resources include public libraries,
which can provide information on spe-
cific emancipation laws in individual
states, and legal organizations for youth,
which not only offer legal counseling and
legal support but can also write letters of
emancipation to healthcare providers,
school administrators, and other adults.
Assistance of this nature helps minors
gain the right to consent to healthcare,
the right to retain their own wages, and
other privileges that are typically
reserved for adults.
Emancipation is not necessarily per-
manent. It is possible for a teenager to be
emancipated for a period of time but
then, due to changed circumstances, to
once more become dependent on his or
her parents, guardians, or custodians—
again, depending on the laws in a given
state. The circumstances that can change
a minor’s emancipation status are as fol-
lows. First, minors who become emanci-
pated by marrying may become depen-
dent again if the marriage ends in
divorce. Second, emancipated minors
may again become dependent if they lose
the ability to support themselves—for
example, by losing a job. Third, in certain
medical emergencies, minors may tem-
porarily be declared emancipated for the
purpose of consenting to medical proce-
dures if their parents or guardians cannot
be reached. Following the medical proce-
dure, however, the minors are once again
considered dependent. Fourth, as a result
of the welfare reform bill passed in 1996,
some states exclude public benefits such
Emotional Abuse 253
as Transitional Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF) from being considered a
source of income when a minor petitions
for emancipation. And, fifth, a few states
allow emancipation to be revoked if a
minor later becomes dependent on public
benefits.
Finally, there is the question of how
courts should handle cases when a minor
has a child. Whereas most state emanci-
pation laws do not address this question,
some state laws include as a criterion the
interests of the teen’s child, such as
whether the minor is able to handle her
personal affairs, whether emancipation is
in the best interests of the minor’s fam-
ily, and so on.
Shireen Boulos
Jessica Goldberg
See also Family Relations; Fathers and
Adolescents; Mothers and Adolescents;
Parent-Adolescent Relations; Parenting
Styles; Rights of Adolescents
References and further reading
Center for Law and Social Policy. 1999.
Emancipated Teen Parents and the
TANF Living Arrangement Rules.
Washington, DC: Center for Law and
Social Policy.
Gardner, Chadwick N. 1994/1995. “Don’t
Come Crying to Daddy! Emancipation
of Minors: When Is a Parent ‘Free at
Last’ from the Obligation of Child
Support?” University of Louisville
Journal of Family Law 33: 927–948.
Laws of the Fifty States, District of
Columbia and Puerto Rico Governing
the Emancipation of Minors. 2000.
Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, Legal
Information Institute. Retrieved on
January 14, 2000, from the World Wide
Web at http://www.law.cornell.edu
Emotional Abuse
Emotional abuse, often referred to in child
welfare literature as psychological abuse,
has slowly gained societal attention
254 Emotional Abuse
Psychological harm from emotional abuse
may occur after continuous verbal assaults
or acts of caretaker rejection. (Hannah
Gal/Corbis)
within the United States since the late
1980s. Society has been hesitant to recog-
nize and identify the potential harm to
children incurred from emotional abuse.
Three primary reasons exist for the resis-
tance. These include lack of a consensus
definition for emotional abuse, the diffi-
culty in proving that emotional abuse has
occurred because of a lack of physical evi-
dence, and the limited research that docu-
ments the harmful effects of emotional
abuse.
Definitions
Defining what constitutes emotional
abuse has been problematic because of
diverse cultural perspectives on accept-
able and unacceptable parenting behavior.
Consequently, many definitions exist.
Emotional abuse can be acts of commis-
sion or omission. A comprehensive defi-
nition includes at least six categories of
emotional abuse: (1) spurning (verbal
attacks, humiliation, rejection), (2) terror-
izing (making threats to seriously harm or
kill), (3) observing family violence, (4) iso-
lating (preventing child from interacting
with peers, locking child within an
enclosed area), (5) exploiting/corrupting
(encouraging child to engage in antisocial
or criminal behavior, encouraging child to
use drugs or alcohol), and (6) denying emo-
tional responsiveness (being psychologi-
cally unavailable to child, ignoring child’s
attempts to interact with parents, refusal
to engage child). Emotional abuse can also
be communicating to children that they
are worthless, unloved, and unwanted
(Brassard, Hardy, and Hart, 1993).
One key element of agreement
amongst most definitions is that emo-
tional abuse is typically a repeated pat-
tern of behavior. Unlike some cases of
physical and sexual abuse, emotional
abuse is cumulative and takes place over
a period of time. This is because most
researchers and experts believe that psy-
chological harm from emotional abuse
occurs only after continuous verbal
assaults or acts of caretaker rejection of
children. Children are thought to be psy-
chologically and emotionally resilient to
occasional inappropriate verbal or non-
verbal acts.
Prevalence
No precise measures exist that can accu-
rately document the rate of emotional
abuse. Documenting emotional abuse is
so difficult because emotional abuse
leaves no physical evidence. Second, it is

rarely defined as a single event, which
means that there must be a recognizable
pattern of caretaker abuse. Knowing how
long and how frequently a specific pat-
tern of emotional abuse has been present
is a monumental task for child welfare
caseworkers who are charged with deter-
mining if abuse has happened. Adding to
the complexity in determining if emo-
tional abuse has occurred is the fact that,
in most states, proof of emotional or psy-
chological harm to children can only be
determined by a psychologist or a psychi-
atrist following a thorough assessment of
the children. Because of the complexity
and the ambiguity involved in case-
worker decision making in emotional
abuse, only 6 percent of child abuse and
neglect cases substantiated nationally in
1997 were designated as emotional abuse.
Although no comprehensive statistics
are available, emotional abuse, according
to recent research and professional expe-
rience, accompanies most cases of physi-
cal abuse and frequently is involved in
cases of neglect. This means that some
form of psychological mistreatment
(spurning, terrorizing, isolation, humilia-
tion, denying care and affection) typically
occurs prior to, during, or after physical
abuse. Many experts believe that the
emotional abuse children experience has
more long-term psychological conse-
quences on children than acts of physical
assault or neglect.
Consequences
The body most often heals from injury,
but repeated verbal attacks on a child’s
sense of self may influence the child’s
thoughts and feelings for a lifetime. Self
identify forms during childhood. A child’s
developing sense of self is extremely vul-
nerable and heavily influenced by input
from others. Parents or guardians have a
Emotional Abuse 255
major role in influencing children’s per-
ception of self. Parental emotional abuse
devalues children’s perceptions of them-
selves. As a consequence, children may
feel inferior to others, lack feelings of
competence, feel ashamed, and believe
that they have nothing to offer others in
relationships. They become fearful that
others may see how inferior they are.
Recent research studies reveal that
emotionally abused children often suffer
various short-term and long-term emo-
tional, psychological, and behavioral con-
sequences. The harmful effects of emo-
tional abuse are most evident when the
child is verbally assaulted frequently and
over a long period of time. Further,
because younger children have a less
developed sense of self than older chil-
dren, they are at greater risk of potential
psychological, emotional, and social
harm due to emotional abuse. Infants are
at great risk of harm when parents or
guardians spurn, isolate, or deny care and
affection, because such parental actions
threaten the attachment process. Secure
attachment occurs when a child’s physi-
cal, emotional, and psychological needs
are consistently met by their primary
caretakers. As a result, children develop
positive bonds with their primary care-
takers and experience physical and psy-
chological safety.
If a parent does not meet an infant’s
physical and psychological needs, several
harmful consequences may result. Stud-
ies have documented a medical condition
known as failure to thrive in infants and
young children, in which children physi-
cally fail to grow for no medical reason.
The primary cause appears to be psycho-
logical unavailability of the primary care-
takers. Some research of ignored infants
in institutions indicated that the infant
mortality rate was very high because of
256 Emotional Abuse
the emotional deprivation. When failure
to thrive children are placed in alternative
environments (hospitals, foster homes,
with relatives) they often gain weight rap-
idly and resume growth. However, even
when failure to thrive infants physically
recover, they have a higher incidence of
temper tantrums at all ages, are delayed
in social relations, engage in attention-
seeking behaviors, and commit more acts
of petty theft than peers (Pearl, 1996).
Older children exposed to emotional
abuse can also be seriously affected. Stud-
ies have documented that emotionally
abused children are more likely than
nonexposed children to engage in self-
destructive behaviors and antisocial and
delinquent behaviors; they are also more
often diagnosed with a psychiatric disor-
der. They may be delayed in several
domains including language, cognitive
functioning, and fine and gross motor
skills. Low self-esteem is frequently
observed along with relationship prob-
lems, behavior problems (e.g., aggression,
social withdrawal), and eating or sleeping
disorders. Emotionally abused children
as they mature into adulthood may
demonstrate signs of anxiety, depression,
and dissociation. Dissociation occurs
when a child or adult begins to think
and/or feel separated from their body.
Children who have received nurturing
prior to the onset of the abuse or who
have a positive significant relationship
with another adult are less likely to expe-
rience psychological harm.
Causes
No single factor has been identified as
causing emotional abuse. Several inter-
acting factors appear to influence
parental emotional abusive behavior.
Approximately 10 percent of abusive par-
ents are diagnosed as mentally ill. The
majority of abusive parents have diffi-
culty coping with individual or social
stress (in over 60 percent of all abuse
cases), struggle in developing and main-
taining social relationships, and are often
socially isolated. In one study, emotion-
ally abusive parents described them-
selves as having poor child management
skills and being victims of some form of
abuse or neglect themselves during child-
hood. Lack of knowledge about the
importance of emotional responsiveness
and psychological stimulation of chil-
dren can contribute to emotional abuse.
Substance abuse can also result in par-
ents not being psychologically available
to their children. This is highlighted by
the fact that nationally up to 80 percent
of all forms of child maltreatment in
1996 involved some form of substance
abuse.
Treatment
The duration, intensity, and type of treat-
ment for child victims of emotional
abuse depend on the severity of the
abuse, the age of the child, and the pres-
ent family circumstances. Older children
who did not experience abuse during
their early years, who had or still have a
positive attachment to a primary adult
figure, and who did not experience emo-
tional abuse in combination with other
forms of maltreatment (physical abuse,
neglect, sexual abuse) are most likely to
overcome any subsequent psychological
or emotional impairments. In contrast,
children over five, who have attachment
problems, are the most difficult to treat.
The most critical element in healing
the internal wounds of emotional abuse
is the establishment of a trusting rela-
tionship with a nurturing adult. This is
because children need to feel psychologi-
cally safe within a relationship in order

to develop positive attachments and high
self-esteem. Optimally, this relationship
occurs within children’s familial envi-
ronments. Without at least one safe rela-
tionship with a primary adult, it is likely
that the child will experience significant
psychological, emotional, and behavioral
problems; these problems may persist
long after the abuse has stopped.
Play therapy is often employed with
children to bolster self-esteem, and to
resolve attachment issues. Empowering
the child through play has been found to
increase self-esteem and self-efficacy. Fil-
ial therapy, in which the parent partici-
pates in the play therapy, is an effective
method to rebuild attachments. Group
therapy for emotionally abused children
provides peer support, teaches social
skills, and fosters the expression of emo-
tions. Family therapy should be imple-
mented only when parents are no longer
engaged in active abuse, have apologized
for their behavior, and want to build a
positive relationship with the child. Indi-
vidual therapy is recommend for the
abuser, nonoffending parent, and child
victim prior to the commencement of
family therapy.
James Henry
Tom Luster
See also Conflict and Stress; Emotions;
Physical Abuse; Sexual Abuse
References and further reading
Brassard, Marla R., David B. Hardy, and
Stuart N. Hart. 1993. “The
Psychological Maltreatment Rating
Scales.” Child Abuse and Neglect 17,
no. 1: 715–729.
Burnett, Bruce B. 1993. “The
Psychological Abuse of Latency Age
Children: A Survey.” Child Abuse and
Neglect 17, no. 1: 441–454.
Kent, Angela, and Glenn Waller. 1998.
“The Impact of Childhood Emotional
Abuse: An Extension of the Child
Emotions 257
Abuse and Trauma Scale.” Child Abuse
and Neglect 22, no. 5: 393–399.
Pearl, Peggy S. 1996. “Psychological
Abuse.” Recognition of Child Abuse for
the Mandated Reporter (pp. 120–146).
St. Louis, MO: G. W. Medical
Publishing.
U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, Administration on Children,
Youth, and Families. 1999. Child
Maltreatment 1997: Reports from the
States to the National Child Abuse and
Neglect Data System. Washington, DC:
U.S. Government Printing Office.
Emotions
As children become adolescents they
begin to experience a richer and more
varied emotional life, including increased
awareness of the causes, effects, and
nuances of emotions. Emotions have
both positive and negative aspects. On
the one hand, they help people survive.
Fear motivates them to get away from
danger quickly, and anger makes them
fight back to protect themselves or oth-
ers. Likewise, love motivates them to
give and receive support. On the other
hand, emotions can be painful. Fear,
anger, even love can be quite unpleasant.
Rage can lead people to do things they
later regret. Indeed, people can get so
caught up in being angry—or having
fun—that they fail to see that their
actions are hurting others. Adolescence
brings with it ample experience of these
different sides of emotions.
What are emotions? They encompass
inner feelings, changes in facial expres-
sion and tone of voice, physiological
changes such as increased heart rate and
surges of adrenaline, and changes in how
the mind thinks. For example, emotions
can speed, slow, or focus a thought
process. These different elements do not
always correspond. Researchers have
found that people can feel happy or
258 Emotions
unhappy in the absence of measurable
physiological changes, that their smiles
and frowns do not always match their
inner feelings, and that they are not
always aware of the emotions affecting
their actions, as when a person indig-
nantly shouts “I am not angry.”
As noted, emotions also contribute to
survival. Without them, humans and
other mammals would have died out
long ago. Charles Darwin observed that
emotions such as fear and anger prepare
animals for “fight or flight.” Indeed, the
racing heart that comes with fear pre-
pares them to run faster. And fear as well
as anger take the mind off mundane
things, such as what to eat for a snack,
and direct all attention to dealing with
the crisis at hand. More recently, scien-
tists have recognized that still other emo-
tions—such as love, jealousy, loneliness,
and guilt—serve valuable social func-
tions, working together as a system to
motivate people to seek and maintain
good relationships. Facial expressions of
joy and anger communicate feelings to
others, further contributing to the main-
tenance of good relationships.
Adolescence has often been stereo-
typed as a period of emotionality and
moodiness. Although scientific knowl-
edge about adolescents’ emotions is lim-
ited, research in the last twenty years has
begun to provide some basic findings.
First, across all ages, most people experi-
ence positive emotions and moods more
often than negative ones. The word
moods usually refers to longer-lasting
emotional states, especially in cases
where the emotional state has no clear
cause. Second, people vary widely in
terms of their range of emotions, owing
to experience and genetic differences in
temperament. Thus, some adolescents
are more deeply emotional than others,
just as some experience positive or nega-
tive emotions more frequently than oth-
ers. Third, although boys and girls expe-
rience a similar range of emotions, boys
are somewhat more likely to act out
emotions and girls are somewhat more
likely to turn them inward.
Another finding is that, with age, ado-
lescents become more knowledgeable
about emotions—more aware of psychol-
ogy. Whereas children do not see emo-
tions as separate from the situation that
caused them, adolescents come to under-
stand that emotions can have a psycho-
logical life of their own, independent of
the situation. Whereas children generally
think people can experience only one
emotion at a time, adolescents know that
people can have many feelings at once.
And whereas children are aware of only a
few emotions—happy, sad, angry, afraid—
adolescents experience a rich range of
complex feelings including shame, disap-
pointment, contentment, and bliss. Ado-
lescents are also more aware of how emo-
tions affect them—for example, how they
change their thought processes.
Are adolescents therefore more emo-
tional than people of other ages? Research
is beginning to suggest that, on average,
adolescents experience negative emotions
somewhat more often than children. Ado-
lescents also have more extreme positive
and negative emotions than adults: Com-
pared to their parents, for example, they
more often feel very happy and very
unhappy. Of course, these generalizations
don’t take individual differences into
account; indeed, there are many adoles-
cents who are less emotional than many
adults. Moreover, these research findings
relate only to the feeling of emotions;
whether adolescents’ physiological states
are different from those of adults and chil-
dren is not known.

If adolescents are in fact more emo-
tional, what causes this difference? One
possibility is that adolescents experience
more emotions, and feel them more
deeply, because they are more knowl-
edgeable and aware of emotions than
they were as children. Second, evidence
suggests that, contrary to common belief,
adolescents’ emotionality is not strongly
related to puberty—to “raging hor-
mones.” In fact, it is related more to daily
stress, which tends to increase with
entry into adolescence. Third, adoles-
cents’ stronger emotions may be related
to the novelty in their lives—to the joy
and sorrow of experiencing for the first
time not just new freedoms but also the
difficulties and limitations of the adult
world.
As noted earlier, emotions have both
positive and negative aspects; the same is
true of adolescents’ rich experience of
them. Certainly there is much in emo-
tional experience to be valued. Happi-
ness, love, and other positive emotions
are part of what makes life worth living.
The psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmiha-
lyi has found that the enjoyment of tak-
ing on challenges motivates adolescents
(as well as adults) to climb mountains,
paint pictures, and launch ambitious
careers. Other psychologists, too, have
recognized that emotions provide useful
information. Anxiety, loneliness, or dis-
gust can signal a situation that isn’t quite
right, just as positive emotions can signal
a good match.
On the other hand, many psychologists
urge people to be intelligent about emo-
tions. In some cases, emotions can give
the wrong information. People get angry
and, later, are embarrassed to learn that
they misunderstood the situation. Or
they fall in love with someone they do
not know because he or she looks nice, or
Emotions 259
because they have strong personal needs
that have nothing to do with that person.
In short, it is wise to pay attention to
emotions, but also to be discriminating
about the information they provide.
When adolescents experience strong
negative emotions, there are certain
things they can do to cope—that is, to
make themselves feel better. When possi-
ble, it is best simply to confront the situ-
ation that is causing the feeling and try to
change it or get others to change it. In
cases where the situation cannot be
changed, however, it is best to soothe or
reduce the negative emotions. Research
suggests that getting involved in a dis-
tracting activity is often quite effective
toward this end; conversely, use of drugs
or alcohol to escape feelings generally
does not work. Talking to parents, other
adults, or friends can also help teens
understand the situation and the nega-
tive feelings they are experiencing. How-
ever, spending long sessions talking
about their feelings with someone who is
also anxious or depressed can actually
make their feelings worse.
Adolescents who are experiencing neg-
ative emotions that do not go away
should seek help from a professional such
as a counselor, psychologist, or physi-
cian. Long-term feelings of sadness,
worry, or anger may be signs of depres-
sion or some other psychological condi-
tion. Alternatively, they may be signs of
a medical condition that can be treated
with medications. Professionals are
trained to identify what may lie behind a
pattern of negative emotions. And
research indicates that counseling, some-
times in combination with medication,
is frequently effective in reducing adoles-
cents’ distress.
Reed Larson
260 Empathy
See also Developmental Challenges;
Puberty: Psychological and Social
Changes; Sexuality, Emotional Aspects
of; Storm and Stress; Why Is There an
Adolescence?
References and further reading
Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly. 1990. Flow:
The Psychology of Optimal Experience.
New York: Harper and Row.
Larson, Reed, Gerald L. Clore, and
Gretchen A. Wood. 1999. “The
Emotions of Romantic Relationships:
Do They Wreak Havoc on
Adolescents?” Pp. 19–49 in
Contemporary Perspectives in
Adolescent Romantic Relationships.
Edited by Wyndol Furman, B. Bradford
Brown, and Candice Feiring. New York:
Cambridge University Press.
Lewis, Michael, and Jeannette M.
Haviland, eds. 1993. The Handbook of
Emotions. New York: Guilford Press.
Saarni, Carolyn. 1999. The Development
of Emotional Competence. New York:
Guilford Press.
Empathy
Empathy literally means the capacity to
feel into another human being; in its
fullest sense, it is a capacity that devel-
ops, or can develop, in adolescence, pro-
viding a balance to egocentrism, the
inability to see the point of view and
share the feelings of anyone else so com-
mon among adolescents. Empathy is cru-
cial to the full development of the
human capacity to relate to others.
Humans are social animals. Because of
their social nature, humans form many
different groups, such as families, cul-
tures, and friendship groups, that play
important roles in their lives. Their
social nature also means that human
beings do not survive alone. And even if
one does, in rare exceptional cases of the
kind seen in Tarzan, development will be
tremendously disrupted. Isolation plays
an unquestionably detrimental role in a
person’s development, especially in the
early stages, affecting in numerous nega-
tive ways the psychology and biology of
the organism. In other words, people
need other people for the purpose of sur-
vival, as well as for emotional and intel-
lectual sharing.
Empathy is hard to define, though it
seems quite understandable at the intu-
itive level. It is something that allows
people to understand and sympathize
with each other. It also may be viewed as
opposite to egocentrism, which is a per-
son’s inability to see and take into con-
sideration anybody but herself.
There are two different views on empa-
thy that stress different aspects of this
ability. Some scholars see it as an emo-
tion, somewhat similar to compassion,
but with more emphasis on the ability to
adjust to the emotional state of another
person. From this point of view, empathy
shares all the basic characteristics of
emotions. That is, it has survival value (a
human being does not survive alone), it is
biologically rooted (there are parts of the
brain designed especially for emotional
processing), yet socialized, and socialized
differently in different countries (for
instance, in collectivist cultures, where
peoples’ lives are closely interdependent,
empathy would take a slightly different
form than in the more individualistic
Western cultures), it is interwoven with
cognitive processes (what one feels
depends on his cognitive appraisal of the
situation), and it is experienced differ-
ently by different people, depending on
individual differences in temperament
and personality.
For other scholars, viewing empathy as
an emotion would be simplistic. These
scholars consider empathy to be a com-
plex ability, existing at two levels and
containing an emotional response as only
one of its components. The lower level

(simple empathy) is the ability to experi-
ence affective responses more appropri-
ate to someone else’s situation than to
one’s own. A common example is feeling
sad when someone else is in pain. The
higher level (complex empathy) is an
ability to perceive objects and events
from another’s point of view. Feeling sad
when someone else is in pain is easier
than really assessing events from his, not
your, point of view.
Complex empathy has three compo-
nents: an affective component, a cogni-
tive component, and a component that
involves the ability to take on a role. The
affective component of empathy is often
referred to as empathetic emotion, or re-
sponsiveness. The cognitive component
of empathy belongs to the sphere of
social cognition. It is the ability to dis-
criminate people’s emotional states and
personality characteristics. Finally, the
third component is the ability to assume
another’s perspective and role, to really
see things as another sees them. All
three components are in constant inter-
play with each other.
To better understand the mechanism
of empathy, consider the following exam-
ple: A child comes home after school and
sees that his mother, who is usually
excited to see him, now is distant, silent,
not attentive to him, irritated, and ready
to scold him for trivial things. At first, he
may even become angry with her, but
then he starts to think and understand
that something must have happened.
Then he notices that it has started snow-
ing, and though for him snow usually
means joy, snowballs, and playing in the
snow with his dog, he also remembers
that his mother always gets scared when
it is snowing while his father is not
home. Before he was born his father was
in a serious accident during a heavy
Empathy 261
snowfall. Remembering this event helps
the child to understand his mother, and
he becomes sad, and a little scared, too,
and does not go out to play in the snow
until his father is safe at home.
This example demonstrates the impor-
tance of the cognitive component in
empathy, and it also suggests that empa-
thy is not given at birth, but develops as
the child grows and his cognitive struc-
tures become more complex.
Martin Hoffman presented four stages
in the development of empathy. The first
one is global empathy, which he found in
infants aged up to twelve months. Amaz-
ingly, even newborns are able to em-
pathize at a very primitive level: They
respond with crying when they hear
another baby’s cry, and, later, they smile
when somebody smiles at them. Yet this
cannot be called true empathy, since at
this age a child does not discriminate
between herself and others. What is
observed in newborns is more of an auto-
matic matching of emotions in the
infant’s homogenous, selfless world.
In toddlers from one to three years,
researchers observe what they call ego-
centric empathy. Children of this age
already distinguish themselves from oth-
ers, but can respond to events only as
their developmental level would permit.
In the above-mentioned example, it can
be concluded that the child was older
than three because at the age of three he
might be distressed at his mother’s dis-
tress but would play in the snow anyway,
not being able to understand his mother’s
concerns.
By the preadolescent years, a child may
reach the stage of basic empathetic under-
standing and be able to partially match
others’ feelings by understanding why
people feel as they do, yet not be able to
feel like them. It is only in adolescence,
262 Employment: Positive and Negative Consequences
when all cognitive structures are (for the
most part) developed, that one can really
empathize with another, which means
understanding, feeling, and seeing things
from another’s perspective.
This is an important transition,
because it means that a teenager is
becoming prepared to enter into complex
emotional exchanges with other people,
including family members, friends, and
even strangers. For example, during ado-
lescence young men and women often
begin to devote themselves to groups
that are larger than their immediate
familial or social circle. These include
political parties, social foundations, such
as Amnesty International, and volunteer
organizations. Involvement in these
kinds of groups presupposes a teenager’s
ability to want to see things through the
eyes of a person who may be of another
country, class, or religion. As Erik Erik-
son points out, empathy is also an impor-
tant component of emotional intimacy,
or the process of sharing aspects of one-
self with another person whom one in
turn seeks to understand. Without empa-
thy, it would be difficult for teenagers to
begin to form the kinds of close friend-
ships and love relationships that provide
a strong social network over their life-
span. Finally, although some say that
adolescence is a time of differentiation
from one’s family and the formation of an
independent identity, empathy is a qual-
ity that helps a teenager to understand
the motivations, feelings, and fears of
their family members, even when they
may at first seem unreasonable. This
kind of interpersonal understanding is
one of the keys to developing mature
relationships throughout adolescence
and adulthood.
Janna Jilnina
See also Coping; Counseling; Emotions;
Volunteerism
References and further reading
Duggan, Hayden A. 1978. A Second
Chance: Empathy in Adolescent
Development. Lexington, MA:
Lexington Books.
Eisenberg, Nancy, ed. 1989. Empathy and
Related Emotional Responses. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Erikson, Erik H. 1950. Childhood and
Society. New York: Norton.
Hoffman, Martin L. 1983. “Empathy,
Guilt, and Social Cognition.” Pp. 1–52
in The Relationship between Social
and Cognitive Development. Edited by
Willis F. Overton. Hillsdale, NJ:
Erlbaum.
Karniol, Rachel, Rivi Gabay, Yael Ochion,
and Yeal Harari. 1998. “Is Gender or
Gender-Role Orientation a Better
Predictor of Empathy in Adolescence?”
Sex Roles 39: 45–49.
Strayer, Janet, and William Roberts. 1997.
“Facial and Verbal Measure of
Children’s Emotions and Empathy.”
International Journal of Behavioral
Development 20: 627–649.
Tucker, Corinna J., Kimberly A.
Updegraff, Susan M. McHale, and Ann
C. Crouter. 1998. “Older Siblings as
Socializers of Younger Siblings’
Empathy.” Journal of Early
Adolescence [special issue: Prosocial
and Moral Development in Early
Adolescence, Pt. 2] 19: 176–198.
Employment: Positive and
Negative Consequences
Employment has several positive impli-
cations for adolescent development. For
instance, it appears to give adolescents a
basis for new identities and new expecta-
tions of responsibility and independence
from parents as well as a new, high status
among peers. In addition, when working,
adolescents encounter working peers and
adults who can potentially provide new
models of adult behavior and new refer-
ence groups.
 Employment: Positive and Negative Consequences
Of course, these new groups can act as
either good or bad influences on the ado-
lescent. And employment can take time
away from school, thereby diminishing
the adolescent’s opportunity to partici-
pate in extracurricular activities or the
time available for homework.
Moreover, the kinds of employment
opportunities that are most readily avail-
able to youth are the same work activi-
ties that have the most negative conse-
quences for adults. That is, most youth
work in the retail and service sectors, and
are given jobs with high turnover, low
pay, little authority, and low prestige.
Adults in such jobs are often displeased
not only by the work conditions involved
but also by the fact that such positions
entail simple, repetitive tasks (e.g., “flip-
ping burgers”) that require very little or
no special training or skills (e.g., “Here is
the hamburger, flip it over when it is
brown, don’t touch the hot stove”).
Nevertheless, it is possible that even
these tasks—though perhaps boring and
undesirable to adults who, if they find
themselves in such roles, feel that their
future prospects are dim—may be new
and challenging activities to a young per-
son. Someone who has never worked out-
side the home and has never been asked
to be productive for pay may be more
excited by the opportunity to be involved
in the world of work than displeased by
the particular activities he or she finds
available in this setting.
Thus, employment exerts a range of
possible positive and negative influences
on adolescent development. The issue is
not one of deciding whether work itself is
beneficial but, rather, a matter of learn-
ing when, under what circumstances,
work may have either a positive or a neg-
ative effect. Several major research proj-
ects have been conducted to determine
263
the role of work in adolescent develop-
ment. These studies allow us to address
the question of work’s effects on adoles-
cents.
In one such study, Ellen Greenberger
and Laurence D. Steinberg (1986) studied
youth employment among students in
four California high schools. The students
reported, on the one hand, that their
employment was associated with their
being punctual, dependable, and person-
ally responsible; among girls, employment
was linked to reports of self-reliance. On
the other hand, employed adolescents
were more frequently late for school and
engaged in more deviant behavior than
was the case among nonemployed youth.
Similarly, working students reported more
school misconduct than did nonworking
students; indeed, working a moderate
number of hours was linked to the highest
rates of school misconduct.
Another major study of the implica-
tions of work for youth development
involved a longitudinal assessment of
approximately 1,000 adolescents in the
ninth and tenth grades conducted by Jey-
lan Mortimer and colleagues (1994). For
most of the adolescents in this study
(about 90 percent), there was no formal
association between school curriculum
and work (e.g., these youth were not
involved in a work-study program, and
they did not receive credit for their
work). Moreover, fewer than 20 percent
of the adolescents reported that their jobs
provided them with knowledge about
topics studied in school or that their
work experiences gave them information
that they could contribute to class dis-
cussions.
Consistent with the earlier research,
this study found that working had some
negative implications for the academic
and personal development of youth. For
264 Employment: Positive and Negative Consequences
instance, 43 percent of the students
reported that working decreased the time
available for their homework, and about
half reported that simultaneously being a
worker and a student was stressful.
Moreover, students who worked at high
intensity (i.e., twenty-five or more hours
a week) engaged in more alcohol use.
Yet many students also reported posi-
tive characteristics associated with
working while still in high school. About
48 percent indicated that their job taught
them the importance of obtaining a good
education, and approximately a third
reported that working had increased their
ability to identify the courses in high
school that they liked or did not like. In
addition, about 36 percent of the students
reported that what they learned at school
facilitated their job performance.
By the tenth grade, 42 percent of the
boys and 52 percent of the girls were
employed. Consistent with what was
found when the students were in the
ninth grade, the researchers observed no
overall difference in tenth grade between
working and nonworking students in
terms of time spent in schoolwork, time
devoted to extracurricular activities, or
grade-point averages (GPAs). Nor was
overall work status predictive of school
behavior problems. On the contrary,
employment at low intensity (fewer than
twenty hours a week) was linked to lower
dropout rates, and high school seniors
who worked at moderate intensity (one to
twenty hours a week) had higher grades
than both nonworking students and stu-
dents who worked more hours per week.
In addition, there was no difference
between working and nonworking stu-
dents in their intrinsic motivation for
school—that is, in the degree to which
they wanted to do well in school because
of internal standards of excellence and
personal values for achievement—as
compared to wanting to achieve in
school because such attainment was
associated with rewards from parents,
teachers, or society. Furthermore, the
number of hours per week a student
worked was not systematically related to
such motivation. For instance, the high-
est degree of intrinsic motivation for
school was exhibited by students of both
sexes who worked relatively few hours a
week (i.e., one to five hours), by girls who
worked in excess of twenty-five hours a
week, and by boys who worked either at
very low levels (one to five hours a week)
or relatively high ones (twenty-six to
thirty hours a week).
These findings suggest that there is no
link between student employment—
even when it takes place over many
hours per week—and risk of poor school
attitudes, diminished time devoted to
homework, lessened involvement in
extracurricular activities, or low school
grades. In this study, there was evidence
that young people could “do it all”—that
they could maintain their involvement
and achievement in school and partici-
pate in the workforce. Indeed, although
work stress had a negative impact on the
schoolwork of these youth, the quality of
the work environment (e.g., the menial
nature of the work roles assigned to the
youth) was not associated with their
GPAs or their participation in extracur-
ricular activities.
Work can also have a beneficial influ-
ence on behavior in particular settings.
For instance, in a longitudinal study of
rural Iowa youth between the seventh
and tenth grades, Michael J. Shanahan
and his colleagues found that earnings
from paid labor, when spent on non-
leisure activities, were associated with
positive parent-adolescent relationships

as well as more time spent with the fam-
ily by the adolescent and less parental
monitoring of the youth. Among girls,
opportunities for skill development at
work increased their intrinsic motivation
for schoolwork. In addition, girls’ help-
fulness at work increased their overall
behavioral competence, which in turn
furthered the girls’ tendencies to be help-
ful at work.
In sum, work has beneficial effects on
youth development in the areas of per-
sonal abilities, school performance, and
family relations. In addition, the associa-
tion between work and adolescent devel-
opment appears to differ for males and
females.
Richard M. Lerner
Jacqueline V. Lerner
See also Career Development; Maternal
Employment: Influences on Adoles-
cents; Vocational Development; Work
in Adolescence
References and further reading
Greenberger, Ellen, and Laurence D.
Steinberg. 1986. When Teenagers Work:
The Psychological and Social Cost of
Adolescent Employment. New York:
Basic Books.
Lerner, Richard M. In press. Adolescence:
Development, Diversity, Context, and
Application. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice-Hall.
McKeachie, James, Sandra Lindsay, Sandy
Hobbs, and M. Lavalette. 1996.
“Adolescents’ Perceptions of the Role
of Part-Time Work.” Adolescence 31,
no. 121: 193–204.
Mihalic, Sharon W., and Delbert Elliot.
1997. “Short- and Long-Term
Consequences of Doing Work.” Youth
and Society 28, no. 4: 464–498.
Mortimer, Jeylan, Michael Shanahan, and
Seong Ryu. 1994. “The Effects of
Adolescent Employment on School-
Related Orientations and Behavior.” Pp.
304–326 in Adolescence in Context.
Edited by R. Silbereisen and R. Todt.
New York: Springer.
Shanahan, Michael J., Glenn H. Elder Jr.,
Margaret Burchinal, and Rand D.
Environmental Health Issues 265
Conger. 1996. “Adolescent Paid Labor
and Relationships with Parents: Early
Work-Family Linkages.” Child
Development 67: 2183–2200.
Environmental Health Issues
The protection of children and adoles-
cents from the threat of toxicants in the
environment has become a central issue
for many communities. Although most
children and adolescents in the United
States are considerably better off in terms
of health than their cohorts of previous
generations for a variety of reasons includ-
ing safer drinking water and improved
nutrition, housing, medical care, and san-
itary waste, they nevertheless face threats
of environmental toxicants unknown to
previous generations. In fact, they are
potentially at risk from exposure to an
estimated 15,000 synthetic, high-produc-
tion chemicals, most of which did not
exist fifty years ago. Some of these chem-
icals are found throughout the environ-
ment; others are contained in household
products. Moreover, the exposure of chil-
dren and adolescents to these chemicals is
aggravated by poverty and inadequate
access to healthcare.
The historical contributions of modern
medicine, including the triumphs of
antibiotics and vaccines, in conjunction
with the current threat of exposure to
environmental chemicals and toxins, has
created a new paradigm of childhood and
adolescent health. Specifically, whereas
the incidence of childhood diseases such
as smallpox and diphtheria has substan-
tially declined, the incidence of diseases
of known or suspected toxic environ-
mental origin has increased significantly.
The following diseases and their environ-
mental correlates are notable in this
regard.
266 Environmental Health Issues
The protection of children and adolescents from the threat of toxic chemicals in the
environment has become a central issue for many communities. (Bob Krist/Corbis)
Asthma and Air Quality
Each year more than 150,000 children
and adolescents are hospitalized due to
asthma, a disease that, in 1998, affected
more than 5 million children and adoles-
cents. The incidence of asthma is partic-
ularly uneven: The disease occurs more
often in urban than in rural areas and
more often among African American and
Hispanic children and adolescents than
among their Caucasian counterparts.
Asthma is defined as a narrowing of air
passages in the lungs that, in turn, pro-
duces breathing difficulty. Asthmatic
attacks are typically brought on by “trig-
gers” in children and adolescents who
have either an acquired or genetic dispo-
sition to asthma. Primary triggers of
asthma—including household dust mites
and airway irritants such as cigarette
smoke and smog—set off a series of reac-
tions that narrow the lung airways, pro-
ducing such hallmark symptoms as
coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath,
and increased risk for respiratory infec-
tion.
Asthma symptoms have also been
linked to poor air quality, both indoors
and outdoors. A major contributor to
poor indoor air quality is environmental
tobacco smoke (ETS), also known as sec-
ondhand smoke. According to the
National Center for Environmental
Health at the Centers for Disease Con-
trol (CDC), 43 percent of children
between two months and eleven years of
age live in a residence with at least one
smoker (CDC, 1996). Outdoor air quality,

meanwhile, is greatly affected by urban
air pollution—another major factor in the
incidence of asthma. Children and ado-
lescents are especially vulnerable to the
effects of air pollution because they typi-
cally spend more time outdoors than
adults do (CDC, 1991; U.S. Environmen-
tal Protection Agency, 1997a).
Environmental Factors in
Childhood/Adolescent Cancers
Each year in the United States approxi-
mately 8,000 children ranging from
infancy to fifteen years of age are diag-
nosed with a type of cancer (Miller et al.,
1993). Beyond the first year of life, can-
cers (in particular, leukemia and brain
cancer) are the second leading cause of
death in children under fifteen years of
age, after accidents (Zahm and DeVesa,
1995). Although the death rate attributed
to childhood cancers has declined, the
actual incidence of new childhood can-
cers has increased dramatically since the
1970s. For example, between 1973 and
1994, the incidence of childhood brain
cancer increased by 39.6 percent (DeVesa
et al., 1995).
The reasons for this increased incidence
are not fully understood. Although
improved diagnosis (through magnetic
resonance imaging) and changes in diet
may have influenced the outcome, the
increase occurred too rapidly over a rela-
tively short period of time (twenty-one
years) to be explained entirely by, say,
genetic factors, thus raising the specter of
environmental factors such as carcinogens
(substances that trigger the development
of cancer). Examples of carcinogens impli-
cated in childhood/adolescent cancers
include environmental tobacco smoke
(ETS) (U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, 1994; NIOSH, 1991), asbestos,
and certain hazardous wastes and pesti-
Environmental Health Issues 267
cides (NRC, 1993; Zahm and DeVesa,
1995). Hazardous wastes encompass a
wide variety of organic chemicals and
heavy metals such as lead, toxins to which
children and adolescents may be exposed
if they live or play near hazardous waste
sites. And, indeed, the U.S. Environmen-
tal Protection Agency (EPA) estimates
that as many as 4 million children and
adolescents live within one mile of such
sites.
Developmental/Neurological Toxicity
and Environmental Factors
A significant environmental problem in
the lives of children and adolescents is the
impact of neurotoxins on the brain and
nervous system. These substances can
affect attentional skills, language, even
overall intelligence (Needleman, Schell,
and Bellinger, 1990). Whereas neurotoxins
such as lead, PCBs, and dioxins may have
only a temporary ill effect on adult brains,
they can result in enduring damage to the
incompletely developed brains of children
(NRC, 1993; Needleman and Gatsonis,
1990). Consider, for example, the clearly
harmful effect of lead ingestion on young
children under six, particularly those who
live in older homes with peeling lead
paint as well as lead contaminated dust.
Children and adolescents can also be
exposed to lead by drinking contaminated
water (from lead plumbing in older
homes), breathing air from nearby indus-
trial facilities, or living or playing too
close to hazardous waste sites.
Endocrine Problems, Sexual Disorders,
and Environmental Factors
Increasing evidence suggests that a vari-
ety of organic chemicals have been intro-
duced into the environment and that
these chemicals have had adverse effects
on bodily functions—specifically, by
268 Environmental Health Issues
disrupting the endocrine system. Most of
these effects (sexual abnormalities and
reproductive dysfunctions) have been
found in animals in the wild; yet to be
determined is the impact on human
beings. Current research is focusing on
the relationship between endocrine dis-
ruptions in cancer, reproductive and
developmental disorders, and neurologi-
cal and immunological problems, as there
is clear reason for concern—especially
with respect to children and adolescents
(Kavlock and Ankley, 1996; U.S. Environ-
mental Protection Agency, 1997b).
As noted, many traditional diseases of
childhood and adolescence have been con-
tained or eliminated by means of vaccines
or antibiotics. By a similar token, diseases
resulting from environmental exposure
are preventable (Landrigan, 1992): Toxic
environmental diseases that occur
because of human activity can be sub-
stantially reduced or avoided by modify-
ing that activity. Perhaps the signal exam-
ple of this principle of environmental
modification in recent years was the dra-
matic reduction in child blood-lead levels
that occurred following the removal of
lead from gasoline (Schwartz, 1994).
Lawrence B. Schiamberg
See also Cigarette Smoking; Health Pro-
motion
References and further reading
Centers for Disease Control (CDC). 1991.
“Children at Risk from Ozone Air
Pollution in the United States.”
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly
Report 44: 309–312.
———. 1996. Exposure to Second-Hand
Smoke Widespread. Centers for Disease
Control (April).
DeVesa, S. S., W. J. Blot, B. J. Sonte, B. A.
Miller, R. E. Tarove, and J. F. Fraumeni
Jr. 1995. “Recent Cancer Trends in the
United States.” Journal of the National
Cancer Institute 87: 175–182.
Kavlock, R. J., and G. T. Ankley. 1996. “A
Perspective on the Risk Assessment
Process for Endocrine-Disruptive
Effects on Wildlife and Human
Health.” Risk Analysis 16: 731–739.
Landrigan, P. J. 1992. “Commentary:
Environmental Disease—A Preventable
Epidemic.” American Journal of Public
Health 82: 941–943.
Miller, B. A., L.A.G. Ries, F. R. Hankey,
F. L. Kosary, A. Harras, S. S. DeVesa, and
B. K. Edwards, eds. 1993. “SEER Cancer
Statistics Review: 1973–1990.” NIH
Publication Number 93-2789. Bethesda,
MD: National Cancer Institute.
National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health (NIOSH). 1991.
Current Intelligence Bulletin 54:
Environmental Tobacco Smoke in the
Workplace.
National Research Council (NRC). 1993.
Pesticides in the Diets of Infants and
Children. Washington, DC: National
Academy Press.
Needleman, H. L., and C. A. Gatsonis.
1990. “Low-Level Lead Exposure and
the IQ of Children: A Meta-Analysis of
Modern Studies.” Journal of American
Medical Association 263: 673–678.
Needleman, H. L., A. Schell, and D.
Bellinger. 1990. “The Long-Term
Effects of Exposure to Low Doses of
Lead in Childhood: 11-Year Follow-Up
Report.” New England Journal of
Medicine 322: 83–88.
Schwartz, J. 1994. “Societal Benefits of
Reducing Lead Exposure.”
Environmental Resources 66: 105–124.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
1994. Indoor Air Pollution: An
Introduction for Health Professionals,
GPO No. 1994-523-217/81322.
Compiled by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, the American Lung
Association, the Consumer Product
Safety Commission, and the American
Medical Association.
———. 1997a. Criteria Pollutants
(Greenbook): National Ambient Air
Quality Standards. U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Office of Air and
Radiation.
———. 1997b. Special Report on
Endrocrine Disruption: An Effects
Assessment and Analysis, Publication
No. EPA 630-R-96-012. U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency,
Office of Research and Development.

Zahm, S. H., and S. S. DeVesa. 1995.
“Childhood Cancer: Overview of
Incidence Trends and Environmental
Carcinogens.” Environmental Health
Perspectives 103 (Supplement 6):
177–184.
Ethnic Identity
Adolescence is a time when young peo-
ple first begin to think seriously about
such questions as “Who am I?” and
“Who do I want to be?” These are impor-
tant questions regarding identity, which
has many facets. And, indeed, a key
process of adolescence is exploring the
possibilities for each of these facets and
beginning to integrate them into an over-
all sense of self. One can speak of social
identity, political identity, religious iden-
tity, sexual identity, and so on. But eth-
nic identity refers to that facet of the self
that is derived from membership in a par-
ticular ethnic group. Some individuals
emphasize the feelings and attitudes
associated with membership in a group,
whereas others emphasize such aspects
as language, styles of interaction, values,
and knowledge of history and tradition.
Still others see ethnic identity as a com-
bination of these factors—how they feel
about being a member of a particular eth-
nic group and what they know about that
group. Research indicates that adoles-
cents who have a strong sense of ethnic
pride tend also to exhibit higher rates of
self-esteem and self-evaluation, more
positive family and peer relations, and a
greater sense of mastery over their lives
and environment (Phinney and Alipuria,
1990).
The process of exploring identity during
adolescence is tied to various aspects of
cognitive, social, and emotional develop-
ment. As adolescents mature cognitively,
what they think about and how they
Ethnic Identity 269
think begin to change. Increasing cogni-
tive maturity leads them to question,
evaluate, and often challenge the nature
and quality of relationships, political
issues, societal beliefs, religious beliefs,
cultural values, and the “way things are”
in general. Some of the beliefs and values
they learned during childhood are re-
claimed as their own; others are rejected.
Knowing what to retain and what to reject
requires exploration of the possibilities
that exist both within and beyond what
they already know.
Exploration and experimentation en-
able adolescents to make later commit-
ments not only to values and beliefs but
also to educational and career goals. It is
important, however, that these commit-
ments and goals be self-chosen rather
than merely accepted without question
or reflection from adults, peers, or wider
society. The latter years of high school
and the first years of college comprise a
particularly important period of explo-
ration. The college experience, in partic-
ular, opens a new world of possibilities
with regard to education, career aspira-
tions, and relationships.
Another aspect of cognitive develop-
ment involves adolescents’ growing
capacity for introspection—for thinking
about their own thoughts and feelings.
Introspection, in combination with all
the changes that occur during puberty,
often leads adolescents to see themselves
as the focus of other people’s attention
and interest and to feel as though “every-
one” is looking at them (Elkind and
Bowen, 1979). This aspect of cognitive
development is related to both the social
and emotional aspects of identity devel-
opment. Indeed, it is during adolescence
that time and attention are increasingly
directed away from family and toward
peers, who in turn take on considerable
270 Ethnic Identity
For some adolescents, exploring their ethnic identity is an important part of exploring their
sense of self. (Dean Wong/Corbis)
importance for adolescents such that it
matters what others think and say about
them. Peer pressure and the tendency to
conform are tied to this sensitivity to
peer evaluation, resulting in a need to “fit
in” and to possess a sense of belonging.
This need is evident, for example, in the
tendency of adolescents to dress and
speak similarly to one another.
For some adolescents, exploring their
ethnic identity is somewhat like exploring
their sense of self. However, for others,
particularly those from ethnic minority
groups and low socioeconomic back-
grounds, there are obstacles that make the
process more difficult.
Specifically, some adolescents experi-
ence a conflict between the values and
preferences modeled by their ethnic group
and those encouraged by the dominant
culture. Feeling caught in the middle
leaves them feeling forced to choose one
culture and to reject the other. This
“either-or” dilemma can lead to fragmen-
tation as opposed to integration. Differ-
ences in skin tone, native language, reli-
gious practices, food preferences,
celebration of holidays, and so on, can set
these minority youth apart from their
majority-group peers at a time when, as
noted, fitting in and a sense of belonging
are extremely important. The strain is
worsened when the adolescents encounter
prejudice or discrimination.
Exploration of educational and career
possibilities is a critical step in develop-
ing a sense of self, but prejudice and dis-
crimination can limit minority adoles-

cents’ opportunities to explore these pos-
sibilities. This hardship especially affects
teens from low socioeconomic back-
grounds; for these young people, the
period of exploration is often cut short by
the need to take on adult roles and
responsibilities, such as a full-time job,
before or immediately following gradua-
tion from high school.
Many adolescents who experience or
perceive the opportunity structure as
inaccessible do not even attempt explo-
ration (Ogbu, 1990). For example, one
study has found that African American
adolescents have occupational aspira-
tions as high as those of white adoles-
cents but significantly lower expecta-
tions of realizing these aspirations (Baly,
1989). Lowered expectations of achieving
one’s goals and dreams can, in turn,
reduce the motivation to explore and
pursue the means of achieving them.
Ethnic identity is indeed part of self-
identity. The process of developing a
sense of self neither begins nor ends with
the adolescent period; however, it is
important for adolescents, in particular,
to be able to explore, reflect upon, and
select from among the values, beliefs,
and practices of both their ethnic group
and the dominant culture in order to
arrive at a self-chosen set of values and
beliefs. Toward this end, schools and
communities need to provide young peo-
ple with a variety of opportunities to
explore who they are and who they want
to become.
Imma De Stefanis
See also African American Adolescents,
Identity in; African American Adoles-
cents, Research on; African American
Male Adolescents; Asian American
Adolescents: Comparisons and Con-
trasts; Asian American Adolescents:
Ethnocentrism 271
Issues Influencing Identity; Chicana/o
Adolescents; Ethnocentrism; Identity;
Latina/o Adolescents; Racial Discrimi-
nation; White and American: A Matter
of Privilege?
References and further reading
Baly, Iris. 1989. “Career and Vocational
Development of Black Youth.” Pp.
249–265 in Black Adolescents. Edited
by Reginald Jones. Berkeley, CA: Cobb
and Henry Publishers.
Elkind, David, and Robert Bowen. 1979.
“Imaginary Audience Behavior in
Children and Adolescents.”
Developmental Review 15: 33–44.
Ogbu, John. 1990. “Minority Education in
Comparative Perspective.” Journal of
Negro Education 59: 45–57.
Phinney, Jean S., and Linda L. Alipuria.
1990. “Ethnic Identity in College
Students from Four Ethnic Groups.”
Journal of Adolescence 13: 171–183.
Ethnocentrism
Ethnocentrism is the belief that one’s
own group is inherently superior to other
groups, suggesting that one’s own group
is dominant and represents the standard
against which all others are judged. In
signifying the supremacy of one’s own
people and their ways of doing things,
this belief suggests an overestimated
preference for one’s own group and the
concomitant undervalued assessment of
or aversion toward other groups (Cornell
and Hartmann, 1998; Levine and Camp-
bell, 1992). In essence, then, ethnocen-
trism reflects not only how people view
themselves but also how they interact
with others. The implication is that neg-
ative attitudes toward others originate
from a need to preserve self-esteem by
projecting one’s own negative traits onto
others. Note that fervent liking for one’s
own group is not necessarily associated
with disdain of other groups; indeed, a
related concept—cultural relativity—
implies an appreciation for one’s group
272 Ethnocentrism
and the simultaneous valuing of other
cultures and groups. Positive identifica-
tion with one’s reference group during
adolescence, however, appears to serve as
a protector or buffer against the stress
often associated with groups of marginal-
ized status.
The role of ethnocentrism in the life of
ethnic groups incorporates not only social
and psychological functions but also dis-
tinctive strategies related to the adaptive
processes that arise when such groups
come into contact with other groups. For
these reasons it has long attracted the
attention of social scientists and other
professionals interested in the interac-
tions and mutual influences among eth-
nic groups. As an aspect of the adoles-
cent’s self-concept, social identity derives
from membership in a group together
with the value and emotional importance
attached to this membership. Indeed, the
phenomenon of ethnocentrism is inher-
ently linked to the formation of attitudes.
Positive aspects of the adolescent’s group
are strongly emphasized, whereas fea-
tures and members of other groups are
judged in terms of standards that are
applicable only to the adolescent’s group
and, hence, are often denigrated. An easy
rejection of the unfamiliar is characteris-
tic of ethnocentrism, which therefore
makes it a component of prejudice (Per-
reault and Bourhis, 1999).
The most fundamental task of develop-
ment during adolescence is achieving a
sense of identity. Ethnic identity becomes
increasingly ethnocentric during the ado-
lescent and young adult years. The devel-
opment of an identity or a clear sense of
self stems from several sources, including
gender, class, and ethnic group member-
ship. Ethnic group membership and eth-
nic identity themes are important in soci-
eties that are heterogeneous in
composition and have a history of signifi-
cant intergroup tensions; consider, for
example, the experiences of Native
Americans and African Americans in the
nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Iden-
tity development occurs in multiple con-
texts, including community, school, fam-
ily, and peer relationships. Adolescents
must make transitions between these
contexts and find ways to integrate their
various experiences within each of them.
If the contexts are incompatible, how-
ever, these transitions can be stress-pro-
voking experiences (Phelan, Davidson,
and Cao, 1991). Parental involvement in
the ethnic socialization of its children
varies significantly and has important
implications for ethnocentrism. Adoles-
cents are vulnerable since all aspects of
social identity processes undergo abrupt
revisions during the physical and psycho-
logical changes characteristic of this
period. They become increasingly aware
of their group membership and the expec-
tations, privileges, restraints, and social
responsibilities that accompany that
membership. The promotion of mental
health among minority youth is strength-
ened when cultural heritage is actively
and continuously emphasized as a means
of encouraging self-acceptance, particu-
larly within a culturally insensitive envi-
ronment. It provides the youth with abil-
ities required to adapt to his or her social
status and enhances positive feelings and
evaluations of the self. These strategies,
though perhaps protective for minority
group members functioning in a larger
and dominant culture, do not account for
the role of ethnocentrism among majority
group members—a role that often exacer-
bates perceptions of privilege and power
in intergroup interactions.
Mobilization of culture and shared his-
torical tradition often parallel increased

economic competition and downward
mobility. Political insecurity, status anxi-
eties, and doubts about individual identity
are translated into a loss of collective wor-
thiness. Ethnocentrism offers assurance of
restored dignity and extinguished humili-
ation, according to specific group histo-
ries. Racism is not a necessary ingredient
of ethnocentrism, but ethnocentrism, and
exclusion of others, usually accompanies
the construction of boundaries between
“us” and “them.” By adolescence, minor-
ity youth have developed an awareness of
majority values and standards of compe-
tence. They can begin to integrate their
experiences with future expectations,
based on their own values and those of the
majority culture. Since awareness of
stereotypes and group membership has
also developed by this time, it plays a key
role in identity formation. For most ado-
lescents, the contextual stressors associ-
ated with the effects of stereotypes are
coupled with normative developmental
stressors such as family and independence
issues, sex role definition, physical matu-
ration, and desire to display competence
(Swanson, Spencer, and Peterson, 1998).
Dena Phillips Swanson
Ethnocentrism 273
See also Autonomy; Parent-Adolescent
Relations; Peer Groups; Peer Status;
Peer Victimization in School; Self; Self-
Consciousness; Self-Esteem; Transition
to Young Adulthood
References and further reading
Cornell, S., and D. Hartmann 1998.
Ethnicity and Race. Thousand Oaks,
CA: Pine Forge Press.
Levine, R., and D. Campbell. 1992.
Ethnocentrism: Theories of Conflict,
Ethnic Attitudes and Group Behavior.
New York: John Wiley.
Perreault, Stephanie, and Richard Y.
Bourhis. 1999. “Ethnocentrism, Social
Identification, and Discrimination.”
Personality and Social Psychology
Bulletin 25: 92–103.
Phelan, P., A. L. Davidson, and H. T. Cao.
1991. “Students’ Multiple Worlds:
Negotiating the Boundaries of Family,
Peer, and School Cultures.”
Anthropology and Education Quarterly
22: 224–250.
Rotheram-Borus, M. J. 1990.
“Adolescents’ Reference-Group
Choices, Self-Esteem, and Adjustment.”
Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology 59: 1075–1081.
Swanson, Dena P., Margaret B. Spencer,
and Anne Petersen. 1998. “Identity
Formation in Adolescence.” Pp. 18–41
in The Adolescent Years: Social
Influences and Educational Challenges.
Edited by Kathy Borman and B.
Schneider. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press.
 F
Family Composition:
Realities and Myths
Adolescents in the United States have
been viewed as experiencing four revolu-
tionary changes in family composition
during the past 150 years. Two of these
changes occurred; two did not. First is the
mythical shift from extended-family
households with grandparents, parents,
and siblings in the home to nuclear-family
households with parents and siblings only.
Second is the real shift from living mainly
in large families with many children to
small families with few children. Third is
the real shift from homemaker mothers to
breadwinner mothers. Fourth is the myth-
ical shift from living mainly in “Ozzie and
Harriet” families to living in other family
situations. The reasons for the changes
that did occur, and those for the lack of
change, have emerged only recently.
Extended Families
Historical findings indicate that U.S.
communities during the second half of
the nineteenth century and, in fact, all
European societies during the past 300
years included few households that con-
sisted of three-generation extended fami-
lies (Hareven and Vinovskis, 1978).
Hence, the limited experience of Ameri-
can adolescents with extended-family liv-
ing during the twentieth century is a con-
tinuation of the experience of adolescents
275
in Western society during preceding cen-
turies. In any year since 1940, fewer than
10 percent of children in two-parent fam-
ilies and fewer than 30 percent of children
in one-parent families had a grandparent
in the home.
Why have there been so few extended
families? Historically, few persons lived to
old age. Between 1900 and 1930, for exam-
ple, only 5 percent of Americans were
sixty-five years or older, and the ratio of
adults under sixty-four to elderly adults
was more than 10 to 1 (Hernandez, 1996b).
Even if all these elderly adults had lived
with their children and grandchildren, few
households would include grandparents. It
was also historically the case that a parent
surviving to old age would have had many
children but could live in the home of only
one adult child at a time. Today, by con-
trast, many persons live to old age, and
social security pensions and other govern-
ment programs allow most elderly people
to maintain independent households
(Treas and Torrecilha, 1995).
Large Families
Among adolescents born in 1865, 82 per-
cent lived in families with five children or
more, but this figure fell to only 30 per-
cent for those born in 1930 as the propor-
tion in families with one to four children
jumped from 18 to 70 percent. Hence, the
median number of siblings in the families
276 Family Composition: Realities and Myths
of adolescents (including the adolescents
themselves) dropped by almost two-
thirds, from 7.3 siblings to only 2.6 sib-
lings per family (Hernandez, 1993). Dur-
ing the post–World War II baby boom, the
median increased slightly to 3.4 siblings
but then declined to 2.0 or a bit less for
adolescents born since the 1980s.
What accounts for this revolutionary
drop in family size between the mid–nine-
teenth and mid–twentieth centuries? For
an explanation, two additional revolution-
ary changes need to be cited.
First, between 1830 and 1930, the pro-
portion of children living in farm fami-
lies dropped from 70 to 30 percent,
whereas the proportion living in non-
farm, father-as-breadwinner, mother-as-
homemaker families jumped from 15 to
55 percent. The shift from farming to
urban occupations became increasingly
necessary for improved economic status,
because urban occupations increasingly
provided higher incomes than farming
(Hernandez, 1993).
Second, between 1870 and 1940, school
enrollment rates jumped sharply from
about 50 percent for children aged five to
nineteen to 95 percent for children aged
seven to thirteen and to 79 percent for
children aged fourteen to seventeen.
Moreover, among enrolled students the
number of days spent in school doubled
from 21 percent of the year as of 1870 to
42 percent of the year as of 1940. The rea-
sons for this enormous expansion in
schooling include not only compulsory
education laws but also efforts by the
labor unions to ensure jobs for adults
(mainly fathers) and by the child welfare
movement to obtain the passage of child
labor laws protecting children from
unsafe and unfair working conditions. In
addition, as time passed, high educational
attainment became increasingly neces-
sary to obtain jobs with higher incomes
and prestige, thus encouraging parents to
foster more schooling for their children
(Hernandez, 1993).
Why, in this historical context, did par-
ents drastically restrict their childbear-
ing? The shift from farming to urban
occupations meant that housing, food,
clothing, and other necessities had to be
purchased with cash, making the costs of
supporting each additional child increas-
ingly difficult to bear, while the potential
economic contributions that children
could make to their parents and families
was sharply reduced by child labor and
compulsory education laws.
As economic growth led to concomi-
tant increases in the quality and quantity
of available consumer products and ser-
vices, expected consumption standards
rose, and individuals were required to
spend more money simply to maintain
the new “normal” standard of living.
Hence, the costs of supporting each addi-
tional child at a “normal” level increased
as time passed.
At the same time, newly available
goods and services began competing with
children for parental time and money.
Indeed, each additional child born into a
family not only required additional finan-
cial support and made additional demands
on parents’ time and attention but also
reduced the time and money that parents
could devote to their own work as well as
to recreation and older children.
As a result, more and more parents
limited their family size to a compara-
tively small number of children. In this
way, available income could be spread
less thinly.
Mother-Only Families
A revolutionary increase occurred among
mother-only families from only 6 to 8
 Family Composition: Realities and Myths
percent in 1940–1960 to 20 percent in
1990 and to 24 percent in 1995. Although
separation and divorce accounted for
most of this historic change, out-of-wed-
lock childbearing became increasingly
significant (Hernandez, 1993 and 1996a).
Between the 1860s and the 1960s, a
remarkably steady eightfold increase
occurred in the divorce rate. Preindus-
trial farm life compelled the economic
interdependence of husbands and wives;
fathers and mothers had to work together
to maintain the family. But with a non-
farm job, the father could, if he desired,
depend solely on his own work for
income, leaving his family but taking his
income with him. Also, upon moving to
urban areas, husbands and wives left
behind the rural small-town social con-
trols that censured divorce.
After 1940, the massive increase in
mothers’ employment outside the home
provided independent incomes that fur-
ther facilitated divorce. By 1999, among
adolescents living with their mothers, 78
percent had a mother who was employed
during the past year, and 46 percent had a
mother who was employed full-time year-
round. During the same period, economic
insecurity and need associated with
erratic or limited employment prospects
contributed to increases in divorce rates
and out-of-wedlock childbearing.
Regarding divorce, Glen Elder and his
colleagues (Liker and Elder, 1983; Conger
et al., 1990; Elder et al., 1992) have shown
that instability in husbands’ work, drops
in family income, and a low ratio of fam-
ily income to family needs have led to
increased hostility between husbands and
wives, decreased marital quality, and
increased risk of divorce. Given that 70
percent of the increase in mother-only
white families between 1960 and 1988
can be accounted for by the rise in sepa-
277
ration and divorce, these three factors
may account for much of the rise in
mother-only families for white children
during these decades.
Between 1940 and 1960, the proportion
of black children living in a mother-only
family with a divorced or separated
mother increased to a greater extent than
that of white children living in these cir-
cumstances. Since 1970, the same has
been true of black children in mother-only
families with a never-married mother.
The factors leading to increased separa-
tion and divorce among whites were also
important for blacks, but the startling
drop in the proportion of blacks living on
farms between 1940 and 1960—from 44
percent in 1940 to only 11 percent in
1960—as well as the extraordinary eco-
nomic pressures and hardships faced by
black families may account for the much
higher proportion of black children than
white children who lived in mother-only
families (Hernandez, 1993).
Joblessness is yet another factor affect-
ing family composition. Drawing upon
the work of William Julius Wilson (1987),
Donald Hernandez (1993) calculated that
the extent to which joblessness among
young black men aged sixteen to twenty-
four exceeded joblessness among young
white men in the same age group
expanded from almost none in 1955 to 15
to 25 percentage points by 1975–1989.
Faced with this large and rapid reduction
in the availability of black men during
the main family-building ages who might
provide significant support to a family,
many young black women appear to have
decided to forgo a temporary and unre-
warding marriage—in fact, a marriage in
which a jobless or poorly paid husband
might have acted as a financial drain.
In summary, the revolutionary increase
in mother-only families has been driven
278 Family Composition: Realities and Myths
by the increasing economic independence
of husbands and then of wives, and the
increasing economic insecurity leading to
increasing divorce and, more recently,
out-of-wedlock childbearing.
“Ozzie and Harriet” Families
In the 1950s, the U.S. television series
known as Ozzie and Harriet portrayed an
idealized urban American family in
which the father was a full-time year-
round worker, the mother was a full-time
homemaker without a paid job, and all
the children were born after the parents’
one and only marriage. It is commonly
assumed that most children lived in
“Ozzie and Harriet” families in the
1950s, and that these families were sub-
sequently replaced by dual-earner and
mother-only families owing to changes
in the economy and in family values.
Yet statistics developed to estimate the
proportion of children living in such fam-
ilies show that, since at least the Great
Depression, the majority of children have
never lived in such families (Hernandez,
1993). In 1940, by the time they had
reached the age of seventeen, fewer than
one-third of adolescents, or 31 percent,
lived in “Ozzie and Harriet” families—a
figure that had declined to only 15 percent
in 1980. Since at least the Great Depres-
sion, among children and adolescents of
all ages, the mid-twentieth-century ideal
of family living has been a myth.
In what sense is this a myth? The
answer is twofold. First, as of 1940, fully
40 percent of children lived with fathers
who did not work full-time year-round;
moreover, despite subsequent declines in
this proportion, at least one-fifth of chil-
dren during each post–World War II year
lived with a father who worked less than
full-time year-round. These proportions
were only slightly lower among seven-
teen-year-olds than among children in
general. Second, since 1940, children
have experienced a revolutionary
increase in mother’s employment.
Even between 1940 and 1960, however,
about 30 percent of children did not live
in two-parent families with both parents
married only once and all the children
born after the parents’ marriage—partly
because historic increases in divorce were
simply counterbalancing historic declines
in parents’ death rates between 1860 and
1960 (Hernandez, 1993). Hence, both his-
torically and today, large proportions of
adolescents spend at least part of their
childhood with fewer than two parents in
the home, owing to their parents’ death,
divorce, or out-of-wedlock childbearing.
Among white children born between
1920 and 1960, for example, a large
minority—28 to 34 percent—had, by age
seventeen, spent part of their childhood
living with fewer than two parents—a
proportion unchanged since the late
1800s. In turn, among black children born
between 1920 and 1960, an enormous pro-
portion—55 to 60 percent—had, by age
seventeen, spent part of their childhood
living with fewer than two parents. This
proportion, too, had remained roughly the
same since the late 1800s. Projections
indicate that these proportions will rise
for white and black children to about 50
and 80 percent, respectively.
Donald J. Hernandez
See also Adoption: Issues and Concerns;
Fathers and Adolescents; Grandparents:
Intergenerational Relationships; Moth-
ers and Adolescents; Sibling Relation-
ships; Single Parenthood and Low
Achievement
References and further reading
Conger, Rand D., Glen H. Elder Jr., F. O.
Lorenz, K. J. Conger, R. L. Simmons,
L. B. Whitbeck, J. Huck, and J. N.

Melby. 1990. “Linking Economic
Hardship and Marital Quality and
Instability.” Journal of Marriage and
the Family 52: 643–656.
Elder, Glen H., Rand D. Conger, E.
Michael Foster, and Monika Ardelt.
1992. “Families under Economic
Pressure.” Journal of Family Issues 13:
5–37.
Hareven, Tamara K., and Maris A.
Vinovskis, eds. 1978. Family and
Population in Nineteenth-Century
America. Princeton, NJ: Princeton
University Press.
Hernandez, Donald J. 1993. America’s
Children: Resources from Family,
Government, and the Economy. New
York: Russell Sage Foundation.
———. 1996a. “Child Development and
Social Demography of Childhood.”
Child Development 68, no. 1: 149–169.
———. 1996b. “Population Change and
the Family Environment of Children.”
Pp. 231–342 in Trends in the Well-
Being of Children and Youth: 1996.
Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services.
Liker, J. K., and Glen H. Elder Jr. 1983.
“Economic Hardship and Marital
Relations in the 1930s.” American
Sociological Review 48: 343–359.
Treas, Judith, and Ramon Torrecilha.
1995. “The Older Population.” Pp.
47–92 in State of the Union: America
in the 1990s. Vol. 2, Social Trends.
Edited by Reynolds Farley. New York:
Russell Sage Foundation.
Wilson, William Julius. 1987. The Truly
Disadvantaged: The Inner City, the
Underclass, and Public Policy.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Family Relations
Adolescence is a transitional develop-
mental period between childhood and
adulthood that is characterized by numer-
ous biological, cognitive, and social role
changes. These primary changes promote
secondary changes (e.g., autonomy,
attachment, sexuality, intimacy, achieve-
ment, and identity) through the contexts
Family Relations 279
of adolescence. A key context is that of
family relations.
Biological, Cognitive, and Social Role
Changes in Adolescence
Adolescence is a time of great physical
growth and change. Males experience
changes in body proportions, voice, body
hair, strength, and coordination, whereas
females experience changes in body pro-
portions, body hair, and menarcheal sta-
tus. It is important to recognize that the
peak of pubertal development occurs two
years earlier in the average female than
in the average male. There are also con-
siderable variations between individuals
in the time of onset, duration, and termi-
nation of puberty.
The cognitive changes in adolescence
are less overt and harder to identify than
the physical changes, but they are no less
dramatic. Piaget identified adolescence
as the period of formal operational think-
ing. Adolescents who have reached this
stage can think in more abstract, com-
plex, and hypothetical ways. They are
able to explore a range of options during
the process of making decisions and
think realistically about their future.
Changes in social role definition dur-
ing adolescence vary significantly across
cultures. In Western societies, these
changes occur across four domains: inter-
personal (adolescents now have increased
power within the family), economic (ado-
lescents are allowed to work and earn
money), legal (late adolescents can be
tried in the adult legal system), and polit-
ical (late adolescents can vote in elec-
tions). Adolescents also obtain the rights
to drive and get married.
Transformation in Family Relations
The primary changes of adolescence lead
to a period of transformation in family
The changes of adolescence lead to a period of transformation in family relations. (Skjold
Photographs)

relations. Shortly after the onset of
puberty, a temporary disruption in rela-
tions characterized by increased emo-
tional distance and conflict occurs
between parents and adolescents. Schol-
ars who have written about adolescence
from a psychoanalytic perspective have
viewed the adolescent developmental
period as a time of storm and stress dur-
ing which extreme levels of conflict
result in a reorientation toward peers.
However, recent research involving rep-
resentative samples of adolescents has
not supported these notions. There is a
moderate increase in conflict between
parents and adolescents, but these con-
flicts are usually over mundane issues
such as household chores, school respon-
sibilities, and curfew as opposed to reli-
gious, social, or political issues. In fact, it
appears that fewer than 10 percent of
teens experience serious family relation-
ship difficulties during adolescence.
The following is an example of how the
primary changes of adolescence can nev-
ertheless result in emotional distance and
conflict between parents and adolescents.
Suppose a thirteen-year-old male adoles-
cent begins to reason and think in a for-
mal operational manner. There has been
a long-standing rule in his family that he
has to do his homework immediately
after coming home from school—in other
words, before he can watch television or
spend time with his friends. This rule did
not pose a problem until he reached jun-
ior high and was asked by his friends to
“hang out” with them after school. When
the adolescent asked his parents if he
could spend time with his friends before
coming home to do his homework, his
parents were hesitant to grant this privi-
lege and a conflict ensued. The adoles-
cent asserted that he would like to spend
time with his friends directly after school
Family Relations 281
for an hour or two and then come home
to do his homework. His parents
responded that homework is a higher pri-
ority and he has to complete it before
spending time with his friends. The ado-
lescent responded that he would com-
plete his homework in a more efficient
manner if given an opportunity to “blow
off some steam” with his friends first. In
this scenario, the adolescent’s ability to
think flexibly and consider another
option for how to spend his time after
school, as well as his ability to provide a
rationale for his request, has led to
increased emotional distance and conflict
with his parents.
Although these changes in family rela-
tions can be stressful, they typically do
not undermine the quality of the relation-
ship between parents and adolescents. As
children negotiate the transition to ado-
lescence, close relations between parents
and adolescents are maintained in the
majority of families. Temporary disrup-
tions in the relationship between parents
and adolescents do, however, tend to
occur within the context of close emo-
tional attachment. Yet it appears that
these moments of conflict serve a posi-
tive function during the transition to ado-
lescence. Indeed, some scholars argue
that conflict serves a sociobiological func-
tion by ensuring that adolescents will
spend time outside the home and thus
forcing them to look outside the family
for intimate companionship. Others sug-
gest that conflict promotes adjustment to
change through intrapsychic and interper-
sonal processes. Overall, then, conflict
may facilitate the ability of adolescents to
distance themselves psychologically from
their parents and enable them to evaluate
their parents in a more realistic and less
idealized manner. It may also serve as a
mechanism through which adolescents
282 Family Relations
can communicate information to their
parents about their changing self-con-
cepts and expectations.
The Family Life Cycle
Families move through various develop-
mental phases during which new issues
arise and different concerns predominate.
The concerns and issues typical of fami-
lies with children entering adolescence
arise not just because of the changing
needs and concerns of the adolescent but
also because of the changes occurring in
the adolescent’s parents. Many parents
are around forty years old when their
children enter early adolescence—a
period of life that can be difficult for
these adults as they look back on what
they have accomplished in life so far and
what they have yet to achieve. This
process of self-evaluation and reappraisal
has been labeled midlife crisis.
The developmental concerns and issues
facing adolescents and their parents are
complementary. With respect to physical
changes, the adolescent is entering a
period of physical growth, youthful physi-
cal attractiveness, and sexual maturity
just when parents are beginning to feel
concern about their own bodies, physical
attractiveness, and sexual appeal. With
regard to social role changes, the adoles-
cent is entering a period of increased
power and status when many important
life decisions (e.g., career and marriage) lie
ahead. But for many parents these choices
have already been made and they are fac-
ing the consequences, both positive and
negative, of their decisions. In short, the
adjustment to adolescence may take a
greater toll on parents’ mental health than
on the adolescent’s. A father or mother
may be especially affected by the transi-
tion if the adolescent is of the same sex
and if the parent does not have a strong
orientation to work outside the home.
Parents who are deeply involved with
their work or who have a particularly
happy marriage may be protected against
some of these negative consequences.
Autonomy
The challenge for adolescents is to gain
increasing levels of autonomy while
maintaining a close emotional attach-
ment to their parents. Three different
kinds of autonomy can be achieved dur-
ing adolescence: emotional, behavioral,
and value autonomy. Emotional auton-
omy is the capacity to be less dependent
on parents for immediate emotional sup-
port. Adolescents increasingly de-ideal-
ize their parents, viewing them more as
regular people than as authority figures
and relying on them less for emotional
support. Behavioral autonomy refers to
adolescents’ ability to make their own
decisions—to be less influenced by oth-
ers and more self-reliant. However, ado-
lescents who achieve behavioral auton-
omy continue to rely on others for help.
They are able to distinguish between sit-
uations in which they have the ability to
make their own decisions and situations
in which they need to consult with a par-
ent or friend for advice. Finally, value
autonomy involves adolescents’ capacity
to develop values of their own as opposed
to adopting peers’ or parents’ values.
Note, however, that adolescents and
their parents tend to hold similar values
and that adolescents tend to select
friends whose values are similar to those
of their parents.
Attachment
The close emotional attachment that is
established between parents and children

during childhood continues to exist dur-
ing adolescence. In fact, there is strong
evidence that detachment from family
ties during adolescence is not desirable.
Compared to peers without close ties to
their parents, adolescents who report feel-
ing relatively close to their parents score
higher on measures of psychosocial devel-
opment, including self-reliance, behav-
ioral competence, and psychological well-
being. They also score lower on measures
of psychological and social problems such
as depression and drug use.
Ideally, the transformation in family
relations that occurs during the transi-
tion to adolescence reflects adolescents’
growing sense of interdependence within
the family and parents’ willingness to
maintain close and supportive ties with
adolescents without threatening their
individuality. Over the course of adoles-
cence, the attachment relationship tends
to shift from one of unilateral authority
to one of mutuality and cooperation. If
this process is disrupted—for example,
by parents who are unable to grant
increasing amounts of behavioral or emo-
tional autonomy—the adolescents’ psy-
chological and social development may
likewise be disrupted.
Authoritative Parenting
Researchers have identified two aspects of
parenting behavior that are critical during
adolescence: responsiveness and demand-
ingness. Parental responsiveness refers to
the degree to which parents respond to
adolescents’ needs in an accepting and
supportive manner; parental demanding-
ness refers to the extent to which parents
expect and demand mature, responsible
behavior from adolescents. Parental
responsiveness and demandingness are
largely independent constructs. There-
Family Relations 283
fore, it is possible to look at various com-
binations of these two dimensions.
According to one scheme, parents who are
very responsive but not at all demanding
are labeled Indulgent, parents who are
responsive but also very demanding are
labeled Authoritative, parents who are
demanding but not responsive are labeled
Authoritarian, and parents who are nei-
ther demanding nor responsive are labeled
Indifferent. Authoritative parents appear
to be most effective. They are responsive
to demands made by adolescents but
expect the same in return. They encour-
age verbal give-and-take, enforce rules
when needed, have clear expectations for
mature behavior, and encourage inde-
pendence. They make a point of explain-
ing their requests and providing rationales
for their rules and regulations. And, per-
haps most important, they foster
autonomous functioning by encouraging
the expression of feelings and opinions.
Research conducted over the past
twenty-five years has indeed found
strong evidence in support of a positive
association between authoritative par-
enting and healthy adolescent develop-
ment. This evidence has been replicated
across a wide range of ethnic, regional,
and socioeconomic groups, indicating
that adolescents exposed to authoritative
parenting are more competent and have
higher levels of self-esteem, impulse con-
trol, moral development, and feelings of
independence than adolescents exposed
to other styles of parenting. The key
components of authoritative parenting—
warmth, structure, and support for psy-
chological autonomy—have been linked
to specific adolescent outcomes: Parental
warmth is associated with overall adoles-
cent competence, parental structure is
associated with fewer behavior problems,
284 Family-School Involvement
and parental support for psychological
autonomy is associated with fewer symp-
toms of psychological distress such as
depression or anxiety.
Wendy E. Shapera
Grayson N. Holmbeck
See also Emancipated Minors; Family-
School Involvement; Fathers and Ado-
lescents; Grandparents: Intergenera-
tional Relationships; Mothers and
Adolescents; Parent-Adolescent Rela-
tions
References and further reading
Grotevant, H. 1997. “Adolescent
Development in Family Contexts.” In
Handbook of Child Psychology. Vol. 3,
Social, Emotional, and Personality
Development, 5th ed. Edited by W.
Damon and N. Eisenberg. New York:
Wiley.
Hill, John, and Grayson Holmbeck. 1986.
“Attachment and Autonomy during
Adolescence.” Annals of Child
Development 3: 145–189.
Holmbeck, Grayson. 1996. “A Model of
Family Relational Transformations
during the Transition to Adolescence:
Parent-Adolescent Conflict and
Adaptation.” In Transitions through
Adolescence: Interpersonal Domains
and Context. Edited by J. Graber, J.
Brooks-Gunn, and A. Peterson.
Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Holmbeck, Grayson, and Wendy Shapera.
1999. “Research Methods with
Adolescents.” In Handbook of Research
Methods in Clinical Psychology. Edited
by P. Kendall, J. Butcher, and G.
Holmbeck. New York: Wiley.
Holmbeck, Grayson, Roberta Paikoff, and
Jeanne Brooks-Gunn. 1995. “Parenting
Adolescents.” In Handbook of
Parenting, Vol. 1. Edited by Marcus
Bornstein. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Steinberg, Laurence. 1990. “Autonomy,
Conflict, and Harmony in the Family
Relationship.” In At the Threshold: The
Developing Adolescent. Edited by S.
Feldman and G. Elliott. Cambridge,
MA: Harvard University Press.
———. 1999. Adolescence. Boston:
McGraw-Hill.
Steinberg, Laurence, and Wendy Steinberg.
1994. Crossing Paths: How Your Child’s
Adolescence Can Be an Opportunity for
Your Own Personal Growth. New York:
Simon and Schuster.
Family-School Involvement
The family and the school are responsible
for socializing acceptable conduct and
teaching basic skills associated with aca-
demic achievement. Although the two
share in this responsibility, there often is
little coordination or connection between
them. Joyce Epstein, at the Center on
Families, Communities, Schools, and
Children’s Learning at Johns Hopkins
University, has suggested several ways in
which the school and family can forge
partnerships—some of which can be ini-
tiated by parents and others by the
school. These partnerships fall into six
categories of involvement. Type 1
involvement entails assistance by the
school with parenting, child rearing, and
establishing the home conditions neces-
sary for a child to learn. Often this form
of involvement includes a school coun-
selor, social worker, or child and youth
worker who provides informal classes
and visits to the home. Type 2 involve-
ment entails communication with fami-
lies about school programs and children’s
progress. The three most frequent forms
of such communication are parent-
teacher conferences, information pro-
vided by the principal concerning stan-
dardized achievement scores, and
information about report cards. Type 3
involvement includes volunteer partici-
pation on the part of parents and
extended family members in the class-
room, school events, and school projects.
Type 4 involvement focuses on activities
at home, including school guidance
regarding parental monitoring of chil-
dren’s homework, in support of the

Family connections with the school are associated with enhanced school performance. (Skjold
Photographs)
school curricula. Type 5 involvement
focuses on cooperation between families
and teachers in making school decisions.
A case in point is the widely known Par-
ent Teacher Association (PTA). And,
finally, type 6 involvement focuses on
community, school, and family collabora-
tions. This category might include coor-
dination among YMCA and YWCA pro-
grams, after-school activities, family and
work schedules, and school or commu-
nity officials to ensure that children are
supervised properly and provided healthy
outlets for their energy and enthusiasm.
As reported by Joyce Epstein and Sey-
ong Lee, the results of the U.S. National
Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988
indicate that family connections with
Family-School Involvement 285
the school are associated with enhanced
school performance. Unfortunately, 51.3
percent of the parents observed in this
study described no connections with the
school. Indeed, their children—students
in their teens—reported that the parents
had minimal contact with the school and
that most of the communication about
school occurred between adolescents and
parents—if at all. Epstein’s six types of
family-school involvement offer a help-
ful guideline toward rectifying this prob-
lem and, ultimately, enhancing adoles-
cents’ school performance and behavior.
In addition to determining how the
school and family can connect to
enhance a teenager’s school achieve-
ment, parents can accomplish a great
286 Family-School Involvement
deal solely within the home. For exam-
ple, Bruce Ryan and Gerald Adams, as
part of their research with the Canadian
National Longitudinal Survey of Chil-
dren and Youth, have constructed a sys-
tem that demonstrates how family influ-
ences can enhance children’s academic
achievement, social adjustment in
school, and good citizenship behaviors.
In this system, referred to as the Family-
School Relationships Model, a child’s
school outcome is based on a concentric
model whereby family influences are
embedded within other influences. The
model can best be understood if you
envision a rock that is thrown into calm
water. The rock itself represents the
child’s school behavior, and the waves
that are created by its impact in the
water represent adjacent influences on
the child’s behavior. The first and largest
influence on the adolescent’s perform-
ance is the child’s personal characteris-
tics. A child with high frustration toler-
ance, for example, can tolerate waiting
according to classroom rules. Or an
assertive child will likely volunteer and
discuss things in the classroom. Each of
these characteristics may be seen as
desirable by teachers and even influence
grading. So the adolescent’s personal
characteristics are likely to predict some
of the child’s school success.
In turn, the child’s school behavior and
personal characteristics are encircled and
influenced by several levels of influence
within the family. Therefore, further
rings of influence from those of the child’s
personal characteristics also emerge.
School-focused parent-child interactions
are very likely to influence the child’s
success. Parents who monitor, help, sup-
port, encourage, and assure that an ado-
lescent is prepared for each new day of
school are likely not only to shape the
child’s personal characteristics but also
enhance good school performance. Fur-
ther, general parent-child interactions,
one step removed from school-focused
parent-child interactions, are likely to
enhance the development of certain char-
acteristics of the child. The most widely
acclaimed form of parent-child relation-
ships, first suggested by Diana Baumrind,
is known as authoritative parenting,
where children are provided with warm,
firm, but democratic family experiences
that enhance social competence. But
there is yet another level of the family.
The general family climate or atmosphere
among all family members provides
another form of influence. Factors like
family warmth, cohesion, expressiveness,
or conflict have important effects by
influencing the nature of school-focused
parent-child interactions, and general par-
ent-child relationships such as authorita-
tive parenting.
There are two other influences that
can have effects on the family and its
interactions. One is the personal charac-
teristics of the parent. For example, par-
ents with strong expectations about the
successes of their children in school will
create family environments that promote
school success. Further, depression or
mental illness in the family will have
diminishing effects on positive family
and parent-child interactions. The final
form of influence in the model by Ryan
and Adams involves the social-cultural
circumstances of the family. Children
raised in high-income homes, where par-
ents have extensive educations, bring
considerable resources to a child that can
result in more learning opportunities,
enhanced learning experiences on trips
and to museums, and the use of tutors

and mentors to help shape children’s
school success.
Much of family-school involvement
can be the enhancement of connections
and communications between parents,
teachers, administration, and the stu-
dents. This form of involvement
requires parents or teachers to initiate
communication and planning and work-
ing together. However, other things can
be done in the privacy of one’s own
home. For example, parents can provide
help and talk about what is done in
school, discuss how performance might
be improved, or offer guidance and help,
each and every day, regarding school
activities and homework. Parents can
choose to use democratic parenting as
their goal for enhancing a child’s school
success. Permissive or authoritarian par-
enting can be changed to be more demo-
cratic and child-centered. Family con-
flict can be diminished by conflict
resolution strategies. Parents can en-
courage the whole family to be respect-
ful but expressive in their communica-
tions with each other.
It is certain that family relations and
parent-child interactions are associated
with children’s school success. It is also
certain that when parents become
involved in their children’s school activi-
ties, the child becomes more involved in
and with the school.
Gerald R. Adams
See also Child-Rearing Styles; Conduct
Problems; Family Relations; Parenting
Styles; School Dropouts; School,
Functions of; Teenage Parenting:
Childbearing
References and further reading
Booth, A., and J. F. Dunn, eds. 1996.
Family-School Links: How Do They
Fathers and Adolescents 287
Affect Educational Outcomes?
Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Epstein, Joyce L., and Seyong Lee. 1995.
“National Patterns of School and
Family Connections in the Middle
Grades.” Pp 108–154 in The Family-
School Connection: Theory, Research,
and Practice. Edited by B. A. Ryan, G.
R. Adams, T. P. Gullotta, R. P.
Weissberg, and R. L. Hampton.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Ryan, Bruce A., and Gerald R. Adams.
1995. “The Family-School
Relationships Model.” Pp. 3–28 in The
Family-School Connection: Theory,
Research, and Practice. Edited by B. A.
Ryan and associates. Thousand Oaks,
CA: Sage.
———. 1999. “How Do Families Affect
Children’s Success in School?”
Education Quarterly Review 6: 30–43
(Available in English and French).
Fathers and Adolescents
Mark Twain once said, “When I was a
boy of fourteen, my father was so igno-
rant I could hardly stand to have the old
man around. But when I got to be twenty-
one I was astonished at how much the old
man had learned in seven years!” (cited in
Bruun and Getzen, 1996, p. 475). The
truth is, fathers and their adolescent chil-
dren are continually learning from each
other. Fathers learn from their children
and children learn from their fathers in
various ways, but primarily through their
interactions with each other. Researchers
call this “mutual education.” It is during
these interactions that fathers and their
adolescent children learn life skills and
gain knowledge about one another. Fur-
thermore, the time that fathers and chil-
dren spend together helps children
develop emotionally, socially, and physi-
cally, and contributes to their overall
well-being. Perhaps it is best to think of
fathering as a way for men to show their
288 Fathers and Adolescents
The time that fathers and children spend together helps children develop emotionally,
socially, and physically, and contributes to their overall well-being. (Skjold Photographs)
care and support for their children each
and every day.
Time Together
The time that fathers and children spend
together decreases somewhat as the chil-
dren enter their teens and begin to
develop relationships outside of the fam-
ily. Throughout this period, however,
fathers should continue to express
warmth and acceptance toward their ado-
lescent children. Although the amount of
contact decreases, most of the time that
fathers do spend with their teenagers
involves leisure and recreational activi-
ties such as sports or watching televi-
sion. It is estimated that fathers spend
around nine hours a week directly
engaged in some activity with their ado-
lescent children. Often these activities
require very little interaction; for exam-
ple, watching television accounts for
about 40 percent of the time fathers
spend with their adolescent children.
Yet, it is through these types of activities
that fathers can help their sons and
daughters develop emotionally, socially,
and physically.
For instance, adolescents can learn how
to control their tempers—to be “good
sports”—through competitive games
with their fathers by observing how they
react to winning and losing. Likewise,
they can learn social skills from fathers
who promote the virtues of being a mem-
ber of a team or who show how coopera-

tion makes accomplishing a task easier.
Through physical play, fathers can help
their children to develop strength and
coordination. Another way that fathers
relate with their adolescent children is
through humor. Many dads find that jok-
ing, kidding, and teasing are ways to con-
nect with their teenagers. In this way,
fathers create a fun and relaxing atmos-
phere for themselves and their families.
Finally, aside from playing with them,
fathers can be involved in the lives of
their adolescent children simply by being
available—for instance, to help with
homework or to give advice in times of
crisis. Unfortunately, many fathers view
themselves as being more available to
their children than their children perceive
them to be.
Fathers learn from their children as
well. They learn how to understand and
respond to the needs of their children by
interacting with them—a kind of on-the-
job training. Compared to mothers, how-
ever, fathers generally spend less time
with their adolescent children and are
not as responsible for their day-to-day
activities. Some fathers have embraced
the many responsibilities entailed in the
job of parenting, but it is the rare father
who is primarily responsible for such
tasks as making doctor’s appointments
and participating in parent-teacher con-
ferences, or who knows, off the top of his
head, specific details of his teens’ life
such as their shoe size or what time soc-
cer practice begins and ends. Yet fathers
who spend ample time with their chil-
dren are as capable as mothers in caring
for and raising their children.
Gender Differences
Fathers interact with their sons and
daughters in different ways, especially as
the children get older. For example, they
Fathers and Adolescents 289
tend to spend more time with their sons
and are better at providing for their sons’
emotional needs. The stronger father-son
bond may be due to the fact that fathers
identify more and have more interests in
common with their sons than with their
daughters. On the other hand, studies
have shown that daughters whose fathers
maintain consistent involvement in their
lives tend to be more mature. One-on-
one father-daughter activities are impor-
tant to the maintenance of a close rela-
tionship, allowing fathers to be less
gender-specific in their behaviors and
more in tune with their daughter’s emo-
tional needs.
Father-Adolescent Conflict
It is commonly believed that parents and
their children have more arguments as
the children progress through their teens.
However, research has shown that the
opposite is true. With the exception of
disagreements over money, the number
of arguments between fathers and their
adolescent children decreases over time.
One reason for this decline in conflict
may be the fact that teens are spending
less time at home and more time with
friends. Yet fathers who are more highly
involved in their adolescents’ lives tend
to have more conflicts with their chil-
dren than those who are less involved—
again, due to the amount of time that the
fathers and children are together.
Although fathers become more warm,
caring, and understanding as they spend
more time with their teenagers, they also
have more opportunities for disagree-
ments over finances, household chores,
curfews, and appearance.
Stress may also contribute to father-
adolescent tensions. Indeed, fathers are
more likely to argue with their adoles-
cent children after a double dose of stress
290 Fathers and Adolescents
at work and at home. One way to avoid
or at least decrease the chances of con-
flict is for fathers, and teenagers as well,
to let other family members know when
and why they are in a bad mood. By com-
municating in this way, fathers and ado-
lescents can come to understand that
negative moods aren’t always their fault.
Well-Being
Through the amount and type of their
involvement, fathers can influence their
adolescents’ intellectual, social, and
emotional well-being. Studies have
shown that adolescents do better aca-
demically when their parents are encour-
aging, supportive, and warm, and when
they practice a more democratic type of
parenting. Indeed, sons and daughters
whose fathers are more highly involved
in their lives tend to perform better in
math and on general academic achieve-
ment tests. Furthermore, one of the pri-
mary tasks for adolescents is to begin to
establish some independence from their
parents and to develop social networks of
their own with peers and other adults.
Fathers can play a role in this develop-
mental task by encouraging and support-
ing their children’s independent thoughts
and actions and providing links to life
outside of the home and family.
Adolescents, in turn, can have a major
impact on their fathers’ personal growth
and development. Fathers desire to help
the next generation grow into healthy and
productive adults, and adolescents can
assist their fathers in achieving this goal
by providing their fathers with opportuni-
ties to help them grow and mature emo-
tionally, socially, and physically.
Comedian Bill Cosby, in writing of the
foibles of fatherhood, lends this simple
advice to dads: “The most important
thing to let them know is simply that
you’re there . . . that you’re the best per-
son on the face of the earth to whom they
can come and say, ‘I have a problem.’”
(Cosby, 1986, p. 128).
Daniel A. McDonald
David Almeida
See also Child-Rearing Styles; Family
Composition: Realities and Myths;
Family Relations; Grandparents: Inter-
generational Relationships; Mothers
and Adolescents; Parent-Adolescent
Relations; Parenting Styles
References and further reading
Almeida, David M., and Nancy L.
Galambos. 1993. “Continuity and
Change in Father-Adolescent
Relations.” Pp. 27–40 in Father-
Adolescent Relationships. Edited by
Shmuel Shulman and W. Andrew
Collins. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Almeida, David M., and Daniel A.
McDonald. 1998. “Weekly Rhythms of
Parents’ Work Stress, Home Stress, and
Parent-Adolescent Tension.” Pp. 53–67
in Temporal Rhythms in Adolescence:
Clocks, Calendars, and the
Coordination of Daily Life. Edited by
Ann C. Crouter and Reed Larson. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Almeida, David M., Elaine Wethington,
and Daniel A. McDonald. In press.
Daily Variation in Paternal
Engagement and Negative Mood:
Implications for Emotionally
Supportive and Conflictual
Interactions.
Bronfenbrenner, Urie. 1991. “What Do
Families Do?” Family Affairs 4: 1–2.
Bruun, Erik, and Robin Getzen, eds. 1996.
The Book of American Values and
Virtues: Our Tradition of Freedom,
Liberty, and Tolerance. New York:
Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers.
Cosby, William H., Jr. 1986. Bill Cosby:
Fatherhood. Garden City, NY:
Doubleday.
Galambos, Nancy L., and David M.
Almeida. 1992. “Does Parent-
Adolescent Conflict Increase in Early
Adolescence?” Journal of Marriage and
the Family 54: 737–747.
Gjerde, Per F. 1986. “The Interpersonal
Structure of Family Interaction
Settings: Parent-Adolescent Relations

in Dyads and Triads.” Developmental
Psychology 22, no. 3: 297–304.
Larson, Reed W., and David M. Almeida.
1999. “Emotional Transmission in the
Daily Lives of Families: A New
Paradigm for Studying Family Process.”
Journal of Marriage and the Family 61:
5–20.
Larson, Reed W., and Maryse H. Richards.
1994. Divergent Realities: The
Emotional Lives of Mothers, Fathers,
and Adolescents. New York: Basic
Books.
Pleck, Joseph H. 1997. “Parental
Involvement: Levels, Sources, and
Consequences.” Pp. 66–103 in The Role
of the Father in Child Development.
Edited by Michael E. Lamb. New York:
Wiley.
Snarey, John. 1993. How Fathers Care for
the Next Generation. Cambridge, MA:
Harvard University Press.
Fears
For teenagers, monsters under the bed
aren’t scary anymore; teens’ experiences
with fear are entirely different from the
way it was for them a few years earlier, in
childhood. The word fear has been
described as an emotional response to an
external threat, such as a person, object,
or situation. Fear is thus different from
worry or anxiety, in that it involves a spe-
cific, intense focus on a particular threat.
This focus changes as the child develops:
Early fears about witches or swimming in
the deep end of the pool are replaced with
fears about school, status among peers,
family well-being, and performance inside
and outside the home environment. In
short, a teenager’s understanding of fear
results from a complex interaction of bio-
logical, psychological, and social factors.
As early as infancy, children react to
frightening situations with innate fear
responses. These responses are common
to all humans; they are programmed in
humans’ biological systems. In infancy,
Fears 291
fear responses are evoked as a means of
self-protection. Babies cry when they are
hungry or cold, or when they are
approached by an unfamiliar person. This
behavior is sparked by a neurological phe-
nomenon known as the “fight-or-flight”
response, which is programmed as an
innate reaction in fearful situations. The
common symptoms of this reaction
include increased heart rate, sweaty
palms, rapid, shallow breathing, and mus-
cle tension. Throughout the evolutionary
history of humans, the fight-or-flight
response played an important role in sur-
vival. Faced with a threat or risk of death,
people were provided with the burst of
adrenaline necessary for either a vigorous
fight or a quick escape. The result was a
better chance of survival, as well as an
opportunity to live and grow according to
the demands of the environment.
Excess adrenaline in the bloodstream is
the direct cause of a teen’s physiological
reactions to fear. The brain triggers an
alarm that releases the adrenaline. How-
ever, other biological influences are
related to fear as well. For example, lack
of sleep or irregular sleeping patterns can
contribute to a teen’s perception of fear-
ful situations. Or a person may be labeled
as a “worrier” because she has a certain
temperament, or personality, that has
been with her since the day she was born.
This tendency is not due to environmen-
tal influences or previous experiences; it
is simply a genetic reality. Teens who
experience fear on a regular basis often
come to fear the accompanying physio-
logical symptoms, because they are so
unpleasant. What often results is a cycle
that’s hard to break, for the teen eventu-
ally comes to fear the fear itself, even
when no threat actually exists.
The fight-or-flight response makes no
distinction between real objects of fear
292 Fears
A teenager’s understanding of fear results
from a complex interaction of biological,
psychological, and social factors. (Shirley
Zeiberg)
and imaginary ones. For example, a
teenager who is required to give a speech
in front of a large audience may perceive
the audience as a scary entity, even as
“the enemy.” Stepping up to the podium,
the teen may feel sweat drip down his
neck or trickle down his sides. He may
notice that his heart is beating quickly
and that his mouth is suddenly very dry,
and he may think to himself, “I can’t do
this. I need to get out of here!” This is the
fight-or-flight response at work, and the
easiest way to stop the accompanying
physiological symptoms is to run away
and avoid the situation altogether,
instead of “fighting” the perceived threat
and giving the speech. In fact, avoidance
of fearful objects and situations is a com-
mon strategy among teens—but it is a
strategy that brings only temporary relief
from the fear. One way for teens to cope
with the effects of fear is to change their
thinking about the situation. Edward
Hallowell’s (1997) method of “brain man-
agement” is designed to do exactly that—
specifically, by combating the fight-or-
flight response and the physiological
symptoms that accompany it.
Psychological factors also influence
the way teens perceive and respond to
fear. These factors include patterns that
form, or have already been formed, over
the natural course of development. As
children grow into teenagers, they inter-
act with the environment and encounter
situations that affect the way they think.
The focus of teens’ fears shifts, based on
their firsthand experiences (e.g., success
or failure). Teens who perceive the envi-
ronment as threatening are likely to
develop thought patterns that predispose
them to be fearful. They are extremely
aware of their surroundings, and there-
fore susceptible to misinterpreting infor-
mation they encounter if they are
inclined toward thinking the worst.
Indeed, the media bombard teens with
information about situations that evoke
fear, such as high school shootings, sexu-
ally transmitted infections, standards for
acceptable body image and academic per-
formance, and environmental hazards.
It has been argued that fear or anxiety
can be beneficial in some instances (Ger-
zon, 1998)—as when it motivates teens
in positive ways. For example, fear of fail-
ing a test may inspire a student to study
and, hence, to pass the test. And fear of
contracting a disease may dissuade a teen

from using intravenous drugs such as
heroin. Certainly, then, there are benefits
to weighing consequences before acting;
yet for fearful teens, the ability to ration-
ally evaluate a situation and respond
appropriately may be impaired by
thought patterns based on prior experi-
ence. These thought patterns—which act
as a distorted lens through which the
teens view the world, a world full of
fear—may in turn damage the teens’
social interactions.
These interactions involve family
members, friends, and other people in
the teenagers’ immediate environment.
These people may affect teenagers’ experi-
ences with fear in various ways, and their
influences change as teens mature. In
some cases, the intentions of others may
be honorable; but if the teen perceives
them as a threat, then even ordinary con-
flicts may appear particularly menacing to
the teen. A case in point is the teen who
witnesses a heated argument between her
mother and father and begins to imagine
various disastrous outcomes such as the
parents’ divorce or violence directed at
each other or at the teen herself.
The classroom is another source of fear
for many teens, as they strive to perform
well both academically and socially. This
type of fear often begins in middle child-
hood. Some teens choose to hide their
fear of failure by acting out or showing
off in front of others. Others turn to fan-
tasy or substance abuse as an escape from
academic stress. Social activities such as
sports teams or clubs may also cause
teens to be fearful—particularly when
they feel that they must meet certain
expectations.
One way to help a teenager cope with
fear is to increase the teen’s sense of self-
control. This involves the ability to put
off immediate relief or gratification in
Female Athlete Triad 293
exchange for the long-term benefits that
come as a result of taking moderate risks
or persevering despite fear of failure.
Consider again the example of giving a
speech to a large audience. A teen who
finds this scenario scary would be exer-
cising self-control if he gave the speech in
spite of sweaty palms and thoughts like
“They will all laugh at me.” The payoff
comes at the end of the speech when the
teenager realizes that what seemed
frightening was, in fact, harmless. In this
instance, he has triumphed over the fear,
thus paving the way for new patterns to
form and new perceptions to develop.
Helping teens recognize that they have
the power to affect their reactions and
performances is the first step toward
managing, and ultimately alleviating,
their fears.
Lisa B. Fiore
See also Anxiety; Disorders, Psychological
and Social; Emotions
References and further reading
Gerzon, Robert. 1998. Finding Security in
the Age of Anxiety. New York: Bantam
Books.
Hallowell, Edward M. 1997. Worry: Hope
and Help for a Common Condition.
New York: Ballantine Books.
Female Athlete Triad
The term female athlete triad refers to
three interrelated medical disorders found
primarily in adolescent girls or young
women who are physically active—
namely, disordered eating, amenorrhea
(stopping or never beginning menstrual
cycles or periods), and osteoporosis (de-
creased bone mass). All three conditions
represent potentially serious health prob-
lems that can affect the young athlete’s
health now and in the future.
294 Female Athlete Triad
Individuals at Risk for the Triad
The interrelationship between the com-
ponents of the female athlete triad has
been recognized by the medical profes-
sion only in the last decade. This
increased awareness is probably a reflec-
tion of both the increased number of
females participating in athletics and the
increased identification of the problem
by various professionals who work with
female athletes.
Female athlete triad is most common
in girls who participate in organized
sports that value a certain body type for
performance, have desired weights for
participation, or specify a preferred phys-
ical appearance. For example, high rates
of the triad are found among girls who
participate in gymnastics, ballet, swim-
ming, and track. These sports demand an
ideal weight and body shape that is
thought to make one more successful at
the sport.
However, a young woman does not
have to participate in organized sports to
suffer from the female athlete triad. Even
outside of organized sports, many adoles-
cent girls use excessive physical activity
and exercise to control weight and obtain
the “perfect” body. Our society’s contin-
ued emphasis on physical appearance,
thinness, and the ideal body shape may
be the greatest risk factor for all youth.
It is important to note that adolescent
boys can also be at risk for this disorder—
especially those who engage in sports like
distance running, where endurance is val-
ued, and sports like wrestling or gymnas-
tics, where body weight is regulated. Sim-
ilarly, boys can suffer from disordered
eating and osteoporosis, and they can
experience the male equivalent of amen-
orrhea, known as hypogonadism, which
involves decreasing function of the male
reproductive organs (gonads or testes).
Components of the Disorder
Disordered Eating. In this context, the
term disordered eating is used rather than
eating disorder because it indicates a
wider range of eating behaviors involved
in efforts to lose weight or achieve a body
composition considered appropriate to
particular sports. All of these eating
behaviors are potentially dangerous, how-
ever, inasmuch as they range from vari-
ous levels of restricting food intake
(either quantity or types of food) to binge-
ing and purging. Though not required for
a diagnosis of female athlete triad, these
disordered eating behaviors can be severe
enough to warrant a diagnosis of anorexia
nervosa or bulimia nervosa.
On the other hand, disordered eating
may simply involve consumption of too
few calories to compensate for the energy
expended through increased activity. In
other words, the young athlete’s diet may
be healthy but quantitatively insufficient
to maintain a healthy weight. This
“energy drain” or negative balance can
lead to weight loss and ultimately under-
mine the athlete’s performance and
health. Indeed, because the body and
brain continue to grow and develop dur-
ing adolescence, a well-balanced diet
with all the appropriate nutrients is
extremely important at this time.
Disordered eating can result from other
factors as well, including anxiety, depres-
sion, or pressure to achieve certain ath-
letic goals from coaches, peers, family
members, and even themselves. It is
important to determine the underlying
cause of the disordered eating so the
appropriate treatment can begin.
Amenorrhea. Amenorrhea is the second
component of the female athlete triad.
Primary amenorrhea refers to girls who
have not reached menarche (their first

period) by the age of sixteen years,
despite breast and pubic hair develop-
ment. Girls who have reached age four-
teen without any breast or pubic hair
development should also be evaluated for
primary amenorrhea. Secondary amenor-
rhea refers to girls whose periods have
stopped following previously normal
menstrual cycles. Required for a diagno-
sis of this condition is an absence of three
or more consecutive menstrual cycles.
Parents, teachers, coaches, and the ath-
letes themselves should know that it is
never normal for an adolescent or young
woman athlete to stop her period in
response to training. The cessation of
menstruation in an athlete should be
considered a red flag indicating that med-
ical evaluation is necessary.
In cases where amenorrhea is associ-
ated with exercise, the condition results
from interplay among various hormone
systems that involve stress hormones
such as cortisol and reproductive hor-
mones such as estrogen. Since the intri-
cate feedback systems are no longer
appropriately regulated, some hormone
levels become too low (estrogen) and
other hormone levels become too high
(cortisol). These systems involve a part
of the brain called the hypothalamus,
which produces hormones that regulate
the pituitary gland. The pituitary, in
turn, secretes several hormones that act
on important target tissues for normal
growth and body function. One effect of
these changes in hormone systems is
the loss of regular menstrual cycles and
the “shutdown” of reproductive func-
tions. Unclear at this time is whether
exercise-induced amenorrhea affects fer-
tility later on. Scientists do know, how-
ever, that the lowered estrogen levels
found in athletes with amenorrhea can
cause a decrease in bone mineral
Female Athlete Triad 295
density, which in turn can result in
osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis. The third component of
the triad is osteoporosis, a disorder
involving low bone mass that leads to an
increased risk of fractures. This disorder
is normally associated with older women
who have reached menopause (cessation
of menstruation). However, just as
menopausal women are at risk for osteo-
porosis, so are adolescent girls with pri-
mary or secondary amenorrhea. The
higher risk of fractures may first become
apparent with the development of a
stress fracture, a type of hairline break
frequently seen in the leg bones of run-
ners and ballet dancers. Later, more fre-
quent or more severe fractures may occur
in major bones such as hips or spine. In
some cases of female athlete triad, spe-
cial scans and X rays have revealed in
adolescent girls a bone density that
would be typical of women seventy or
eighty years of age.
By the end of adolescence, young
women have experienced as much as 95
percent of the bone density development
and mineralization that will ever occur in
their lifetimes. Thus, it is best to attain
optimum bone density in adolescence.
Toward this end, adolescent girls are
advised to consume appropriate amounts
of calcium and vitamin D every day.
Treatment for the Triad
These three components—disordered
eating, amenorrhea, and osteoporosis—
are intertwined. Disordered eating can
influence bone density when the appro-
priate nutrients are not taken in. Disor-
dered eating and weight loss can also
influence the menstrual cycle, and amen-
orrhea with its low estrogen state can
hamper bone density.
296 Foster Care: Risks and Protective Factors
If an athlete presents with only one
component of the triad, she should be
evaluated for the other components as
well. All three components may not be
evident without professional evaluation.
Female athlete triad is a disorder that def-
initely requires early medical attention.
Chronic, irreparable damage can result if
it is not treated.
Depending upon the severity of the
triad, evaluation and treatment may
require the intervention of clinicians
with special expertise, such as physicians
or nurse practitioners trained in adoles-
cent medicine. These specialists can
appropriately evaluate an adolescent,
rule out other disorders, provide treat-
ment, and refer as necessary. Reproduc-
tive endocrinologists, gynecologists who
specialize in disorders involving repro-
ductive hormones, and sports medicine
specialists may also have such expertise.
At a minimum, the severity of each
component of the triad must be evalu-
ated before treatment is commenced. For
example, bone density can be determined
by means of a special noninvasive test
called a DEXA scan; reproductive hor-
mone levels and thyroid hormone lev-
els—as well as nutritional status—can be
determined through blood testing; and
amenorrhea due to pregnancy can be
ruled out by a pregnancy test. Also rec-
ommended are a diet history and an
interview exploring psychological and
social issues that may be contributing to
female athlete triad.
Though somewhat controversial, treat-
ment may involve hormone replacement
therapy consisting of oral contraceptives
or special skin patches with hormones
that can be absorbed. Nutritional and
psychological counseling and interven-
tion may also be indicated. Finally, along
with the adolescent, parents and coaches
must be involved in the treatment plan.
They must understand the nutritional
needs of the adolescent and the impor-
tance of balancing dietary needs and
exercise. They must be keenly aware of
the potentially devastating consequences
of female athlete triad. And, ultimately,
they must be heedful of methods that can
prevent the emergence of this disorder.
Lorah D. Dorn
Barbara J. Long
See also Body Fat, Changes in; Eating
Problems; Menarche; Menstrual Cycle;
Menstrual Dysfunction
References and further reading
Joy, Elizabeth, et al. 1997. “Team
Management of the Female Athlete
Triad. Part I: Optimal Treatment and
Prevention Tactics.” The Physician and
Sportsmedicine 25: 94.
———. 1997. “Team Management of the
Female Athlete Triad. Part II: What to
Look For, What to Ask.” The Physician
and Sportsmedicine 25: 55.
Otis, Carol L., Barbara Drinkwater, Mimi
Johnson, Anne Loucks, and Jack
Wilmore. 1997. “American College of
Sports Medicine Position Stand on the
Female Athlete Triad.” Medicine and
Science in Sports and Exercise 29: i–ix.
Foster Care: Risks and
Protective Factors
Foster care is a system in which children
and teens live in licensed homes, often in
their own communities, when their own
families are deemed to be unable or
unwilling to provide a home for them.
Foster care has largely replaced orphan-
ages and other forms of institutional liv-
ing for children who, through no fault of
their own, have been denied a safe, sup-
portive environment in which to live.
Because of increasing problems for
American families, such as poverty, fam-
ily violence, substance abuse, and home-
 Foster Care: Risks and Protective Factors
lessness, the number of children and
youth in foster care in the United States
has been increasing steadily. Over the
past decade, this number has risen from
about 360,000 to 520,000. Approximately
40 percent of these youth are in the ado-
lescent age range, eleven to eighteen
years (U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, 1999). Many enter the
system with multiple risk factors. Prior
to placement they often have not
received the love, support, consistency,
and security needed for optimal develop-
ment, and enter care with severe behav-
ior problems and deficits in academic
performance and social skills (Lamphear,
1985).
The teens in foster care are certainly
not all the same. Some enter the system
at a young age because of parental prob-
lems such as abuse, neglect, and drug
addiction, whereas those who enter as
teens are more likely to come into care
because of their own personal problems
such as acting out, delinquency, emo-
tional illness, and substance abuse. Oth-
ers go back and forth between their bio-
logical and foster homes, as foster care is
often a two-way street. Whatever the
route they have taken to get there, all of
these young people must face certain
challenges once they are in care: repeated
losses, a sense of not belonging, having to
adjust to new families, neighborhoods,
schools, and friends. How well they
adjust in foster care is a function of the
balance between stressful life events and
the risk and protective factors in their
lives. Thus, it is very difficult to predict
which adolescents will adapt success-
fully and which ones will continue to
have difficulties.
Foster care can bring about new prob-
lems, but it can also provide solutions.
Approximately 50 percent of youth report
297
that foster care provided them with better
parenting, improved structure, and con-
sistency. Safer neighborhoods as well as
better experiences in school—more help-
ful teachers, more compatible class-
mates—are also associated with foster
placement (Johnson, Yoken, and Voss,
1995). In some cases, however, the teens’
ability to benefit from the advantages of
good placement is undermined by a fail-
ure to address the emotional problems
they were experiencing when they
entered the system.
Many children in foster care do well
until they reach their teens, a stage when
all youth face new challenges. Some-
times new thoughts and feelings are
stirred up at this time, involving such
issues as separating from one’s parents,
defining parents in more realistic ways,
and forming one’s own identity. Success-
ful resolution of these challenges typi-
cally entails some form of connection
with the past, even if it is only historical
information to develop a self-identity
(Geiser, 1973). Sometimes it is helpful to
facilitate teens’ connecting with family
members, be they parents, older siblings,
or grandparents. It can be a time to see if
it is realistic that some of these persons
might be able to provide a home base
when foster care is over. Another
approach is to take the teens to old neigh-
borhoods or schools to try to integrate
the past with the present (McDermott,
1987). Most recently, the Family Unity
Model is being incorporated in some
states into the independent living pro-
gram in order to reconnect youth with
their families. Even though the goal still
remains independent living, the idea is to
establish whatever contacts that are real-
istic—parents, sibling, aunts, uncles,
grandparents—which can strengthen the
social structure for the emancipated
298 Foster Care: Risks and Protective Factors
young person. It is found that often rela-
tives do not even realize their family
member was still in care with no place to
call home.
Making the transition from adoles-
cence to adulthood involves several fac-
tors, for example, moving from school to
higher education or an occupation, devel-
oping social supports. In fact, completing
high school, being employed while in
care (Westat, Inc., 1991), and developing
an ongoing support network (Barth, 1990)
are among the best predictors of adoles-
cents’ moving successfully into young
adulthood.
Unfortunately, many teens in care
have had to change schools often and
have experienced repeated academic fail-
ure. Although the newer schools may
actually be better academically, the fail-
ure to deal with the emotional baggage
brought along plus the difficulties in
making new friends and getting
acquainted with teachers often under-
mine their ability to benefit from the
new opportunities offered (Johnson,
Yoken, and Voss, 1995). Currently, there
are some new approaches to make the
school experience more positive. For
many, the key is to be placed under an
Individual Educational Plan (IEP). Then
the administrators and teachers must
share responsibility for developing an
appropriate educational experience (Kel-
lam, 1999a). Too often the schools do not
do enough for youth in foster care
because they view them as being in tran-
sition. In addition, teachers are not
trained to handle or even understand the
special problems presented by these
teens, often misinterpreting their emo-
tional problems as mental incapacities
(Kellam, 1999a). Moreover, foster parents
are often unaware of the rights the chil-
dren placed with them have in terms of
schooling.
To improve schooling opportunities,
some states have begun to bring in advo-
cacy groups to train foster parents in
advocacy and on their rights under the
Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act (IDEA) (Kellam, 1999a). Another
approach is the training of teachers on the
challenges of those in foster care. This is
being done informally in some states by
foster parents. One formalized program,
involving a collaboration between the
social service agencies and the schools,
trains foster parents in advocacy and
trains teachers and foster parents on ways
to work with youth who are having edu-
cational and other difficulties. There has
also been attention paid recently to work-
ing with emancipated youth who have
dropped out of school to help them obtain
their GED and free college tuition or
scholarships (Kellam, 1999b).
It is still the case that the majority of
youth in care are performing below aver-
age in school (Folman, 1995; Halfon,
Mendonca, and Berkowitz, 1995). Among
the older, emancipated teens, only 63 per-
cent have been found to have completed
high school (Courtney and Pillavin, 1998).
This figure is an improvement over the 54
percent found a few years earlier (Westat,
Inc., 1991). It is evident that the inde-
pendent living programs have facilitated
this progress.
Social issues are especially critical for
all teens in foster care. Those in the sys-
tem often exhibit problems in peer rela-
tions, including alienation (Raychaba,
1988; Folman, 1995). Those who are iden-
tified as being resilient have friends in
whom they can confide, often maintain
friendships even after they move to new
neighborhoods, and have foster parents
 Foster Care: Risks and Protective Factors
who help them in maintaining contacts
with friends and siblings who may be
placed elsewhere (Folman and Hagen,
1996). Furthermore, those who have sup-
portive relationships after emancipation
function much better than those who do
not. Peer support groups can go a long way
in facilitating social skills and building a
sense of connection. These groups can
provide a safe, supportive environment in
which young people can learn trust, con-
sistency, social skills, and problem solv-
ing (Folman, 1996). Although these groups
are not yet the norm for younger adoles-
cents, their importance is being recog-
nized among teens approaching emanci-
pation (Sipowicz and Zanghi, 1998).
A major advance is the development of
Youth in Care Networks. These groups,
which are based on a youth development
approach, are made up of teens approach-
ing the age of emancipation as well as
young adults who had been in foster care.
There are many different models, but all
involve working on empowering activi-
ties, for example, teens training workers
and parents on the needs of foster chil-
dren and youth, conducting public aware-
ness initiatives, advocating for policy
changes and community building activi-
ties, such as youth retreats and team-
building activities. These networks pro-
vide the protective factors identified
among foster youth who have adapted
well, that is, those who have a sense of
self-efficacy, of purpose, of being needed,
and of belonging (Folman, 1994).
Federal legislation has addressed the
problem of transition from the foster care
system to independent living as a young
adult. PL 99-272, passed in 1985, appropri-
ated money for states to create indepen-
dent living programs (ILP). These programs
provide basic skill training, educational
299
initiatives, and employment programs for
those who are sixteen years and older.
Those who have received such services
fare better, being more likely to complete
high school, be employed, and be self-suf-
ficient. However, only a small percentage
of adolescents have access to ILP programs
(Westat, Inc. 1991; Courtney and Pillavin,
1998). Thus, too many emancipated ado-
lescents continue to experience homeless-
ness, welfare dependence, health prob-
lems, and depression (Barth, 1990; Westat,
Inc., 1991; Courtney and Pillavin, 1998).
The 1999 Foster Care Independence
Act, which came about in part because of
the testimony of teens in care and young
adults who had been in care as teens,
attempts to address some of the earlier
shortcomings. It doubles the amount of
money available, allows states to use 30
percent of the funding for room and
board, and extends Medicaid to age
twenty-one (state’s discretion).
The federal government, state govern-
ments, and social service agencies all
have recognized the shortcomings of the
foster care system in the United States.
Consequently, there is a growing number
of good practice models that are making a
difference in the lives of youth and young
adults who have been included. Among
successful programs not mentioned above
are approaches that focus on enhancing
the skills of foster parents, for example,
specialized training for foster parents who
care for chronic juvenile offenders or
those discharged from psychiatric facili-
ties (Chamberlain and Reid, 1991). Those
programs proven to be successful need to
be replicated throughout the states.
Foster care was introduced as a system
to provide appropriate care and opportu-
nities for children and teens who could
not live in their own families’ home.
300 Foster Care: Risks and Protective Factors
Although better than some of the alter-
natives, for example, institutions and
group homes, the foster care system has
been found to have many shortcomings,
and the demands placed on it have been
increasing at alarming rates. The new
approaches that have been implemented
over the past several years are moves in
the right direction, and the laws,
monies, and policies now in place are
bringing about needed improvements.
However, there is still a long way to go.
Not nearly enough of the youth affected
are receiving “best practices” in terms of
service. Foster parents and the youth
themselves need to be even more in-
volved in the continuing changes to
maximize the benefits of the policies
and programs that have proven to be
effective in enhancing the lives of these
teens and young adults.
Rosalind D. Folman
John W. Hagen
See also Adoption: Issues and Concerns;
Family Composition: Realities and
Myths; Homeless Youth; Teenage Par-
enting: Childbearing
References and further reading
Allen, Marylee, Karen Bonner, and Linda
Greenan. 1988. “Federal Legislative
Support for Independent Living.” Pp.
19–32 in Independent-Living Services
for At-Risk Adolescents. Edited by
Edmund Mech. Washington DC: CWLA.
Barth, Richard P. 1990. “On Their Own:
The Experiences of Youth after Foster
Care.” Child and Adolescent Social
Work 7, no. 5: 419–440.
Chamberlain, Patricia, and John Reid.
1991. “Using a Specialized Foster Care
Community Treatment Model for
Children and Adolescents Leaving the
State Mental Hospital.” Journal of
Community Psychology 19, no. 3:
266–276.
———. 1998. “Comparison of Two
Community Alternatives to
Incarceration for Chronic Juvenile
Offenders.” Journal of Consulting and
Clinical Psychology 66, no. 4: 624–633.
Courtney, Mark E., and Irving Pillavin.
1998. Youth Transitions to Adulthood:
Outcomes 12–18 Months after Leaving
Out-of-Home Care. Madison:
University of Wisconsin Press.
Folman, Rosalind D. 1994. “Risk and
Protective Factors among Children and
Youth in Foster Care.” Paper presented
at the 24th annual conference of the
National Foster Parent Association,
Grand Rapids, MI.
———. 1995. “Resiliency and Vulnerability
among Abused and Neglected Children
in Foster Care.” Doctoral dissertation,
University of Michigan. Abstract in
Dissertation Abstract International
56(08-B), p. 4601.
———. 1996. “Foster Care Experiences:
How They Impact the Transition to
Adulthood.” Pathways to Adulthood
National Conference, San Diego.
Folman, Rosalind D., and John Hagen.
1996. “Foster Children Entering
Adolescence: Factors of Risk and
Resilience.” Poster presented at the
biennial meeting of the Society for
Research on Adolescence, Boston.
Geiser, Robert L. 1973. The Illusion of
Caring: Children in Foster Care.
Boston: Beacon Press.
Halfon, Neal, Ana Mendonca, and Gale
Berkowitz. 1995. “Health Status of
Children in Foster Care.” Archives of
Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine
149: 386–392.
Johnson, Penny, Carol I. Yoken, and Ron
Voss. 1995. “Foster Care Placement:
The Child’s Perspective.” Child
Welfare 74, no. 5: 959–974.
Kellam, Susan. 1999a. “New School, New
Problems: Foster Children Struggle in
U.S. Schools.” Web site:
http://connectforkids.org
———. 1999b. “Voices of Foster Care:
People Who Make a Difference.” Web
site: http://connectforkids.org
Lamphear, Vivian S. 1985. “The Impact of
Maltreatment on Children’s
Psychosocial Adjustment: A Review of
the Research.” Child Abuse and
Neglect 9, no. 2: 251–263.
McDermott, Virginia A. 1987. “Life
Planning Services: Helping Older
Placed Children with Their Identity.”
Child and Adolescent Social Work 4:
97–115.

Raychaba, Brian. 1988. To Be on Our Own
with No Direction from Home. Ottawa:
National Youth in Care Network.
Sipowicz, Hugh, and Marty Zanghi. 1998.
“Maine Youth Are Speaking Up and
Reaching Out!” Common Ground
(December).
U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services. 1999. The AFCARS Report.
Web site: http://www.acf.dhhs.gov
Westat, Inc. 1991. A National Evalutaion
of Title IV-E Foster Care Independent
Living Programs for Youth. Washington,
DC: HHS.
Freedom
Adolescence is a time when children
begin to look and act more like adults.
Physical changes in appearance, due to
sexual maturation, are the most obvious
of the transformations that occur during
adolescence. In addition, adolescents
undergo neurological changes that enable
them to think and reason at the same
level as adults. These new cognitive abil-
ities allow adolescents to contemplate
the abstract and to hypothesize about the
future, especially their own futures. Ado-
lescence is thus a time in which to
explore possibilities and define one’s
identity. Possessing increased capacity to
assume adult roles, and facing cultural
pressure to explore and establish an iden-
tity, adolescents are typically given both
more responsibility and more freedom in
their daily lives. One of the challenges of
adolescence lies in managing this privi-
lege of freedom while recognizing the
consequences that freedom brings.
The new freedoms of adolescence orig-
inate from different sources. For exam-
ple, the government grants many legal
rights or freedoms to adolescents.
Teenagers can begin to drive between the
ages of fourteen and seventeen (depend-
ing on the state), they are allowed to
begin working at age fourteen, and they
Freedom 301
can legally drop out of school at age six-
teen. At the age of eighteen, adolescents
are no longer considered minors and thus
can vote, enlist in the military, and get
married. By this time, they are also
expected by adult society to begin form-
ing their social and civic identities, and
to start on a path toward adulthood and
self-sufficiency.
Adolescents face additional pressure
from the media and pop culture to take
on adult roles. This pressure comes from
many different sources: music, TV,
movies, advertisements, celebrities, even
daily events in the news. The media’s
portrayal and promotion of adult inde-
pendence and the freedoms of adulthood
often entice teenagers to imitate these
behaviors. Peer groups can also intensify
the need for adolescents to participate in
adult activities and explore their new
rights and freedoms. These freedoms
come with responsibility, however, and
managing them involves understanding
consequences, exercising judgment, and
making mature decisions in such areas as
family relationships, health and safety,
and part-time employment.
Family Relationships
The tasks and challenges of adolescence
often lead to changes in family relation-
ships. Parents and adolescents renegoti-
ate their relationships with one another
as the latter begin to form and shape
identities for themselves. The process of
identity formation can involve a degree
of emotional separation from parents,
increasing the emotional turmoil that
teenagers are already experiencing.
Indeed, as teenagers become more inde-
pendent and spend less time with their
parents, the parents often meet with
resistance when they attempt to control
or manage the teens’ habits, schedules, or
302 Freedom
behaviors. Nevertheless, parent-child
relationships continue to be significant
and can greatly influence the transition
of teenagers to adulthood.
Health and Safety
As children reach adolescence, parents
begin to transfer to them the basic health
responsibilities of eating right, exercising,
dressing, and getting sufficient sleep. In
short, they increasingly trust their chil-
dren to make these decisions on their
own. Unfortunately, some teenagers have
difficulty maintaining a healthy lifestyle
because of the larger societal emphasis on
image and appearance. Overconcern with
issues of weight gain can lead to maladap-
tive eating and exercise patterns. Many
teenagers who have fixated on the cultural
“ideal” of thinness suffer from eating dis-
orders such as anorexia and bulimia, and
from the unhealthy consumption of
steroids. This emphasis on image and
appearance can also influence the way
teenagers dress, the friends they choose,
and the activities in which they partici-
pate. All of these behaviors contribute to
the social and personal identities that ado-
lescents are trying to establish.
Teenagers are also faced with decisions
concerning the consumption of tobacco
products, alcohol, and drugs. Part of the
attraction of legal drugs, such as tobacco
and alcohol, is that adults use them—and
adolescents feel more “adult” themselves
by using them. The majority of teenagers
have tried alcohol and smoked cigarettes
by the age of eighteen. Although alcohol
and tobacco use are accepted in adult cul-
ture, both substances can take a serious
toll on the health of young people.
Tobacco—through its primary agent,
nicotine—can enhance both alertness
and relaxation. But it also increases heart
rate and blood pressure, and raises the
risk of heart disease and respiratory disor-
ders such as emphysema, bronchitis, and
lung cancer. Alcohol, a depressant,
enhances relaxation and decreases inhibi-
tion. But excessive alcohol consumption
can lead to severe liver and kidney dam-
age, coma, and death, and drunkenness
can cause debilitating injuries and fatal
accidents. Illegal drugs, such as mari-
juana, amphetamines, cocaine, narcotics
(morphine, heroin), and hallucinogens
such as LSD—though not as commonly
used as alcohol or tobacco—also carry
substantial risks of injury to oneself and
others. As many teenagers experiment
with at least some of these drugs before
adulthood, candid discussions about their
effects, though challenging for parents,
are critically important.
Another safety concern involves
increased freedom in driving and travel.
By their late teens, most adolescents are
driving independently; many own cars,
and many are traveling on their own.
Driving safely, knowing what to do in an
emergency, and always having a “desig-
nated driver” are some of the precautions
that can be taken against the dangers of
driving. Though educational in many
ways, travel also poses risks. Potential
dangers include unsafe lodging or travel
arrangements, theft, and deceitful travel
vendors. Because of teenagers’ general
inexperience, they may be vulnerable to
these hazards; hence, they are advised to
travel with another person or in groups
whenever possible.
An additional area of concern is
increased sexual freedom. The biological
and hormonal changes that teenagers
undergo cause their romantic relation-
ships to become more sexual in nature,
and they are forced to make decisions
about their own sexual behavior. Sexual
experimentation and activity during ado-

lescence occur naturally due to matura-
tion; however, teenagers also need to be
aware of the consequences of sexual
activity. Sexual relationships can be
physically and emotionally satisfying,
but they can also result in pregnancy and
sexually transmitted disease. Along with
pregnancy comes decisions about early
childbearing and parenting, abortion,
adoption, and single parenthood. Some
sexually transmitted diseases, such as
AIDS, can be fatal; others, such as herpes,
can lead to lifelong complications.
Employment and Education
With adolescence comes the opportunity
to earn an income. It is quite common for
teenagers to hold a part-time job while
attending high school, even while living
with their parents. The income they earn
affords them additional freedoms: Now
able to spend money in ways of their own
choosing, they can pursue recreational
interests or hobbies to a greater degree
than before. Early employment also
raises questions for adolescents about
what career paths they might take and
what they must accomplish in order to
achieve their goals. One major decision
of adolescence revolves around what to
do immediately after high school. Since
many opportunities and choices are
available to teenagers, this decision can
be overwhelming. However, work and
volunteer experience in different fields,
as well as guidance and support from
adults, can greatly assist adolescents’
decision making about their future
employment.
At the age of eighteen and sometimes
sooner, many teenagers leave their par-
ents’ home; some attend college, whereas
Freedom 303
others go off to live and work on their
own. This transition leads to even greater
freedom and control over their lives. In
addition to dealing with new health and
safety issues, teenagers have to pay bills,
budget for expenses, maintain a resi-
dence, and manage their time. The bur-
den of these freedoms can be staggering
for some adolescents, but learning to bal-
ance and manage all of these tasks is a
challenge even to some adults as well.
Taking advantage of available freedoms,
while remaining responsible to oneself
and others, can indeed be a lifelong task.
Jana H. Chaudhuri
See also Decision Making; Developmental
Challenges; Discipline; Parenting
Styles; Responsibility for Developmen-
tal Tasks; Transitions of Adolescence
References and further reading
Cobb, Nancy J. 1998. Adolescence:
Continuity, Change and Diversity.
Mountain View, CA: Mayfield
Publishing.
Esman, Aaron H. 1990. Adolescence and
Culture. New York: Columbia
University Press.
Lerner, Richard M. In press. Adolescence:
Development, Diversity, Context, and
Application. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice-Hall.
Lerner, Richard M., and Nancy L.
Galambos. 1998. “Adolescent
Development: Challenges and
Opportunities for Research, Programs,
and Policies.” Pp. 413–446 in Annual
Review of Psychology. Edited by J. T.
Spence. Palo Alto, CA: Annual
Reviews.
Lerner, Richard M., and Nancy L.
Galambos, eds. 1984. Experiencing
Adolescents: A Sourcebook for Parents,
Teachers, and Teens. New York:
Garland.
Takanishi, Ruby, ed. 1993. Adolescence in
the 1990s. New York: Teachers College
Press.
 G
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and
Sexual-Minority Youth
Definitions
Many adolescents are familiar with the
sexual categories gay, lesbian, bisexual,
and heterosexual—contemporary terms
that refer to the degree to which individu-
als are attracted to same-sex and opposite-
sex others. These sexual labels encompass
several interrelated factors: attractions,
erotic desires, emotional affiliations, sex-
ual behavior, and culturally defined iden-
tity categories. However, it is conceivable
that for a given individual these domains
are not synergistic. A young woman, for
example, may be sexually attracted to
both girls and boys, fall in love only with
girls, have sex only with boys, and iden-
tify as heterosexual. Or a young man
might be exclusively attracted to girls,
engage in sex with his male friends, and
identify as bisexual.
When considering sexual categories, we
must clearly distinguish between sexual
orientation and sexual identity. The con-
trast between the two is often conceptual-
ized as the difference between an ever-pres-
ent, invariant biological or psychological
truth (sexual orientation) and a histori-
cally and culturally located social con-
struction (sexual identity). Although this
distinction oversimplifies both constructs,
it is useful for clarifying several develop-
305
mental issues facing adolescents with
same-sex attractions.
Sexual orientation refers to the
unchangeable sexual feelings that an indi-
vidual has for members of the same sex,
the opposite sex, both sexes, or neither
sex. It originates early in life—perhaps at
conception if caused by genetic factors or
during the prenatal period if it results
from sex hormones—and it is set by early
childhood. Sexual orientation may be
influenced by genetic, biological, psy-
chogenic, and sociocultural factors. Still
unknown is the extent to which these fac-
tors determine the direction of one’s sex-
uality; however, scientists give the most
weight to biological and genetic determi-
nants of sexual orientation and consider it
to be immutable, stable, and internally
consonant. If environmental factors are
important, their influence probably
occurs quite early in a child’s life—possi-
bly even prenatally, through maternal
hormonal levels. Sexual orientation is not
subject to conscious control, and the
degree to which it is malleable is a matter
of some debate. However, most scientists
believe that it is neither alterable nor sub-
ject to psychotherapeutic intervention
strategies (e.g., conversion therapies).
Sexual orientation influences, but is
independent of, sexual conduct and sex-
ual identity. It is also multidimensional.
306 Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Sexual-Minority Youth

In many ways, sexual-minority youths are the same as other youths. They share the concerns,
crises, and tasks that confront all adolescents. (Skjold Photographs)

Some people believe that, because many
individuals possess degrees of homo-
erotic and heteroerotic attractions and
feelings, homosexuality and heterosexu-
ality are merely the ends of a continuum
on which we all fall. Others maintain
that sexual orientation is a categorical
variable in which people can be classified
only as heterosexual, homosexual, or
bisexual.
 Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Sexual-Minority Youth
Sexual identity refers to a socially sanc-
tioned or recognized category that names
the perceptions and feelings that an indi-
vidual has about her or his sexual feel-
ings, attractions, and behaviors. It is sym-
bolized by such statements as “I am gay”
or “I am straight” and is thus a matter of
personal choice. For some individuals,
sexual identity remains fluid during the
life course (though probably not on a day-
to-day basis) and is not necessarily con-
sistent with sexual orientation, romantic
feelings, or behavior.
Sexual labels occur within a pool of
potential identities that are defined by
the culture and historic time in which
one lives. Culture gives the labels mean-
ing, salience, and desirability, so the cat-
egories available in one culture may not
be available in another. For example,
social historians argue that contempo-
rary terms such as lesbian, gay, and
bisexual have only recently evolved,
although same-sex behaviors and attrac-
tions have existed throughout recorded
history. In some Native American cul-
tures, for example, two-spirit person is a
term reserved for sacred individuals who
are believed to possess two souls, one
male and one female. These “blessed”
individuals are often androgynous in
physical appearance and behavior and
have sex with both males and females.
Whether individuals engage in sexual
behavior consistent with their sexual ori-
entation and identity is a question that
depends on many factors. These include
random or planned opportunities that
place the individuals in particular sexual
situations, the availability of sexual part-
ners, the extent to which they feel com-
fortable about countering social sanc-
tions defining who is an appropriate
sexual partner, and, finally, libido or sex
drive. Most lesbian, bisexual, and gay
307
youths eventually have sex with a same-
sex other as an expression of their sexual
desires or fantasies; however, over one-
half of gay males and 80 percent of les-
bians also engage in heterosexual sexual
contact at some point in their lives. Les-
bian and gay virgins exist, as do hetero-
sexual virgins. It is also possible for het-
erosexual individuals, who are primarily
attracted to those of the opposite sex, to
engage in sex with same-sex others for
pleasure, experimentation, or curiosity.
In fact, many individuals who do not
identify as bisexual, gay, or lesbian never-
theless have same-sex attractions. The
term sexual minority defines these indi-
viduals, who, rather than conforming to
traditional notions of heterosexuality or
homosexuality, apply a diverse array of
sexual descriptors to themselves. Those
who identify as lesbian, bisexual, or gay
are included, as are individuals who reject
cultural definitions of sexual categories.
These youths may describe their attrac-
tions as “unlabeled,” they may be uncer-
tain (“questioning”) as to the nature of
their sexual attractions, they may be
without sexual attractions (“asexual”),
they may use markers other than sex as
the basis for their sexual attractions (e.g.,
“I like the person”), or they may consider
themselves to be atypical heterosexuals
(“not straight,” “queer”). Included in this
last category are transgendered individu-
als who may be of any sexual orientation
or identity. Transgendered is an umbrella
term referring to people who believe that
they do not fit the traditional definitions
of masculinity or femininity expected for
their biological sex.
One simple way of resolving this com-
plex issue is to eschew sexual labels alto-
gether and rely instead on descriptions of
behaviors or attractions. This is a partic-
ularly important consideration because
308 Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Sexual-Minority Youth
adolescents frequently explore issues
related to their sexuality that may have
little bearing on their current or future
sexual identity. In addition to asking
youths whether they accept a particular
sexual identity label, one could ask about
the existence, number, or proportion of
sexual behaviors, attractions, or roman-
tic relationships they have had with
males and females.
Little is known about this “class” of
individuals who do not consider them-
selves to be gay and yet experience sig-
nificant and persistent sexual attractions
for and fantasies involving same-sex oth-
ers. Their failure to so identify may be
due, in part, to heterocentrism and
homophobia.
Heterocentrism is the assumption that
development “naturally” proceeds in a
heterosexual direction. This perspective
is so pervasive in our culture that many
people unthinkingly assume that every-
one is heterosexual. Thus, for example,
girls are routinely asked if they have
boyfriends, and vice versa. Heterosexism
is what emerges when heterocentrism
becomes judgmental—when girls who
have boyfriends rather than girlfriends
are considered to be healthier and boys
who are turned on by female images
rather than male images are believed to
be better adjusted.
Homophobia, on the other hand, is a
popular term that should be reserved for
the strongest emotional expressions of
negative attitudes, beliefs, and feelings
toward homosexuality and gay people. A
somewhat less extreme term—homoneg-
ativity—refers to the belief that homo-
sexuality is not as viable a lifestyle as
heterosexuality. Implementation of this
belief by discriminating against or ver-
bally abusing suspected gay people or by
committing violent acts against per-
ceived gay people is what constitutes
homophobia. Research indicates that the
majority of self-identified lesbian, bisex-
ual, and gay adolescents have experi-
enced verbal or physical harassment,
usually from peers.
Prevalence
No one knows with certainty how many
sexual-minority youths exist. But what-
ever the number, it is certain to be far
greater than the number of adolescents
who identify as lesbian, bisexual, or gay.
For example, in a national survey of
adults, just over 1 percent of women and
nearly 3 percent of men identified them-
selves as lesbian, bisexual, or gay (Lau-
mann et al., 1994). However, when par-
ticipants were asked whether they had
ever considered having sex with someone
of their own gender, these figures
increased—to about 6 percent of women
and men. According to the same survey,
4 percent of women and 9 percent of men
reported having had same-sex relations.
Other surveys of high school youths
reveal similar trends.
Thus, many “potential” sexual-minor-
ity youths do not identify as gay or les-
bian during adolescence. The reason for
this disparity is not known, but it is
likely linked to negative cultural atti-
tudes and stereotypes about same-sex-
attracted individuals. One thing is cer-
tain: The percentage of adolescents who
are attracted to same-sex others at least
parallels the number of adults with these
attractions. Whether this proportion is as
small as 2 percent or as large as 15 per-
cent is difficult to ascertain.
Developmental Research
Relatively little is known about sexual-
minority youths because researchers
have ignored such individuals, at least
 Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Sexual-Minority Youth
until recently. In the interim, a limited
number of issues important to sexual-
minority youths have been addressed.
Specifically, based on the differential
developmental trajectories (DDT)
approach, four hypotheses about their
lives have received empirical support.
First, in many ways sexual-minority
youths are the same as other youths,
regardless of sexual attractions. They
share the concerns, crises, and tasks that
confront all adolescents. Regardless of
sexual orientation, they experience
growth spurts, menses, nocturnal emis-
sions, secondary sex characteristics, and
acne. They also struggle to balance con-
nectedness and autonomy with their par-
ents, shift their attachments from parents
to peers, argue about curfew and house-
hold duties, and desire to fall in love and
to experience both sexual and emotional
intimacy. Yet these similarities are fre-
quently lost on those who portray sexual-
minority youths as unhealthy, unnatural,
undesirable, even “alien” beings. They
cite a long litany of ways in which sex-
ual-minority youths deviate from their
heterosexual brothers and sisters. And
they urge parents to always be “on guard”
with the “moral courage,” if not always
with the accurate information, needed to
convince their vulnerable children that
they should never be lesbian or gay. For
example, in response to recent discrimi-
nation lawsuits, the Boy Scouts of Amer-
ica have maintained that a “homosexual”
adolescent is a heterosexual boy who has
been transformed by an early sexual expe-
rience or by the message that “gay is
okay” conveyed to him by “homosexual”
role models.
Media representations of sexual-
minority adolescents often portray being
young, gay, and proud as an oxymoron—
impossible to achieve in North American
309
culture. These youths appear to be a
weak lot, defenseless within their trou-
bled world. The message is that resilient,
strong sexual-minority youths who have
coped, survived, and thrived do not exist.
The common view is that if sexual-
minority youths are at high risk for com-
mitting or attempting suicide, abusing
drugs, prostituting themselves, and
becoming infected with HIV. The impli-
cation is that there are two separate pop-
ulations of adolescents—the heterosex-
ual population is “normal” and the
sexual-minority one is not.
In short, the DDT approach asserts
that sexual-minority youths are similar
to heterosexuals in most respects, with
comparable (though not always identical)
biological and psychosocial developmen-
tal challenges. The very foundation of
DDT implies that adolescents are first,
foremost, and always adolescents—a fact
that must be remembered in any accu-
rate rendering of their lives. An adoles-
cent is an adolescent is an adolescent.
Second, the DDT approach simultane-
ously argues that sexual-minority youths
are distinct from heterosexuals—specifi-
cally because of their unique biological
makeup or because of the ways in which
same-sex-attracted individuals are treated
by an uncaring mainstream culture.
Although the evidence is far from
definitive, sexual-minority youth appear
to differ from heterosexual youth in some
aspects of their biological makeup (i.e.,
both genetically and with respect to their
prenatal hormone environment). For
example, various biological studies have
found that “homosexual” individuals dif-
fer from heterosexuals in particular
aspects of their neuroanatomy (the hypo-
thalamus), physiology (prenatal hormone
levels), and physical features (shoulder-
to-hip ratio). Pedigree studies have
310 Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Sexual-Minority Youth
demonstrated that homosexuality runs in
families and that monozygotic twins are
more likely than dizygotic twins to share
the directionality of sexual attractions.
Psychosocial research has documented
that as a consequence of growing up
amidst heterocentric family members,
close friends, and societal institutions
(e.g., schools and religious organizations)
that presume and prescribe exclusive het-
erosexuality, sexual-minority adolescents
are challenged to negotiate between being
true to self and becoming what is
expected of them. This task permeates
their daily life in ways not encountered by
heterosexual youths when they express
their sexuality. It is difficult to disregard
the negativity that many adolescents and
their parents direct at individuals who
prefer sexual and romantic attractions
with same-sex others. Terms such as fag-
got and dyke are common put-downs
aimed at those who dare to vary from the
norm. Thus, because of their sexuality,
sexual-minority youths necessarily expe-
rience a life course substantially different
from that of heterosexual adolescents.
The consequences may be either negative
(e.g., increased levels of emotional distress
and substance abuse) or positive (e.g., feel-
ings of specialness or creativity).
The third postulate of the DDT
approach is that sexual-minority youths
vary enormously among themselves
based on shared characteristics. Develop-
mental trajectories appear to be unique to
subgroups of sexual-minority individuals
based on such factors as personality char-
acteristics, gender, race, ethnicity, class,
and real-world experiences. Two exam-
ples illustrate this point: (1) The roman-
tic relationships of same-sex-attracted
young women are more likely to evolve
from same-sex friendships and to be char-
acterized by emotional intimacy than are
those of gay male youths. (2) Among the
various ethnic groups studied, Asian
American sexual-minority teenagers are
least likely to disclose to parents and to
engage in same-sex activity.
Additional diverse subgroups reside
within each of these gender and ethnic
classifications. For example, researchers
at Cornell have shown that some sexual-
minority boys are actually similar to
same-sex-attracted girls in their disdain
of casual sex, and that some Asian Amer-
ican youths not only disclose to their par-
ents but also become national lesbian/gay
leaders. Some girls do not recall having
early childhood same-sex attractions
prior to identifying as lesbian but, rather,
come to understand their sexual identity
within the context of exposure to a col-
lege women’s studies course or within a
romantic relationship. Some boys have
sex with another boy before labeling
themselves gay, whereas other boys iden-
tify as gay before engaging in gay sex. And
some youths claim a bisexual, gay, or les-
bian identity in the absence of sexual
experiences, whereas others who have
had many same-sex encounters do not
identify as anything other than hetero-
sexual. Given this level of diversity, it is
a misnomer to refer to a singular “gay
lifestyle.”
Finally, every adolescent is unique
insofar as no one exactly like her or him
has ever lived before or will in the future.
Although this point is often lost in scien-
tific presentations of data, the life-history
accounts of youths that are narrated in
“coming-out” books well illustrate this
fourth facet of the DDT approach. These
histories are extremely popular among
sexual-minority youths who are search-
ing for other youths who have experi-
enced their “issues.” They want to know
that they are not alone.

Thus, sexual-minority youths share
commonalities with all other adolescents
and subgroups of adolescents regardless
of sexual orientation, with all other sex-
ual-minority youths, with subgroups of
such youths—and yet with no other ado-
lescent who has ever lived. Any presump-
tion that sexual-minority youths are all
alike and share identical developmental
pathways is not only implausible but also
grossly misrepresents their lives.
Ritch C. Savin-Williams
See also Gender Differences; Identity; Sex
Differences; Sex Roles; Sexuality, Emo-
tional Aspects of
References and further reading
Bass, Ellen, and Kate Kaufman. 1996. Free
Your Mind: The Book for Gay, Lesbian,
and Bisexual Youth—and Their Allies.
New York: HarperPerennial.
Borhek, Mary V. 1993. Coming Out to
Parents: A Two-Way Survival Guide
for Lesbians and Gay Men and Their
Parents, 2nd ed. Cleveland: Pilgrim.
Diamond, Lisa M. 2000. “Passionate
Friendships among Adolescent Sexual-
Minority Women.” Journal of Research
on Adolescence 10: 191–209.
Fairchild, Betty, and Nancy Hayward.
1989. Now That You Know: What
Every Parent Should Know about
Homosexuality, updated ed. San Diego:
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
Feinberg, Leslie. 1993. Stone Butch Blues.
Ithaca, NY: Firebrand.
Fricke, Aaron. 1981. Reflections of a Rock
Lobster: A Story about Growing Up
Gay. Boston: Alyson.
Griffin, Carolyn W., Marian J. Wirth, and
Arthur G. Wirth. 1986. Beyond
Acceptance: Parents of Lesbians and
Gays Talk about Their Experiences.
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Herdt, Gilbert, ed. 1989. Gay and Lesbian
Youth. New York: Harrington Park
Press.
Heron, Ann, ed. 1994. Two Teenagers in
Twenty: Writings by Gay and Lesbian
Youth. Boston: Alyson.
Hutchins, Loraine, and Lani Kaahumana,
eds. 1991. Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual
People Speak Out. Boston: Alyson.
Gender Differences 311
Laumann, Edward O., John Gagnon,
Robert T. Michael, and Stuart Michaels.
1994. The Social Organization of
Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the
United States. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press.
Nycum, Benjie. 2000. The XY Survival
Guide: Everything You Need to Know
about Being Young and Gay. San
Francisco: XY Publishing.
Ryan, Caitlin, and Donna Futterman.
1998. Lesbian and Gay Youth: Care
and Counseling. Philadelphia: Hanley
and Belfus.
Savin-Williams, Ritch C. 1998. “ . . . And
Then I Became Gay”: Young Men’s
Stories. New York: Routledge.
———. 2001. “Mom, Dad. I’m Gay.” How
Families Negotiate Coming Out.
Washington, DC: American
Psychological Association Press.
Savin-Williams, Ritch C., and Kenneth M.
Cohen. 1996. The Lives of Lesbians,
Gays, and Bisexuals: Children to
Adults. Forth Worth, TX: Harcourt
Brace College Publishing.
Gender Differences
Males and females are undoubtedly dif-
ferent—not just physically, physiologi-
cally, and biologically but behaviorally as
well. Throughout history, their engage-
ment in various social roles has varied
according to gender. Indeed, to this day,
certain roles are still somewhat associ-
ated with men (e.g., working outside of
the home in gainful, salaried employ-
ment) and with women (e.g., being home-
makers and caring for children). Some of
these traditional divisions between the
genders in the roles they play in society
have come to be regarded as gender role
stereotypes.
In part, gender stereotypes reflect soci-
ety-wide beliefs that males and females
are fundamentally different in their
capacities, behaviors, and interests. To
understand gender differences, we need
to understand the nature of these gender
A group of “typical” teenagers (Steve Chenn/Corbis)

role stereotypes and the extent to which
they influence youth development.
A stereotype is an overgeneralized
belief. It is an attitude—that is, some
combination of cognition and feeling—
that invariantly characterizes a person or
group of people as possessing specific
attributes. Stereotypes thus allow for little
exception. Because of this rigidity, they
are resistant to change and, as such, may
become accepted as always true in a given
society. For more than a quarter-century,
scholars have indicated that gender role
stereotypes exist in American society.
A gender role is a socially defined set of
prescriptions concerning the behavior of
people in a particular sex group; gender
role behavior refers to behavioral func-
tioning in accordance with these prescrip-
tions; and gender role stereotypes are gen-
eralized beliefs that particular behaviors
are characteristic of one sex group as
opposed to the other. For instance, males
are stereotyped as aggressive, indepen-
dent, dominant, active, skilled in busi-
ness, and not at all dependent, whereas
females are stereotyped as gentle, very
aware of the feelings of others, concerned
with physical appearance, and possessed
of a strong need for security.
Research indicates that these gender
role stereotypes are held consistently not
only across age and educational level but
also across culture. For instance, in a
study of six countries—Norway, Sweden,
Denmark, Finland, England, and the
United States—marked cross-cultural
consistency in such stereotypes was
found to exist.
In short, to an almost universal extent,
stereotypes specify that different sets of
behaviors are expected from males and
females. The male role is associated with
individual effectiveness and independent
competence. The female role is associ-
Gender Differences 313
ated with interpersonal warmth and
expressiveness. But what do contempo-
rary American adolescents think about
gender differences, and what is their
experience of them?
The answer to that question depends,
in part, on an understanding of American
culture. As the United States enters into
the twenty-first century, there is evi-
dence that, on the one hand, the gender
role stereotypes of the twentieth century
are still very much a part of the Ameri-
can landscape and, on the other hand,
that the influence of such stereotypes is
waning. In other words, American cul-
ture has reached a point of historical
transition from stereotypy to flexibility
in terms of the roles seen as appropriate
for—and worth pursuing by—both males
and females. Indeed, in almost every
aspect of research pertinent to work and
gender roles, stereotypy and flexibility
have been found to exist simultaneously.
For example, having a mother who
works outside of the home is the typical
experience for most American children
and adolescents today. Yet the meaning
attached by youth to parental employ-
ment continues to show evidence of the
influence of gender role stereotypes. Con-
sistent with these stereotypes, work out-
side the home is still seen as the central
domain of males (the “breadwinners”),
and family life is still regarded as the cen-
tral domain of females (the “homemak-
ers”). Moreover, in this context, work
itself is defined in terms of being gain-
fully employed (i.e., earning a salary),
whereas family is equated with unpaid
housekeeping.
In keeping with this stereotyped divi-
sion of labor between males and females,
half of the high school seniors in the Mon-
itoring the Future study (Johnston, O’Mal-
ley, and Bachman, 1999) reported that it is
314 Gender Differences
not acceptable for both parents to work
when they have preschool-aged children.
At the same time, however, 79 percent of
the female high school seniors and 67 per-
cent of the male high school seniors said
that even if they had the money to live as
comfortably as they wished, they would
still not want to give up paid work.
Moreover, although an increasing
number of adolescent females aspire to
succeed in labor areas traditionally asso-
ciated with males, there has been no cor-
responding investment in family work on
the part of adolescent males. Accord-
ingly, among many older adolescent
females, the need to integrate work and
family significantly influences their
choice of vocation and the timing of their
marriage. In addition, given the more
flexible role orientation of females, they
are under greater pressure to balance both
family and work roles than are men who
can devote most of their effort to enact-
ing their work roles.
In a study of sixth to eighth graders,
Phame M. Camerena and his colleagues
(1994) found that the basis of this “role
strain” may begin in adolescence.
Although boy’s attitudes toward women’s
roles changed more than did girls’ atti-
tudes toward the work and family roles of
men and women, the girls’ attitudes were
more positive and open than those of the
boys. Moreover, in a ten-year follow-up of
individuals first studied as adolescents,
although both men and women reported
that they value both work and family,
both groups exhibited highly stereotypic
expectations for how work and family
roles would be enacted: The men empha-
sized work for gainful employment, and
the women stressed family roles.
Given what seems to be the persis-
tence of both stereotypy and flexibility in
work and gender roles, one may reason-
ably ask why these two contradictory
trends exist. One theory is that although
society promotes certain ideals about
gender equality and establishes public
policies and programs in support of such
values, it also exerts some countervailing
influences. Specifically, the institutions
of society, including families, socialize
youth to become more gender stereo-
typed in their personal behaviors. This
theory has been termed the gender inten-
sification hypothesis.
There is evidence that gender intensifi-
cation exists. During early adolescence,
both males and females become increas-
ingly concerned about gender roles, body
image, and the perceived importance of
popularity. After the sixth grade, they
believe it is more important than ever
not to act like members of the opposite
sex. And during middle adolescence, both
boys and girls engage in high levels of
gender-typed activities and express gen-
der-typed interests. For example, there is
some evidence that girls show a relative
preference for high school subjects that
are stereotypically feminine (e.g., English
and history) versus stereotypically mas-
culine (e.g., math and science).
Gender intensification also occurs in
the context of psychiatric disorders. As
adolescence progresses, the incidence of
eating disorders (e.g., anorexia and
bulimia) and depression increases among
girls and that of conduct disorders (i.e.,
problems with obeying “the rules”)
increases among boys.
On the other hand, there is evidence
indicating that during the middle portion
of adolescence both boys and girls are
increasingly willing to depart, respec-
tively, from stereotypically masculine and
feminine role behaviors and to adopt more
flexible views of these behaviors. For
instance, from middle childhood through

early adolescence, gender preferences
become less stereotyped and more flexible.
Whether boys and girls differ in regard
to the flexibility of their gender prefer-
ences is not certain. Some research sug-
gests that the increased flexibility of
these preferences may occur primarily, or
perhaps even only, for girls. However,
other research shows an increase through
late adolescence in the flexibility of gen-
der role preferences among both males
and females as well as a more flexible
attitude among contemporary adoles-
cents toward female gender roles than
among members of older generations.
To the extent that gender intensifica-
tion occurs, then, it may take place pri-
marily in the context of one-to-one
mother-daughter or father-son activities.
For example, psychologists now know
that ongoing relationships with fathers
are more important for sons’ gender role
development than for such development
among daughters and that adolescents’
gender attitudes affect their behaviors.
One area that has received considerable
attention concerns gender differences in
school achievement.
Academic Achievement
In 1992, Mattel Toys put the first talking
Barbie doll on the market. Barbie’s first
words were “Math class is tough.” Mat-
tel’s advertisers believed they were sim-
ply expressing the sentiment of most
school-age girls. Many parents and teach-
ers, however, thought that Barbie should
keep her mouth shut. As a result, Barbie
stopped talking.
The controversy surrounding Barbie
and her statement about math highlights
a concern in the United States regarding
male-female differences in math and sci-
ence. Although the gender gap has nar-
rowed over the years, boys continue to
Gender Differences 315
outperform girls on standardized tests of
math and science achievement. At the
same time, girls’ attitudes regarding
math and science have become increas-
ingly negative; many girls feel that they
are not good at math and science and say
that they do not like these subjects.
These trends are particularly troubling
because girls’ grades in math and science
classes are often equal to or better than
those of boys. In other words, girls can do
math and science. Nevertheless, in high
school, when students are given course
choices, girls are more likely than boys to
opt out of advanced math and science
classes. As a consequence, girls are often
less prepared for certain academic disci-
plines, limiting both their college major
and career choices. The question, then, is
why do we see these differences?
Reasons for the Gender Gap
Until recently, it was believed that male-
female differences in math and science
were strictly a result of biology. In other
words, “girls’ and boys’ brains are differ-
ent, so they are better suited for different
things.” The notion is that boys have
superior spatial abilities, which are rele-
vant to particular mathematical manipu-
lations, whereas girls are predisposed
toward language and writing. Indeed, boys
appear to excel in math and girls appear to
do better in verbal-related skills. But are
these differences simply a result of biolog-
ical predispositions, or do other factors
play a role? More recently, researchers
have highlighted the significant influence
of the social environment on children’s
math and science achievement. For exam-
ple, very early on, boys are given opportu-
nities to tinker with toys or objects that
involve many of the principles inherent in
math and science (e.g., building blocks,
Legos, racing cars, simple machines).
316 Gender Differences
Girls, however, often lack these experi-
ences, so they enter math and science
classrooms feeling insecure about their
own abilities and, ultimately, begin to
believe that they cannot do math and sci-
ence as well as boys. This belief is consis-
tent with the stereotype in our culture
that defines math and science as male
domains: “Males are better suited for
math and science, and math and science
are more useful to males than to females.”
At the same time, the personality charac-
teristics attributed to mathematicians and
scientists are associated more with males.
And since mathematicians and scientists
are often thought to be competitive,
achievement-oriented, and not very
social, parents, teachers, or school coun-
selors who subscribe to these gender role
stereotypes are less likely to encourage or
support young girls’ decisions to pursue
math and science in high school or
beyond. For example, researchers have
found that when parents believe math to
be something boys do better than girls,
they are willing to let their daughters drop
out of math class when the going gets
tough. With sons, however, their approach
is to encourage persistence. Meanwhile,
teachers, often unaware of their own
biases, call on boys more, provide boys
with more praise for correct answers, and
are more likely to solicit help from boys
for science or math demonstrations. The
message sent to girls is that they are not as
“smart” as the boys.
Closing the Gender Gap
In response to these research findings,
educational reform efforts have been
undertaken to make math and science
experiences accessible, equitable, and
exciting to all students. One change has
been to encourage teachers to use a
hands-on approach to teaching math and
science in their classrooms. The idea is
that learning will be facilitated if stu-
dents are given opportunities to do sci-
ence rather than just hearing about it. At
the same time, students will feel more
confident about their abilities and realize
that math and science can be fun! Par-
ents, too, have become more aware of the
need to encourage their children’s
achievement in math and science. But if
the gender gap is to be closed, schools
and parents will have to continue their
efforts. Here are some suggestions.
What Parents Can Do
• Provide your sons and daughters
with early math- and science-
related experiences. Visit your
local science museum!
• Think about the toys you buy for
your children. Don’t forget that
girls like chemistry sets, too.
• Find out what kinds of activities
your children’s teacher is providing
in math and science class. Do your
children come home excited to tell
you about a neat experiment they
did in class that day?
• When your children enter high
school, encourage them to take
math and science. It’s never too
early to find out about college
entrance requirements.
• Let your children know that they
can become anything they want to
be—even a mathematician or sci-
entist.
What Schools Can Do
• Provide every student with the
opportunity to learn math and sci-
ence.

• Provide teachers with in-service
training on how to create equity in
the classroom.
• Provide teachers with the
resources and materials they need
to give students hands-on experi-
ences in the classroom.
• Require guidance counselors to
inform boys and girls about col-
lege programs and careers in math
and science.
• Contact a local industry or univer-
sity to find out what kind of pri-
mary and secondary school math
and science programs are offered.
Work and Career Choices
The experiences that male and female
adolescents have in school often affect
their career choices—and considering the
stereotypes confronting them, it is not
surprising that they choose different
careers and exhibit different work behav-
iors. For most American adolescents,
entry into the workplace does not begin
until middle or later adolescence, usually
through the experience of a part-time job.
Gender differences emerge even at this
stage. For instance, boys begin working at
an earlier age and tend to work longer
hours than girls.
Moreover, although both boys and girls
are typically given jobs that involve little
skill, training, or initiative, their precise
assignments often vary along gender-
stereotypic lines. In a department store
job, for example, boys are more likely to
be assigned to duties in the stockroom or
mail room, whereas girls usually end up
working as salesclerks.
Given the increasing flexibility in
work and career roles associated with
males and females, there is reason to be
optimistic that future decades will bear
Gender Differences 317
witness to greater opportunities for ado-
lescents of both sexes to explore and
actualize the full range of their compe-
tencies and interests.
Identity
Identity development is another area in
which gender differences are evident. As
highlighted in the scholarship of Mar-
garet Spencer (1990), identity may
develop in different ways for boys and
girls. For example, during middle and
high school, girls report lower self-esteem
than boys, and in some cases their poorer
self-esteem appears across all domains of
self-definition (e.g., in regard to appear-
ance, scholastics, and athletic perfor-
mance). Moreover, these differences, and
self-esteem in general, show no major
changes throughout these years.
Other research has found that self-per-
ceptions become stable throughout the
high school years, particularly among
boys. Among girls, but not boys, self-per-
ceptions of attractiveness decline. Also
during these years, symbolic issues (e.g.,
relationships, happiness) and artistic and
creative endeavors become more salient
to girls, whereas material items (e.g.,
home TV, sports equipment) and athletic
activities become more salient to boys.
Of course, not all boys and girls
embrace the gender roles associated with
male and female identity, respectively.
Differences in adaptation sometimes
occur as a result of deviation from such
roles. For instance, males whose coping
behaviors are associated with feminine
gender roles exhibit poor adaptation in
adulthood. For females, however, coping
behaviors associated with feminine gen-
der roles are associated with good adapta-
tion in adulthood.
In sum, gender differences in behaviors
do exist, and they most likely stem from
318 Gender Differences and Intellectual and Moral Development
the way children are socialized. Social-
ization, in turn, is an important influ-
ence on the gender attitudes, activities,
and behaviors of adolescents.
Richard M. Lerner
Jasna Jovanovic
Candace Dreves
Jacqueline V. Lerner
See also Gender Differences and Intellec-
tual and Moral Development; Sex Dif-
ferences; Sex Roles; Sexuality, Emo-
tional Aspects of
References and further reading
American Association of University
Women. 1992. How Schools
Shortchange Girls. Washington, DC:
American Association of University
Women.
Camerena, Phame M., Mark Stemmler,
and Anne C. Petersen. 1994. “The
Gender-Differential Significance of
Work and Family: An Exploration of
Adolescent Experience and
Expectation.” Pp. 201–221 in
Adolescence in Context. Edited by R.
Silbereisen and E. Todt. New York:
Springer.
Chipman, Susan F., Lorielei R. Brush, and
Donna M. Wilson. 1985. Women and
Mathematics: Balancing the Equation.
Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Crockett, Lisa J., and Anne C. Crouter.
1995. “Pathways through Adolescent
Individual Development in Relation to
Social Contexts.” Mahwah, NJ:
Erlbaum.
Johnson, Lloyd D., Patrick M. O’Malley,
and Jerald G. Bachman. 1999. National
Survey Results from the Monitoring the
Future Study: 1975–1998. Washington,
DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Kelly, Alison. 1987. Science for Girls?
Philadelphia: Open University Press.
Lerner, Richard M. In press. Adolescence:
Development, Diversity, Context and
Application. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice-Hall.
Simmons, Roberta, and Dale Blyth. 1987.
Moving into Adolescence: The Impact
of Pubertal Change and School
Context. New York: Aldine.
Spencer, Margaret. 1990. “Identity,
Minority Development of.” Pp.
111–130 in Encyclopedia of
Adolescence. Edited by Richard M.
Lerner, Anne C. Petersen, and Jeanne
Brooks-Gunn. New York: Garland.
Gender Differences and Intellectual
and Moral Development
Many people believe that men and
women, or boys and girls, are very differ-
ent from each other, even when the evi-
dence from research studies does not
reveal great gender differences. Many
believe the saying, “Sugar and spice and
everything nice; that’s what little girls
are made of. Snips and snails and puppy
dog tails; that’s what little boys are made
of.” Some people think that girls care
more about feelings and relationships
and boys are more analytical and
rational. Boys and girls often are thought
to be different in their intellectual abili-
ties. Girls are expected to be better at
language and reading, and boys are
expected to be better at math and sci-
ence. Some people think that boys are
more objective thinkers and concerned
about issues of equity and justice; some
think that girls are more likely to care
about other people and are less concerned
about justice. The research evidence,
however, does not show that boys are
more concerned with justice and individ-
ual rights than girls or that girls’ thinking
is more swayed by emotions than boys’,
nor that girls and women have different
ways of knowing, or intellectual abilities,
than boys and men.
Research on moral and intellectual
development in males and females
reveals that although stereotypes persist,
boys and girls are actually more similar
than different. (Stereotypes are schemas
or beliefs about how people should think,
feel, and behave.) Part of the reason
 Gender Differences and Intellectual and Moral Development
stereotypes persist is that the media tend
to report and emphasize differences
between males and females rather than
similarities. Indeed, newspaper stories
about gender differences make “good
copy,” especially when the claim of dif-
ferences supports a gender stereotype.
Nevertheless, considerable research
since the 1970s has shown that girls and
boys are not as different as many people
seem to believe.
Moral Development
Research indicates that children are con-
cerned with moral and ethical issues at a
very early age. They care about “what’s
fair” and are disturbed when someone
else is hurt. Throughout history, many
social scientists and theorists have
linked moral development and cognitive
development, arguing that women are
not as capable as men of “rational”
thought (“objective” thought, not influ-
enced by one’s personal preferences or
emotions). Their moral concerns were
thought to be tied to their emotions
rather than their intellects. For example,
Herbert Spencer, one of the earliest psy-
chologists, stated that “the love of the
helpless, which in her maternal capacity
woman displays in a more special form
than man, inevitably affects all her
thoughts and sentiments; and, this being
joined in her with a less developed senti-
ment of abstract justice, she responds
more readily when appeals to pity are
made than when appeals are made to
equity” (Spencer, 1873, p. 36). Here,
Spencer makes the argument that women
are innately concerned with caring for
others and are not as adept as men at
thinking about what is fair or just.
Sigmund Freud made a similar argu-
ment. He was the first psychologist to
claim that women and men differed in
319
their capacity for morality. He called the
part of the psyche that contains the con-
science the “superego” and thought that
girls had a less developed superego than
boys did. Freud claimed, “For women the
level of what is ethically normal is differ-
ent from what it is in men, . . . [women]
show less sense of justice than men, . . .
they are more often influenced in their
judgments by feelings of affection or hos-
tility” (Freud, 1925, pp. 257–258). A com-
mon theme in both Spencer’s and Freud’s
work is that they see advanced or more
sophisticated moral thinking as the abil-
ity to think abstractly without the influ-
ence of one’s emotions and without con-
sideration of the specifics of the context
in which these moral dilemmas arise and
must be resolved.
Carol Gilligan (1982), a developmental
psychologist, noticed these claims about
differences in moral development of men
and women, and began to look for them
herself. She gave an interview following
the presentation of moral stories that had
been developed by Lawrence Kohlberg
(1969). The stories involved moral ques-
tions, such as should a man steal a drug
that would save his wife’s life. She found
that girls and boys responded differently
to these stories. When boys explained
their ideas about morality, they were
more likely to talk about the rights of
individuals and responsibilities that peo-
ple have to fairness and justice. Girls, on
the other hand, she thought, were more
likely to focus on the relationships
between people and the potential for
human suffering and harm. Gilligan also
asked women to tell her about a real-life
moral dilemma when she interviewed
women who were deciding whether or
not to have an abortion. She claimed to
find in their responses to interview ques-
tions, “a different voice.” She called this
320 Gender Differences and Intellectual and Moral Development
distinctive voice an “ethic of care” and
the voice often heard in men’s responses
an “ethic of justice.” More specifically,
she saw an ethic of care as a different per-
spective and different way of resolving
moral problems (Gilligan, 1982). An ethic
of care attended to relationships, one’s
feelings, and the specifics of people’s
lives, whereas an ethic of justice attended
to individuals’ and society’s rights and
responsibilities, focusing on abstract
principles.
Gilligan believed men and women were
indeed different in their moral develop-
ment and decision making. Although
research testing Gilligan’s assertions
shows that men and women are not as
different as Gilligan originally proposed,
she made an important contribution to
our understanding of moral development,
asserting that girls are not inferior to
boys, just different. In fact, part of the
original impetus for Gilligan’s work was
based on feminist researchers’ increasing
realization that those characteristics asso-
ciated with “femininity” were also those
characteristics that were labeled “defi-
cient” in psychological theories such as
moral development. Gilligan’s work
helped identify an aspect of moral devel-
opment not fully addressed in some of the
original theories about moral develop-
ment. Furthermore, she urged people to
value these characteristics.
A lot of research has been conducted to
test Carol Gilligan’s theory. Some
researchers have used a powerful statisti-
cal technique called meta-analysis. This
technique allows one to examine the
results of many studies to test whether
there are differences between groups,
such as between men and women. In a
meta-analysis of 152 samples using the
same interview questions developed by
Kohlberg that Gilligan had used,
Lawrence Walker found no significant
gender differences in moral reasoning. In
a second meta-analysis (statistical tech-
nique that allows a researcher to exam-
ine findings of many studies together),
Walker reported that gender explained
only a very small amount (one-twentieth
of 1 percent) of the variation in partici-
pants’ moral reasoning scores. In another
study, using a paper and pencil measure
(e.g., the Defining Issues Test, Rest, 1979)
of responses to moral stories, Stephen
Thoma conducted a meta-analysis of 56
samples with over 6,000 participants. He
found that age and educational level were
250 times more powerful in explaining
the variance in moral reasoning than gen-
der. This finding strongly suggests that
age and one’s amount of education leads
to differences in moral reasoning, not
gender. Bebeau and Brabeck (1989) con-
ducted a meta-analysis of Rest’s (1979)
Defining Issues Test scores for seven
groups of dental students, and adult
women are as likely as men to use justice
reasoning.
What is important to note from this
research is education and experience
with thinking through moral dilemmas
can help advance, or “improve,” one’s
moral reasoning in both care and justice.
Education is more important in promot-
ing moral development than is one’s gen-
der. Education also need not take place
only in classrooms. Life experience out-
side of the classroom can lead to moral
development even in challenging and
painful situations. For example, one
study examined the relationship between
moral development and parental marital
status among 108 male and female ado-
lescents. The study found that both male
and female adolescents, whose parents
had been divorced during their adoles-
cence, had significantly higher levels of
 Gender Differences and Intellectual and Moral Development
moral development than those whose
parents remained together throughout
their adolescent years. The study’s
authors hypothesized that in one-parent
families, adolescents may take on the
role of the absent parent and are often
developing in more egalitarian house-
holds. Experience with responsibilities
and adult roles may lead to moral devel-
opment and is more important in deter-
mining morality than is one’s gender.
Instead of gender being a determinant
of moral reasoning, some researchers
have found that whether someone uses
an ethic of care versus and ethic of justice
depends on the type of moral dilemma
they discuss. Researchers have asked par-
ticipants to generate their own real-life
dilemmas. They report that the type of
dilemma discussed (e.g., a moral dilemma
involving a personal issue or relationship
versus an impersonal dilemma involving
conflicting claims about individual
rights) is a better predictor of moral ori-
entation (ethic of care vs. ethic of justice)
than gender. When people choose their
own dilemmas to talk about, girls and
women were more likely to choose per-
sonal ones, whereas males were more
likely to choose impersonal dilemmas. If
one focuses on the people and their rela-
tionships (a friend who betrays another
friend’s confidence, a person who harms
someone by saying untrue and bad things
about them), one is more likely to see
that the ethic of care has been violated.
On the other hand, if one focuses on
issues in which the rights of others are
violated and/or societal rules are violated,
like cheating on a test or breaking a law,
one is more likely to be concerned about
issues of justice. When people spend a
great deal of time working with people in
a variety of situations (e.g, as a counselor,
doctor, or nurse), moral issues related to
321
interpersonal aspects of a situation may
arise to a greater degree than if most of
our time is spent in independent work
(e.g., working with computers). When
asked to think about an issue differently,
both boys and girls are able to change and
use either justice or care reasoning.
What’s important here is that both jus-
tice and care reasoning are valid and
important, and involve ethical principles
that researchers have found are common
across cultures and across times. Justice
and care matter in moral development,
though gender is not a major influence on
whether one uses justice reasoning or
care reasoning. Gender is only an influ-
ence in the sense that women and men
may have had different experiences, such
as women are often in more relationship-
oriented professions and less often in
higher positions of authority, positions
that often require more use of an ethic of
justice. Thus, the use of an ethic of care
versus an ethic of justice depends greatly
on one’s experiences and roles in society,
not some inherent, stable characteristic
such as gender.
Intellectual Development
Over time and across cultures, much is
made about gender differences in intel-
lectual development. Researchers have
come up with elaborate theories to argue
that men are more intellectually capable
than women. However, as with morality,
these claims are almost always over-
stated. Gender differences that have
been found are that, on average, boys do
better in math and girls do better in read-
ing. However, the gender differences
found in mathematics appear to be
diminishing through educational efforts.
Although males score higher than
females on standardized math tests, girls
get equal or slightly higher grades in
322 Gender Differences and Intellectual and Moral Development
math. Gender differences in verbal abil-
ity, when they are found, show women
are superior. However, gender differ-
ences in verbal ability are also diminish-
ing, and meta-analysis once again reveals
that boys and girls are more similar than
different (see the work of Janet Hyde and
colleagues).
The largest gender difference in intel-
lectual abilities occurs in the area of spa-
tial abilities. Boys are better skilled in
mental rotation, which allows you to
imagine and then mentally rotate a two-
or three-dimensional object. Mental rota-
tion ability appears to be the result of
both biology and experience with spatial
tasks (e.g, playing ball, building with
blocks or legos). However, other verbal
strategies can be used to solve these prob-
lems, so this gender difference ought not
exclude girls and women from excelling
in math or science fields.
Following Carol Gilligan’s theory that
women have a “different moral voice,” a
group of researchers (Belenky, Clinchy,
Goldberger, and Tarule, 1986) recently
claimed that there are “women’s ways of
knowing.” Belenky and her colleagues
conducted interviews with 135 women
and claimed that women have a more
connected and relational way of knowing
and understanding than do men. Brabeck
(1984) argued that Women’s Ways of
Knowing (WWK) theory joins at least
eleven recently articulated theoretical
models of adolescent and adult cognitive
development, but the WWK theory was
the first to claim gender differences in
ways of knowing. Since Belenky and her
colleagues did not include any men in
their studies, we cannot make any state-
ment about gender differences based on
their work. Studies that have tested the
WWK claims are sparse (see Brabeck and
Larned, 1996). In the few cases in which
gender differences are found, differences
in men and women’s education, occupa-
tion, social status, or age offer equally
plausible explanations for the results.
In conclusion, the beliefs about gender
differences in moral and intellectual
development are more belief than fact.
One is reminded of Samuel Johnson’s
response to the question, “Who is smarter,
men or women?” He said, “Which man?
Which woman?” While continuing to
acknowledge and attend to the historical
and societal inequities in boys’ and girls’
experiences and opportunities, boys and
girls, and men and women would be bet-
ter served by also attending to questions
about how to promote intellectual and
ethical development for all, rather than on
how to define the differences. Educators
and parents must continue to devote
energy celebrating all of the qualities pos-
sessed by both boys and girls, even those
qualities that become invisible when
overshadowed by our gender stereotypes.
If people can do that, they will gain a more
complex, and more true, understanding of
both boys and girls and their moral and
intellectual capabilities.
Mary M. Brabeck
Erika Shore
See also Cognitive Development; Gender
Differences; Moral Development; Sex
Differences
References and further reading
Bebeau, Muriel, and Mary M. Brabeck.
1989. “Ethical Sensitivity and Moral
Reasoning among Men and Women in
the Professions.” Pp. 144–163 in Who
Cares? Theory, Research and
Educational Implications of the Ethic
of Care. Edited by Mary M. Brabeck.
New York: Praeger.
Belenky, Mary F., Blythe M. Clinchy,
Nancy Goldberger, and Jill M. Tarule.

1986. Women’s Ways of Knowing: The
Development of Self, Voice and Mind.
New York: Basic Books.
Brabeck, Mary. 1984. “Longitudinal
Studies of Intellectual Development
during Adulthood: Theoretical and
Research Models.” Journal of Research
and Development in Education 17, no.
3: 12–27.
Brabeck, Mary, and Ann G. Larned. 1996.
“What We Do Not Know about
Women’s Ways of Knowing.” Pp.
261–269 in Psychology of Women:
Ongoing Debates, 2nd ed. Edited by
Mary R. Walsh. New Haven, CT: Yale
University Press.
Freud, Sigmund. 1925. Some Psychical
Consequences of the Anatomical
Distinction between the Sexes. (The
Standard Edition of the Complete
Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud,
Vol. 19). Translated and edited by James
Strachey. London: Hogarth Press, 1961.
Gilligan, Carol. 1982. In a Different
Voice: Psychological Theory and
Women’s Development. Cambridge,
MA: Harvard University Press.
Hyde, Janet S., and Marcia Linn. 1988.
“Gender Differences in Verbal Ability:
A Meta-Analysis.” Psychological
Bulletin 104: 53–69.
Hyde, Janet S., Elizabeth Fennema, and
Susan J. Lamon. 1990. “Gender
Differences in Mathematics
Performance: A Meta-Analysis.”
Psychological Bulletin 107: 139–155.
Kohlberg, Lawrence. 1969. “Stage and
Sequence: The Cognitive
Developmental Approach to
Socialization.” Pp. 347–480 in
Handbook of Socialization Theory and
Research. Edited by D. A. Goslin.
Chicago: Rand-McNally.
Rest, James. 1979. Development in
Judging Moral Issues. Minneapolis:
University of Minnesota Press.
Spencer, Herbert. 1873. “Psychology of
the Sexes.” Popular Science Monthly 4:
31–32.
Gifted and Talented Youth
Adolescents who are recognized for hav-
ing special skills or traits that are valued
in our society are often referred to as
Gifted and Talented Youth 323
gifted or talented. The definition of gift-
edness, according to the Jacob K. Javits
Gifted and Talented Students Act of 1988
(Public Law 100-297), is as follows:
“‘Gifted and talented students means
children and youth who give evidence of
high performance capability in areas
such as intellectual, creative, artistic, or
leadership capacity, or in specific aca-
demic fields, and who require services or
activities not ordinarily provided by the
school in order to fully develop such
capabilities.” Identifying gifted and tal-
ented youth and helping them reach their
full potential, though a complex process
involving many variables, are of great
importance for the betterment of these
individuals and society at large.
Intellectual giftedness is the most com-
mon criterion used to identify gifted and
talented youth. Tests like the Stanford-
Binet are often administered by schools
to determine whether children qualify for
enhanced or accelerated instruction. A
typical benchmark for being admitted to
such a “gifted program” is an IQ above
130, or an IQ in the top 3 or 5 percent of
youth in the same age range. Certain
problems, however, are associated with
such tests and programs. For instance,
intelligence tests were constructed using
Caucasian samples and therefore may not
be appropriate in assessing other racial
and cultural groups. In addition, there are
many more dimensions of giftedness
than high IQ and the capacity for abstract
and logical reasoning. Though highly val-
ued in most Western cultures, adoles-
cents with a high IQ might not be per-
ceived as special or talented in a culture
with a farming-based economy. Almost
any skill or trait, in fact, can be seen as a
talent if it is recognized by members of a
society as valuable or useful. In other
324 Gifted and Talented Youth
Adolescents who are recognized for having special skills or traits that are valued in our
society are often referred to as gifted or talented. (Shirley Zeiberg)
words, talent or giftedness is a label of
approval placed on individuals who pos-
sess characteristics that are valued in a
culture.
Some of the first academic programs
devised for gifted and talented children
were established in New York City in the
early 1900s. In 1919, Detroit became the
first city to introduce a formal “XYZ
plan” for classes of students with high,
middle, and low ability. And, by 1920,
accelerated instruction was an estab-
lished method being used across the
country for educating gifted schoolchild-
ren. The rationale behind such programs
was that it was easier to instruct stu-
dents who resembled one another in
terms of aptitude and learning rate. In
fact, “ability grouping” remains an often-
practiced technique for teaching intellec-
tually gifted and talented youth. The pre-
sumed benefit of this approach is that
students with little individual variation
in ability can be taught at a more
advanced and challenging level. Research
has confirmed that ability grouping is
effective when substantial adjustment or
acceleration of curriculum is ensured.
But there are drawbacks as well, includ-
ing the high cost of specialized teachers
and materials, the possibility that an
“elitist” attitude might develop among
the students, the intense focus on
achievement and competition, and the
loss of beneficial interaction between
students of different ability levels.

One of the earliest studies to follow a
group of intellectually gifted and talented
students was conducted by L. M. Terman
in 1925. More recently, a wider range of
talents has been investigated, along with
the social contexts in which children
develop their talents. Common to many
current approaches is the recognition
that talent is only partly due to genetic
inheritance. Although it may be true that
children can inherit genes providing a
favorable predisposition toward a talent,
certain social resources are crucial to the
full realization of the talent. In addition
to their inherited traits, children’s skills
can develop over time only with invest-
ments of time and energy from parents,
teachers, and other committed individu-
als. Such individuals are often a source of
emotional and financial support; they
may also provide needed challenges to
the youth. Although there are well-
known historical accounts of persons
who have survived harsh circumstances
to realize their gifts, it is a myth that tal-
ent alone can overcome all external
obstacles.
There are aspects of talent develop-
ment that have very little to do with the
gifted or talented individuals themselves.
For instance, math, science, music, ath-
letics, art, and many other culturally val-
ued domains have unique histories, sym-
bols, and rules that guide them. Gifted
and talented youth must learn these
rules and, in a sense, walk for a time in
the footsteps of others who came before
them. And even then, such individuals
need others to publicly recognize their
talents and accept them into their
“field.” All of these factors must come
together if the full expression of a gift or
talent is to be ensured. Talented writers,
for instance, must inherit some capacity
for the use of language, practice their
Gifted and Talented Youth 325
skills, be introduced to literature and the
study of the rules of grammar and punc-
tuation, and, finally, be recognized by
others (e.g., writers, critics) who can
bring them into the field and help them
get established.
In addition to their greater focus on
social processes, contemporary studies
pay more attention to the motivations
and experiences of gifted and talented
youth. Developing a talent takes a long
time, and sustaining energy toward this
goal is enhanced when the youth enjoy
exercising their particular skills. For
example, adolescents who enjoy playing
basketball are more likely to continue
practicing when they are tired than those
who are playing the game simply because
their parents want them to be great bas-
ketball players. Such enjoyment is often
referred to as “intrinsic” motivation
because it arises directly from the experi-
ence of the activity itself.
Kevin Rathunde
See also Academic Achievement; Cogni-
tive Development; Learning Disabili-
ties; Learning Styles and Accommoda-
tions; Mentoring and Youth
Development
References and further reading
Amabile, Teresa M. 1983. The Social
Psychology of Creativity. New York:
Springer-Verlag.
Bloom, Benjamin S., ed. 1985. Developing
Talent in Young People. New York:
Ballantine Books.
Colangelo, Nicholas, Susan Assouline,
and DeAnn Ambroson, eds. 1992.
Talent Development: Proceedings from
the 1991 Henry B. and Jocelyn Wallace
National Research Symposium on
Talent Development. Unionville, NY:
Trillium Press.
Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly, Kevin
Rathunde, and Samuel Whalen. 1997.
Talented Teenagers: The Roots of
Success and Failure. New York:
Cambridge University Press.
326 Gonorrhea
Gardner, Howard. 1983. Frames of Mind:
The Theory of Multiple Intelligences.
New York: Basic Books.
Sternberg, Robert, and Janet Davidson.
1987. Conceptions of Giftedness. New
York: Cambridge University Press.
Gonorrhea
Gonorrhea is one of the most common
sexually transmitted diseases in the
United States. It is caused by a bacterium
called Neisseria gonorrhoeae, which is
transmitted from an infected person by
contact with that person’s bodily fluids.
The most common way of getting
infected is by having sexual intercourse
with a person who is infected, but gonor-
rhea can also be acquired through oral
sex or anal intercourse. Many people
carry the bacterium without any signs of
illness. The time between exposure and
the development of symptoms is two to
seven days.
In boys, the most common symptoms
are severe burning on urination and a
milky yellow discharge from the penis. If
these symptoms are ignored, the infec-
tion may infect the area around the testes
(epididymitis), resulting in a dull aching
pain in this area.
In girls, symptoms appear seven to
twenty-one days after infection. Although
some burning on urination may occur, it
is less common and less severe than in
boys. The more likely symptom is a
change in the normal vaginal discharge
that many girls experience. Specifically,
the discharge is heavier than usual and
may be foul smelling. As this symptom is
also associated with bladder infections
(cystitis), the two disorders must be dis-
tinguished from each other. However,
many girls experience no symptoms at
all. In such cases, they can discover the
infection only when told that their sexual
partner has gonorrhea. If the symptoms in
girls are ignored, or there are no symp-
toms, the infection may travel from the
vagina into the uterus and fallopian tubes,
resulting in pelvic inflammatory disease.
This condition is accompanied by severe
abdominal pain, which needs to be distin-
guished from acute appendicitis. In indi-
viduals infected through oral sex, a severe
sore throat with pus on the tonsils may be
present, whereas those with anal gonor-
rhea may experience discharge from the
anus as well as pain in the anal area made
worse during defecation.
The diagnosis of gonorrhea is con-
firmed by examination of vaginal or anal
discharge under the microscope in order
to identify the bacteria. Discharge can
also be grown in culture media. There is
no blood test for gonorrhea.
Treatment with one dose of antibiotics
will cure most uncomplicated cases of
gonorrhea. However, patients with pelvic
inflammatory disease or epididymitis
need a longer course of antibiotics and
sometimes require hospitalization for
intravenous treatments.
Gonorrhea affecting males’ or females’
gonaducts is one of the most common
causes of infertility in both sexes, since
the diameter of the gonaducts is very
small and the infection may cause parts
of these tubes to stick together, thus pre-
venting normal passage of sperm or ova.
Jordan W. Finkelstein
See also Health Promotion; Health Ser-
vices for Adolescents; HIV/AIDS; Sex
Education; Sexual Behavior; Sexual
Behavior Problems; Sexually Transmit-
ted Diseases
References and further reading
Berkow, Robert B., ed. 1997. The Merck
Manual of Medical Information: Home
Edition. Whitehouse Station, NJ: Merck
Research Laboratories.
 Grandparents: Intergenerational Relationships
Hendee, William R., ed. 1991. The Health
of Adolescents. San Francisco: Jossey-
Bass.
Grandparents: Intergenerational
Relationships
An aspect of childhood and adolescence
that is receiving renewed attention is
intergenerational relationships and, more
specifically, the relationships between
grandparents and their grandchildren.
Although these interactions are hardly
new to either historical or contemporary
family experience, their presence and sig-
nificance to child and adolescent devel-
opment, while often acknowledged, are
not fully understood. That is, although
considerable research has been directed
at parent-child and parent-adolescent
relationships, particularly in relation to
developmental outcomes (e.g., self-con-
cept, intellectual and verbal skills, and
life changes), less is known about the
contribution of intergenerational rela-
tionships to adolescent development.
Below we will consider three intergener-
ational dimensions that are essential to
understanding the contributions of the
grandparent-grandchild relationship to
the adolescent experience: (1) the dimen-
sions of intergenerational solidarity that
orchestrate the strength of the bonds
between grandparents and their adoles-
cent grandchildren, (2) the specific strate-
gies employed by family members to
organize grandparent-grandchild rela-
tionships, and (3) the nature of the
mutual influence between grandparents
and grandchildren.
Solidarity and Strength of the
Relationship
As a result of demographic changes
involving longer life spans and social
327
changes such as higher rates of divorce (as
well as other events that may disrupt par-
ent-child interaction), the grandparent-
grandchild relationship has received
increasing attention both because it is
available to more people (because of
greater longevity) and because it some-
times serves to address or avert family
crises. In turn, such issues require a better
understanding of the grandparent-grand-
child relationship. Research suggests that
six dimensions of intergenerational soli-
darity may be of particular import in
understanding the nature of the strength
of the bond between grandparents and
grandchildren, including adolescents
(Roberts, Richards, and Bengtson, 1991).
Affectional Bonds. Affectional bonds
reflect the extent of closeness between
grandchildren and grandparents. Although
both grandparents and grandchildren
report degrees of closeness to one another,
grandparents tend to feel closer to grand-
children than vice versa (Miller and Bengt-
son, 1991). One explanation for this differ-
ence in perception of closeness may well
be the extent of the grandparents’ need for
the grandparent role. Such a need is based
on life-course circumstances, including
losses (e.g., of employment or friends
through death) (Kivnick, 1993). Reported
closeness is also influenced by the middle
generation—the parents of the grandchild.
If these parents have an emotionally close
relationship with their own parents (the
grandparents), then the grandparents and
grandchildren are likely to be emotionally
close as well (Cherlin and Furstenberg,
1986). In addition, there is a tendency for
closeness between grandparents and
grandchildren to fall along gender lines,
inasmuch as women tend to take a more
active role in kin-keeping than men
(Hagestad, 1985). Finally, whatever the
An aspect of childhood and adolescence that is receiving renewed attention is the
relationships between grandparents and their grandchildren. (David Turnley/Corbis)
 Grandparents: Intergenerational Relationships
nature of the grandparent-grandchild rela-
tionship, including the extent of close-
ness, there is an apparent continuity of the
general character of the relationship over
time. For example, relationships charac-
terized by closeness tend to remain close
as children move from childhood through
adolescence (Miller and Bengtson, 1991).
Structural Bonds. Structural bonds are
factors relating to opportunities for asso-
ciation between grandparent and grand-
child (Roberts, Richards, and Bengtson,
1991). Such factors include geographic
propinquity as well as demographic and
personal characteristics of the grandchild
and grandparent (e.g., age, gender, and
health status) (Bengtson, 1985). Factors
such as the parents’ employment status,
marital status, and socioeconomic level
may also play a significant role in the
opportunity structure for association
between grandparent and grandchild
(Cherlin and Furstenberg, 1986). Such
related parent characteristics as divorce,
single parenthood, and unemployment
have become primary determinants in
the transformation, where necessary, of
the grandparent role to that of surrogate
or direct parental responsibility.
Associational Bonds. This dimension of
solidarity relates to the frequency of con-
tact between grandparents and grandchil-
dren (Kivett, 1991; Roberts, Richards, and
Bengtson, 1991). Parents’ circumstances
may exert a substantial influence on the
extent of such contact, particularly in
cases of parental divorce. As might be
expected, both contacts and associational
bonds tend to increase in situations
where a divorced daughter is given cus-
tody of a grandchild, returns to the home
of her parents, or requires considerable
support in her own dwelling. A similar
329
increase in solidarity of association might
occur when parents are unable to care for
children (Burton, 1995). However, divorce
can also have a negative impact on soli-
darity. Consider, for example, the grand-
parent-grandchild interactions that might
occur in situations involving a noncusto-
dial parent, typically the father. Such sit-
uations often generate considerable anxi-
ety, resulting in some level of political
action (as in the grandparents’ rights
movement) on the part of grandparents
who are denied visitation opportunities
to see their grandchildren.
Functional Bonds. This form of bonding
refers to the exchange of assistance or help
between grandparents and grandchildren
(Roberts, Richards, and Bengtson, 1991).
As mentioned above, the exchange of sup-
port may be prompted by parents’ circum-
stances, particularly when grandparents
are involved in raising grandchildren (Bur-
ton, 1995; Minkler and Roe, 1993). In
most situations, however, it appears that
grandparents prefer “intimacy at a dis-
tance,” which translates into involvement
without interference in the activities of
the middle-generation child-rearing prac-
tices (Chalfie, 1994). Although psycholo-
gists have some understanding of the
social factors and circumstances that may
bring grandparents to the assistance of
grandchildren, they are less certain about
what grandchildren “do” for grandparents
in the form of providing a morale boost or
other “support.”
Consensual Bonds. Consensual bonds
have to do with the degree of intergener-
ational similarity in values between
grandparents and their grandchildren.
Although such similarity is sometimes
taken as evidence of successful socializa-
tion across generations (Troll, 1983,
330 Grandparents: Intergenerational Relationships
1985), an important related question that
has received relatively little attention is
how these generational values, beliefs,
and attitudes are negotiated in shaping
and organizing grandparent-grandchild
relationships (Hagestad, 1985).
Normative Bonds. This mode of bond-
ing refers to intergenerational percep-
tions of responsibilities and obligations
about the character of the relationship.
An example of normative solidarity
would be the degree of grandparental
acceptance of responsibility to assume a
surrogate parent role for a grandchild
when a parent is unable to perform that
function. Here, too, the nature of the
obligations in the other direction—from
grandchildren to grandparent—have
received much less attention.
Although the preceding discussion of
the six modes of solidarity provides some
insight into the nature and strength of
intergenerational bonds, it does not
directly address two important aspects of
that relationship: (1) How are relation-
ships between grandparents and grand-
children organized, particularly in the
face of changing societal values? (2) What
is the nature of the grandparents’ influ-
ence on their grandchildren?
Organizing the Grandparent-
Grandchild Relationship
Based on findings from interviews with
three generations (late adolescent/young
adult grandchildren, middle-generation
parents, and grandparents), G. O. Hage-
stad (1985) has identified several signifi-
cant features influencing the formation
and organization of the grandparent-
grandchild relationship.
• The development of this relation-
ship is problematic in a rapidly
changing and heterogeneous soci-
ety. Grandparents and grandchil-
dren are faced with the challenge of
building a relationship that, in pre-
vious generations, was guided and
shaped by commonalties across
generations: “Like father, like son.
Like mother, like daughter.”
• The establishment of a grandpar-
ent-grandchild relationship
requires not only continuous and
reciprocal socialization but also
negotiation and interaction man-
agement. For example, Hagestad
(1985) has noted the lengths to
which grandparents and grandchil-
dren go to ensure, as much as pos-
sible and reasonable, that the top-
ics of intergenerational
conversation are sufficiently neu-
tral and noncontroversial, so as
not to disrupt the connections
between the generations.
• The specific activities and conver-
sational topics that form the nexus
of the grandparent-grandchild rela-
tionship vary widely.
• Regardless of the activities or con-
versational topics under way, there
are systematic differences in the
ways that grandmothers and grand-
fathers relate to their late adoles-
cent/young adult grandchildren:
Grandmothers tend to focus on
interpersonal family dynamics,
and grandfathers tend to empha-
size instrumental matters, i.e.,
achieving a goal or performing an
activity. Grandmothers are more
flexible than grandfathers in cover-
ing a wider spectrum of both
domains in the relationship with
their grandchildren. Grandmothers
are more comfortable than grandfa-
thers in their interaction with
 Grandparents: Intergenerational Relationships
both male and female grandchil-
dren. And, finally, in terms of the
reciprocal and mutual character of
the grandparent-grandchild rela-
tionships, grandmothers are more
receptive than grandfathers to
socialization “up the generational
ladder”; in other words, they are
more responsive to learning from
their grandchildren and better able
to adjust their views accordingly.
Grandparent’s Influences on
Adolescent Grandchildren
Research on the influences of grandpar-
ents on their adolescent grandchildren is
incomplete and somewhat elusive. There
is a general impression that grandparents
may be important in the lives of their
grandchildren, but few studies confirm
this expectation, particularly with refer-
ence to outcomes for adolescents. Sev-
eral investigators suggest that the char-
acter of grandparents’ influences is
vague, though by no means inconsequen-
tial, primarily because the contribution
of grandparents is related to a variety of
symbolic functions. Sociologists have
identified several of these symbolic func-
tions of grandparents in family life,
including the following (Kivnick, 1993;
Troll, 1985):
• Supporting family cohesion.
• Moderating intensity and family
stress by serving as “sounding
boards” or mediators.
• Serving as family “watchdogs” to
actively intervene with support, as
or if necessary.
• Symbolizing the continuity of fam-
ilies over generations as sources of
support during times of family dif-
ficulty.
331
Thus, although it is not unreasonable
to expect that the grandparent-grandchild
interaction contributes to positive adap-
tation and the mental health of the
grandchild in adulthood, conventional
research methodologies have neither
confirmed nor denied this possibility.
The difficulty of establishing these posi-
tive connections may be due not only to
the relative absence of longitudinal stud-
ies but also to the symbolic and diffuse
nature of grandparent contributions.
Nonetheless, although the empirical
findings on the contributions of the rela-
tionship are perhaps disappointing, there
is some encouraging evidence of these
contributions throughout the childhood
and adolescence of their grandchildren
(Kivnick and Sinclair, 1996): First, when
close and effective relationships are
established in childhood, they tend to
continue into adolescence. Second,
analysis of secondary data suggests that
the adolescent offspring of single parents
benefit from the presence of grandparents
in their lives. And, third, high school stu-
dents often report that they view their
grandparents as both companions and
important contributors to their lives.
Lawrence B. Schiamberg
See also Child-Rearing Styles; Family
Composition: Realities and Myths;
Family Relations; Fathers and Adoles-
cents; Mothers and Adolescents;
Parental Monitoring; Parenting Styles
References and further reading
Bengtson, Vern L. 1985. “Diversity and
Symbolism in Grandparental Roles.”
Pp. 11–26 in Grandparenthood. Edited
by Vern L. Bengtson and Joan F.
Robertson. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Burton, Linda M. 1995. “Intergenerational
Patterns of Providing Are Found in
African-American Families with
Teenage Childbearers: Emergent
Patterns in an Ethnographic Study.” Pp.
332 Grandparents: Intergenerational Relationships
79–96 in Adult Intergenerational
Relations: Effects of Societal Change.
Edited by Vern L. Bengtson, K. W.
Schaie, and L. M. Burton. New York:
Springer.
Chalfie, D. 1994. Going It Alone: A
Closer Look at Grandparents Parenting
Grandchildren. Washington, DC:
American Association of Retired People
Women’s Initiative.
Cherlin, Andrew, and Frank Furstenberg.
1986. The New American Grandparent:
A Place in the Family, a Life Apart.
New York: Basic Books.
Hagestad, G. O. 1985. “Continuity and
Connectedness.” Pp. 31–48 in
Grandparenthood. Edited by Vern L.
Bengtson and Joan F. Robertson. Beverly
Hills, CA: Sage.
Kivett, Vira. 1991. “The Grandparent-
Grandchild Connection.” Journal of
Marriage and Family Review 19: 26–34.
Kivnick, Helen Q. 1993. “Everyday
Mental Health: A Guide to Assessing
Life Strengths.” Pp. 19–36 in Mental
Health and Aging: Progress and
Prospects. Edited by M. A. Smyer. New
York: Springer.
Kivnick, H. Q., and Heather Sinclair.
1996. “Grandparenthood.” Pp. 611–624
in Encyclopedia of Gerontology. Edited
by J. E. Birren. New York: Academic
Press.
Miller, R. B., and Vern L. Bengtson. 1991.
“Grandparent-Grandchild Relations.”
Pp. 414–418 in Encyclopedia of
Adolescence. New York: Garland.
Minkler, M., and K. M. Roe. 1993.
Grandmothers as Caregivers. Newbury
Park, CA: Sage.
Roberts, R.E.L., L. N. Richards, and Vern
L. Bengtson. 1991. “Intergenerational
Solidarity in Families: Untangling the
Ties That Bind.” Pp. 11–46 in Marriage
and Family Review. Vol. 16, Families:
Intergenerational and Generational
Connections. Edited by S. K. Pfeifer and
M. B. Sussman. Binghamton, NY:
Haworth.
Troll, L. E. 1983. “Grandparents: The
Family Watchdogs.” Pp. 63–74 in
Family Relationships in Later Life.
Edited by T. Brubaker. Beverly Hills,
CA: Sage.
———. 1985. “The Contingencies of
Grandparenting.” Pp. 135–149 in
Grandparenthood. Edited by Vern L.
Bengtson and Joan F. Robertson. Beverly
Hills, CA: Sage.
 H
Health Promotion
Health promotion consists of activities
designed to help adolescents maintain
their physical, mental, and social well-
being. Such activities—when promoted in
the family, the media, the school, and the
peer group—may also prevent the devel-
opment of chronic conditions. Many edu-
cational programs are designed to encour-
age adolescents to “take control” of their
health. Indeed, adolescents’ perceptions of
themselves as being healthy or ill may be
the key to their seeking medical care and
taking advantage of health-promotion and
disease-prevention services. Promotion
efforts aimed at adolescents are important
because many of the health-compromis-
ing behaviors seen in adulthood (e.g., cig-
arette smoking) begin in adolescence.
Because the majority of adolescents are
healthy, many presume that teens have
little interest in health promotion and
disease prevention. However, as research
has demonstrated that adolescents do
think of health and illness as important,
intervention efforts should be developed
with an understanding of how adolescents
think about these concepts (Brindis and
Lee, 1991). For example, adolescents who
view health as the absence of disease
would benefit from programs that focus
on illness avoidance. Adolescents vary
widely in their conceptualizations of
health and illness. According to Claire
333
Brindis and Philip Lee, adolescents in
sixth through twelfth grade believe that
health is more than just the absence of ill-
ness, and that illness is more than just a
matter of somatic signs and symptoms.
For these older adolescents, the defini-
tions of illness take into account such
signs and symptoms, but they also
include affective states and role function-
ing. By contrast, younger adolescents are
more likely to focus on external indica-
tors, as their thinking tends to be concrete
rather than abstract. Thus, prevention
and promotion efforts should not be
aimed entirely at illness avoidance.
Another factor that needs to be consid-
ered when designing health-promotion
efforts is “risk-taking” behaviors. Para-
doxically, many of the risk-taking behav-
iors that adolescents engage in are not
perceived by them as such—perhaps
because adolescents have had little or no
firsthand experience with the conse-
quences of these behaviors.
To address this problem, the Centers for
Disease Control (CDC) have set up a sys-
tem called Programs that Work (PTW).
The purpose of PTW is to identify curric-
ula with credible evidence of effective-
ness in reducing the frequency of risk-tak-
ing behaviors among young people. PTW
also provides information and training for
interested educators from state and local
education agencies, departments of
334 Health Promotion
The adolescent years are critical for developing good health-related behaviors. (Shirley
Zeiberg)
health, and national nongovernmental
organizations.
Every school day, 66 million young
people attend the nation’s schools, col-
leges, and universities. Obviously, then,
the school setting is an optimal place for
information delivery, assessment of risk
behaviors, and monitoring of policies and
programs already in place. Discussed
below are some of the major adolescent
health-promotion efforts now under way.
Nutrition
Many adults consider adolescents’ eating
behaviors to be inappropriate. For the
most part, however, adolescents’ eating
behaviors reflect the eating behaviors of
adults, especially the adults in their
immediate family. Although many
teenagers experience brief periods of
“fad” eating, the majority consume a
healthy diet. Current recommendations
for a healthy diet are as follows: (1) Eat a
variety of foods, (2) choose a diet low in
saturated fat and cholesterol, (3) eat
plenty of vegetables, fruits, and grain
products, and (4) use salt in moderation. A
healthy diet can help adolescents feel and
look good; it can also reduce their risk for
the development of heart disease, cancer,

and stroke, the three leading causes of
death in adults.
Although the majority of adolescents
maintain healthy eating patterns, some
young people make poor eating choices
that put them at risk for health problems.
Establishing healthy eating habits at a
young age is critical because changing
poor eating habits in adulthood can be
difficult. Moreover, programs aimed at
promoting healthy eating can prevent
childhood and adolescent health prob-
lems such as obesity, eating disorders,
dental caries (tooth decay), and iron defi-
ciency anemia. Unfortunately, eating dis-
orders such as anorexia and bulimia—
which can lead to severe health problems
and even death—are increasingly com-
mon among young people.
Healthy eating patterns are in part a
function of nutrients, which fall into
three main categories: sources of energy
(carbohydrate, fat, and protein), trace ele-
ments (vitamins and minerals), and water.
Sources of Energy. For teens of both
sexes, caloric intake varies according to
degree of activity and phase of growth.
On average, boys need about 2,500 calo-
ries per day during early puberty and
about 3,000 calories per day during mid-
puberty (when rapid growth occurs) and
young adulthood. Girls need about 2,000
calories per day from early puberty
onward. The distribution of energy nutri-
ents should be about 15 percent of calo-
ries from protein, 30 percent of calories
from fat, and 55 percent of calories from
carbohydrate. The adequacy of total
caloric intake is best determined relative
to body weight. Charts reflecting the
standards for gains in both weight and
height are readily available from the
teen’s primary healthcare provider.
Research indicates an increasing trend
Health Promotion 335
toward both obesity and extreme thin-
ness among teenagers, especially girls.
Most people have little or no informa-
tion about either the caloric or the nutri-
tional content of the food they eat. Prod-
uct labeling has made this task easier.
Reading food labels can help teens deter-
mine the adequacy of their diet. It is
important to realize that the proportion
of a particular nutrient has to be calcu-
lated on the basis of calories—not on the
basis of weight. For instance, milk labeled
as “2 percent” contains 2 percent fat by
weight, but the important proportion to
consider is the percentage of calories from
fat. One serving (8 ounces) of 2 percent
milk contains 120 calories, of which 40
calories are from fat. Therefore, 33 per-
cent ([40/120] x 100), not 2 percent of the
calories in this milk, come from fat.
Trace Elements. Many of the manufac-
tured foods that adolescents eat are
enriched with vitamins and minerals, so
vitamin deficiencies are rare. The rou-
tine use of vitamin pills is therefore not
recommended for otherwise healthy ado-
lescents.
Nevertheless, many adolescents are at
risk for inadequate intake of iron and cal-
cium. For example, whereas most boys
consume adequate calcium, many girls
do not. Calcium content is high in most
high-protein foods such as meat, fish, and
diary products. And among vegetables,
spinach is the highest in calcium. Ade-
quate calcium intake is essential during
puberty since almost all calcium storage
in bones is completed by the end of
puberty. Teens who are considered to
have inadequate calcium intake should
consider taking calcium carbonate,
which can be found in some over-the-
counter antacids such as Tums. Iron defi-
ciency anemia is the most common
336 Health Promotion
trace-element disorder among adoles-
cents. As many as 15 percent of male and
female adolescents have this condition.
Girls are most at risk because of their
additional need for iron related to blood
loss during menstruation. Foods rich in
iron are meats, fish, and enriched grain
products such as bread. Inadequate
intake of iron or excessive loss of this
mineral during menstruation can be
made up by taking iron supplements.
However, these should be used only
under the supervision of a healthcare
provider who has done a blood count to
determine the need for iron supplemen-
tation. Salt (sodium chloride) should be
used only in moderation because exces-
sive amounts can lead to high blood pres-
sure. Foods with high sodium content
include snack foods such as potato chips
and beef jerky as well as prepared foods
such as canned vegetables. The sodium
content of foods can be found on package
labels.
Water. All of the body’s chemical reac-
tions take place in water. Although most
adolescents do not drink much water per
se, they take in adequate amounts by
consuming food and flavored drinks. In
fact, inadequate water intake is almost
unheard of among healthy adolescents,
so the current recommendation of drink-
ing eight glasses of water a day is ques-
tionable during adolescence.
Exercise
Physical activity is part of a healthy
lifestyle, and teenagers need to stay
active in order to stay healthy and look
good. The current recommendation is
that teens should exercise at least five
days a week for at least thirty minutes at
a time, and that they should exercise in
such a way that their heart is beating
faster and they are breathing harder. This
form of exercise, called aerobic exercise,
is recommended over more passive types
such as weight training. Most teens feel
good after exercising, probably because of
the release of brain chemicals that pro-
mote this feeling. Exercise also promotes
a healthy heart, lowers blood pressure
and cholesterol levels, helps control
weight, and strengthens bones, muscles,
and joints. Competitive sports are a good
way to keep up with exercise and condi-
tioning, but not all young people want to
participate in these activities. In addi-
tion, choosing a sport can be especially
difficult for teens as they near puberty.
Early maturing boys may be stronger and
have more stamina than their peers,
whereas late maturers may feel as though
they are lagging behind their peers in
strength and sport ability.
Teen athletes should consider which
sports are convenient and affordable, and
try to match their own skills to the
demands of those sports. They should
also realize that some sports are associ-
ated with a high degree of risk. Water
sports are a case in point. Injuries can
occur as a result of diving into shallow
water, swimming in deep water, and mix-
ing drugs and alcohol with water sport
activities. In addition, drowning is a lead-
ing cause of death among teens.
Sleep
Younger adolescents need nine to ten
hours of sleep, compared to older
teenagers, who need about seven to eight
hours. In addition, older teens tend to
stay up later and wake up later. Adoles-
cents who get enough sleep wake up feel-
ing refreshed and energetic; those who
don’t often become drowsy during the
daytime hours. Inadequate sleep can
compromise school performance. It also

poses an increased risk of injuries among
teens who are working with machinery
or driving. Teens should not perform
shift work because the changes in sleep
times are very disruptive to normal func-
tioning.
Stress
Stress is what people experience when
they are not sure they can manage or
cope with a specific situation. It occurs
frequently in adolescents because they
face relatively new situations frequently.
Stress affects almost all of a teen’s body
systems, potentially interfering with nor-
mal pubertal growth and sexual matura-
tion. It also takes a psychological toll. To
minimize stress, adolescents should
avoid taking on too many new activities.
When stress does occur, several steps can
be taken to reduce its effects. Consider
trying to solve one problem at a time.
Talk things over with someone who can
potentially help. (Another teenager
might not be a good choice for this.) Keep
busy with activities that are familiar and
relaxing. Exercise regularly. Learn and
use some physical and mental relaxation
techniques such as meditation.
Sex
Increasing frequency of sexual behaviors
is normal during adolescence. One of the
major tasks of this period of life is the
establishment of interpersonal relations
with others. Sexual gratification can be
attained by a variety of means, including
solitary sexual behaviors (thinking, look-
ing, self-stimulation) and outercourse
behaviors with a partner (looking, kiss-
ing, touching, petting to orgasm), which
are generally healthier than intercourse.
These relations often involve sexual
behaviors that should be accompanied
by considerations for the feelings of part-
Health Promotion 337
ners as well as efforts to prevent sexually
transmitted disease and unwanted preg-
nancies.
Dozens of programs for teens aimed at
safe-sex practices are found in schools
and community health centers. These
programs generally focus upon postpone-
ment of sexual involvement, prevention
of pregnancy and STDs/AIDS, and prepa-
ration for childbearing. Other programs
are aimed at slightly younger people,
before they are at risk. Professionals in
these programs work closely with par-
ents through home visits and are aimed
at increasing parenting skills, enhancing
positive self-worth, and encouraging the
delay of sexual initiation. Some programs
use peer educators—a technique that has
been shown to have benefits both for stu-
dents and for the peer educators them-
selves. Teens are more likely to express
their concerns and talk to people their
own age.
In sum, the adolescent years are criti-
cal for developing good health-related
behaviors. During this time, teens begin
to make independent decisions about
their health and the behaviors that pro-
mote or impede healthy development.
Jordan W. Finkelstein
See also Dental Health; Drug Abuse Pre-
vention; Environmental Health Issues;
Health Services for Adolescents; Nutri-
tion; Sexual Behavior
References and further reading
Brindis, Claire D., and Philip R. Lee. 1991.
“Adolescents’ Conceptualization of
Illness.” Pp. 534–540 in Encyclopedia
of Adolescence. Edited by Richard M.
Lerner, Anne C. Petersen, and Jeanne
Brooks-Gunn. New York: Garland.
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. 2000. The Programs That
Work (PTW) Project. Atlanta, GA. Web
site: http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dash/
rtc/moreinfo.htm.
338 Health Services for Adolescents
Health Services for Adolescents
Health is difficult to define and measure
at any life stage. Given the rapid changes
of adolescence in growth and physiology,
it is even more difficult to assess health
status during this period of life. Many dis-
eases and disabilities that are debilitating
in adulthood begin in adolescence. Diag-
nosis of disorders and overall health
assessment are therefore critical during
the adolescent years. There is a wide-
spread perception that adolescents are
healthy—a perception supported by the
fact that adolescents use less medical
care, when all types of care are consid-
ered, than any other age group. About
seven out of ten adolescents seek medical
care once a year, but only 4 percent spend
as much as one night in a hospital
(Daniel, 1991). Female adolescents use
more medical care than males, accounted
for by their greater use of reproductive
care. Hospitalizations are used more often
by females—and this, too, is accounted
for by pregnancy complications and deliv-
ery (Daniel, 1991). Males are more likely
to be hospitalized for accidents than
females. Overall, rates of smoking and
illicit drug use have decreased among the
adolescent population, as have death
rates. Teenage pregnancy rates are also
down from prior years. The health prob-
lems of adolescence are not problems of
disease but problems of stress and change.
The professionals in the field of health
services need to recognize the individual
needs of adolescents in order for preven-
tion and intervention efforts to be suc-
cessful. Adolescence is a time of rapid
growth and change, calling for the teen to
adjust to new situations, ways of think-
ing, and relationships. In addition, adoles-
cents are adjusting to the physical
changes within themselves. Unfortu-
nately, the health services and profession-
als that are used by the adolescent popu-
lation are not always adequately equipped
to provide optimal care to this segment of
the population.
Adolescence as a life stage entails spe-
cific health-related problems for teen-
agers, their parents, and their healthcare
providers. These include issues related to
developing a personal identity, indepen-
dence, decision making, interpersonal
relationships, work, sexuality, and chronic
health problems. Until recently, however,
most adolescents obtained healthcare
from providers with little or no training
in providing services directed specifically
at adolescents. This situation has
improved now that some of the medical
specialty certification organizations (such
as the American Board of Pediatrics)
require that a specific segment of the
training curriculum for physicians after
they have graduated from medical school
be directed toward the health problems of
adolescents. In the meantime, education
for health professionals has become more
complex because it is no longer feasible
for a single profession to meet the diverse
health needs of adolescents.
Optimal training in adolescent health-
care should involve the study of growth
and development as well as of puberty
and its interrelation with the social and
psychological tasks of adolescence. In-
deed, because individual growth is af-
fected by numerous external factors in
the family, the peer group, and the social
culture, an understanding of the complex
world of adolescents is necessary if a
comprehensive assessment of health is to
be achieved.
The Context of Care
The majority of adolescents receive
healthcare from family or general physi-
cians, followed by pediatricians, usually
 Health Services for Adolescents 339

in office settings. It is only a small

minority of adolescents who get care at
sites offering services directed specifi-
cally at teenagers. These most often
include such settings as high school and
college health clinics, medical school
clinics, and correctional facilities.
Almost no office sites provide care solely
to adolescents. Some office practices do
set aside specific times of the week when
the practitioners see only adolescents,
but these sites are the exception rather
than the rule. Much more often, adoles-
cents are intermingled with all of the
other patients seen by the practices. In
pediatric practices, this means that the
teenagers will be waiting to be seen in a
room populated by screaming infants and
rambunctious toddlers who are sneezing,
coughing, and so on; in family-medicine
settings, they will be waiting with older
adults. These settings make most
teenagers unhappy and may discourage
them from returning except for emergen-
Adolescence as a life stage entails specific
cies. If possible, separate waiting areas for
health-related problems for teenagers, their
adolescents should be made available. parents, and their healthcare providers.
(Richard T. Nowitz/Corbis)
Barriers to Care Utilization
A serious problem in adolescent health
service delivery is the underutilization
of services by adolescents. The high fre- urged by parents to seek medical atten-
quency of preventable conditions such tion. Many of the presenting problems
as unplanned pregnancies, sexually for adolescents have to do with sexuality
transmitted diseases, and injuries indi- or substance abuse; according to one
cate that adolescents are not making use study, however, many adolescents will
of the services available to them. Re- not go to a physician for sexuality, sub-
searchers have identified several imped- stance abuse, or emotional problems
iments to obtaining health services for (Klerman, 1991).
prevention or treatment. For example, Another barrier that prevents adoles-
many adolescents do not understand the cents from seeking treatment for health
importance of prevention and therefore issues is that they are unaware that their
do not go for periodic checkups. Since present behavior (i.e., smoking, poor
very few adolescents experience major nutrition) can cause future problems.
health disorders, minor conditions do Teens are often not informed about cen-
not worry them, and they often are not ters and other places that offer preventive
340 Health Services for Adolescents
care or counseling, and they are hesitant
to ask parents or school personnel for
information. Although parents may take
their adolescents for yearly exams, ado-
lescents may not reveal to family physi-
cians important information about their
health status. The normal separation
from parents during adolescence may
also lead teens to ask their peers for infor-
mation and support. Unfortunately,
much of the information obtained from
peers is incorrect, resulting in unhealthy
behaviors and failure to obtain care for
presenting health problems.
Still other barriers are unaffordability,
inaccessibility, and inappropriateness.
The most typical financial impediment is
the absence of public or private health
insurance. A large number of American
families are not covered by private insur-
ance or Medicaid, and many of the ser-
vices needed for adolescents are not cov-
ered even when there is insurance.
Transportation to health services is
another problem for many adolescents
and for poorer families in general. Public
transportation is often unavailable in
rural areas, and adolescents (along with
other family members) may not have
access to private transportation. In addi-
tion, many adolescents may find it
inconvenient to visit healthcare profes-
sionals during the school or workday.
Thus, it is essential for healthcare facili-
ties to schedule evening and weekend
hours. Below are recommendations for
health service delivery to adolescents.
Staff
Office staff should take a friendly
approach that provides a positive atmos-
phere and recognizes that adolescents are
not babies. If the staff give the impression
that they are unhappy with having
teenagers at the site—that they stereo-
typically expect to find angry, rebellious,
intoxicated teenagers and will treat them
accordingly—they run the risk of further
increasing the adolescents’ (and their
own) uneasiness in regard to the visit.
The adolescents, in turn, may be reluc-
tant to return for additional care if they
do not feel comfortable with the staff.
Most adolescents want staff to listen to
them and to treat them nonjudgmentally.
They are also concerned about confiden-
tiality and need some assurance that all
issues discussed will be kept confidential.
Parents
Parents should recognize that most ado-
lescents are quite capable not only of
providing appropriate information about
their health to providers but also of man-
aging most of their own health problems.
Most parents will accompany their
teenager to the office visit and want to
have all available information relating to
the visit, the diagnosis, and the treatment
plan. Many object when the provider
attempts to obtain a confidentiality
agreement for the teenager. Under this
arrangement, the parents are asked to
agree that whatever their child reveals to
the provider will be confidential except
for information that involves a risk to the
adolescent or someone else (e.g., a threat
to commit suicide) or a situation in
which the provider is required by law to
reveal the information (e.g., physical or
sexual abuse). In either of these excep-
tional circumstances, the provider
explains to the adolescent that he or she
must reveal the information to others;
then the parents are told that if they want
to know what happened at the visit, they
should ask their child. This practice is
important in that it allows teenagers to
feel that they can safely reveal very per-
sonal issues to the provider. For instance,

since few sexually active teens want their
parents to know about their sexual
involvement, they are not likely to
express their concern about sexually
transmitted disease if their parents are in
the room with them and the provider.
One of the most important roles for
parents is to help adolescents become
responsible for their own healthcare.
This is best accomplished not only by
arranging for a confidentiality agreement
among parents, adolescents, and pro-
viders but also by discussing healthcare
issues directly with the adolescents.
Providers
Providers of health services to adolescents
should be informed and comfortable about
managing issues of particular importance
to adolescents. These include confiden-
tiality and health behaviors involving sex-
uality; substance use and abuse; relations
with parents, siblings, and peers; and
behavioral issues related to chronic health
problems and others. In cases where
providers have limited their practices to
exclude adolescents, referral should be
made to a provider who does treat individ-
uals in this age group. Family practition-
ers are often the most appropriate and
available source of healthcare for teens,
inasmuch as they provide a mixed setting
with varied clientele and offer services for
the entire family. By the same token, fam-
ily practitioners may be less of a problem
than other providers in terms of the tran-
sition between child and adolescent
healthcare to young adult healthcare.
Note that most internists treat only
adults, so they are not the best choice for
a teenager who has been discharged from
a pediatric practice because of age or
developmental status.
Jordan W. Finkelstein
High School Equivalency Degree 341
See also Conflict Resolution; Counseling;
Dental Health; Drug Abuse Prevention;
Environmental Health Issues; Health
Promotion; Pregnancy, Interventions to
Prevent; Psychotherapy
References and further reading
Daniel, William A., Jr. 1991. “Training in
Adolescent Health Care.” Pp. 450–453
in Encyclopedia of Adolescence. Edited
by Richard M. Lerner, Anne C.
Petersen, and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn.
New York: Garland.
Friedman, S. B., M. M. Fisher, S. K.
Schoenberg, and E. M. Alderman. 1998.
Comprehensive Adolescent Health
Care. St. Louis, MO: Mosby.
Klerman, Lorraine V. 1991. “Barriers to
Health Services for Adolescents.” Pp.
470–474 in Encyclopedia of
Adolescence. Edited by Richard M.
Lerner, Anne C. Petersen, and Jeanne
Brooks-Gunn. New York: Garland.
Kovar, Mary Grace. 1991. “Health of
Adolescents in the United States: An
Overview.” Pp. 454–458 in
Encyclopedia of Adolescence. Edited by
Richard M. Lerner, Anne C. Petersen,
and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn. New York:
Garland.
High School Equivalency Degree
The General Educational Development
(GED) tests provide individuals who have
dropped out of high school with an oppor-
tunity to obtain a diploma equivalent to a
high school degree. The GED tests,
which are periodically revised, assess
knowledge and critical-thinking skills
and may be taken by anyone not cur-
rently enrolled in high school who meets
state age requirements. Teens and young
adults who pass the GED report greater
confidence, increase their chances of col-
lege admission, and receive higher
salaries than high school dropouts. One
out of every seven high school degrees
conferred is a GED.
The GED tests were developed in 1942
to provide U.S. veterans who had not fin-
ished high school with a way to obtain
342 High School Equivalency Degree
Adult students study for their GED in Minnesota. (Richard T. Nowitz/Corbis)
an alternative degree in order to satisfy
college entrance requirements. However,
the program became popular with the
general public, and by 1959 civilians tak-
ing the tests outnumbered military per-
sonnel. Currently, about 800,000 individ-
uals, most between the ages of eighteen
and twenty-four, take the GED each
year.
The American Council for Education
(ACE) produces the GED tests and deter-
mines minimal score standards, although
individual states may set additional
requirements. Test takers can choose
among 3,500 official testing centers
throughout the world. The tests are avail-
able in English, Spanish, French, and
Braille, and accommodations are made
for individuals with disabilities. The
GED tests consist of a written essay and
four multiple-choice sections: social
studies, science, language arts, and math-
ematics. They reflect the skills and con-
cepts found in high school curricula and
have become more challenging as sec-
ondary education has evolved. The tests
have undergone four versions, the most
current of which is the 2002 series. They
require seven and one-half hours to com-
plete, although some testing centers
allow candidates to complete each of the
test sections separately. Prior to taking
the GED, most people average about
thirty hours of preparation consisting of
classes or individual study using books
and practice tests.
Standards for passing the tests are
based on norms derived from high school
seniors’ scores on the GED in order to
verify that GED graduates are academi-
cally equivalent to high school graduates.
About 70 percent of GED candidates pass

the tests on their first attempt; another
15 percent succeed after taking the tests
a second time. Almost 14 million people
have received GED diplomas since the
program began.
Two out of three individuals who take
the GED do so in order to pursue higher
education, and more than half of those
who pass actually obtain additional
schooling. Although more than 90 per-
cent of four-year universities accept GED
graduates who satisfy other admission
requirements, most people with GEDs
attend trade and technical schools or
community colleges. Students enrolled
in vocational programs complete them at
the same rates as do high school gradu-
ates, but a smaller number finish the pro-
grams at two- and four-year institutions.
The armed services admit about 40,000
recruits with GED diplomas each year,
but they give preference to high school
graduates since they drop out of the mil-
itary at lower rates than do individuals
with GEDs.
More than 95 percent of employers
consider the work skills of people with
GED and high school degrees to be
equivalent. Compared to high school
dropouts, individuals with GEDs are
employed full-time at higher rates and
receive wages that are 6 to 13 percent
greater. However, individuals with high
school and, especially, college diplomas
are usually salaried at higher levels than
GED recipients.
Well-known individuals who have
earned GED diplomas include enter-
tainer Bill Cosby, U.S. Senator Ben
Nighthorse Campbell, Wendy’s founder
Dave Thomas, country music singer
Waylon Jennings, and Delaware Lieu-
tenant Governor Ruth Ann Minner.
Wendy Hubenthal
Higher Education 343
See also Academic Achievement; Career
Development; School Dropouts; Stan-
dardized Tests; Vocational Develop-
ment
References and further reading
American Council on Education. Web
site: http://www.acenet.edu/ (select
GED link).
Boesel, David, Nabeel Alsalam, and
Thomas Smith. 1998. Research
Synthesis: Educational and Labor
Market Performance of GED
Recipients. Washington, DC: U.S.
Department of Education.
Martz, Geoff, and Laurice Pearson
(contributor). 1999. Cracking the GED,
2000. New York: Random House
(published annually).
Higher Education
Higher education (also called postsec-
ondary or tertiary education) refers to the
broad set of educational opportunities
available beyond the level of secondary
education (junior high through high
school). A mix of general and specialized
study, it is intended to prepare graduates
for advanced professional employment in
government, industry, and business. Rel-
ative to other world countries, where
advanced education opportunities are
typically managed by a central govern-
ment ministry and available to only a
select number of individuals, higher edu-
cation in the United States is unique in
terms of its diversity, size, competitive-
ness, and decentralized nature.
U.S. institutions providing higher edu-
cation include public and private col-
leges, universities, professional schools,
community (or junior) colleges, and pro-
prietary schools. Length and type of study
vary by institution and degree type. Com-
munity colleges typically offer two-year
technical and general education programs
leading to the associate’s degree. At four-
344 Higher Education
A mix of general and specialized study, higher education is intended to prepare graduates for
advanced professional employment in government, industry, and business. (Joseph Sohm;
ChromoSohm, Inc./Corbis)
year colleges and universities, bachelor’s
degrees are awarded to students who
complete a “liberal arts” program of
study that consists of both general and
specialized classes. Following the com-
pletion of a bachelor’s degree, qualifying
candidates can elect to pursue advanced
master’s or doctoral degree study, or
attend a professional academy such as a
medical, business, or law school. Propri-
etary, for-profit institutions offer a broad
range of degree, certificate, and diploma
programs of shorter duration.
Higher education in the United States
currently serves more than 14.3 million
domestic and international students—an
enrollment increase of 16 percent since
1985—in more than 4,000 higher educa-
tion institutions (National Center for
Educational Statistics, 1998). Understood
by most Americans to be a key ingredient
in social accession and success, access to
some form of higher education has grown
significantly over the past fifty years and
is now almost universally available
(Trow, 1989). On average, 62 percent of
each year’s 2.5 million secondary school
graduates enroll in some form of postsec-
ondary education. Since 1980, the num-
ber of women at colleges and universities
has exceeded the number of men. Minor-
ity enrollment levels have been increas-
ing slowly over time. In 1995, 11 percent
of African Americans, 2 percent of
Asians/Pacific Islanders, and fewer than
1 percent of Native Americans were

enrolled in institutions of higher learning
(National Center for Educational Statis-
tics, 1998).
History
Higher education in the United States
has evolved significantly during its long
history, continually modifying itself to
parallel the needs of the growing country.
American higher education began with
Harvard College (Rudolph, 1990). Char-
tered in 1636 by leaders of the Massachu-
setts Bay Colony, Harvard was modeled
after the British colleges of Oxford and
Cambridge. Other colonial colleges soon
followed. As with Harvard, the purpose
of these early schools was to prepare new
generations of elite, young men for civic
and religious leadership. Discipline and
character building, rather than knowl-
edge or skill attainment, were their pri-
mary goals of instruction. Hence, these
institutions offered studies, known as the
liberal arts, that were believed to be
instrumental in inculcating moral and
spiritual growth—studies that included
work in mathematics, grammar, rhetoric,
and the memorization of certain classic
Greek and Latin texts.
As America grew and changed follow-
ing nationhood, so too did its institutions
of higher education. During the first half
of the nineteenth century, westward
expansion brought with it a dramatic pro-
liferation of small, private colleges. Mod-
eled after the original colonial schools,
most of these were founded by members
of various Protestant religious denomina-
tions. By midcentury, however, the tradi-
tional and elitist practices of the coun-
try’s old and new colleges were perceived
as increasingly out of step with the
events of the day. Science and scientific
theory—for the most part imported from
continental Europe—had established a
Higher Education 345
foothold in the curriculum of many col-
leges, and a crop of young, new educators
began agitating for changes in the tradi-
tional methods and content of instruc-
tion. With similar feelings being voiced
by the population at large, calls for a
more practical approach to education
grew in frequency and intensity. One
product of this sentiment was the enact-
ment, in 1862, of the Morrill Land Grant
Act, an article of federal legislation that
gave land to each state to be sold to start
new colleges dedicated to both liberal arts
and agricultural and mechanical training
(Veysey, 1965). Another was the adoption,
from Germany, of specialized research
and graduate education practices. When
fused with the liberal arts curricula, these
initiatives resulted in the formation of
the country’s first true universities;
undergraduate cum graduate institutions
were now committed to providing
instruction in traditional subjects while
at the same time using the tenets of sci-
ence to generate new knowledge.
By the beginning of the twentieth cen-
tury, the basic structure of today’s mod-
ern postsecondary educational system
was in place. Disciplinary departments
had formed. Administrators, rather than
professors, as was previously the case,
had or were assuming responsibility for
various operational functions. And in
response to the growing perception that
higher education represented a means for
improving one’s social station, colleges
and universities continued to differenti-
ate and grow in number, modifying them-
selves along the way to offer ever-more
specialized and practical educational
opportunities. Yet despite these advance-
ments, higher education remained a priv-
ilege of America’s wealthy male elite well
into the latter half of the century. Women
and minorities, for instance, were often
346 Higher Education
either excluded from study altogether or
segregated into women- and black-only
colleges.
Since World War II, a number of federal
government initiatives—the G.I. Bill,
funding for scientific research, and the
Higher Education Act—have dramati-
cally impacted the growth and direction
of higher education. An article of federal
legislation, the G.I. Bill exploded enroll-
ments by subsidizing the college and uni-
versity study of hundreds of thousands of
returning veterans, forever changing the
tradition of who had access to college
(Boyer, 1990). The influx of millions of
dollars of federal research aid, given ini-
tially to promote cold war weapons ini-
tiatives, greatly expanded the research
function and capacities of universities,
solidifying their role as producers of new
knowledge. In the 1960s, the govern-
ment’s first Higher Education Act, in
conjunction with the change in social
perception inspired by the civil rights
movement, combined, at last, to fully
secure access to higher education for all
people, regardless of color, religion, gen-
der, or disability. In recent years, discus-
sions of higher education policy have
revolved around the issues of quality,
diversity, access, affordability, academic
freedom, and what should be taught.
Organization
Unlike primary and secondary education,
higher education in the United States is
neither mandatory nor provided free by
law. In addition, unlike education in
most other countries, it is not overseen
by a federal ministry. (In other words, the
Department of Education has no direct
control over higher education practices.)
For these reasons, American colleges and
universities are remarkably unencum-
bered in terms of how they define them-
selves, hire and fire personnel, design
curricula, and provide other services.
Perhaps the most distinguishing char-
acteristic of American higher education
is its incredible diversity. Across the
land, cities, towns, and rural areas alike
are sprinkled with a rich variety of public
and private, large and small, and for- and
nonprofit institutions. Within this mix-
ture, educational mandates and practices
vary greatly. Some schools are controlled
by religious organizations and offer study
that is tightly coupled to church teach-
ings. Others may specialize in research.
Still others may be profit-directed and
offer short-term training courses leading
to a particular profession. Some have res-
idential facilities, whereas others organ-
ize their programs of study around the
needs of commuting students.
Regardless of orientation, the higher
education model most familiar to Amer-
icans is that of the two- and four-year
degree-granting colleges or universities.
Community or junior colleges are two-
year public institutions. They offer a
mixture of technical and vocational pro-
grams, nondegree adult-learning classes,
and general study that results in the asso-
ciate degree and is intended to prepare
students for transfer into a four-year
institution. Admission to community
colleges is generally open to anyone with
a high school (or equivalent) diploma.
This open-admissions policy does not
imply poor standards, however. On the
contrary, the quality of instruction at
community colleges is often as rigorous
as that at more prestigious and well-
known four-year schools. Because most
community colleges cater to local, com-
muting residents, they do not operate
housing facilities. Heavily subsidized
with public tax dollars, they have in
recent years become increasingly popular

with students looking to fulfill general
education requirements before enrolling
at more expensive four-year schools.
Four-year institutions are both public
and private. Of the approximately 4,000
four-year colleges and universities in the
United States, slightly more than half are
private. Despite being outnumbered, pub-
lic schools—including most community
colleges and state-operated comprehen-
sive universities—are home to nearly
three out of four Americans enrolled in
higher education nationwide. There are
few practical differences in the modes and
methods of instruction at public and pri-
vate institutions. Based, however, on the
principle of providing universal access to
a wide range of educational opportunities,
public colleges and universities tend to be
more comprehensive than their private
counterparts (Thullen et al., 1997). A lay
board, commonly referred to as a board of
regents or governors, governs public insti-
tutions. This board directs institutional
policy and appoints a president to imple-
ment the members’ decisions and lead
the institution. Although tuition fees
account for a significant component of
public institutions’ operating budgets, the
bulk of their annual funding is legisla-
tively allocated from state and local tax
coffers.
Private colleges and universities are
privately owned nonprofit organizations.
Like public schools, they are guided by a
board of directors (known as trustees) as
well as by a president who oversees their
day-to-day operations. Unlike public
schools, private colleges and universities
receive no direct tax assistance. As a con-
sequence, tuition revenues account for a
significant percentage of their annual
operating budgets, making them more
expensive to students and their families.
This issue has raised concerns among
Higher Education 347
some people who fear that the hefty price
tags at these institutions will depress
low-income enrollments and turn them
into bastions of elitism.
To make sense of the variety of public
and private colleges and universities in
the United States, The Carnegie Founda-
tion created a classification system in
1973. Known as the Carnegie Classifica-
tion, the widely recognized typology
organizes all degree-granting and accred-
ited tertiary institutions into these
groups: doctorate-granting institutions;
master’s colleges and universities; bac-
calaureate colleges; associate’s colleges;
specialized institutions (e.g., theological
seminaries, teachers colleges, and schools
of medicine, business, and law); and tribal
colleges and universities. In some of the
categories, subsets exist to provide greater
refinement of type. It is important to note
that the Carnegie Classification does not
rank schools by quality. Organized by
highest degree awarded and mode of
financing, it is instead a tool to assist in
identifying an institution’s general char-
acteristics and mission. The classification
is regularly updated to reflect changes in
higher education institution types.
Despite differences in size, cost, mis-
sion, and affiliation, the programmatic
offerings of most four-year American col-
leges and universities are remarkably
similar. Undergraduate study refers to
the initial phase of postsecondary educa-
tion leading to the bachelor’s degree.
Designed to require four years of full-
time work to complete, it proceeds in
two stages: one or two years of general
study, covering a broad range of subjects
(also called distribution or liberal arts
requirements), and a period of concen-
trated study in a particular academic dis-
cipline (major) meant to directly prepare
students for either entry-level work or
348 Higher Education
advancement to graduate-level studies.
Undergraduate study programs are often
quite flexible. Students are able—and fre-
quently encouraged by professors or aca-
demic advisers—to select classes and
specify majors of an interdisciplinary
nature. Classes, especially during stu-
dents’ freshman and sophomore years of
study, are often large and conducted in
lecture halls. Although format and size
vary by institution and course type,
actual contact and conversation with
professors can be infrequent, especially at
some of the larger institutions. Under-
graduates are regularly tested over the
course of an academic semester. The
most common forms of assessment are
exams, quizzes, and essays. Successfully
completing a course results in a grade
and the awarding of a set number of
credit hours.
Like most secondary schools, the
majority of four-year institutions award
grades from A to F. These marks are then
translated into a numerical scale, run-
ning from 4.0 (outstanding) to 0 (failing),
that is used to formulate a student’s
grade-point average. Students graduate
after accumulating a predetermined
number of credit hours and fulfilling the
curricular requirements particular to
their degree program. The type of bache-
lor’s degree one can earn is determined
by field of study. For example, math,
physical science, and engineering gradu-
ates are typically awarded a Bachelor of
Science (B.S.) degree, whereas Bachelor of
Arts (B.A.) degrees are conferred upon
persons completing humanity, social sci-
ence, and interdisciplinary majors. Addi-
tional B.A.–like degrees are occasionally
awarded for study in specialty fields such
as education, business, and nursing.
Graduate education refers to study
undertaken after the award of a bachelor’s
degree. In the United States, graduate
study is available along two separate
tracks: (1) master’s (M.A.) and doctorate
(Ph.D.) degree programs and (2) profes-
sional-school programs. Master’s and doc-
torate programs are designed to impart
expertise in a particular academic disci-
pline. These programs—in effect, inten-
sive extensions of the undergraduate
major—are organized and offered by the
same departments and professors respon-
sible for undergraduate instruction. With
few exceptions, M.A. and Ph.D. study
requires the completion of a set number
of courses, followed by the production of
an original work of scholarly research.
Historically, master’s and doctorate
degree recipients have found employment
as researchers and educators in higher
secondary and postsecondary education
institutions. Although this is still the
case, the specialized knowledge gained
via advanced degree study—especially at
the master’s level—is becoming increas-
ingly necessary for success in a broad
range of professions.
Professional-degree programs offer spe-
cialized training in fields such as law,
dentistry, pharmacy, theology, and medi-
cine. Often undertaken at schools affili-
ated with but separate from universities,
professional degrees include a period of
extended classroom and laboratory study,
followed by some sort of supervised field
or clinical work. Given the importance of
hands-on training for many professional
degrees, credits are awarded for work
conducted both in and outside the class-
room. Most professional-degree programs
also include an extensive internship,
sometimes lasting a number of years.
Although certain professional degrees
include the term doctor in their titles—
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.),
or Juris Doctor (J.D.), for instance—they

are applied rather than research degrees
and, thus, different from the Ph.D.
College student demographics and rou-
tines have changed significantly in recent
years. In the past, it was common for stu-
dents to begin their college studies
immediately after completing high
school. Many lived in campus residence
halls, off-campus apartments, or Greek
Letter Society sorority or fraternity
houses. Working while at college was
uncommon. Instead, students dedicat-
edly pursued their studies full-time for
four years, then graduated and looked for
professional work. Although this pattern
still exists, it is no longer the norm.
Higher education student populations are
older and more diverse than ever before.
Students at almost all institutions are
increasingly likely to commute to cam-
pus, to be enrolled part-time, and/or to be
engaged in part- or full-time employ-
ment. In 1993, for instance, 85 percent of
all part-time students worked, as did
nearly half of all full-time enrollees
(Thullen et al., 1997). On-campus ser-
vices are also on the rise. A growing
group of campus employees—known as
student affairs professionals—now rou-
tinely supply such services as counseling,
childcare, health and welfare advice,
remedial assistance, and job search
advice. Campus recreational facilities
have likewise expanded in quantity and
quality as a result of efforts to provide
students with constructive activity out-
lets separate from their classroom duties.
Postsecondary educators are organized
by area of specialization into depart-
ments, divisions, and professional-school
faculties. As employees of the institution
in which they teach and/or do research,
they are usually expected to hold the ter-
minal academic degree in their area of
specialization. The exact role of an Amer-
Higher Education 349
ican academic is dictated by the particular
needs of the institution in which she or he
is employed. Some institutions—commu-
nity colleges as well as small to mid-sized
schools, for instance—tend to promote
teaching above research. In others, re-
search is more highly valued, and career
advancements are tied more closely to the
work produced than to the time spent in a
classroom. Nationwide, most professors
spend significantly more time teaching
than they do undertaking research. Over
the course of their academic careers, full-
time American educators are promoted
through four academic levels: professor,
associate professor, assistant professor,
and lecturer. Advancement to the rank of
professor and associate professor, the two
highest appointments, results in tenure—
a guarantee of lifetime employment. To
receive tenure, scholars must demon-
strate, over a five- to seven-year period, a
high level of academic productivity,
accomplishment, and teaching skill. In
recent years, public attacks on tenure
have become increasingly shrill. As a
result, some colleges and universities
have begun to abandon it, preferring
instead to link merit raises with the
results of regular performance tests.
David Engberg
See also Academic Achievement; Acade-
mic Self-Evaluation; Career Develop-
ment; School, Functions of; School
Transitions
References and further reading
Boyer, Ernest. 1990. Scholarship
Reconsidered: Priorities of the
Professoriate. Princeton, NJ: Carnegie
Foundation.
National Center for Educational
Statistics. 1998. Digest of Education
Statistics. Washington, DC: U.S.
Department of Education.
Rudolph, Frederick. 1990. The American
College and University: A History.
350 HIV/AIDS
Athens/London: University of Georgia
Press.
Thullen, Manfred, et al. 1997.
Cooperating with a University in the
United States. Washington, DC:
NAFSA.
Trow, Martin. 1989. “American Higher
Education: Past, Present, and Future.”
Studies in Higher Education 14: 5–22.
Veysey, Lawrence. 1965. The Emergence
of the American University. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press.
HIV/AIDS
What Is AIDS?
AIDS stands for acquired immunodefi-
ciency syndrome; it is caused by HIV
(which stands for human immunodefi-
ciency virus). The world first became
aware of this new disease in 1981. Since
that time, AIDS/HIV has exploded in
successive waves in various regions of
the world, thus receiving much attention
and public concern. AIDS/HIV continues
to be a major public health concern, both
because it is incurable and because HIV
continues to spread rapidly in many parts
of the world––nearly 50 million people
have been infected with HIV since the
epidemic first began (UNAIDS, 1999).
The words comprising the acronym
AIDS have the following meanings:
Acquired refers to the fact that the dis-
ease is received from someone else.
Immuno- refers to the immune system,
which protects the body against disease-
causing microorganisms, and deficiency
refers to a loss of this protection. Finally,
syndrome means a group of signs or
symptoms that together define AIDS as a
human pathology. Thus, AIDS is a defi-
ciency of the human immune system that
is acquired from someone else. AIDS is
not a single disease per se, but instead is a
label for the final stages of HIV disease,
when the immune system is severely
damaged.
HIV, which causes AIDS, destroys an
essential component of the immune sys-
tem, the T4 “helper” cells. In a healthy
person, these cells organize and arrange
the immune system’s response––they act
as the immune system’s “generals,” coor-
dinating the attack against foreign
invaders, such as bacteria, viruses, and
other microorganisms. HIV slowly kills
these helper cells, weakening the
immune system, and eventually causing
AIDS. According to the Centers for Dis-
ease Control (CDC), an HIV-infected per-
son is considered to have AIDS if he
either has a T4 cell count of less than 200
or has one or more of twenty-six oppor-
tunistic infections or neoplasms. An
opportunistic infection is a normally
benign microorganism or virus that
becomes pathogenic (or harmful) in peo-
ple with a weakened immune system; a
neoplasm is an abnormal cell growth,
such as a cancerous tumor. Although
most healthy people’s immune systems
can easily fight off these infections and
illnesses, they can kill people with AIDS.
AIDS is considered an epidemic
because it is contagious, has affected so
many individuals worldwide, and is asso-
ciated with enormous economic costs. In
the United States, there have been over
711,000 AIDS cases, and at least 420,000
persons have died from this disease (CDC,
1999). In recent years, the number of new
AIDS cases has decreased sharply as a
result of the development of antiretroviral
drug treatments that hold HIV in check,
and partly also as a result of public educa-
tion and prevention efforts. The annual
number of AIDS cases reported among
adolescents ages thirteen to nineteen
years has declined significantly from 581
HIV/AIDS continues to be a major public health concern, both because there is no known
cure and because HIV continues to spread rapidly in many parts of the world. (Skjold
Photographs)
352 HIV/AIDS
reported cases in 1993 to 312 cases in
1999 (CDC, 2000a). The ratio of adoles-
cent male to female cases has decreased
over time. In 1999, more females (180, or
58 percent) than males (132) were
reported with AIDS (CDC, 2000a). It is
hypothesized that the proportion of males
who acquired HIV through receipt of
blood products has diminished, thus nar-
rowing the gender gap.
Although the number of AIDS cases in
the United States has declined in recent
years, the number of new HIV diagnoses
remains relatively stable. The CDC esti-
mates that between 800,000 and 900,000
Americans currently live with HIV and
that at least 40,000 new HIV infections
occur each year (CDC, 1999, 2000b). In
1999, 828 adolescents of thirteen to nine-
teen years of age were reported with HIV
(based on states providing confidential
HIV infection surveillance data). African
American and Hispanic youth have been,
and continue to be, disproportionately
affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Although only 15 percent of the U.S. ado-
lescent population is African American,
49 percent of the AIDS cases from 1981
to 1999 and 60 percent of the AIDS cases
in 1999 were among African American
youth. Similarly, Hispanic youth consti-
tute 14 percent of the U.S. population;
however, they accounted for 24 percent
of the AIDS cases in 1999 and 20 percent
of the AIDS cases in 1981–1999 (CDC,
2000a).
AIDS continues to be a serious global
health problem. Based on estimates from
the United Nations Programme on AIDS
(UNAIDS, 1999), approximately 47 mil-
lion people have been infected with HIV
since the start of the global epidemic.
Through December 1999, an estimated
16.3 million children and adults have
died from AIDS. An additional esti-
mated 33.6 million people are living
with HIV infection or AIDS. UNAIDS
estimates that 5.6 million new HIV
infections occurred in 1999. This repre-
sents almost 16,000 new infections each
day.
How Does One Get HIV?
A person can only become infected with
HIV through direct contact with HIV-
infected body fluids. HIV is not transmit-
ted by casual contact, by toilet seats, or by
mosquitoes. There are three major routes
of transmission: sexual behaviors, includ-
ing vaginal sex, anal sex, and oral sex;
direct injection of HIV-contaminated
drugs into the body with needles or/and
syringes, or during a blood transfusion or
receipt of other blood products (such as
factor VIII for hemophiliacs); and from
mother to baby, either before birth (when
the fetus shares a circulatory system with
its mother), exposure to blood or cervico-
vaginal fluids during delivery, or during
breast-feeding, through the milk. In gen-
eral, it is easier to get HIV through the
intravenous routes than through sexual
ones. However, most people get HIV as a
result of sexual contact. This is especially
true in Africa, where the vast majority of
infected people acquired HIV through het-
erosexual intercourse.
Among adolescents, reported exposure
categories for HIV transmission vary by
gender. According to the most recent
data (CDC, 2000a), over one-third (34
percent) of male adolescents thirteen to
nineteen years of age report acquiring
AIDS from engaging in sexual relations
with other men. An additional 34 percent
acquired their infection from blood trans-
fusions used to treat hemophilia, prior to
the advent of heat treatment of blood
products to prevent HIV transmission. In
contrast, among females in this age

group, 52 percent identified heterosexual
transmission and 14 percent identified
injection drug use as their mode of HIV
exposure.
In terms of sexual behavior, HIV can be
transmitted by vaginal, anal, or oral sex
with an infected person. However, there
is a greater chance of transmitting or
becoming infected with HIV through
anal sex than through vaginal or oral sex.
Oral sex appears to be much safer than
either vaginal or anal intercourse. Also,
the person who is the “receiving” partner
in anal sex is more likely to become
infected than the “insertive” partner.
Furthermore, it is easier for a woman to
get infected by having vaginal or anal sex
with a man than it is for a man to be
infected by a woman. The consistent
(every time) and correct use of latex con-
doms can substantially reduce the risk
associated with any of these sexual activ-
ities. Scientists are also working on
methods to help women protect them-
selves, such as the female condom (a
plastic pouch that lines the vagina) and
various microbicides that can be applied
to the vagina prior to sex and that will
kill the HIV virus.
The second main way that HIV is
acquired is by injecting drugs with an
HIV-contaminated needle or syringe, or
by receiving contaminated blood prod-
ucts during a transfusion or other med-
ical procedure. Injecting with an HIV-
contaminated syringe is a very efficient
way to transmit the virus from one per-
son to another. Therefore, injection drug
users who share needles and syringes
with other drug users are at high risk of
becoming infected. Through 1999, 26
percent of the reported AIDS cases in the
United States were due to intravenous
drug use (CDC, 1999). Experts believe
that half of all AIDS cases can be linked
HIV/AIDS 353
to injection drug use, either directly or
indirectly. For example, an injection drug
user might pass the virus to his female
sex partner, and she, in turn, might pass
it on to their children. Rinsing syringes
with bleaching and water can help deac-
tivate the virus, but by far the safest way
to avoid injection-related infections is
not to inject drugs at all, or to avoid shar-
ing needles and syringes with others.
Early in the epidemic, many people
(mostly children) with hemophilia and
other coagulation disorders received HIV-
contaminated blood products during med-
ical procedures. Others received infected
blood while undergoing transfusions dur-
ing surgery. In 1985, an HIV antibody test
was developed that could detect, with
high accuracy, whether blood was con-
taminated with the virus. (Antibodies are
made by an infected person’s body in
response to exposure to the HIV virus.
The “HIV test” does not actually test for
the presence of HIV itself. Instead, it tests
for the presence of antibodies.) Thanks to
rigorous blood screening policies, the
blood supply in Western countries, such
as the United States, is now very safe.
However, in much of the developing
world, receiving blood or blood products
can be very risky.
Finally, a woman can infect her baby
while it is still in the womb (HIV can cross
the placental barrier), during childbirth
(through exposure to cervicovaginal flu-
ids), or after birth (as a result of breast-
feeding). Anywhere from one-quarter to
one-third of the babies born to HIV-
infected women will become infected
through “perinatal” (mother-to-child)
transmission. Fortunately, antiretroviral
medications given to pregnant women
before they give birth can reduce the like-
lihood of perinatal transmission by one-
half to two-thirds. Regular prenatal care
354 HIV/AIDS
and routine (voluntary) testing of pregnant
women is critical to ensure that these
medications can be used appropriately.
How to Get Tested
A person can get tested for HIV antibod-
ies at the doctor’s office, at a local family
planning clinic, or at a publicly funded
counseling and testing site. In many
states, one can either get tested com-
pletely anonymously or confidentially
(the name is known but the records are
kept private). Testing is critical to ensure
that people can get appropriate medical
care if infected, to help prevent perinatal
HIV transmission, and to help infected
persons reduce the risk of spreading HIV
to their sex partners. Knowledge is
power!
Most HIV testing centers use the
ELISA (enzyme linked immunosorbent
assay) antibody test and follow up with
another ELISA and then, if applicable, the
Western Blot Assay. The ELISA is used in
most testing centers. It is used as an ini-
tial screening test because it is inexpen-
sive, has standardized procedures, has
high reproducibility, and provides quick
results. This test is very sensitive, which
means that it is very accurate at detect-
ing infected blood samples. But it is not
very specific, which means that it pro-
duces many false positives (i.e., the test
indicates that the blood is infected when
in reality it is not). The sensitivity was
set extremely high because it is better to
have some false positives than to let any
bad blood slip by. This makes the ELISA
a good screening tool, but it is not defin-
itive. Therefore, the standard procedure
is to combine the ELISA with a more
specific test, known as the Western Blot
Assay. First, an initial ELISA test is per-
formed. If that test comes back positive,
then the ELISA is rerun (just to make
sure). If the second ELISA test also comes
back positive, then a Western Blot is per-
formed.
The Western Blot, unlike the ELISA, is
very specific. It is not used as a screening
test because it is an expensive and time-
consuming test. Thus, it is used only for
confirming the results of the repeated
ELISA tests. Combined, these tests are
extremely accurate, with very few false
positives.
What Is the Treatment for HIV/AIDS?
There is no cure for AIDS or for HIV
infection. However, there are now treat-
ments available that can markedly
improve the health of (some) infected
people. Guidelines have been developed
for the use of potent anti-HIV drugs,
which are generally administered in com-
binations of three or more drugs at a
time, usually including a protease
inhibitor (CDC, 1998; Vittinghoff et al.,
1999). These drug combinations are
known as highly active antiretroviral
therapy and have been found to be effec-
tive in lessening the severity of illness in
many patients, as well as preventing the
progression of disease in those who are
relatively healthy. However, not all per-
sons infected with HIV respond well to
these therapies, and many persons can-
not tolerate the toxic side effects, or are
unable to comply with the rigorous treat-
ment plan (which requires taking a large
number of pills according to complicated
dosing schedules). In addition, new
strains of HIV continue to develop, some
of which may be resistant to currently
available drugs.
Heather Cecil
See also Contraception; Drug Abuse Pre-
vention; Gonorrhea; Health Promotion;

Health Services for Adolescents; Sexual
Behavior Problems; Sexually Transmit-
ted Diseases
References and further reading
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC). 1998. HIV/AIDS
Surveillance Report10 (No. 2). Atlanta,
GA: Centers for Disease Control.
———. 1999. HIV/AIDS Surveillance
Report 11 (No. 1). Atlanta, GA: Centers
for Disease Control.
———. 2000a. HIV/AIDS Surveillance in
Adolescents. L265 slide series through
1999. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease
Control.
———. 2000b. CDC Update: A Glance at
the HIV Epidemic. Atlanta, GA:
Centers for Disease Control.
Durant, J., P. Clevenbergh, P. Halfon, P.
Delguidice, S. Porsin, P. Simonet, N.
Montagne, C. A. B. Boucher, and J. M.
Schapiro. 1999. “Drug-Resistance
Genotyping in HIV-1 Therapy: The
VIRADAPT Randomised Controlled
Trial.” The Lancet 353: 2195–2199.
Fauci, Anthony S. 1999. “The AIDS
Epidemic. Considerations for the 21st
Century.” The New England Journal of
Medicine 341, no. 14: 1046–1050.
The Kaiser Family Foundation. 2000.
“The State of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic
in America.” Capitol Hill Briefing
Series on HIV/AIDS, April: 1–8.
UNAIDS. 1999. AIDS Epidemic Update:
December 1999. Switzerland: UNAIDS.
Vittinghoff, Eric, Susan Scheer, Paul
O’Malley, Grant Colfax, Scott D.
Holmberg, and Susan P. Buchbinder.
1999. “Combination Antiretroviral
Therapy and Recent Declines in AIDS
Incidence and Mortality.” Journal of
Infectious Diseases 179: 717–720.
Homeless Youth
Adolescents who are homeless some-
times are part of a homeless family, one
or two parents plus their children. But
there is a separate category of homeless
adolescents, those who are on their own.
These homeless youth are no longer part
of their family; in fact, their existence on
Homeless Youth 355
the streets of the United States is made
more precarious by the lack of family
support and familial resources.
The number of these homeless teens in
the United States is controversial, but
700,000 to 1.3 million youth fit the cate-
gory as defined above. They have re-
ceived little systematic attention.
Indeed, according to the Institute of Med-
icine, homeless youths are the most
understudied subgroup within the home-
less population. Their ages usually range
from thirteen to seventeen, with most
homeless youth fifteen and over.
Some homeless youth are as young as
nine. The proportion of males and
females is unknown, varying from sam-
ple to sample. Their ethnic background
tends to match that of the communities
in which they live. Although there are
spectacular exceptions, including home-
less youth who secretly attend local col-
leges, most homeless youth have had
considerable academic and behavioral
problems in school.
One of the first questions one might
ask about homeless youth is whether
they are merely an extreme form of rebel-
lious teenagers looking for freedom. The
overwhelming majority are not. Instead,
they are typically from problem families
or have generated problems for their fam-
ilies. Some are “throwaway teens,”
forced out of the home by parents who
felt that the teenager was causing too
many problems. Others are “runaways”
who left the family of their own volition.
But both groups of homeless teens report
family environments that were far from
ideal. Homeless runaways describe the
families they had left as unstable, neg-
lectful, and abusive, often accompanied
by parental substance abuse and alco-
holism. Up to 40 percent of homeless
teens report physical abuse in the
Almost all homeless youth describe themselves as having been unprepared for the horrors of
street life. (Skjold Photographs)

parental household, and up to a quarter
report sexual abuse. Only a small propor-
tion of homeless teens are from two-
natural-parent households. Throwaway
teens report being forced out because of
extremely high levels of conflict with
parents, the family’s lack of money or
room, the teens’ pregnancy, or the teens’
homosexuality. Reports from both run-
aways and throwaways indicate that
these teens were neither wanted nor well
cared for by their families.
Regardless of the stress they experi-
enced in the home, all teenagers, whether
runaways or throwaways, find life on the
streets very difficult. The adverse cir-
cumstances they face lead to considerable
psychological distress and the use of
extreme measures for survival. Almost
all homeless youth describe themselves
as having been unprepared for the horrors
of street life.
Just as homeless youth can be catego-
rized in terms of the origin of their home-
lessness, so they can be classified in
terms of their willingness to accept help
from any social service organization or
shelter. About half of homeless teens are
“street teens,” choosing not to use any
social services. The other half are “shel-
ter teens,” accepting assistance from
shelters or drop-in centers for teenagers.
One reason that street teens avoid ser-
vices and shelter has to do with their fear
that service providers will notify the par-
ents of their whereabouts or place them
in custodial care. Regulations often man-
date social agencies to notify either par-
ents or civil authorities when these agen-
cies provide assistance to teens for more
than a period of a few hours. Despite the
harshness of the conditions under which
they live on the street, almost none of the
street teens are willing to go home or to
enter residential placement; by contrast,
Homeless Youth 357
about half of the shelter teens are willing
to return home eventually. Even though
the shelter teens have, by definition,
requested assistance from an agency,
almost half of that group expresses con-
cerns about the possible costs of accept-
ing help. Among their greatest needs,
homeless teens report the following: a
place to sleep, a job or job training, food, a
place to shower, medical and dental care,
and counseling. Street teens, in particu-
lar, want assistance without conditions.
Considerable outreach will be required to
deliver such services to homeless youth.
Although both groups find life on the
streets harder than they expected, street
teens have many more adverse experi-
ences than do shelter teens. Street teens,
to a greater extent than shelter teens,
experience the death of friends, attempt
to commit suicide, and have severe
health problems (e.g., strep throat, blad-
der infection, anemia, malnutrition,
venereal disease, stomach ulcer, hepati-
tis, and scabies). To obtain money, food,
or a place to stay, many homeless adoles-
cents are forced to use extreme measures
for survival. Street teens—again, to a
greater extent than sheltered teens—tend
to take up panhandling, theft, sales of
drugs, or prostitution; however, a sub-
stantial minority of shelter teens also
beg, steal, or sell drugs.
Street teens tend to be more socially
isolated than shelter teens—a difference
that appears to precede the experience of
homelessness. The majority of street
teens report that they were loners when
they attended school, compared with a
small proportion of early isolates among
shelter teens. Nevertheless, the psycho-
logical distress associated with home-
lessness is great, with no difference
between street teens and shelter teens in
the average level of distress.
358 Homework
The majority of street teens regularly
use alcohol and illicit drugs, whereas
among shelter teens the proportion is
lower for alcohol and much lower for
illicit drugs. Among substance abusers of
either type, there are higher levels of psy-
chological distress, more frequent health
problems, and a greater number of
attempted suicides.
The overwhelming majority of home-
less youth are sexually active, with the
rate of sexual activity slightly higher for
the street teens. The majority of home-
less youth are informed about the dan-
gers associated with AIDS and other sex-
ually transmitted diseases; they also have
some knowledge of safe-sex practices.
Yet many engage in unprotected sex. It
appears that the daily problems of living
on the street are so great that they over-
shadow concerns about the long-term
health consequences of risky behaviors.
It also appears that the problems of
homeless youth on their own are
markedly different from those of home-
less adults on their own and of homeless
families with children. To date, the policy
initiatives intended to reach this popula-
tion at risk have been sporadic, poorly
funded, insufficiently integrated with
other efforts to assist the homeless, and
not based on knowledge of the special
characteristics of this high-risk group.
Sanford M. Dornbusch
See also Conduct Problems; Delinquency,
Mental Health, and Substance Abuse
Problems; Family Composition: Reali-
ties and Myths; Family Relations; Juve-
nile Crime; Programs for Adolescents;
Rights of Adolescents; Risk Behaviors;
Runaways; School Dropouts
References and further reading
Adams, G. R., T. Gulotta, and M. A.
Clancy. 1985. “Homeless Adolescents:
A Descriptive Study of Similarities and
Differences between Runaways and
Throwaways.” Adolescence 20:
715–724.
Hagan, John, and Bill McCarthy. 1997.
Mean Streets: Youth Crime and
Homelessness. New York: Cambridge
University Press.
Hutson, S., and M. Liddiard. 1994. Youth
Homelessness: The Construction of a
Social Issue. London: Macmillan.
U.S. Congress, Office of Technology
Assessment. 1991. Adolescent Health.
Vol. 1, Summary and Policy Options,
OTA-H-468. Washington, DC: U.S.
Government Printing Office.
Homework
Webster’s New Riverside University Dic-
tionary (1988) defines homework as fol-
lows: “1. work, as schoolwork or piece-
work, done at home; 2. preparatory or
preliminary work.” More informally,
homework is an almost universal phe-
nomenon for America’s young people: It
is work assigned to them at school to be
done at home. Most students spend a con-
siderable amount of time in school study
hall and at home completing assignments
to further their knowledge. In a recent
survey of fourth- and eighth-grade stu-
dents, nearly a quarter reported that they
are given no homework assignments but
more than half said that they spend up to
two hours per night on homework (U.S.
Department of Education, 1998).
Another study has uncovered differ-
ences in the amount of homework
assigned in public and private schools.
Forty-nine percent of public elementary
school teachers reported that they assign
more than an hour of homework a week,
compared to almost 60 percent of private
elementary school teachers (U.S. Depart-
ment of Education, 1994–1995). Addi-
tionally, private school teachers are more
likely than public school teachers to col-
lect, correct, and return written home-
 Homework 359

work assignments and to use them as a

basis for grades.
But why do teachers assign homework
at all? The answer is that homework fur-
ther solidifies concepts and procedures
introduced in class. Through practice and
repetition, new knowledge becomes
ingrained in a student’s memory. Written
assignments drive the student’s thinking
processes into new realms. Mathematics
and science problems, in particular, force
students to create and use problem-
solving strategies; more generally, home-
work provides practice with writing,
reading, keyboarding, and organizing and
planning time.
Although some students may beg to
differ, homework is good for the brain!
Problem solving and engaging in higher-
order thinking can forge and strengthen
new connections in adolescents’ brains.
This growth through challenge and stim-
ulation leads, in turn, to increased intel-
Homework is an almost universal
lectual growth (Healy, 1994). It’s no coin-
phenomenon for America’s young people: It
cidence that the more academically is work assigned to them at school to be
oriented schools are, the more home- done at home. (Laura Dwight)
work they assign.
Although homework is beneficial, it’s
not always easy—or fun. Fortunately,
there are some strategies that teens can but your entire life! Pick a “home-
use to facilitate their homework time: work time” that fits your sched-
ule, and consistently use that time
• Pick a designated spot. Knowing for work and/or free reading.
where you work best is important. • Recognize your learning style.
It may be a quiet, secluded place Knowing how you learn can be
(e.g., bedroom) or a more social critical to your academic success.
area (e.g., kitchen). Some students For instance, do you absorb the
may need to work outside of the most information when you experi-
home—for example, in school or at ence material in a hands-on fash-
the town library. Choose a spot ion? Understanding what your
that works well for you, and then learning style is will help you
stick to the routine of using it. determine what strategies you need
• Pick a designated time. Making a to follow in order to be successful.
schedule and keeping to it can • Manage your time well. It’s easy to
help organize not only your time waste time! If it is taking you
360 Homework
hours to complete an assignment
that should be done more quickly,
split the work into ten- or fifteen-
minute segments and create short-
term goals for yourself (such as
writing one paragraph, reading two
pages, or doing three math prob-
lems). In addition, take short
breaks as needed—every thirty
minutes, say. Doing so will foster
your ability to stay on task and
use your time well.
• Get help, if needed. It’s the rare
person who doesn’t need help at
some time or another. If you find
that homework is overwhelming
you or taking too much time, try
talking to your teacher about get-
ting either a professional tutor or a
peer tutor. (Many schools have
excellent peer tutoring networks.)
Asking for help, far from being a
sign of weakness, can make you a
stronger student!
• Focus on the process, not just the
product. The process of learning
can be just as important as the
final product. So be sure to focus
on the process. How are you think-
ing through those math problems?
When you’re right, that’s great, but
what about those times when you
came up with the wrong answer?
What process did you use then?
Focusing on the process highlights
the importance of not rushing
through work.
Further information on this topic is
available at the Web sites for the U.S.
Department of Education (http://www.
ed.gov) and the National Center for Edu-
cation Statistics (http://nces.ed.gov/
index.html).
Elizabeth N. Fielding
See also Academic Achievement; Acade-
mic Self-Evaluation; Intelligence;
School, Functions of; Standardized
Tests; Teachers
References and further reading
Fielding, Elizabeth N. 1999. Learning
Differences in the Classroom. Delaware:
International Reading Association.
Healy, Jane M. 1994. Your Child’s
Growing Mind: A Practical Guide to
Brain Development and Learning from
Birth to Adolescence. New York:
Doubleday.
Levine, Mel. 1994. Educational Care: A
System for Understanding and Helping
Children with Learning Problems at
Home and in School. Cambridge, MA:
Educators Publishing Service.
U.S. Department of Education.
1994–1995. Teacher Follow-Up Survey,
1994–1995. Washington, DC: National
Center for Education Statistics.
———. 1998. National Assessment of
Educational Progress, Trends Almanac:
Writing, 1984 to 1996. Washington, DC:
National Center for Education Statistics.
Webster’s New Riverside University
Dictionary. 1988. Boston: Houghton
Mifflin.
 I
Identity
Anyone who has an adolescent in the fam-
ily or works with adolescents in schools,
religious organizations, community cen-
ters, or youth organizations knows each
and every youth is building a sense of
identity. Teenagers need to explore, expe-
rience, and share ideas or thoughts with
other teens and adults. They need to be
introduced to the technology of their day,
to explore the beliefs and ideologies
involved in religions, politics, govern-
ment, education, and other institutions of
society. They need to have ideas of what it
means to live in a democracy, understand
personal responsibility, and be socialized
in the basics of law and behavior. Teen-
agers need to be informed about the role of
education and training within the eco-
nomics of capitalism. They need to begin
considering what career they wish to pur-
sue, what training is necessary, what occu-
pational identity they wish to select.
In The Adolescent Experience, Thomas
Gullotta, Carol Markstrom, and the
author of this entry have explored in
depth the nature of adolescence and the
role of identity during adolescence and
young adulthood. The book describes the
way identity development is at the very
crux of the major developmental tasks of
adolescence, and concludes that it is
impossible to think of adolescence as a
life stage without the concept of identity.
361
Identity provides a self-statement of who
one is, what one stands for, and what one
is becoming. It provides the structure of
the self, from which basic commitments,
directions, plans, and decisions are made.
The book presents adolescents as
choosing between searching and explor-
ing and presence and absence of commit-
ment as ways of identity formation, and
uses those terms to describe four identity
states, a typology based on the writings of
Erik H. Erikson and the research innova-
tions of James Marcia. This typology
assumes that society gives teenagers an
extended period of time to search for, find,
or select identity commitments, time, for
example, to choose a career, select a polit-
ical party to join, or accept a specific reli-
gion and its ideologies. Further, this
period of searching for, discovering, or
finding one’s identity is thought to be sup-
ported by a psychosocial moratorium dur-
ing which teens can experience a wide
range of life, watch role models, read,
experience different jobs, and the like, as
part of the moratorium. In Germany and
other European countries youth take a
year to travel, live in hostels, work at
part-time jobs, and meet a variety of peo-
ple, as part of their psychosocial morato-
rium. In Germany this is called wander-
schaft, and in other parts of the world it is
called backpacking; in all cases, it is a
period of time where youth are thought to
362 Identity
be learning, exploring, finding things out
about themselves, experimenting, and so
forth. Of course, the length and degree of
a teenager’s psychosocial moratorium are
determined by many factors, such as edu-
cational level of parents, socioeconomic
supports, culture, and even gender. Some
youth are supported by parents in taking
a long moratorium, while others (espe-
cially teens from poor homes) may have a
brief moratorium, if any at all. For the lat-
ter, the necessity of immediate employ-
ment may require taking the first avail-
able job in the neighborhood. For the
former, the psychosocial moratorium
might include unsupervised travel, exten-
sive education and training, or periods of
employment interspersed with periods of
unemployment and parental support for
culturally or socially enriching educa-
tional or travel experiences.
The four identity states that emerge
during the psychosocial moratorium
reflect the level or degree of searching,
and the presence or absence of commit-
ments to values, beliefs, vocations, and
the like. If a youth is avoiding making a
choice and remaining uncommitted and
uninterested in establishing a firm sense
of identity, he or she is known as identity
diffused. The sense of self for diffused
adolescents is fluid, shapeless, undi-
rected, and wandering. These teens are
often faddish, uninterested in and uncom-
mitted to specific groups, and disaffiliated
from peers. The next type includes ado-
lescents who have not taken, or have not
been given the opportunity to take, a psy-
chosocial moratorium. Instead, they
assume, without thought or considera-
tion, the values, beliefs, attitudes, and
intentions, of their parents or their par-
ents’ generation. The identity of these
teens is referred to as foreclosed. Fore-
closed identity offers some direction,
assumed by simple identifications with
parental values, but the commitment is
often weak and shallow because it hasn’t
been carefully inspected, just assumed.
Foreclosed youth are obedient, compliant,
and rule-conscious adolescents. They are
easy to get along with, but they demon-
strate little autonomy and independence
in thought or behavior. Foreclosure works
for teenagers until the values, beliefs, or
choices are confronted and shown to be
inadequate for the natural interests of the
adolescent or a poor fit with the youth’s
generation. The remaining two forms of
identity are related and are similar as to
the level of experience in searching, dis-
covery, and self-construction, but differ-
ent in the level of commitment. The
moratorium youth is experiencing the
searching and discovery process of iden-
tity formation, but has not established
commitments. Once these commitments
are made the adolescent becomes identity
achieved.
There is ample evidence to indicate that
identity diffusion is the least desirable
identity state. Identity-diffused adoles-
cents avoid making important decisions,
are prone to mindless peer influences, and
are most likely to be depressed; they are
not using their psychosocial moratorium
to profit their own future self. Foreclosed
adolescents are well behaved, conform to
rules, and do well in high school. How-
ever, when foreclosed teens are challenged
to consider all the alternatives to their
own beliefs, values, or opinions, they
demonstrate rigidity, authoritarianism,
and constrained experience and action.
Foreclosed adolescents are fragile and can
be easily upset or disturbed when the
environment doesn’t support their own
views.
Moratorium youth are in a constant
search mode, always looking for new

information and different ways of seeing
or experiencing things. They tend to be
anxious, most likely due to their constant
searching and attempts to discover,
which makes them vulnerable to receiv-
ing too much new information at one
time. However, most moratorium youth
will self-regulate the amount of informa-
tion they will process at any given time.
This form of identity is well suited for
educational and training experiences
where learning, exploring, discovering,
and searching are central. Moratorium
youth do less well in environments where
they are given orders and expected to fol-
low them without questioning. Often this
is just the kind of environment that is
found in most youth employment set-
tings like fast food, retailing, and service
jobs. Identity-achieved adolescents tend
to have the most complex form of think-
ing processes, and have the best social
skills and styles of personal interaction.
These youth know what they want,
where they are headed, what direction
they have chosen for their life. They con-
form, when conformity is generally
expected, but are nonconformists when
conformity would contradict who they
are as a person or who they need to be to
accomplish their goals. Identity-achieved
youth are guided by goals, values, and a
sense of self that has been constructed by
the use of information and experience
during their psychosocial moratorium.
The value of a self-constructed identity
that is achieved by searching for informa-
tion, observing life, analyzing options,
and engaging in a self-selected commit-
ment to an identity is observed in the
functions it provides a youth. In a theo-
retical treatise on identity formation,
Sheila Marshall and the author of this
entry have outlined the major functions
of an achieved identity. These functions
Identity 363
are strengths that accompany a well-con-
structed sense of self. The five most com-
mon and widely documented functions
of identity include the following: (1) It
provides a narrative or verbal structure
about who one is and how one is to be
viewed and understood; (2) it gives mean-
ing and direction to one’s life through the
selected commitments, values, and per-
sonal goals; (3) it offers a sense of per-
sonal control, agency, and the feelings
that accompany a free will to select and
be whatever one wants to be; (4) it pro-
vides a coherent sense of self that is rela-
tively consistent and stable, but always
open to some change, and a sense of har-
mony; and (5) it enables one to recognize
one’s own potential through a sense of
what the self offers for the future, other
possibilities, and alternative choices.
Essentially, when teenagers begin to
develop a self-construction of their own
identity they are creating self-regulatory
strategies that operate to direct attention,
filter or process information as it is dis-
covered, and help the youth to manage
their impressions by the selection of
appropriate behaviors for their identity as
presented to others.
There are at least two forms of identity,
social and personal. Personal identity
focuses on the acceptance, modification,
and/or rejection of social and institu-
tional ideologies. Aspects of faith, reli-
gion, philosophy of life, and ideologies of
work and economic systems are part of
the personal identity. Membership and
affiliation are central to the other form of
identity. A social identity depends on
whom one is affiliated with, what the
groups are that matter to the individual,
and what the nature is of one’s social
relationships and connections. Adoles-
cents and adults alike have a compelling
need to enhance their sense of self as a
364 Identity
unique and special person. This need or
dynamic is most readily seen in personal
identities that express themselves as dif-
ferent, special unto themselves, unique.
However, we all also have a need to
belong and matter to others, a need that
finds fulfillment in the social identity,
where one expresses one’s sense of
socially possible faces, voices, or relation-
ship themes. Scholars often talk of social
identity using terms like collective, role,
interpersonal, cultural, or group identity.
In adolescents the nature of social iden-
tity is readily seen in the choice of peer
groups, extracurricular activities, and
membership in community groups.
Certainly, as many scholars have
pointed out, a healthy identity includes
both a personal and a social form of iden-
tity and identification. There is, how-
ever, one caveat to note. Although par-
ents, schools, work supervisors, coaches,
teachers, and the like socialize and
enhance a teenager’s identity formation,
the teenager’s identity also shapes and
changes the peers and adults who are
making contributions to the youth’s per-
sonal development. Identity formation is
embedded in many social contexts, and
as a teenager’s identity unfolds it begins
to shape others who are in her contexts.
Living systems shape individuals, who in
turn shape the nature of the living sys-
tem. This dynamic helps to explain why
parents change their parenting behaviors
as their children grow and develop. All
living things are shaped by others and, in
turn, shape others.
Roy Baumeister completed a historical
analysis of identity that reveals that soci-
eties provide different opportunities for
different levels of choice in the construc-
tion of the self. Each new and dramatic
change in history brings new opportuni-
ties for self-construction. Extrapolations
from his thoughts suggest that at one
extreme, society might provide a social
structure where identity could be
assigned by lineage, gender, race, or other
defining characteristics. This extreme
could provide an environment of limited
choice and the encouragement of prima-
rily imitation and identification. Youth
would need to passively accept what
their society considered acceptable for
their particular gender, social class, or
racial heritage. In such a world there is
little active self-construction, but rather
a passive form of identity development.
This world would value identity foreclo-
sure. At another extreme, society may be
constructed to demand choice, perhaps
even require making many choices over
one’s lifetime. There could be so many
choices that the teenager has to work
hard to eliminate the unacceptable
options. Clearly, this world would value
the active self-constructed forms of iden-
tity (moratorium and identity achieve-
ment) that involve commitment, but also
flexible responsiveness to circumstances
demanding change or evolution in iden-
tity construction.
In the twenty-first century, we are
closer to a society that demands choice
than one that assigns identity. However,
there are still certain constraints due to
gender, poverty, and race. Fortunately,
there is a constant form of pressure
within democratic societies to push for
open choice, equity, and self-selection.
Many of the experiences of adolescence
are designed to directly or indirectly
facilitate the construction of a personal
and social identity. Teenagers are often
asked the following kinds of questions:
Who are you? What do you want to do
with your life? What kind of career do
you want? What kind of education are
you going to get? And much of the work

of adolescence involves finding accept-
able answers to such questions. How-
ever, there is one catch to all of this. The
answers are best found through search-
ing, selecting, and establishing commit-
ments that are self-constructed. But the
construction must fit the teenager’s
social context, so that crucial groups
(e.g., parents) can affirm and support the
choice. If the people who are important
to a teenager offer support for the
teenager’s emerging personal and social
identity, their support will help the
teenager to confirm his sense of an
emerging self. Without it he is likely to
waver or retreat into role confusion or
identity diffusion.
Parents and teachers have considerable
influence on teenagers. Teachers who
provide a supportive and engaging learn-
ing environment for adolescents facili-
tate growth in identity. Critical analysis
of contemporary issues, analysis of his-
torical events, examination of alternative
views on a topic, and encouragement to
strive harder and dig deeper into an issue
or idea not only enhance learning but
facilitate growth in identity formation.
Parents who utilize democratic, expres-
sive, and cohesive parenting styles facili-
tate identity development. Rejection,
withdrawal, weak involvement, or lack
of interest in the teenager diminishes
positive identity formation.
Finally, the best thing adolescents can
do for themselves to facilitate identity
development is to remain open to experi-
ences, explore and discover new ways of
understanding others and themselves,
and work to shape an environment to
facilitate personal growth. Identity for-
mation unfolds at crucial points where
one must face one’s self, deal with the
self-consciousness that occurs when one
sees who one is in contrast to who one
Inhalants 365
could be, and use appraisal and feedback
from others to help forge a sense of self
that includes values, goals, and commit-
ment, the trinity of a healthy sense of
identity.
Gerald R. Adams
See also African American Adolescents,
Identity in; African American Male
Adolescents; Asian American Adoles-
cents: Comparisons and Contrasts;
Asian American Adolescents: Issues
Influencing Identity; Body Image; Chi-
cana/o Adolescents; Ethnocentrism;
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Sexual-
Minority Youth; Gender Differences;
Latina/o Adolescents; Native American
Adolescents; Racial Discrimination;
Self-Esteem; Sex Roles
References and further reading
Adams, Gerald R., and Sheila K. Marshall.
1996. “A Developmental Social
Psychology of Identity: Understanding
the Person-in-Context.” Journal of
Adolescence 19: 429–442.
Baumeister, Roy. 1986. Identity: Cultural
Change and the Struggle for Self. New
York: Oxford University Press.
Erikson, Erik H. 1968. Identity: Youth and
Crisis. New York: Norton.
Gullotta, Thomas P., Gerald R. Adams,
and Carol Markstrom. 2000. The
Adolescent Experience. New York:
Academic Press.
Marcia, James E. 1967. “Development and
Validation of Ego-Identity Status.”
Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology 3: 551–558.
Inhalants
Inhalants, also known as volatile sub-
stances or organic solvents, are a diverse
class of drugs used by some adolescents to
alter moods, feelings, and perceptions.
Included in this class are such commonly
available substances as adhesives (glue,
special cements), aerosols (spray paint,
hair spray, asthma spray), anesthetics
(nitrous oxide), solvents (nail-polish
366 Inhalants
Inhalants are used primarily for recreational
purposes or out of curiosity or peer pressure.
(James Marshall/Corbis)
remover, paint remover, paint thinner),
and gases (fuel gas, lighter gas). As the
name suggests, these products are inhaled
into the lungs. For example, they may be
“sniffed” from an open container or plas-
tic bag (“bagging”), “huffed” from a rag
soaked in the substance (“toque”), or
squirted directly into the mouth. Because
inhalants are products intended for other
purposes and are not meant for human
consumption, they can be legally obtained
at grocery, hardware, or auto supply
stores. They also tend to be relatively
inexpensive, making them attractive to
adolescents and economically disadvan-
taged individuals.
Younger adolescents are the most com-
mon users of inhalants, although the
number of young adult users is growing.
Inhalant use peaks at age thirteen and
then steadily declines. Use of inhalants,
particularly aerosols and glues, has
increased dramatically among American
youth: The number of adolescents trying
inhalants for the first time tripled from
1990 to 1995. In the past, males were
more likely than females to use these
substances; however, the gender gap is
narrowing as more females begin to
experiment with these drugs. The most
frequent use of inhalants is observed
among non-Hispanic white adolescents
and Native American adolescents, fol-
lowed by Hispanic adolescents; the least
frequent use is associated with African
American adolescents. At high risk for
use are adolescents who live in areas,
such as reservations and rural towns,
where access to other mind-altering sub-
stances is limited.
Exclusive use of inhalants is rare; most
adolescents who use them are likely to
use other types of drugs as well, such as
marijuana and alcohol. Considered “gate-
way drugs,” inhalants are one of the first
substances that adolescents use before
moving on to other drugs. In fact, most
adolescents who use inhalants do so only
experimentally, eventually abandoning
them in favor of other, often illegal drugs.
Thus, inhalants are used infrequently
and, even then, primarily for recreational
purposes or out of curiosity or peer pres-
sure. However, a small proportion of ado-
lescents use inhalants chronically, over
prolonged periods of time. It is these ado-
lescents who may develop physical and
psychological problems related to use.
Although inhalant use is not limited to
any one socioeconomic level, adolescents
from economically disadvantaged back-
grounds are more likely than their peers
to use inhalants because of the relatively
low cost of these drugs. Moreover,
inhalant users are likely to come from
homes characterized by chaos, disorgani-

zation, parental alcoholism and drug
abuse/dependence, parental aggression,
and little family support and cohesion.
Inhalant users themselves tend to do
poorly in school, have low self-esteem,
and exhibit elevated levels of aggression,
depression, and antisocial personality
disorder. These individuals are also likely
to associate with inhalant-using peers
and to have siblings who use these
volatile substances. Finally, a strong rela-
tionship exists between inhalant use and
juvenile delinquency: Adolescents who
use inhalants are often involved in a vari-
ety of criminal activities including
shoplifiting, burglary, and attempted
murder.
Inhalants vary widely in terms of their
behavioral and physiological effects on
individuals. In general, the intoxicating
effects of these substances are similar to
those obtained by alcohol but shorter-
lived, necessitating repeated administra-
tion to sustain a prolonged “high.” Intox-
ication includes initial excitation,
followed by drowsiness, disinhibition,
light-headedness, agitation, and, eventu-
ally, depression. Heavy users may experi-
ence hallucinations as well as distortions
in their perceptions and sense of time.
They are easily identified by a rash that
develops around the nose and mouth
(“glue sniffer’s rash”), by the smell of
paint or chemicals on their breath, skin,
and clothes, and by discoloration from
paint on the hands and the skin around
the nose and mouth.
Most users do not understand the dan-
gers of inhalants, falsely believing that
these substances cause no physical harm.
Yet even first-time users run the risk of
neurological and physical complications.
Although complications vary depending
upon the specific substance inhaled,
physical problems include damage to the
Inhalants 367
brain, liver, kidney, and heart. Inhalant
use has also been associated with sudden
death (“sudden sniffer’s death”), usually
due to heart failure. Sudden death affects
not just chronic users but also first-time
users. In addition, because of the mind-
altering effects of these drugs, inhalant
users are prone to accidents such as suf-
focation (from the bag in which the
inhalant is placed), car crashes, and seri-
ous falls, and may be in danger of physi-
cal or sexual assault.
Prolonged use of inhalants may result
in “tolerance”; in other words, as use
continues, increasingly larger doses of
the substance are needed to produce the
same initial effects. Moreover, when
chronic users of inhalants cease use, they
experience withdrawal symptoms that
last for two to five days and include sleep
disturbance, nausea, tremor, irritability,
and abdominal and chest pains. Cur-
rently there is no proven treatment for
chronic inhalant users; rather, because
these individuals have multiple problems
including the use of various drugs, emo-
tional and psychological difficulties
(such as depression), and family dysfunc-
tion, they are viewed as difficult to treat.
Furthermore, neurological damage sus-
tained from using volatile substances
may complicate whatever treatment is
attempted. As a result, the long-term
outcomes for adolescents who have prob-
lems related to inhalant use are poor.
Alexandra Loukas
See also Drug Abuse Prevention; Health
Promotion; Health Services for Adoles-
cents; Substance Use and Abuse
References and further reading
Pandina, Robert, and Robert Hendren.
1999. “Other Drugs of Abuse: Inhalants,
Designer Drugs, and Steroids.” Pp.
171–184 in Addictions: A
Comprehensive Guidebook. Edited by
368 Intelligence
Barbara S. McCrady and Elizabeth E.
Epstein. New York: Oxford University
Press.
Sharp, Charles William, Fred Beauvais,
and Richard Spence, eds. 1992. National
Institute on Drug Abuse Research
Monograph Series, No. 129. Inhalant
Abuse: A Volatile Research Agenda.
Rockville, MD: National Institute on
Drug Abuse.
Intelligence
Many people wonder what all the fuss is
about regarding intelligence. Many indi-
viduals do not understand the concern
about intelligence, IQ, and other quali-
ties that are at the outset difficult to
define. There seems to be a common
need to know more about the nature of
intelligence—to answer several ques-
tions that arise about it. In general, there
is a fair amount of knowledge that has
been generated about intelligence, but
new questions arise frequently. The first
question that professionals in the field
want to answer is one that asks about the
necessity of intelligence—what do we
need it for?
Intelligence is an adaptive ability,
which means that it enables one to adjust
to the environment. Adjustment may
mean changing oneself, or changing the
environment to make it better satisfy
one’s needs. This brings up the issue that,
although intelligence is a necessary tool,
it may also be a serious weapon. That is,
intelligence can also be used for war,
destruction, and other acts aimed at
harming others. But in its ability to
change the environment, the adaptive
nature of intelligence is clearly seen. The
fact that this useful tool may also be used
for the wrong purpose does not change its
nature. It only indicates the complexity of
the human psyche. Here, the notion of
morality comes into play, and morality
goes beyond the topic of the present dis-
cussion. The crucial point is that intelli-
gence is something very basic, primary,
and necessary; it is the quality that allows
human beings to live and to develop,
which may mean very different things,
from finding a better way to breed cattle
to finding a better way to get a good job.
The next issue is getting a clear defini-
tion of intelligence. Intelligence is usu-
ally thought of as a primary mental abil-
ity that allows one to solve problems in
different areas of life. The origins of intel-
ligence should be sought in actions. Mak-
ing fire, using a sharp stone to cut a tree,
or making a shelter to hide in or a trap for
an animal—all those are manifestations
of early human intelligence.
Swiss scholar Jean Piaget was one of
the first who pointed out the operational
nature of intelligence, that is, the way
intelligence originates/is shaped by the
very actions it guides. His theory pic-
tures the long path that every child trav-
els while developing this very complex
ability. The first stage of this path
involves sensory-motor intelligence,
intelligence that develops through the
senses and muscular movement. Accord-
ing to Piaget, with time, this ability
becomes more and more complicated and
elaborated and can be applied to more
and more tasks and domains of life. This
theory poses one very controversial ques-
tion that has bothered scholars for a con-
siderable amount of time and still is not
resolved. The question has to do with
whether intelligence is a sole, general
ability, or a complex set of skills, func-
tions of different modules of mind. There
are two approaches in contemporary psy-
chological science that propose different
answers to this question.
One theory is based on the simple
observation that if an individual is
 Intelligence 369

“smart,” he is able to do well in school

on many subjects, as well as to make his
way through city streets, learn a new
computer program, and make sense of a
movie or a deep book. This approach
defines intelligence as a general mental
faculty whose powers may be applied to a
multitude of tasks.
On the other hand, if one observes dif-
ferent people in different situations, one
finds that an individual who is very good
at math is not necessarily also exception-
ally able to understand people’s behaviors
and motives. In addition, the fact that
someone is a good musician does not
imply that she should be expected to
speak several foreign languages or write
poetry. To account for these observations,
the idea of modularity of mind was pro-
posed, and this is the second approach to
human intelligence, or rather, in its own
terms, to human intelligences. To put it
simply, the theory says that the mind
may be represented as a set of modules,
Intelligence is reflected in problem solving
each of which is responsible for opera-
and other mental activities. (Laura Dwight)
tions in one particular domain. The idea
was proposed some time ago, and today is
most clearly expressed in Howard Gard-
ner’s Multiple Intelligences (MI) theory.
In his view, every human being pos- • Spatial, or visual-spatial intelli-
sesses all the following kinds of intelli- gence, which allows one “to per-
gence: ceive the visual world accurately,
to perform transformations and
• Linguistic intelligence, which oper- modifications upon one’s initial
ates in the domain of language perceptions, and to be able to recre-
• Musical intelligence, which mani- ate the aspects of one’s visual expe-
fests itself when one performs, lis- rience, even in the absence of the
tens to, or composes music visual stimuli” (Gardner, 1993,
• Logico-mathematical intelligence, 173)
which is applicable to reasoning in • Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence,
mathematics and other sciences, which manifests itself in athletic
where the relations between achievements and dance
objects and concepts are usually • The personal intelligences, which
invariant, straightforward, and may be divided into interpersonal
logical intelligence, which enables one to
370 Intelligence
understand other peoples’ thoughts,
feelings, and motives; and intra-
personal intelligence, which
enables one to understand oneself
Gardner’s theory is strongly supported
by empirical evidence, and one of the
most convincing arguments in its favor is
the existence of prodigies—people, includ-
ing children, who are extremely talented
in one particular domain, such as playing
chess, or performing music, but do not
exhibit equal progress in other domains.
This phenomenon is difficult to explain
from the viewpoint that argues that intel-
ligence is one unified mental faculty. On
the other hand, the main fact that the pro-
ponents of general intelligence use—that
an ordinary intelligent person is usually
good at many life tasks—does not really
contradict the MI theory. It may be
explained by the fact that the level of
intelligence (including any of the intelli-
gences) individuals achieve depends heav-
ily on the opportunities to develop they
have as children, on their environment,
and on training. So, one could say that a
person who shows intelligence in many
areas simply had experiences that allowed
her to develop the full range of her differ-
ent mental abilities.
Some professionals would not find this
argument convincing. Some would offer
other arguments, both for and against MI
theory. The debates are still alive, and it
may very well be possible that both
approaches are right, at least to a certain
extent, and that the final word in the
debate is yet to be said. One way of sum-
ming up the current state of the field is
that normal achievements seem to be
well explained by the general intelligence
proponents, but that the highest peaks of
human thought usually seem to fall in
one particular area.
What is promising about the idea of
multiple intelligences is that it gives
hope to people who would consider
themselves unintelligent, or at least not
smart enough, just because they are not
good at math or cannot learn a foreign
language. They may be good music per-
formers, or good football players, or just
very good friends (which presupposes
interpersonal intelligence, reflected in
their ability to understand their friends’
needs and states of mind). Thus, the fact
that in American culture the knowledge
of central academic subjects such as
math and the sciences is considered of
main importance should not obscure the
fact that there are other cultures (say, oral
ones, where math does not really exist in
the form it does here and where the wis-
dom of the tribal leaders has nothing to
do with the ability to read and write) and
other domains (say, music or poetry) that
are important, too, and that require a cer-
tain level of a given intelligence.
Typical IQ tests predict school achieve-
ment, yet it is common knowledge that,
although school achievement is defi-
nitely related to intelligence, it does not
necessarily predict success in life. IQ
tests measure the ability to perform cer-
tain types of operations, usually in the
domains covered by formal school sub-
jects. In addition, performance on stan-
dard IQ tests depends heavily on reading
ability, since the test is usually given in
the paper-pencil format. Also (and this is
true about most types of tests), good
results may indicate simply that a given
person was trained for this particular
test. It is possible to train a person to take
an IQ test, just as many students are
trained to take the SAT. This idea is
related to one more claim that even IQ
test proponents would not argue against:
The test measures the current level of

whatever it measures and says nothing of
the speed at which the tested person has
arrived at this level or the speed at which
he probably would move further, to the
next intellectual achievement.
A popular misunderstanding about
intelligence is that IQ testing can assess it
with complete accuracy. To say that this
is a misunderstanding is not to deny that
IQ testing is useful; it is simply to point
out that it has its limitations, and these
limitations should be stated and under-
stood. Another myth is that intelligence
is fully genetically determined, a belief
that means seeing the intelligence one is
born with as a kind of destiny and leaving
very little room for one’s own efforts to
improve. Again, as in the case of IQ, to
say that this belief is a myth is of course
not to deny the genetic basis of intelli-
gence, as well as of many other properties
of the human psyche. Research indicates
that one’s genetic heritage may be respon-
sible for a portion of one’s intellectual
achievement. Nevertheless, heredity is
not everything, and it would clearly be a
mistake to believe that one can simply
rely on the intelligence one has inherited
and need put no effort into developing
one’s mind, or, on the other hand, that the
level of intelligence one has inherited is
the limit beyond which one is unable to
move, and effort is hopeless.
An even more erroneous claim is to
state that some races and cultures are
inherently less intelligent than others,
because their living conditions (recall
that intelligence functions for survival
value) have not led them to the invention
of planes and computers. Heredity may
determine predisposition to a certain
extent, but how intelligence will be used
is a matter of environment, culture, and
training. A child with a gift of poetry
would not know about it if she were
Intelligence 371
raised in a village where everyone was
mute. And very modest inborn abilities,
when well cultivated, may lead to a very
impressive intelligence level.
Many individuals want to know what
can be done to improve their intelligence
level. There is one general solution to
this problem: training. To develop intelli-
gence, one needs to train oneself to solve
problems and complete tasks in a given
field.
Although training is popularly believed
to develop only skills, it also builds intel-
ligence itself. For example, in learning
how to do a particular arm movement
(say, in sports), one actually does three
things: one learns this task, one strength-
ens the muscles, and one develops the
area of the brain responsible for manag-
ing arm movements. In the same way,
when one solves a math problem, one
trains the chains of neurons that are used
in this process. After the same chains
have fired several times, they will react
faster, as well as better—meaning that
the right chains will fire. The solution
will then be reached in less time, with
less possibility of error. In sum, intelli-
gence is an important adaptive character-
istic of humans. It is crucial that adoles-
cents understand this potential for
growth if they are to make the best pos-
sible use of education.
Janna Jilnina
See also Academic Achievement; Acade-
mic Self-Evaluation; Cognitive Devel-
opment; Developmental Assets; Home-
work; Intelligence Tests; Learning
Disabilities; Learning Styles and
Accommodations; Memory; Standard-
ized Tests; Thinking
References and further reading
Case, Robbie. 1985. Intellectual
Development: Birth to Adulthood. New
York: Academic Press.
372 Intelligence Tests
Gardner, Howard. 1983. Frames of Mind:
The Theory of Multiple Intelligences.
New York: Basic Books.
Piaget, Jean, and Barbel Inhelder. 1969.
The Psychology of the Child. New York:
Basic Books.
Sternberg, Robert, ed. 1992. Intellectual
Development. Cambridge, New York:
Cambridge University Press.
Intelligence Tests
Intelligence tests—also known as IQ
(intelligence quotient) tests—measure
skills such as verbal expression, abstract
reasoning, numerical achievement,
memory, and visual-motor abilities, all of
which are related to school learning.
Intelligence tests were developed in the
late nineteenth century by pioneers in
the field of mental retardation who were
concerned about societal mistreatment
of mentally retarded individuals. The
goal of these pioneers was to develop a
cure for retardation—but they first had to
identify appropriate procedures for diag-
nosis. Today, intelligence tests are still
used in assessing mental retardation, but
their main purpose is to identify ways to
help children learn better in school.
Unfortunately, there has been much mis-
understanding about the skills measured
by intelligence tests, and the tests them-
selves have sometimes been misused.
The most widely used intelligence
tests in use today are the Wechsler scales.
A version exists for preschoolers (Wechs-
ler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelli-
gence—Revised/WPPSI-R), for school-
aged children five to sixteen years old
(Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Chil-
dren—Third Edition/WISC-III), and for
adults sixteen and older (Wechsler Adult
Intelligence Scale—Third Edition/WAIS-
III). All three Wechsler scales provide a
total or Full Scale score, a Verbal IQ score
(which assesses skills such as word
knowledge, numerical reasoning, and
social reasoning), and a Performance IQ
score (which assesses spatial skills, visual
motor skills, and nonverbal problem solv-
ing through puzzles). The average score
for each scale is 100; scores above 100 are
above average and those below 100 are
below average. As with all tests, no score
is perfectly accurate. Accordingly, test
scores should always be reported as
occurring within a range (e.g., “The true
score is likely to fall between 90 and
105”). How well individuals perform in
any test administration depends not only
on what they know but also on their
interest, motivation, and level of comfort
in the testing situation. Research indi-
cates that scores on the WISC-III corre-
late with scores on academic achieve-
ment tests and with grades in school.
The use of intelligence tests has been
highly controversial at times, for reasons
having to do with differences in average
scores and in the percentages of children
labeled as mentally retarded among
diverse ethnic and minority groups.
African American and Latino children,
for example, receive lower scores than
white youth. A number of explanations
have been suggested to account for group
differences in test performance, includ-
ing the effects of poverty and racism as
well as cultural bias in both test content
and testing conditions.
One of the most damaging interpreta-
tions of these group differences stems
from a misunderstanding of what is
measured by IQ tests. Intelligence tests
measure skills developed through learn-
ing experiences at home, at school, and
in the community. In this sense, they are
measures of achievement and, as such,
reflect a combination of experience and
ability. They are not measures of pure
 Intelligence Tests 373

ability or innate potential. Some psychol-

ogists have suggested that they should be
called achievement tests instead of intel-
ligence tests to more accurately reflect
their content.
This content, which includes questions
that test vocabulary and memory for facts
related to science and social studies,
clearly reflects the culture and school
curricula of mainstream America. Chil-
dren who have had considerable exposure
to such content are likely to do well, but
those with less exposure may be unfairly
disadvantaged. Thus, it is impossible to
draw conclusions about the innate ability
of any individual or group of people based
upon their test scores. The assumption
that such conclusions could be drawn has
contributed to stigmatization of persons
with low scores as innately inferior.
During the 1960s and early 1970s, Span-
ish-speaking children took IQ tests writ-
ten in English and were labeled as men-
tally retarded when they achieved poorly.
The abuse of testing under these condi-
Intelligence tests may be used to identify
tions is obvious. Federal legislation (Pub-
ways in which children’s abilities differ.
lic Law 94-142) passed in 1975 mandated (Skjold Photographs)
that either IQ tests must be administered
in the child’s native language or a nonlin-
guistic means of assessment must be used.
Another cultural bias in assessment is other parts of the world. Competing with
perhaps less apparent: The original others is one example of a style valued in
authors of intelligence tests were from Europe and North America that is not
European and North American cultures, highly valued in non-Western cultures.
and the content of the tests still reflects Thus, non-Western students may perform
the values of those cultures. The IQ test poorly on a commonly used intelligence
performance of children, adolescents, test despite possessing a wealth of
and adults who have been exposed to cul- knowledge and understanding that stems
tural experiences that differ from com- from their own cultural traditions but is
mon North American and European prac- not assessed by the IQ test.
tices are affected as a result. Critics have Researchers have also discovered that
pointed out numerous cultural biases in children who grow up in families with
our educational systems and methods of more economic resources, whose parents
assessment that do not appreciate or are more educated, and who attend more
value the styles of learning practiced in affluent schools also tend to score higher
374 Intervention Programs for Adolescents
on intelligence tests. Although this find-
ing is understandable, inasmuch as eco-
nomic advantages can increase opportu-
nities for learning, the great concern is
that test scores not be used to discrimi-
nate against children and adolescents
who are economically disadvantaged. If
children from lower-income families do
not get admitted to good schools or are
placed in less challenging classes as a
result of low test scores, the economic
disadvantages they experience will be
compounded by inferior educational
opportunities.
Just as intelligence test scores are
influenced by a number of factors, the
meaning of any individual’s test score
and how well that score will predict fur-
ther achievement depend on multiple
factors including test motivation and
prior exposure to the content and skills
assessed by the test. However, currently
available IQ tests do not assess skills in
many areas that are critical to success in
life, such as leadership, interpersonal
skills, creativity, and physical prowess,
among others. Robert Sternberg (1985)
and Howard Gardner (1983) have sought
to develop assessments of intelligence
that measure a wider variety of skills and
talents important to life success. More-
over, significant gains in scores can be
achieved when individuals are provided
with new learning opportunities. In edu-
cational settings, the purpose of intelli-
gence testing is to help children become
more successful in school. Unfortu-
nately, intelligence testing does not
always contribute to this goal.
Maureen E. Kenny
See also Academic Achievement; Acade-
mic Self-Evaluation; Intelligence; Stan-
dardized Tests
References and further reading
Gardner, Howard. 1983. Frames of Mind:
The Theory of Multiple Intelligences.
New York: Basic Books.
Helms, Janet E. 1992. “Why Is There No
Study of Cultural Equivalence in
Standardized Cognitive Ability Tests?”
American Psychologist 49, no. 7:
1038–1101.
Kamphaus, Randy W. 1993. Clinical
Assessment of Children’s Intelligence.
Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Miller-Jones, Dalton. 1989. “Culture and
Testing.” American Psychologist 44, no.
2: 360–366.
Reschly, David. 1981. “Psychological
Testing in Educational Classification
and Placement.” American Psychologist
36, no. 10: 1094–1102.
Sternberg, Robert. 1985. Beyond IQ—The
Triarchic Theory. New York: Cambridge
University Press.
Weinberg, Richard A. 1989. “Intelligence
and IQ: Landmark Issues and Great
Debates.” American Psychologist 44,
no. 2: 98–104.
Intervention Programs for
Adolescents
Intervention programs for youth are
planned, systematic attempts to (1) ame-
liorate the presence of emotional, behav-
ioral, and social problems; (2) prevent
such problems from occurring; and (3)
promote positive, healthy behaviors
among young people. The key attributes
of positive youth development can be
described by “five C’s”: competence, con-
fidence, character, connection, and car-
ing/compassion (Lerner, Fisher, and
Weinberg, 2000). Programs that seek to
develop these attributes of positive devel-
opment in young people constitute
attempts to optimize the lives of individ-
uals by building up their strengths. In
addition, such programs reflect an abid-
ing concern for the well-being of youth:
They are committed to going beyond tra-
ditional intervention strategies—such as
remediation, alleviation, or prevention of
 Intervention Programs for Adolescents
problems—to emphasize skill and com-
petency development (Roth et al., 1998).
In regard to all three types of pro-
grams—problem reduction, problem pre-
vention, and positive development promo-
tion—the work undertaken constitutes
attempts to intervene in the course of a
person’s development in order to change
that person’s life for the better. Some
intervention programs are conducted by
professionals trained to use particular
methods (e.g., psychotherapy, group inter-
actions); others are presented to youth
through community-based clubs or organ-
izations (e.g., YMCA, 4-H, Boys and Girls
Clubs, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts).
Focal Issues of Youth Programs
The behaviors targeted by youth pro-
grams fall into two categories: “external”
problems such as alcohol use and abuse,
conduct disorders, social-skill deficits,
delinquency, and violence and “internal”
problems such as depression, anxiety,
anger, and suicide. Programs that specifi-
cally seek to promote positive develop-
ment may include efforts that, on the one
hand, focus on adolescents’ social rela-
tionships (with parents and peers) and, on
the other, enhance cognitive develop-
ment or self-esteem.
An excellent example of a program
aimed at promoting positive youth devel-
opment is the National 4-H Council,
America’s largest youth-serving organiza-
tion. In every county of every state in the
United States, 4-H organizations are
building community-based partnerships
to serve youth. In fact, the National 4-H
Council envisions a renewed society in
which youth and adults take action
together as equal partners. Toward this
end the council has created partnerships
with corporations, foundations, the
Cooperative Extension Service (CES), and
375
others to bring together resources for
meeting the needs of young people.
These partnerships and resources include
training, developing curricula, offering
technical assistance, and conducting
youth forums and seminars.
In the early 1900s, 4-H programs were
established throughout the country in an
attempt to provide a better agricultural
education for young people. Most states
organized boys and girls clubs outside of
schools, with parents serving as volun-
teer leaders and CES agents providing
appropriate educational materials.
Through the years, the overall objective
of 4-H programs has remained the same:
development of youth as responsible and
productive citizens. 4-H serves youth
through a variety of methods including
community service activities, organized
clubs, school enrichment programs, and
instructional television. Universally rec-
ognized by its four-leaf clover emblem,
representing head, heart, hands, and
health, 4-H conducts such programs in
3,150 counties of the United States, the
District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Virgin
Islands, Guam, American Samoa, Micro-
nesia, and the Northern Mariana Islands.
The “alumni” of 4-H total about 45
million people, and more than 5.4 mil-
lion youth currently participate in its
programs. Fifty-two percent of these 4-H
youth live in towns and cities with popu-
lations between 10,000 and 50,000-plus;
26 percent are minorities. 4-H reaches
out to young people from all ideological
and demographic backgrounds and
designs its programs to respond to the
needs of local youth.
The National 4-H Council believes
that if today’s youth are to survive and
prosper, all of society must support them,
engage them in civic life, and help them
develop the necessary life skills to meet
376 Intervention Programs for Adolescents
the challenges they face. Accordingly, the
diverse programs supported by the
National 4-H Council and by 4-H organi-
zations throughout the United States
represent a collaborative opportunity
that has had a vast impact on America.
There are, of course, other youth pro-
grams as well. Jodie Roth and her col-
leagues (1998) estimate that more than
17,500 programs in the United States are
aimed at either preventing youth prob-
lems or promoting the positive develop-
ment of young people. Regardless of their
individual objectives, however, all such
programs need to focus on three key
issues: effectiveness, scale, and sustain-
ability.
Program Effectiveness. The purpose of
some programs is to reduce youth vio-
lence. Others aim to prevent unsafe sex-
ual behaviors. Still others are designed to
enhance self-esteem among adolescents.
But do these programs actually achieve
what they intend to achieve? If so, they
are deemed to be effective.
Procedures known as evaluations are
used in an attempt to ascertain whether
any changes youth experience over the
course of their participation in a program
are due to the program itself rather than
to extraneous factors. Evaluations aimed
at proving that a program is effective are
often termed “outcome” or “summa-
tive” evaluations.
One function of such evaluations is to
improve the quality of the program as it
is being conducted. For example, an eval-
uator may consider implementing cer-
tain mid-course corrections in an
attempt to improve a program’s efforts at
promoting self-esteem or preventing vio-
lence. Evaluations that seek to improve
programs are sometimes called “forma-
tive” evaluations. Because they aim to
enhance the process through which a
program provides its services, they may
also be termed “process” evaluations.
Another function of program evalua-
tions is to empower both the youth par-
ticipating in the program and the people
delivering it. Indeed, a key goal of evalu-
ators of contemporary youth programs—
especially those located in communities,
and begun and continued through the
efforts of community members (as
opposed to trained professionals such as
psychologists, social workers, nurses,
and physicians)—is to increase the com-
munity members’ ability to both
improve the programs and prove their
effectiveness. Enactment of these “em-
powerment” evaluations is seen as criti-
cal if the community is to succeed in
using evidence of program effectiveness
to bring programs to all the youth who
need them and to maintain the programs
over time.
Program Scale. The characteristics of
effective youth programs are generally
well understood. Researchers know how
to prove that programs are effective, how
to improve the quality of programs as
they are being conducted, and how to
empower communities through evalua-
tion. However, even those programs
known to be effective may not be reach-
ing all the youth for whom they are
intended—and for whom they could have
positive benefits. This a problem of pro-
gram scale. The challenge is to deter-
mine the number of youth who would be
appropriate for a given program. Con-
sider, for instance, a YMCA modern
dance program that involves a dozen
youth. Would greater skill attainment be
ensured if the maximum number of par-
ticipants were decreased to eight—or
increased to twenty?
 Intervention Programs for Adolescents
Another scale-related issue concerns
the possibility that more people could
benefit from a particular program. Con-
sider, for instance, a program that sends
visitors to the homes of adolescent
mothers to help improve their skills as
parents. This program is known to be
effective, but only 50 percent of eligible
youth are participating in it. The chal-
lenge here is to determine what psycho-
logical, social, economic, or political rea-
sons are preventing the other 50 percent
from becoming involved in the program.
Alternatively, let’s say that there are
known economic reasons for which cer-
tain adolescent mothers are being kept
out of home visiting programs (e.g., they
have to work and are not available when
the program is offered). In this case, the
challenge would be to change the social
system in such a way as to enable the
program to be brought to scale (e.g., by
developing labor law policies regarding
flexible working hours or time off from
work for program participation).
Program Sustainability. There is even
more to learn about program sustainabil-
ity. A sustained program is one that is
maintained over time. Unfortunately,
however, most youth programs—espe-
cially community-based ones—are short-
lived. Some of these programs are initi-
ated through “start-up” grants provided
by government agencies or private philan-
thropic foundations; others are initiated
by university faculty members who have
obtained grants to demonstrate the effec-
tiveness of the interventions they have
devised. In either case, after the start-up
funds have run out or the demonstration
project is completed, the program usually
ends. This lack of sustainability affects
even programs that have been proven
through evaluations to be effective.
377
Key Features of Effective
Youth Programs
As noted, youth programs vary in numer-
ous ways—in terms of their emphasis on
problem reduction or prevention or their
attempts to promote positive develop-
ment, in terms of their focus on the indi-
vidual versus his or her relationships,
and, finally, in terms of their approach to
the issues of effectiveness, scale, and sus-
tainability. These dimensions of differ-
ence add up to a complex picture of con-
temporary youth programs.
Simplifying the picture somewhat is
the knowledge that has been gained
about the characteristics that define
effective youth programs. Indeed, it is
possible to provide an overview of the
ideal features—the best practices—of
such programs. These features include
coordinated attention to each youth’s
personal characteristics and social con-
text. Accordingly, programs that are
effective in promoting positive youth
development
1. are predicated on a vision of posi-
tive youth development (e.g., the
“five C’s” of positive youth devel-
opment) and have clear goals;
2. focus on the assets of youth and on
the importance of their participa-
tion in every facet of the pro-
grams—including their design, con-
duct, and evaluation;
3. pay attention to the diversity of
youth and of their family, commu-
nity, and cultural contexts (both the
strengths and the needs of youth
need to be of central concern);
4. ensure the accessibility of a safe
space in which youth can use their
time constructively;
5. in recognition of the interrelated
challenges facing youth, integrate
378 Intervention Programs for Adolescents
the assets for positive youth devel-
opment that exist within the com-
munity (including collaborations or
partnerships among youth-serving
organizations as well as contribu-
tions by families, peers, and
schools);
6. provide broad, sustained, and inte-
grated services to youth and a
“seamless” social support system
across the community;
7. in recognition of the importance of
caring adult-youth relations in
healthy adolescent development,
provide training to adult leaders
that involves, for instance, enhanc-
ing sensitivity to diversity and
learning about the principles of
positive youth development;
8. are committed to program evalua-
tion and to strengthening the use
of research in the design, delivery,
and evaluation of the programs (the
role of university-community part-
nerships is important here); and,
finally,
9. advocate for youth.
Regarding this last point, although youth
programs should not be partisan, they do
need to provide a clear voice to policy-
makers across the political spectrum
about the importance of investing in pos-
itive youth development.
Conclusions about Effective
Youth Programs
There is reason to be optimistic about
the success of youth programs if they
continue to be designed on the basis of
the multiple, interrelated challenges fac-
ing youth. A coordinated set of commu-
nity-based programs, aimed at both indi-
viduals and their contexts, is indeed
required for success. But these programs
also have to begin as early as possible and
be maintained throughout their partici-
pants’ adolescent years.
Clearly, then, means must be found
to capitalize on the potentials and
strengths of all youth and, by meeting
their developmental needs, promote
their positive development. Toward this
end, the resources of society must be
marshaled in the service of designing
programs consistent with this vision for
young people, and scholars of youth
development must engage the support of
public policymakers.
Young people themselves can also play
a significant role in such community-
based efforts.
How Adolescents Can Collaborate with
Youth Development Organizations
Indeed, there are numerous ways in which
adolescents can become involved in youth
development organizations that are open
to collaborative efforts (e.g., 4-H programs,
scholarly organizations such as the Soci-
ety for Research in Adolescence and the
American Psychological Association, non-
governmental and community-based
organizations such as Big Brothers/Big Sis-
ters and the YMCA/YWCA, and selected
programs in governmental organizations
such as the Department of Housing and
Urban Development or the Department of
Education). If they are interested in collab-
orating with 4-H, for example, they can
contact the office of the 4-H program in
their county (usually located at the site of
the public, land-grant university in each
state in the nation) or the National 4-H
Council in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Alter-
natively, they can direct their inquiries to
the Cooperative Extension Service. CES
offices can be found in almost every
 Intervention Programs for Adolescents
county in the nation, and every state has a
CES director who can provide information
about volunteering and other forms of col-
laboration.
Resources for community involvement
and service can also be found in many
high schools and colleges. For instance,
students can become involved in oppor-
tunities to integrate the information they
are learning in classes with opportunities
for community service organized by their
university.
Such service learning can take many
forms. For instance, students can volun-
teer at community “hot lines” that pro-
vide services to youth through telephone
referrals or work at their local 4-H club or
county CES office. They can also serve as
mentors to younger persons. An interest-
ing example is “One to One,” a program
associated with the National Mentoring
Partnership that focuses on the needs of
mentored participants. Youth programs
of this type foster caring and supportive
relationships, encourage young people to
develop to their fullest potential, help
them create a vision for the future, and
provide a means through which they can
collaborate in the promotion of positive
youth development.
Richard M. Lerner
See also Career Development; Counsel-
ing; Drug Abuse Prevention; Health
Promotion; Health Services for Adoles-
cents; Juvenile Justice System; Learning
Styles and Accommodations; Preg-
nancy, Interventions to Prevent; Pro-
grams for Adolescents; Services for
Adolescents; Sex Education
379
References and further reading
Benson, Peter. 1997. All Kids Are Our
Kids: What Communities Must Do to
Raise Caring and Responsible Children
and Adolescents. San Francisco: Jossey-
Bass.
Damon, William. 1997. The Youth
Charter: How Communities Can Work
Together to Raise Standards for All Our
Children. New York: Free Press.
Dryfoos, Joy G. 1990. Adolescents at Risk:
Prevalence and Prevention. New York:
Oxford University Press.
Fetterman, David M., Shakeh J. Kaftarian,
and Abraham Wandersman, eds. 1996.
Empowerment Evaluation: Knowledge
and Tools for Self-Assessment and
Accountability. Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage.
Jacobs, Fran. 1988. “The Five-Tiered
Approach to Evaluation: Context and
Implementation.” Pp. 37–68 in
Evaluating Family Programs. Edited by
H. B. Weiss and F. Jacobs. Hawthorne,
NY: Aldine.
Lerner, Richard M. In press. Adolescence:
Development, Diversity, Context, and
Application. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice-Hall.
Lerner, Richard M., Celia B. Fisher, and
Richard A. Weinberg. 2000. “Toward a
Science for and of the People:
Promoting Civil Society through the
Application of Developmental Science.”
Child Development 71: 11–20.
Lerner, Richard M., and Nancy L.
Galambos. 1998. “Adolescent
Development: Challenges and
Opportunities for Research, Programs,
and Policies.” Annual Review of
Psychology 49: 413–446.
Roth, Jodie, Jeanne Brooks-Gunn,
Lawrence Murray, and William Foster.
1998. “Promoting Healthy Adolescents:
Synthesis of Youth Development
Program Evaluations.” Journal of
Research on Adolescence 8: 423–459.
Schorr, Lee B. 1988. Within Our Reach:
Breaking the Cycle of Disadvantage.
New York: Doubleday.
 J
Juvenile Crime
Juvenile crime is defined as an unlawful
act committed by a person under the age
of eighteen. The most recent official
records, compiled in 1997, reveal that 2.8
million juveniles were arrested for crimes
committed over a one-year period. This
rate is slightly lower than that in the pre-
vious year. During the last two decades
overall, however, the juvenile crime rate
has been at its highest level. Juveniles
commit a variety of crimes. Some types of
crimes are more likely to be committed
by juveniles than other types of crimes.
Juvenile crime rates vary by age and gen-
der. In addition to committing crimes,
juveniles are often victims of crimes.
Juvenile crime is differentiated from
adult crime by the age of the offender; by
definition, it refers to a crime committed
by an individual younger than eighteen.
In addition, juvenile crime carries differ-
ent penalties than adult crime. Juveniles
who commit offenses are reported to the
juvenile justice system, whereas adults
are referred to the adult penal system.
States vary somewhat, but in general the
goals of the juvenile justice system are
both prevention and punishment. By con-
trast, the goals of the adult penal system
tend to be more focused on punishment
than on rehabilitation.
In a recent one-year period (1997), 19
percent of all arrests were arrests of juve-
381
niles. In other words, approximately one
in five of all arrests involved a juvenile.
These numbers vary by state and county
as well as by urban versus rural areas. On
average, the largest number of juvenile
arrests for crimes occur in large urban
cities.
Crimes are often subdivided into cate-
gories, three of which are violent crimes,
property crimes, and nonindex crimes.
Violent crimes are crimes that have the
potential to seriously harm an individual;
they include murder, rape, robbery, and
assault. Property crimes are crimes
against property and include burglary,
theft, and arson. And nonindex crimes are
all other types of crimes including fraud,
carrying or possessing a weapon, sex
offenses, running away, and drug abuse
violations.
The percentages of crimes committed
by juveniles vary by type of crime. Specif-
ically, juveniles commit 17 percent of all
violent crimes and 35 percent of all prop-
erty crimes known to officials, 50 percent
of all arson cases, between 25 percent and
45 percent of all vandalism, motor vehicle
theft, burglary, theft, robbery, disorderly
conduct, and stolen property crimes, and
approximately 12 percent of all murders.
Recent official records also show that
juveniles are more likely to commit some
crimes than others. For example, more
than 40 percent of all juvenile arrests
382 Juvenile Crime
A staff member sorts the wreckage at a vandalized recreation center. (Urban Archives,
Philadelphia)
occur in one of the following four cate-
gories: theft, simple assault, drug abuse,
or disorderly conduct. In addition, juve-
niles are more likely to commit property
crimes than violent crimes. Only a small
number of juvenile arrests are for murder,
rape, forgery, embezzlement, prostitu-
tion, gambling, or vagrancy.
Official records are used to determine
juvenile crime rates, but such records
reflect only the number of juvenile
crimes reported to the police or other
authorities. Thus, since many juvenile
crimes are not known to police and not
included in official records, the number
of juvenile crimes is probably well over
the 2.8 million noted earlier. Indeed,
when a group of arrested juveniles was
asked whether they had committed
crimes that they were not arrested for,
many of the youth replied that this was
in fact the case.
Juvenile crimes are typically commit-
ted by groups of juveniles rather than by
individuals acting alone. Specifically,
records show that, in a majority of cases,
juveniles commit crimes in groups of
two or more. Some, but not all, of these
crimes are committed by juvenile gangs.
Crimes committed in groups occur in
both urban and rural areas.
Many juveniles who commit crimes are
arrested just once. Indeed, 54 percent of
male and 73 percent of female first-time
offenders are never arrested again. Other
juveniles, however, are arrested for subse-
quent crimes. These juveniles are referred
to as chronic or repeat offenders. In gen-
eral, chronic offenders are arrested for
committing various types of crimes

rather than for committing the same type
of crime repeatedly. Moreover, chronic
offenders commit the majority of juvenile
crimes. Thus, it can be concluded that the
majority of juvenile crimes are commit-
ted by a small number of juveniles.
Recent official records also reveal that,
on school days, juvenile crimes are most
likely to occur in the hours following
school (between 3 and 6 P.M.), whereas on
nonschool days they are most likely to
take place in the evening. In short, juve-
nile crimes are unequally dispersed
throughout the day.
Juvenile crimes are committed at dif-
ferent rates by male and female offenders.
Although the number of crimes commit-
ted by females has increased in the last
two decades, males overall commit con-
siderably more crimes than females.
Specifically, of the 2.8 million juvenile
arrests officially recorded in 1997, 26 per-
cent of these were for crimes committed
by females. In other words, juvenile
males committed almost three-fourths of
all juvenile crimes in that year. Except
for prostitution and running away, juve-
nile males are more likely to be arrested
for all types of crimes. For example, male
juvenile offenders commit five times
more violent crimes and two times more
property crimes than female juvenile
offenders.
Juvenile crime rates also vary by age.
About 90 percent of all juvenile crimes
are committed by juveniles between the
ages of thirteen and seventeen, compared
to less than 10 percent among juveniles
twelve and younger. Crimes committed
by very young children are rare.
Analysis of juvenile crime rates over
several decades reveals that the highest
rates of juvenile crime occurred in the
1980s and early 1990s. Specifically,
whereas property crime arrest rates
Juvenile Crime 383
remained relatively stable over the past
two decades, violent crime arrest rates
increased and then only recently began to
decline.
Juvenile crime is staggeringly expen-
sive for society. One youth who commits
one to four crimes a year over a four-year
period (the average “career” length of a
chronic juvenile offender) costs crime vic-
tims between $62,000 and $250,000. And
depending on the type of juvenile justice
that intervenes, the court and corrections
costs incurred by this youth average
between $21,000 and $84,000. These
totals are even higher when the costs
associated with drug abuse and dropping
out of school are taken into account.
Juveniles themselves are often victims
of crime. Two age groups in particular—
young adults eighteen to twenty-four
years old and youths younger than eight-
een—are at the greatest risk of being vic-
tims of serious violent crimes. Twenty
percent of all serious violent crimes, 12
percent of all property crimes, and 26
percent of simple assaults are committed
against juveniles twelve to seventeen
years old. Furthermore, murder is one of
the five leading causes of juvenile death.
(The juvenile murder rate is considerably
higher in the United States than in other
industrialized countries.) Juvenile vic-
timizations are most likely to occur in
the daytime, between noon and 6 P.M.
Many juveniles know their assailants but
do not report crimes committed by their
peers.
The rate of school crime has remained
approximately the same for several years.
The most common type of crime com-
mitted at school is theft. Males between
the ages of twelve and fourteen are at the
greatest risk of being victims of school
crime. And although theft crimes occur
at equal rates in urban and rural schools,
384 Juvenile Justice System
urban schools experience higher rates of
violent crimes. Overall, violent deaths at
school are very rare.
Leanne J. Jacobson
See also Aggression; Disorders, Psycholog-
ical and Social; Homeless Youth; Run-
aways; Youth Gangs
References and further reading
Snyder, Howard N., and Melissa
Sickmund. 1995. Juvenile Offenders
and Victims: A National Report.
Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
———. 1999. Juvenile Offenders and
Victims: 1999 National Report.
Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
Juvenile Justice System
The juvenile justice system comprises a
network of courts, agencies, and organiza-
tions that process youth who have been
charged with violating a law. The juvenile
justice system is premised on the idea
that children should be treated differently
from adults because children are some-
what less responsible for their actions and
are in need of protection. In 1998 alone,
according to the National Center for Juve-
nile Justice (2000), 2,603,300 youths
passed through at least one of the multi-
ple layers of this complex system. Given
this large number of youth and the bil-
lions of dollars being spent on juvenile
crime, it is imperative that we understand
the history of this specialized court, the
way it functions, the current trends that
are emerging as a result of a changing
society.
Developed in Chicago in 1899, the first
juvenile court was specifically designed
to process youth between the ages of
eight and seventeen. The fundamental
principle of this juvenile court was that
the state would become the guardian of
the child, making the child a ward of the
state to receive whatever services the
state had to offer. This principle differed
from that underlying the adult criminal
court. The juvenile court was originally
intended to be rehabilitative rather than
punitive, and its focus was on the indi-
vidual child’s treatment and rehabilita-
tion. The judges in juvenile court took on
a parental role and, like parents, deter-
mined the needs of the child.
The founders of the juvenile court
intended to create a flexible and individ-
ualized system for dealing with wayward
youth. Judges were given broad discre-
tionary powers, as it was assumed that
they were acting in the best interests of
the child. It was not until the late 1960s,
following the occurrence of numerous
abuses within the system, that the gov-
ernment began to formalize procedures
within juvenile courts. In recent years,
there has been a growing trend within
the juvenile system away from rehabili-
tation and toward punishment. Parallel-
ing this trend has been an increasing
awareness of the need to protect the
rights of juveniles within the system in
order to ensure due process.
Overview of the Juvenile
Justice System
Juvenile courts have jurisdiction over
three types of cases: status offenses, de-
pendency cases, and delinquency cases.
Status offenses are acts committed by
juveniles that would not be considered
crimes if committed by an adult; exam-
ples include running away from home or
being truant from school. Dependency
cases are cases in which the juvenile
court is responsible for providing protec-
tion for children who are abused or neg-
lected or deemed to be in need of supervi-

The juvenile justice system aims to help and protect as many youth as possible. (Urban
Archives, Philadelphia)
sion because their parents cannot manage
them. Finally, delinquency cases involve
violation of a law or ordinance. The focus
throughout this entry is on delinquency
cases.
There is a great deal of discretion built
into the juvenile justice system. Police,
prosecution, judges, and probation all
exercise discretion that can move a
youth deeper into the process or divert
the youth out of the process. The juve-
nile justice system aims to help and pro-
tect as many youth as possible. Toward
this end, many juveniles are brought into
the system, yet few make it to the final
Juvenile Justice System 385
stages of the process. At each stage, cases
may be resolved or referred for further
intervention.
Police provide the primary means by
which youth are brought into the juve-
nile justice system. When an adolescent
is arrested or taken into custody by a
police officer, he or she is booked at a
police station or sheriff’s office. Booking
involves obtaining information about the
detained youth and creating a written
record of the arrest or detention. After
booking, the police classify the adoles-
cent according to the offense allegedly
committed and determine whether the
386 Juvenile Justice System
juvenile justice system has jurisdiction
over the case. In some states, juveniles
are automatically transferred to criminal
court for more serious offenses such as
rape or murder. Once jurisdiction has
been established, youths may be released
to the care of their parents, referred to
community resources (e.g., counseling),
referred for juvenile intake procedures
and then released to parents, or trans-
ferred to a juvenile hall or shelter. These
actions, referred to as preliminary dispo-
sition or diversion, depend on several fac-
tors including the nature of the offense
and the resources available.
The next stage of the process involves
an intake screening, which often takes
place at the time of booking and is con-
ducted by a court officer or a juvenile pro-
bation officer. The formality of this pro-
cedure varies from case to case. The
intake officer acts as a screening agent
and decides what action is to be taken on
the case. This decision is based on a
number of factors including the serious-
ness of the offense and the youth’s atti-
tude, demeanor, age, and previous offense
history. In most jurisdictions, the intake
screening results in one of five actions:
(1) dismissal of the case, with or without
verbal or written reprimand; (2) release of
the youths into the custody of their par-
ents; (3) release of the youths to the cus-
tody of their parents with a referral for
counseling or special services; (4) referral
of the youths to an alternative dispute
resolution program; or (5) referral of the
youths to the juvenile justice prosecutor
for further action and possible filing of a
delinquency petition.
Cases that are referred to juvenile pros-
ecutors usually involve either youths
who commit serious offenses or youths
who are chronic recidivists (e.g., children
who chronically run away from home).
Juvenile prosecutors have broad discre-
tionary powers and can decide among a
number of actions ranging from dismiss-
ing the case to diverting it to criminal
court through waiver. Prosecutors are
also responsible for filing petitions or act-
ing on petitions filed by others. Petitions
are official court documents specifying
the reason for the youth’s court appear-
ance. Filing a petition formally places the
youth before a juvenile court judge.
The next stage is adjudication, which
refers to the process by which a judgment
or action is taken on the petition filed
within the court. The formality of the
adjudication process varies from state to
state. However, there is a growing trend
toward a more formal and adversarial pro-
cedure that emulates the criminal court
system. Defense attorneys represent the
juvenile’s interests during the adjudica-
tory proceedings and ensure that due
process is fulfilled. Then, after hearing
the evidence presented by both sides, a
judge decides or adjudicates the matter. If
the petition alleges that a delinquency
has occurred (i.e., that the youth has
committed a crime), the judge decides
whether the youth is or is not delinquent.
If the adjudicatory proceedings support
the allegations then the judge sentences
the juvenile or orders a disposition. If the
allegations are not supported, the case is
dismissed and the youth is freed.
Dispositions are actions ordered by a
juvenile judge. Generally, dispositions are
grouped into three categories: nominal,
conditional, and custodial. The idea
behind dispositions is that they represent
the least restrictive alternative providing
for the public safety. Nominal disposi-
tions, which entail verbal warnings or
stern reprimands, are the least punitive; in
such cases, release to the custody of the
parents usually completes the juvenile

court action against the youth. Condi-
tional dispositions are probationary
options in which youths are referred to
probation and required to comply with
certain conditions. A probation officer
oversees the youth during this period and
ensures that he or she complies with the
probationary conditions. Custodial dispo-
sitions are classified as nonsecure and
secure. Nonsecure options include foster
homes, group homes, or camp ranches or
schools, whereas secure options include
juvenile detention centers or other forms
of incarceration. The secure custodial
option is considered by most juvenile
judges to be a last resort for the most seri-
ous juvenile offenders; however, even non-
serious offenders are sometimes incarcer-
ated because of a lack of appropriate
community-based treatments. Finally, it is
important to note that in some states
there is a death penalty for juveniles tried
as adults through the transfer process.
Trends within the Juvenile
Justice System
Since the 1960s, three major develop-
ments have altered the focus of the juve-
nile justice system: (1) U.S. Supreme
Court rulings protecting the rights of
juveniles during court proceedings, (2)
passage of the Juvenile Justice and Delin-
quency Prevention Act, and (3) the shift
in public and social policy from treat-
ment and rehabilitation toward deter-
rence and punishment. These changes
have altered the original vision of the
court, resulting in a system with compet-
ing goals and orientations. In short, the
original goals of social service, advocacy,
and treatment have been replaced by a
focus on consequences and retribution.
Four landmark Supreme Court deci-
sions reformed the legal framework that
determines the quality of justice for delin-
Juvenile Justice System 387
quent youth. Kent v United States (1966)
established juveniles’ right to a hearing
before transfer to a criminal court as well
as their right to counsel during a police
interrogation. In re Gault (1967) gave juve-
niles the right to be represented by an
attorney, the right to confront and cross-
examine witnesses, the right to avoid self-
incrimination, and the right to receive
notice of charges. In re Winship (1970)
established a juvenile’s right to the crimi-
nal court standard of “beyond a reasonable
doubt.” And Breed v Jones (1975) provided
protection against double jeopardy. (Dou-
ble jeopardy exists when a juvenile is adju-
dicated as a delinquent in juvenile court
and tried for the same offense in adult
criminal court.) Taken together, these
rights given by the U.S. Supreme Court
guarantee juveniles a minimum of due
process during adjudicatory proceedings.
The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention Act of 1974 and its 1980 and
1996 amendments profoundly altered
juvenile laws and practices. This act
requires that states receiving federal
funding follow four mandates. The first
mandate, which calls for the “deinstitu-
tionalization of status offenders,” main-
tains that status offenders should not be
institutionalized as though they had
committed crimes. The second mandate
requires “sight and sound separation” of
juveniles and adult prisoners and
requires that juvenile offenders not come
into contact with adult prisoners. The
third mandate, involving “jail and lock
up removal,” requires that all juvenile
offenders be removed from adult crimi-
nal facilities. And the fourth mandate,
which concerns “disproportionate con-
finement of minority youth,” requires
that states make efforts to reduce the dis-
proportionate representation of minority
youth in juvenile facilities. Although
388 Juvenile Justice System
these reforms have been considered
major advances in the fight for juvenile
rights, girls and children of color, in par-
ticular, have not experienced the in-
tended benefits.
Legal factors such as severity of the
offense and prior record heavily influence
the court’s decision-making process, but
race and gender also play significant and
pervasive roles in these deliberations.
With respect to race, statistical analyses
demonstrate that the number of minority
youth confined to public correctional
facilities is disproportionately large rela-
tive to their representation in the general
population. As for gender, girls continue
to be arrested and incarcerated for offenses
(generally status offenses and prostitution
crimes) that would not trigger a similar
response for males. Girls’ pathway into
the system is markedly different from that
of boys: Many girls arrive in the juvenile
justice system with histories of sexual and
physical abuse, mental illness, substance
abuse, family disconnection, and special
education. And, finally, the court has been
reluctant to reduce its use of incarceration
for girls, even though the facilities they
are sent to are often unequipped to handle
their special medical, mental health, and
social service needs.
Although many reforms have attempted
to increase the rights of juveniles, public
concern over lenient consequences for
dangerous juveniles has resulted in more
vigorous prosecution of violent youthful
offenders. This new emphasis, however, is
in conflict with the original rehabilitative
mission of the juvenile courts. In their
struggle to balance these two competing
demands, the courts are currently experi-
encing an identity crisis that pulls them in
different directions between rehabilitation
and punishment.
The move toward punishment and
away from treatment and prevention
within the juvenile courts is evidenced by
the fact that numerous states have passed
laws expanding eligibility for criminal
court processing, increasing sentencing
authority, and reducing confidentiality
protections. In 1976, for example, more
than half the states made it easier to
transfer youth to adult courts where more
severe punishments could be imposed.
Some states have lowered the minimum
age at which youths can be transferred
into the adult system; others have dis-
counted the issue of age altogether. Sev-
eral states have passed laws that give juve-
nile courts increased sentencing options.
And, finally, a number of states have
passed laws that modify or remove court
confidentiality provisions, making juve-
nile records and proceedings more open.
All of these laws are aimed at “cracking
down” on juvenile crime and have
changed the focus within the juvenile jus-
tice system from individualized treat-
ment and rehabilitation to punishment.
Juvenile Rights in the
Juvenile Justice System
Although juveniles have more legal rights
today than they did thirty years ago as a
result of the Supreme Court rulings
described above, they are still not vested
with the same rights as adults in criminal
court. For example, their right to a trial by
jury is not constitutionally required,
although in some states it is granted by
statute (McKeiver v Pennsylvania, 1971).
One reason juveniles are not granted the
same rights given to adults in criminal
court is that juvenile courts continue to
exercise civil jurisdiction. In other words,
adolescent offenders do not acquire a
criminal record for offenses committed as

juveniles. In some states, however, juve-
nile records can be used for later adult
proceedings such as enhanced sentencing.
In addition to having fewer rights than
adults, many adolescents do not exercise
their constitutional rights. Although the
right to counsel is constitutionally granted
(In re Gault, 1967), it may be waived. And,
indeed, records show that counsel is
offered but technically waived in many
cases. Instead of assigning counsel, many
states permit youth not only to choose
whether to have the services of counsel
but also to waive their right to a fact-based
hearing. However, there is considerable
debate over whether children and adoles-
cents have the cognitive or emotional
capacity to fully understand the conse-
quences of such decisions. In particular,
children and adolescents may need coun-
sel during interrogation in order to protect
them against self-incrimination.
Jodi E. Morris
Jennifer A. Murphy
Francine T. Sherman
See also Delinquency, Mental Health, and
Substance Abuse Problems; Delin-
Juvenile Justice System 389
quency, Trends in; Foster Care: Risks
and Factors; Juvenile Crime
References and further reading
Center on Juvenile Justice and Criminal
Justice. 2000. Web site: www.cjcj.org
Champion, Dean J. 1992. The Juvenile
Justice System: Delinquency,
Processing, and the Law. New York:
Macmillan.
Humes, Edward. 1997. No Matter How
Loud I Shout: A Year in the Life of
Juvenile Court. New York: Simon and
Schuster.
Jones, LeAlan, Lloyd Newman, and David
Isay. 1997. Our America. New York:
Simon and Schuster.
Krisberg, B., and James F. Austin. 1993.
Reinventing Juvenile Justice. Newbury
Park, CA: Sage Publications.
National Center for Juvenile Justice. 2000.
Web site: www.ncjj.org
Phillip, Kay, Andrea Estepa, and Al
Desetta, eds. 1998. Things Get Hectic:
Teens Write about the Violence That
Surrounds Them. New York:
Touchstone.
Schwartz, Irma M., ed. 1992. Juvenile
Justice and Public Policy. New York:
Macmillan.
Synder, Howard N., and Melissa
Sickmund. 1999. Juvenile Offenders
and Victims: 1999 National Report.
Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
Web site: www.ncjj.org.
 L
Latina/o Adolescents
Latina/o adolescents in the United States
come from all Spanish-speaking countries
in the Western hemisphere, including the
United States itself, which is today the
fifth largest Spanish-speaking country in
the world (considering numbers of Spanish
speakers in the country). However, many
include in Latinas/os Brazilians (who speak
Portuguese) and indigenous peoples such
as Mayans, Zapotecans, and Quechua (who
speak a home language other than Span-
ish—such as Tzotzil, Chol, Ki’che,
Zapoteca, or Quechua—and often speak
Spanish also). Latinas/os (also sometimes
spelled Latin@s) hail from several races and
mixtures, including the indigenous peoples
of the Western Hemisphere, Africans,
Europeans, and Asians. Latinas/os vary in
their distance from their home country,
both in terms of actual land distance and in
terms of immigration distance. Some
Latina/o adolescents are new to the United
States, immigrants themselves. Some Lati-
nas/os come from families who originated
in what is now the United States—today
Texas, New Mexico, California, Arizona,
Colorado, and other states that were origi-
nally Mexican territory stolen by the
United States in the Mexican-American
War through the Treaty of Guadalupe
Hidalgo. The sentiment of these Latinas/os
is captured in the statement, “We didn’t
cross the border; the border crossed us”
391
and in the frustration of having lost land,
culture, and language rights guaranteed
them by the treaty. Also, there are Lati-
nas/os, Puerto Ricans, whose entire island
was seized by the United States. With their
homeland colonialized by the United
States, Puerto Ricans are officially U.S. cit-
izens, but they do not enjoy the same vot-
ing privileges and social services on the
island that U.S. citizens do in the conti-
nental United States.
Despite these challenges, Latina/o ado-
lescents have many things about which
to feel proud. While the largest numbers
of Latinas/os in the United States are
Mexican American, Latina/o adolescents
in the United States are extremely
diverse, including Chicanas/os (see “Chi-
cana/os” entry in this encyclopedia),
Boricuas, Puerto Riqueñas/os, El Sal-
vadoreñas/os, Nicaragüenses, Guatemal-
tecas/os, Cubans, Dominicans, Peru-
vians, Mexicans, Chileans, Argentineans,
Colombians, and Tejanos. Further diver-
sity within the Latina/o umbrella can be
seen in the range of skin tones (black,
brown, bronze, and white), heard in the
range of language backgrounds (Spanish
only, Spanish dominant, fully bilingual,
English dominant, and English only),
heard in the range of accents and word
choices (guagua means child in Chile and
a bus in the Caribbean) and experienced
in the range of holidays (from the Mexican
392 Latina/o Adolescents
Cinco de Mayo to the Puerto Rican El
Grito de Lares), foods (from tostones to
mole poblano to paella), and dances (from
salsa to tejano to banda to danza). A few
excellent works in literature that capture
the Latina/o adolescent experience in the
United States include: Barrio Boy by
Ernesto Galarza, When I Was Puerto
Rican by Esmeralda Santiago, How the
Garcia Girls Lost Their Accent by Julia
Alvarez, Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo
Anaya, The House on Mango Street by
Sandra Cisneros, So Far from God by Ana
Castillo, Down These Mean Streets by
Piri Thomas, Drown by Junot Diaz, and
Dreaming in Cuban by Cristina Garcia.
Our heroes for whom Latinas/os feel
pride include Rigoberta Menchu, the
indigenous rights activist; Jennifer Lopez,
the singer/actor; Bob Menendez, a Con-
gress member and Democratic Party
leader; Gloria Estefan, the singer; Gloria
Molina, the chair of the Los Angeles
County Board of Supervisors; Samuel
Betances, an education and diversity spe-
cialist; and María Hinojosa, the journal-
ist. Latinas/os also remember their heroes
no longer alive (but very much remem-
bered), including Emiliano Zapata, the
revoluntionary who fought for peasant
land rights in Mexico; Rubén Salazar, the
Chicano journalist murdered by police
officers; Cesar Chávez and Dolores
Huerta, the leaders of the United Farm
Workers; Tito Puente, the Latin Jazz band
leader; Lola Rodríguez de Tió, the Puerto
Rican poet and artist; and Che Guevara,
the Cuban revolutionary.
Although proud of their origins, Latina/o
adolescents notice when Latinas/os are
missing from almost all mainstream tele-
vision programming: There are no Lati-
nas/os on the Supreme Court, there has
never been a Latina/o president, bilingual
education programs are rarely offered to
those Latinas/os who might most benefit
from developing bilingual/biliterate/
bicultural skills, and school curricula
rarely include the contributions of Lati-
nas/os to the United States—how many
U.S. citizens know that Latinas/os were
the most overrepresented and most deco-
rated, compared to the proportion of the
population, of the soldiers who served in
Vietnam? Latinas/os offer strengths to the
United States, bringing with them a robust
sense of family and familial loyalty, often
expressed in extended family networks,
extreme respect for the elders in their com-
munities, and a strong work ethic. Regard-
less of society’s lack of equal representa-
tion for Latinas/os, most Latina/o
adolescents know that the struggle for
voice and recognition continues (la lucha
sigue) and that yes, they can win this strug-
gle (si se puede). Given current demo-
graphics, the third millennium will likely
be the Latina/o millennium in the United
States, as one in four in the United States
will soon be Latina/o and this percentage
will be greater amongst adolescents, given
that Latinas/os are a young group.
Danielle Carrigo
See also Chicana/o Adolescents; Ethnic
Identity; Identity; Racial Discrimina-
tion
References and further reading
Acuna, Rodolfo. 1988. Occupied America:
A History of Chicanos, 3rd ed. New
York: HarperCollins.
Anaya, Rodolfo A., and Francisco Lomeli,
eds. 1989. Aztlan. Albuquerque, NM: El
Norte Publications.
Anzaldúa, Gloria. 1987. Borderlands: La
Frontera, the New Mestiza. San
Francisco: Aunt Lute Books.
Cummins, Jim. 1986. “Empowering
Minority Students: A Framework for
Intervention.” Harvard Educational
Review 56, no. 1: 18–36.
Garcia, Eugene E. 1991. The Education of
Linguistically and Culturally Diverse

Students: Effective Instructional
Practices (Educational Practice Report
1). Washington, DC: National Center for
Research on Cultural Diversity and
Second Language Learning.
Martinez, Elizabeth. 1998. De Colores
Means All of Us: Latina Views for a
Multi-Colored Century. Cambridge,
MA: South End Press.
Rodriguez, Luis J. 1993. Always Running:
La Vida Loca: Gang Days in L.A. New
York: Touchstone.
Romo, Harriett D., and Toni Falbo. 1996.
Latino High School Graduation:
Defying the Odds. Austin: University of
Texas Press.
Schecter, Sandra, Diane Sharken-Taboada,
and Robert Bayley. 1996. “Bilingual by
Choice: Latino Parents’ Rationales and
Strategies for Raising Children with
Two Languages.” The Bilingual
Research Journal 20, no. 2: 261–281.
Secada, Walter, et al. 1998. No More
Excuses: Final Report of the Hispanic
Dropout Project. Washington, DC:
Hispanic Dropout Project.
Learning Disabilities
An adolescent who has a learning dis-
ability, most basically defined as a disor-
der that interferes with the learning
process, faces significant challenges.
Learning disabilities are widespread, and
it is crucial to understand exactly what
constitutes a learning disability and what
can be done about it.
The term learning disability has
evolved over the years, but in general one
can say that a learning disability is char-
acterized by a significant difference
between overall intelligence, or cognitive
potential, and academic achievement.
Individuals with learning disabilities are
usually of average or above-average intel-
ligence, but they have more difficulty
than their peers with an aspect of the
learning process. For example, an indi-
vidual with a learning disability may
have important ideas but cannot express
Learning Disabilities 393
them in speech or on paper; a learning
disabled student may have difficulty
identifying and remembering important
details from class in order to complete
homework independently; or an individ-
ual with a learning disability cannot
seem to make sense of letters or numbers
to read or calculate math. A leading
organization for individuals with learn-
ing disabilities, the National Joint Com-
mittee on Learning Disabilities (NJCLD),
defined learning disability as
a generic term that refers to a hetero-
geneous group of disorders manifested
by significant difficulties in the acqui-
sition and use of listening, speaking,
reading, writing, reasoning, or mathe-
matical abilities. These disorders are
intrinsic to the individual, presumed
to be due to central nervous dysfunc-
tion, and may occur across the life
span. Problems in self-regulatory
behaviors, social perception, and
social interaction may exist with
learning disabilities, but do not by
themselves constitute a learning dis-
ability. Although learning disabilities
may occur concomitantly with other
handicapping conditions (for example,
sensory impairment, mental retarda-
tion, serious emotional disturbance),
or with extrinsic influences (such as
cultural differences, inappropriate or
insufficient instruction), they are not
the result of those influences or condi-
tions (Hammill, Leigh, McNutt, and
Larsen, 1981, p. 336).
What we know about learning disabili-
ties, including the definition and how to
measure a learning disability, has
changed considerably over the last thirty
years. This change has resulted in an
increased awareness of the prevalence of
394 Learning Disabilities
learning disabilities, as well the imple-
mentation of national laws in order to
protect those who have a learning dis-
ability. Public Law (P.L.) 101-476, the
Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act (IDEA), mandates that all students
with learning disabilities are entitled to a
“free” and “appropriate” education in the
“least restricted environment” possible.
This law defines a learning disability as a
disorder in one or more of the basic
processes involved in understanding or in
using spoken or written language, a dis-
order that may present as difficulty with
listening, thinking, speaking, reading,
writing, spelling, or doing mathematical
calculations (Federal Register, December
29, 1977, p. 65083, 121a.5).
It is important to remember that a
learning disability is not due to lack of
motivation, environmental or economic
disadvantage, poor parenting, mental
retardation, physical handicap, autism,
deafness, blindness, or behavioral disor-
ders. In addition, the term learning dis-
ability is a broad term that encompasses
many types of learning disabilities, such
as developmental articulation disorder
(difficulty controlling rate of speech),
developmental expressive language disor-
der (difficulty with verbal expression),
developmental receptive language disor-
der (trouble understanding verbally pre-
sented information), developmental read-
ing disorder (dyslexia), developmental
writing disorder (difficulty composing
written work), or developmental arith-
metic disorder (difficulty with mathe-
matics). Attention difficulties, such as
attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD), often occur simultaneously
with a learning disability. However, a
learning disability is a separate disability
with distinct, defining characteristics.
Whereas some students may have a
specific learning disability that affects an
isolated area of their learning process
(such as calculating mathematics), other
students may have a learning disability
that overlaps into many areas of the
learning process (such as understanding
and processing verbal instructions). The
effects of having a learning disability
often reach beyond the walls of the
school, into the areas of work, family,
friendships, and other relationships.
Because students with a learning disabil-
ity may also suffer from difficulties with
attention, social skills, motivation, and
organization, these individuals may
exhibit other symptoms, such as incon-
sistent test performance, perceptual diffi-
culties, motor disorders, and behaviors
such as impulsiveness, frustration, and
difficulty interpreting and responding
appropriately to social interactions. The
skills that are impaired in a learning dis-
ability are necessary for functioning not
only in a school setting but also in the
“real world,” with family and friends.
Finally, it is important to remember that
a learning disability may mildly, moder-
ately, or severely impair a student’s
learning process, and therefore the dis-
ability will look different in each person.
Students with learning disabilities
often wonder why they have a learning
disability and other students do not. Sci-
entists first thought that learning disabil-
ities were caused by a specific neurologi-
cal problem; the latest theory, however,
suggests that learning disabilities may
occur as a result of disturbances in brain
structures and functions—disturbances
that begin before the birth of the child.
During pregnancy, important cells come
together to create the various parts of the
body and brain. This development is very

sensitive to disruption, especially during
the early stages of formation. During the
later stages of brain development, when
the larger structures are in place and the
cells are becoming specialized, disrup-
tion may lead to errors in cell makeup,
location, and connections, errors that
some scientists believe could be the
cause of learning disabilities. The disrup-
tion could be the result of genetic factors
(family history), or substances taken dur-
ing pregnancy (drugs and/or alcohol).
Other suggested causes of learning dis-
abilities include toxins ingested at an
early age, or maturational lags (since
some children develop at slower rates
than others for unknown reasons). How-
ever, these are only hypotheses, unsup-
ported by scientific evidence, and the
exact cause of learning disabilities
remains unclear.
A learning disability may be a lifelong
condition that influences the way indi-
viduals interact in the world throughout
their entire lives. Some individuals are
diagnosed with a learning disability as
children, others as adolescents, others
even as late as when they are adults. Indi-
viduals with learning disabilities often
compensate for their disability if there is
early and appropriate intervention, sup-
port, and awareness. Without early and
accurate identification and intervention,
students with learning disabilities may
not understand why they do not under-
stand school-related information as
quickly or as easily as their peers do. As a
result, these students will not learn
strategies to compensate for their disabil-
ity, and may just feel stupid and hopeless,
which may lead to low self-esteem, drop-
ping out of school, juvenile delinquency,
illiteracy, and other problems later in life.
It is important to remember that a learn-
Learning Disabilities 395
ing disability is a disability, not a pre-
scription for ultimate failure. A student
with a learning disability is not dumb. In
fact, students with a learning disability
are intelligent people. A student with a
learning disability can learn, but may
require different strategies than other stu-
dents in order to learn. Many famous and
successful men and women have learning
disabilities and have learned effective
ways to compensate for their disabilities
and build on their strengths. Examples
include Thomas Edison, Charles Darwin,
Walt Disney, Albert Einstein, John F.
Kennedy, Tom Cruise, John Bon Jovi,
Whoopi Goldberg, and Cher.
According to the latest research from
the National Information Center for
Children and Youth with Disabilities
(NICHCY), approximately 5–10 percent
of the U.S. population has some form of a
learning disability (NICHCY, 1999).
However, this number may underrepre-
sent how many children and adolescents
actually have a learning disability. In
order to be diagnosed with a learning dis-
ability, a student must meet certain spe-
cific criteria, which vary from state to
state. A student who meets the criteria
for special education services because of
a learning disability in one state may not
qualify in another state.
Assessment of a learning disability
usually begins with a team approach
(made up of a guidance counselor, special
educator, psychologist, and other profes-
sionals who may be appropriate) to assess
the various areas of spoken language,
written language, arithmetic, reasoning,
and organizational skills, and continues
through the development of an individual
educational program (IEP). An IEP out-
lines the specific skills the student needs
help with, learning strategies to address
396 Learning Disabilities
the student’s needs, as well as ways in
which to measure how much the student
has progressed as a result of the interven-
tion. Because a student with a learning
disability has specific learning needs,
most public schools accommodate the
various needs of the students by offering
special education programs ranging from
inclusion classrooms—where regular
education students are placed in classes
with special education students and the
class is taught by a general education
teacher and a special education teacher,
to separate classrooms with smaller num-
bers of only special education students.
Adolescents with learning disabilities
face unique challenges because of devel-
opmental and environmental demands
placed on them. As students move into
secondary school, they are expected to
complete most of their academic work
independently. The academic material
becomes more complex and requires
more advanced abstract reasoning and
processing in the various subject areas.
Adolescents are expected to acquire,
store, integrate, and express knowledge,
both in written and verbal form, more
independently than before. This is a
developmentally appropriate expectation,
but adolescents with learning disabilities
may have difficulty because they may
lack basic skills necessary to meet these
academic demands, fail to systemically
use appropriate skills in problem-solving
situations, and/or not use effective learn-
ing strategies to assist them to assimilate
new information. On the elementary
level, more individual attention is typi-
cally given to students as they learn new
information. However, on the secondary
level, students are expected to perform
more independently than before.
In addition, the elementary student
needs to learn to accommodate to only
one teacher and one teaching style. How-
ever, on the secondary level, adolescents
typically have to adjust to the teaching
strategies and expectations of different
teachers in different subject areas. This
may be especially problematic for adoles-
cents with learning disabilities, who may
have difficulty discerning the expecta-
tions and adjusting to the strategies of
even one teacher, especially if that
teacher is not teaching in ways that are
appropriate for the adolescent or the ado-
lescent’s disability. Without individual-
ized assistance, adolescents with learn-
ing disabilities may struggle to keep up
with the developmental and environ-
mental demands of the secondary level.
In addition to the academic challenges
of the secondary level, adolescents face
new challenges in the social realm as
well. Relationships with peers become
increasingly important and require more
advanced and complex social skills. Ado-
lescents with learning disabilities may
have more difficulty in social situations,
either because they do not have the nec-
essary social skills or because they do not
implement appropriate social skills in
social situations. Adolescents with learn-
ing disabilities often have difficulty in
reading nonverbal cues, are often com-
pulsive, and often have difficulty in com-
municating. The skills they lack are nec-
essary not only for the learning process
but also for forming and maintaining
social relationships. Therefore, adoles-
cents who have learning disabilities that
impact their ability to interpret and
respond appropriately to social situations
are at risk for difficulties with social rela-
tionships.
Each student with a learning disability
is unique, and therefore the strategies
that are helpful will be different for each
student. Not only is it important for

teachers to understand an adolescent’s
disability and how to accommodate this
disability in the classroom, it is also
important for the adolescent to under-
stand the disability. An important devel-
opmental task for adolescents is defining
themselves and who they are, which
includes understanding their strengths
and weaknesses. Adolescents with learn-
ing disabilities can and should learn ways
to advocate and adjust to maximize their
success in the school setting, and in life.
When it comes to setting goals beyond
high school, they need to know that col-
leges and universities are required by law
to accommodate students with learning
disabilities just as public schools are,
and, therefore, students with learning
disabilities can and should set high goals
for themselves and their future.
Overall, adolescents with learning dis-
abilities can benefit from various strate-
gies, which include basic skills remedia-
tion, curriculum reductions, alternative
textbooks, and instruction using various
teaching styles (multimodal) and social
skills instruction. Adolescents with
learning disabilities often perform best
within the context of a highly structured
environment, where there are clear and
explicit expectations.
Furthermore, adolescents with learn-
ing disabilities may benefit from assis-
tance in problem solving, which includes
learning strategies to break down multi-
step tasks. It is often helpful to have
modeling for new tasks, and teachers
should not only model but also incorpo-
rate tasks that include both verbal and
hands-on activities. Adolescents with
learning disabilities may also benefit
from using various devices in the class-
room, such as a tape recorder for note
taking and a word processor or computer
for written assignments. In addition,
Learning Disabilities 397
there are many software programs
designed to assist students with their
learning disabilities. Students may need
accommodations in test-taking situa-
tions, such as being given additional time
or having test material read to them
instead of having to read all of the mate-
rial themselves.
Moreover, for individuals who struggle
with focusing their attention in addition
to their learning disability, a full assess-
ment for attention-deficit/hyperactivity
disorder (ADHD) should be completed. A
student with ADHD often may be mis-
taken for one who has a learning disabil-
ity and vice versa. Therefore, a compre-
hensive evaluation is warranted to
discern the nature of the adolescent’s dif-
ficulties and appropriate intervention to
help the student succeed.
It is important to remember that just
because an adolescent has difficulty in
school, this does not necessarily mean
that the adolescent has a learning disabil-
ity. By the same token, if an adolescent
has a learning disability, this does not
necessarily mean that the adolescent
cannot learn. Individuals with learning
disabilities have made important contri-
butions to society. After proper assess-
ment and diagnosis, followed by imple-
mentation of appropriate interventions,
adolescents can learn ways to capitalize
on their strengths in order to learn and be
successful in school and in the world.
Catherine E. Barton
See also Academic Achievement; Academic
Self-Evaluation; Cognitive Development;
Dyslexia; Intelligence Tests; Learning
Styles and Accommodations; Schools,
Full-Service; Standardized Tests; Track-
ing in American High Schools
Resources
Many organizations offer free information
about learning disabilities. Contact
398 Learning Styles and Accommodations
them by telephone or on the World
Wide Web. A few suggestions follow:
International Dyslexia Association: 1-800-
222-3123 (www.interdys.org)
Learning Disabilities Association of
America (LDA): 1-888-300-6710
(www.ldanatl.org)
Learning Disabilities Online
(www.ldonline.com)
National Center for Learning Disabilities:
1-800-575-7373 (www.ncld.org)
National Information Center for Children
and Youth with Disabilities: 1-800-695-
0285 (www.nichcy.org)
References and further reading
Hammill, Donald D., J. E. Leigh, G.
McNutt, and S. C. Larsen. 1981. “A
New Definition of Learning
Disabilities.” Learning Disability
Quarterly 4: 336–342.
National Information Center for Children
and Youth with Disabilities (NICHCY).
1999. Fact Sheet No. 7 (FS7). Available
by mail: P.O. Box 1492, Washington, DC
20013 or by phone, 1-800-695-0285.
Olivier, Carolyn, Bill Cosby, and
Rosemary Bowler. 1996. Learning to
Learn. New York: Fireside.
Silver, Larry, B. 1991. The Misunderstood
Child: A Guide for Parents of Children
with Learning Disabilities, 2nd ed. New
York: McGraw-Hill.
———. 1998. The Misunderstood Child:
Understanding and Coping with Your
Child’s Learning Disabilities, 3rd ed.
New York: McGraw-Hill.
Smith, Corinne, and Lisa Strick. 1999.
Learning Disabilities A to Z. New York:
Simon and Schuster.
Smith, Sally L. 1993. Succeeding against
the Odds: How the Learning Disabled
Can Realize Their Promise. Los
Angeles, CA: J. P. Tarcher.
———. 1995. No Easy Answers: The
Learning Disabled Child at Home and
at School. New York: Bantam Books.
Wong, Bonnie. Y. L., ed. 1991. Learning
about Learning Disabilities. San Diego:
Academic Press.
Learning Styles and
Accommodations
A learning style represents a unique
approach used to perceive, understand,
and plan interactions in the world. This
personal style of information selection
affects learning. Education literature sug-
gests that students who are actively
engaged in the learning process will be
more likely to achieve success: Once
they are actively engaged in their own
learning process they begin to feel
empowered, and their personal achieve-
ment and self-direction levels rise. It has
been shown that adjusting teaching
materials to meet the needs of a variety
of learning styles benefits students. Edu-
cators who can recognize the diverse
learning styles of students can then also
modify their teaching styles to meet the
individual needs of students in their
classrooms. These teachers play an
important role in assisting each student
to use her strengths to meet the chal-
lenges of her individual learning profile.
Research about human learning differ-
ences has been categorized in a number of
different ways. The categorization called
Instructional and Environmental Prefer-
ences recognizes preferences about
sound, light, temperature, and class
design, as well as such issues as motiva-
tion, persistence, responsibility, and
structure. The Social Interaction Models
consider ways in which students react
socially in learning conditions. The Infor-
mation Processing Model is an effort to
understand the processes by which infor-
mation is obtained, stored, and utilized.
The Personality Model involves the way
in which personality traits shape the ori-
entations people take toward the world.
An example of a Personality Model is the
popular Myers-Briggs Type Indicator,
which categorizes people as extroverts or
introverts, sensing or intuitive, thinking
or feeling, and judging or perceiving. For
educators, the challenge is not only to
recognize trainable skills and attitudes
 Learning Styles and Accommodations 399

but also to identify students with funda-

mentally different instincts.
An awareness of the many kinds of
learning styles is helpful in understand-
ing the student of today and allows a
teacher to be cognizant of nuances in stu-
dent learning. Yet the student’s process-
ing strengths and challenges go beyond
preference. The way a student processes
material is very difficult to change. For
that reason, the students, teachers, and
parents need to be aware of a student’s
learning profile in an effort to address the
needs of the individual student and to
plan pedagogical strategies.
Educators may use the general strategy
of creating increased opportunities for
students to use different styles of learn-
ing. This strategy may involve offering
additional alternative activities that sup-
plement and replace traditional ones. For
example, a student may write a poem or
dramatize a segment of a unit of study to
respond in a global fashion and use sensi-
An awareness of the many kinds of learning
tive, holistic abilities. Traditional lec-
styles is helpful in understanding the
tures may be supplemented by hands-on student of today. (Skjold Photographs)
activities that permit active experi-
menters the chance to confirm abstrac-
tions. A variety of modalities may be
used in teaching, or lectures may alter- processed; and affect, the person’s moti-
nate among various styles to engage stu- vation, values, and emotional prefer-
dents and develop their awareness of ences. Theorists such as David Kolb and
teaching styles. The teacher who wants Howard Gardner have provided models
to challenge students to develop learning of learning styles.
skills may design a systematic set of Kolb has shown that learning styles
activities that demands that students use can be seen on a continuum running
all the various learning styles in com- from concrete experience to reflective
pleting an assignment. observation to abstract conceptualization
Each person develops a preferred and and finally to active experimentation. For
consistent set of behaviors or approaches example, in concrete experience the stu-
to the learning process that is composed dent is involved in a new experience such
of cognition, conceptualization, and as laboratory work. In reflective observa-
affect. Cognition involves the acquisition tion the student watches others and
of knowledge; conceptualization, the develops observations such as logs and
manner in which the information is journals. Abstract conceptualization is
400 Learning Styles and Accommodations
the creation of theories and explanation
of observation, of the kind involved in
lectures and papers. Active experimenta-
tion is the use of theory to solve prob-
lems and make decisions. This activity
occurs in the completion of homework
and the development of case studies or
the use of simulations.
Gardner sees learning style in a differ-
ent light; he uses the term multiple intel-
ligences, and his theory is referred to as
MI. MI states that there are at least six dif-
ferent ways of learning and, therefore,
six intelligences: body/kinesthetic, inter-
personal/intrapersonal, logical/mathe-
matical, musical/rhythmic, verbal/lin-
guistic, and visual/spatial. Education has
tended to emphasize two of the ways of
learning, logical/mathematical and ver-
bal/linguistic.
Children who experience difficulties in
school may profit from a comprehensive
educational evaluation to help in under-
standing how the student learns so that
he or she may achieve success in the
learning/testing process. This evaluation
will include interviews, direct observa-
tion, a review of the child’s educational
and medical history, tests that will meas-
ure the student’s strengths and chal-
lenges, and conferences with profession-
als who work with the child. Either the
school or the parent may request the
evaluation, but it is only given with the
parent’s written permission. Teachers are
usually the first to note a learning differ-
ence, yet parents may be aware of the
student’s challenges. Often, the student
knows there is a problem but cannot find
a way to succeed. Identifying a student’s
preferred learning style may be the first
step to a student’s success in school.
Once the decision to test has been
reached, many questions arise. Who is
qualified to evaluate a student’s learning
profile? What tests measure the student’s
strengths and challenges? What happens
after the student has been evaluated?
Who should be notified of the test
results? What will be done for the stu-
dent? What is the student expected to do?
A qualified evaluator may be a learning
specialist trained in testing, an educa-
tional diagnostician or educational con-
sultant, a speech/language pathologist, a
psychologist, or some other individual
(with or without certification) experi-
enced in identifying learning differences.
Learning specialists work with stu-
dents who are experiencing academic dif-
ficulties. They identify learning styles
after they administer, analyze, and inter-
pret tests. After reviewing pertinent
information, they prescribe specific,
appropriate, and practical learning strate-
gies and coordinate a team effort that
usually includes teachers, other educa-
tional professionals, students, and par-
ents. They may also serve as tutors or
help in the areas of time management,
organization, and study skills.
Educational diagnosticians administer
batteries of tests and conference with
parents, teachers, and students following
the tests to assist in creating appropriate
educational plans. Often, an educational
diagnostician is also an educational con-
sultant who helps parents and students
with school placement by developing a
detailed profile of the student from
school reports, testing results, medical
information, and interviews with the
parents and the student.
Many speech pathologists have received
training in a variety of testing batteries,
but they are particularly sensitive to the
central auditory tests that provide an
extensive view into the language/listening
 Learning Styles and Accommodations
parts of the brain. Many learning disabili-
ties are closely related to auditory process-
ing deficits.
Psychologists receive training in the
evaluation and treatment of emotional
problems. They may also administer
intelligence batteries that help individu-
als and families recognize strengths and
challenges in a student’s profile.
A battery of tests may be given to get a
complete picture of a student’s abilities.
These may include tests of intelligence,
visual perception, auditory perception,
and language fundamentals, as well as
achievement tests and visual-motor inte-
gration tests. One comprehensive test is
the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educa-
tional Battery, which consists of both
cognitive ability testing and achievement
testing. The cognitive battery affords an
excellent profile of a student’s learning
style.
The Standard Battery of the Woodcock-
Johnson-Revised Tests of Cognitive Abil-
ity (WJ-R COG) consists of seven tests,
each of which measures a different intel-
lectual ability. By administering the stan-
dard battery of the WJ-R COG and some
of the supplemental tests, one may deter-
mine a subject’s learning profile. The
seven major areas include: fluid reason-
ing, comprehension-knowledge, visual
processing, auditory processing, process-
ing speed, long-term retrieval, and short-
term memory.
Fluid reasoning involves the broad abil-
ity to reason or “general intelligence.”
The tasks presented on the fluid-reasoning
test do not depend on previously acquired
knowledge. It is a test that measures a
subject’s ability to draw inferences and
comprehend implications. The compre-
hension-knowledge test measures “crys-
tallized intelligence.” It represents a per-
401
son’s breadth and depth of knowledge, and
the reasoning is based on previously
learned procedures. A comparison of these
two test scores provides a clearer picture
of the type of reasoning a subject has.
Visual processing and auditory process-
ing are involved in everyday functioning.
Visual processing is “broad visualiza-
tion”; the test measures ability to per-
ceive visual patterns and to think with
them. Many of the tasks of this test
include recognizing rotation and reversal
of figures, finding hidden figures, and
comprehending spatial configurations.
The test for auditory processing meas-
ures comprehension and synthesis of
auditory patterns. These tasks involve
understanding spoken language. Subjects
are asked to repeat words when syllables
are omitted and to repeat words when all
syllables are presented but a delay is
made between syllables.
Long- and short-term memory abilities
are also measured by the WJ-R COG. The
test for long-term retrieval measures
effectiveness in storing information and
retrieving it over extended periods of
time, whereas the test for short-term
memory involves apprehending informa-
tion and utilizing it within a short period
of time.
The test for processing speed measures
a person’s ability to perform relatively
trivial cognitive tasks quickly. One of the
subtests measures the ability to locate
and circle two identical numbers in a row
of six numbers, and the other subtest
measures the ability to scan and compare
visual information quickly by marking
five drawings in a row of twenty draw-
ings that are identical to the first drawing
in the row.
An overview of the types of test ques-
tions has been provided only to allow for
402 Learning Styles and Accommodations
an awareness of the tasks. However, the
value of these tests lies in their relation
to learning. Students with processing dis-
abilities need to first recognize the exis-
tence of the disability and then be pro-
vided a means for accommodating these
disabilities. Students, teachers, and par-
ents need to work together to address the
student’s needs.
Once a qualified test administrator has
evaluated the student, the results should
be shared with the teacher, parents, and
student. Each plays a vital role in using
this information to meet the learning
challenges. Strengths may be used to
compensate for difficulties. Just as a
blind person learns to use his other
senses (hearing, touch, smell, taste) in
order to compensate for not being able to
see, a person with a learning disability
may use his natural learning strength or
preference to compensate for the disabil-
ity. For example, someone with an audi-
tory-processing disability may have a
strength in visual processing and would
be helped by using visual cues to support
the weak auditory cues in his learning
environment. A student with weak audi-
tory processing may miss oral homework
assignments, but she will remember
what she has for homework by seeing the
assignment on the board.
Four types of processing disabilities
will be addressed: visual, auditory, mem-
ory, and speed. Information may need to
be simplified, clarified, and supple-
mented with information through
stronger senses. Accommodations are
listed to assist teachers, and suggestions
are given to students of things they can
do on their own.
Visual-processing accommodations
assist students in retrieving visual infor-
mation. Teachers may help by reducing
distracting stimuli on or near the stu-
dent’s desk. The students may be pro-
vided with a clear and simple overview or
summary of what will be learned before
each lesson so that they understand the
basic concepts and are able to relate the
information to previous knowledge.
Teachers may also create worksheets
with larger print and less “clutter,” put
math problems on graph paper to keep
the numbers in line, or highlight impor-
tant words or phrases in the student’s
assignments. Students may be allotted
extra time to look at visual information
(pictures, videos, writing on the board)
and encouraged to use their other senses
to reinforce the visual channel, perhaps
through hands-on experiences or verbal
descriptions designed to assist in the
understanding of visual information.
Refer students to the Reference Library
for the Blind, where they may receive
assistance with the use of books and
assignments on tape.
Students may address visual-process-
ing challenges by taking more time to
visualize numbers, letters, and words.
They need to listen for information and
to ask for an explanation when the visual
information is not clear. By reading out
loud, the students may transfer the writ-
ten word to the oral word. Listening to
books on tape helps students picture the
information. They reach math solutions
more easily by drawing pictures and
graphs and by copying the steps to math
problems on index cards and working the
problems nightly. The most important
visual aid is the use of a plan book in
which students write down assignments.
Teachers may provide auditory-process-
ing accommodations by slowing down
the verbal input and reducing the number
of directions given to students. They may
also repeat and clarify verbal instruction
or draw and write important information
 Learning Styles and Accommodations
on the board. Examples and demonstra-
tions help in the clarification of projects
and assignments, as do hands-on experi-
ences. Students with auditory-processing
challenges may need extra time for read-
ing and writing assignments, and they
may benefit from a quiet working place
and a seat near the front of the class
where they are able to maintain auditory
attention and where visual distraction is
minimized. These are also the students
who may need a modification or reduc-
tion of foreign-language requirements.
In turn, these students may help them-
selves with auditory-processing chal-
lenges by jotting down key terms to use
as cues for future recall and by paraphras-
ing directions, explanations, and instruc-
tions soon after hearing them. They
should use a plan book to write down
assignments and draw pictures to help
visualize the information. These stu-
dents need to ask for explanation when
verbal information is unclear and pay
attention to the source of the informa-
tion (e.g., by making eye contact and
looking at assignments). In order to make
the information easier to recall, teachers
(or students) may break larger assign-
ments into smaller ones and put infor-
mation to be learned into sequences or
lists.
Teachers may assist students who have
memory or organizational challenges by
providing accommodations that use mul-
tiple modalities (e.g., auditory, visual, tac-
tile) when presenting directions, explana-
tions, and instructional content. Activities
that involve the student and provide repet-
itive practice enhance short-term mem-
ory. Teachers may assist students by
teaching them to use associative cues or
mnemonics, organize information into
smaller units, recognize main points and
important facts, and rely on resources in
403
the environment to recall information. It
is important to maintain consistency in
sequential activities in order to increase
the likelihood of student success. When
presenting information, the teacher needs
to allow students time to think, provide
real-life examples, and deliver directions,
explanations, and instructional content in
a clear manner and at an appropriate pace.
By stopping at various points during the
presentation of information the teacher is
able to monitor the student’s understand-
ing and to introduce the next task only
when the first has been successfully com-
pleted. Students with memory challenges
profit from the provision of extra time and
the presentation of summaries and
overviews. These students may need a
modification or reduction of foreign-lan-
guage requirements.
Students with memory deficits need to
use study skills to assist them in recall-
ing and organizing information. A plan
book should be used to list all assign-
ments and projects. Careful use of the
plan book provides the student with a
picture of what will be learned, so that
large assignments may be broken into
smaller ones and students may avoid the
last-minute crunch by reviewing regu-
larly and frequently before an assignment
is due or a test is given. Students need to
highlight important information and use
mapping and webbing techniques to
organize information from main ideas to
details. By establishing a regular routine
in performing activities and by using
mnemonics, students remember infor-
mation more easily.
To accommodate processing-speed
deficits teachers may allow extra time for
the completion of tests and assignments,
slow down instruction so that students
have time to digest the material, and
allow students think time in class. Since
404 Learning Styles and Accommodations
students may miss important informa-
tion presented in class, they may be
allowed to use tape devices in order to
repeat the lessons at a later time. Teach-
ers may provide handouts with underlin-
ing or highlighting, since students may
not have time to read or write every-
thing, or assignments may be reduced or
altered to meet the student’s ability to
complete the assignments. Students ben-
efit from examples and demonstrations
of what is expected on assignments and
tests, understand information better
when real-life examples are used to
explain the relevancy of a lesson, and are
better able to process information when
provided with summaries and overviews.
Students with processing-speed chal-
lenges need to use a plan book to sched-
ule for daily assignments and long-term
projects. They need to break large assign-
ments into smaller pieces and highlight
and underline pertinent information to
allow for quick review. Prior to beginning
a new chapter they should read summary
sections and review questions to get a
better picture of what will be learned.
Once material has been presented, they
need to relate the material to previous
experiences and to repeat the informa-
tion in order to increase recall speed.
The accommodations listed above are
techniques that alter the academic set-
ting or environment. They enable the
students to show more accurately what
they actually know. Teachers may need
to modify tests and assignments or
change the way they present information
to a student. Appropriate accommoda-
tions should either help the student learn
better or give the student a better way of
demonstrating his knowledge. Accom-
modations should not simply give an eas-
ier way to get better grades. Students and
teachers need to work as a team. Accom-
modations are determined to meet the
need of each situation. It is important to
understand the reason for each accom-
modation so that it can be used to the
student’s best advantage. For example,
some students may profit from hearing
material as they read and would benefit
from the services of the Recording for the
Blind & Dyslexic (RFB&D). RFB&D, a
nonprofit volunteer organization, offers
diagnosed individuals the opportunity to
send for tape recordings of books. It is the
nation’s educational library that serves
people who cannot read standard print
effectively because of a visual impair-
ment, learning disability, or other physi-
cal disability. (Information about this
bureau may be obtained by calling 1-800-
221-4792.)
Bringing accommodation and strategy
instruction into the classroom curricu-
lum may improve the learning process of
students with learning disabilities.
Strategies are systematic procedures for
approaching learning tasks, and they
empower students by emphasizing the
process of learning. Learning strategies
are the tools and techniques that help
students understand and learn new mate-
rial or skills. The strategies serve to inte-
grate new information with what a stu-
dent already knows and help to make
sense of the new material so that a stu-
dent may recall that information or skill
later or in other contexts. When students
are taught how to learn, the focus is on
the process and not only the outcome of
learning, and students become indepen-
dent learners and take responsibility for
their own learning. They learn to think
flexibly and to rely on their strengths and
meet their challenges. Students become
their own advocates by requesting
accommodations and then become more
independent by modifying strategies to
 Learning Styles and Accommodations
match task demands. Students with
learning challenges often need explicit,
classroom-based, and individualized
strategy instruction in organization,
planning, self-checking, studying, and
test taking. Strategy instruction should
be an essential component of remedia-
tion, and it should also constitute the
base for effective classroom instruction
for all students. Either classroom teach-
ers or trained educational consultants
may assist students by teaching the steps
to becoming independent learners.
Effective teaching usually combines
several approaches so that the student
uses more than one sense at a time while
learning. These multisensory approaches
allow students to team strengths with
weaknesses so as to develop strategies for
better learning. Thus, if a student has
strong auditory-processing skills, these
skills may be teamed with weaker visual-
processing skills to optimize the learning
conditions. Positive aspects of accommo-
dations, especially those related to
extended time, are that they do not affect
what information is learned and that stu-
dents are given ample opportunity to
learn as much as they are capable of learn-
ing. These strategies give direction to
alternative teaching and allow progressive
educators to engage in student-centered
teaching.
Classrooms are becoming more open
to alternative approaches to intellectual
work. Different social groupings, alterna-
tive activities, and complex projects have
been introduced to create opportunities
for students to use their various strengths
in dealing with course material. The
types of things a person enjoys and finds
comfortable in different learning situa-
tions do not necessarily define the per-
son’s processing strength or challenge,
but this preference along with appropri-
405
ate accommodations may help counter-
act a learning disability.
The accommodations listed above are
suggestions that will assist teachers and
students. The Rehabilitation Act of 1973,
which addresses discrimination against
persons with disabilities, has different
sections for different areas of discrimina-
tion. One of those sections is Section
504, which provides individuals with dis-
abilities basic civil rights protection
against discrimination in federal pro-
grams. The law states that “no otherwise
qualified handicapped individual in the
United States shall, solely by reason of
his [or her] handicap, be excluded from
participation in, be denied the benefits of,
or be subjected to discrimination under
any program or activity receiving federal
financial assistance.” Although Section
504 does not provide federal funds, it
applies to schools receiving money under
the Individuals with Disabilities Educa-
tion Act (IDEA), previously known as the
Education for Handicapped Children Act
of 1975, which is explained in the fol-
lowing paragraphs. Section 504 is
enforced by the U.S. Department of Edu-
cation, Office of Civil Rights.
The Education for Handicapped Chil-
dren Act of 1975 [P.L. 94-142] mandated
that all children with disabilities, ages
five to twenty-one, be provided a free,
appropriate public education, including
special education and related services to
meet their unique needs. The law re-
quired states to identify and evaluate chil-
dren suspected of needing special educa-
tion and develop a plan for implementing
the federal directives. This act provided
funds for states to implement the law. Fol-
lowing the passage of this federal law,
states have also enacted state funding to
provide special education and services to
educate students with disabilities.
406 Learning Styles and Accommodations
In October 1990, Congress passed
amendments to the Education for Handi-
capped Children Act of 1975 [P.L. 101-
476] and changed the name of the law to
the Individuals with Disabilities Educa-
tion Act. These amendments to the ini-
tial act broadened the range of children
covered by the original provisions. There
are guidelines for appraisal of students
meeting the criteria of IDEA. Funds are
provided to states to implement the pro-
visions. Although the range of children
covered by IDEA is broader than in the
original act, eligibility under IDEA crite-
ria is very specific and includes a much
smaller population of students than the
population eligible under Section 504 of
the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
When students apply to take the SAT
or ACT tests with extended time or
request an accommodation when being
tested, the counselors are required to pro-
vide a 504 Accommodation Plan or an
individualized education plan (IEP) for
each student. In the case of private insti-
tutions, which are not required to have
504 Plans or IEPs, the schools are asked
to provide a qualified examiner’s report
and to state the accommodation re-
quested. The Educational Testing Bureau
then reviews those forms, and students
are informed of their eligibility for
accommodation.
A standard 504 Accommodation Plan
indicates the reasonable accommoda-
tions the school agrees to make in order
to address the student’s individual
needs. These accommodations may in-
volve the physical arrangement of the
room or the kinds of accommodation in
lesson presentation and the like dis-
cussed above. As mentioned above, it is
advisable to have a student seated near
the teacher and/or near a positive role
model and away from distracting stim-
uli. In addition, instruction may be
assisted via computer. Also, peers can
play an important role in assisting stu-
dents with their lessons. Peers may be
tutors, may aid in checking work, or
may serve as note takers.
The type of accommodation for work-
sheets and assignments may range from
extra time to complete tasks and reduc-
tion of homework assignments to the
requirement of fewer correct responses to
achieve a grade. Simple and clear direc-
tions, structured routine in written form,
and frequent short quizzes allow stu-
dents to concentrate on one topic at a
time. These students need to learn self-
monitoring devices and should be pro-
vided study skills training. Such training
may show the student how to organize
notes and organize assignments.
The teacher may assist note taking by
allowing open-book exams, providing
oral exams, giving take-home tests, using
more objective test items, or allowing
students to give test answers on tape.
Organization may be improved by pro-
viding homework buddies, allowing stu-
dents to have an extra set of books at
home, sending daily or weekly progress
reports home, or developing a reward sys-
tem for in-school work and homework
completion. Due to the frustration stu-
dents with challenges face, it may help to
consider behavior modification tech-
niques. Praising specific behaviors and
making prudent use of negative conse-
quences assist in forming a student’s
behavior. Students may then learn to use
self-monitoring strategies. If classroom
rules are simple and clear, short breaks
are allowed between assignments, and
students are allowed legitimate move-
ment, there may be less need for time-
out procedures and a more stringent
classroom management system.

The law protects a student’s rights, but
the student has duties that go with these
rights. Accommodations may be pro-
vided, but it is the student’s duty to use
them wisely and to enhance his learning
by using learned strategies. The student
needs to be his own advocate by learning
to communicate effectively, to convey
his needs, and to assert and negotiate for
his own needs and rights. He needs to
make informed decisions and to take
responsibility for those decisions.
Billie V. Andersson
See also Academic Achievement; Acade-
mic Self-Evaluation; Cognitive Devel-
opment; Dyslexia; Family-School
Involvement; Gifted and Talented
Youth; Intelligence Tests; Learning Dis-
abilities; Schools, Full-Service; Teach-
ers; Tracking in American High Schools
References and further reading
Anderson, Betsy, and Janet Vohs. 1992.
“Another Look at Section 504.”
Coalition Quarterly 10, no. 1: 1–4.
Deshler, Donald, E. S. Ellis, and B. K.
Lenz. 1996. Teaching Adolescents with
Learning Disabilities: Strategies and
Methods, 2nd ed. Denver, CO: Love.
Gardner, Howard. 1993. Creating Minds.
New York: Basic Books.
Hartman, Virginia F. 1995. “Teaching and
Learning Style Preferences: Transition
through Technology.” VCCA Journal 9,
no. 2: 18–20.
Hogan, K., and M. Pressley, eds. 1997.
Scaffolding Student Learning:
Instructional Approaches and Issues.
Cambridge, MA: Brookline.
Hughes, C. A., and S. K. Suritsky. 1993.
“Notetaking Skills and Strategies for
Students with Learning Disabilities.”
Preventing School Failure 38, no. 1:
7–11.
Kolb, David A. 1984. Experiential
Learning: Experiences as the Source of
Learning and Development. Englewood
Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Kramer-Koehler, Pamela, Nancy M.
Tooney, and Devendra P. Beke. 1995.
“The Use of Learning Style Innovations
to Improve Retention.” In ASEE/ISEE
Loneliness 407
Frontiers in Education ’95: Proceedings.
Purdue University. http://fie.engrng.
pitt.edu/fie95/4a2/4a22/4a22.htm
Lerner, Janet. 1997. Learning Disabilities:
Theories, Diagnosis, and Teaching
Strategies, 7th ed. Boston: Houghton
Mifflin.
Mastropieri, Margo. 1991. Teaching
Students Ways to Remember: Strategies
for Learning Menmonically. Cambridge,
MA: Brookline.
McCarney, Stephen B., ed. 1994. Attention
Deficit Disorders Intervention Manual.
Columbia, MS: Hawthorne Educational
Services.
Mercer, Cecil. 1997. Students with
Learning Disabilities. Columbus, OH:
Merrill.
Myers-Briggs, Isabel. 1989. Manual: A
Guide to the Development and Use of
the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator: From
Theory to Practice. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.
Wang, Po-Ching. 1996. Gardner’s Multiple
Intelligences. Penn State Educational
Systems Design Home Page: Penn State
University. http://www.ed.psu.edu/
Woodcock, Richard, and M. Bonner
Johnson. 1989a. Woodcock-Johnson
Tests of Achievement-Revised. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin.
———. 1989b. Woodcock-Johnson Tests of
Cognitive Ability-Revised. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin.
Loneliness
Loneliness is the feeling of being discon-
nected or isolated from other people. It is
the self-perception of peer rejection. Some
researchers have argued that loneliness is
experienced more frequently and more
intensely in adolescence than in either
childhood or adulthood. This is not true
for everyone, but some teens do report
feeling very isolated. Why would people
be lonelier during adolescence? One
explanation points to changes in self-con-
cept and abstract cognitive abilities that
may lead to the emergence of internaliz-
ing problems during adolescence. (Inter-
nalizing problems are problems that are
408 Loneliness
Loneliness is the feeling of being disconnected or isolated from other people. (Lawrence
Manning/Corbis)
expressed inside the person, such as
depression, anxiety, and loneliness, as
opposed to externalizing problems such
as aggression or delinquency.) These new
cognitive abilities may cause teens to feel
the full impact of their circumstances
(e.g., peer rejection) mentally and emo-
tionally. In addition, because peer accep-
tance is of great significance during ado-
lescence, some teens may be particularly
sensitive to their peers’ opinions and
behaviors.
It is important to remember that every-
one feels lonely now and then, and that
even popular children admit to feeling
disconnected from their peers sometimes.
However, temporary loneliness and want-
ing to be alone need to be distinguished
from severe and chronic loneliness.
How can researchers and clinicians
determine whether a teenager is chroni-
cally lonely? One approach is to ask par-
ents and teachers about the teenager’s
social behavior and peer interactions.
More typically, however, they would ask
the adolescent directly, using a question-
naire created by Steven Asher. According
to several studies using this measure,
about 1 to 5 percent of children report
severe and/or stable loneliness during
childhood and adolescence (e.g., Asher,
Hymel, and Renshaw, 1984; Cassidy and
Asher, 1992). These kids say that it is
hard for them to make friends at school,
that they have no one to talk to, that they
feel alone, that it is hard for them to get
other children to like them, and that they
feel there is no one they can go to when

they need help. Of course, most people
would make statements similar to these
at some point or another in their lives.
Chronically lonely people, however, say
that these experiences are true for them
most of the time. The key to defining
chronicity is that the problem is stable
over a significant period. Several
researchers now argue that extreme lone-
liness is related to a poor attributional
style whereby the teen believes that
being friendless is stable, uncontrollable,
and due to defects within the self. And,
indeed, many chronically lonely people
seem to believe that peer isolation is their
fault and cannot or will not change. This
is one reason for which extreme loneli-
ness is included, along with depression
and anxiety, in the class of psychiatric
symptoms called internalizing problems.
Internalizing problems are more diffi-
cult to assess than externalizing prob-
lems such as aggression and delinquency.
For one thing, externalizing problems are
just that—external. Accordingly, they
are easier to see early in development,
and parents and teachers usually agree
about their frequency and nature. In fact,
aggressive behaviors such as hitting, bit-
ing, and fighting are easier for everyone
to see and agree about than are depres-
sive behaviors such as sulking, with-
drawing, and sadness. Second, internaliz-
ing problems tend to be less disruptive in
home and classroom contexts than exter-
nalizing problems. This is not to suggest
that parents or teachers are less con-
cerned about depressed, anxious, or
lonely adolescents. But in situations
where adults are thinking about and tak-
ing care of several children or students at
once, it may be harder for them to iden-
tify teens who are withdrawn. Third,
since people’s self-perceptions are funda-
mental to the identification of loneli-
Loneliness 409
ness, it is may be difficult to detect inter-
nalizing problems early in development
when it is harder for children to articu-
late their feelings.
During adolescence, however, many
measures can be used to assess the degree
to which teens feel isolated or rejected by
their peers. In cases where there is reason
to be concerned, a number of approaches
can be used to treat severe loneliness.
Some treatments involve changing the
self-blaming aspect of the problem; oth-
ers focus on building social skills and
supportive relationships.
What causes chronic loneliness?
According to current research, chronic
loneliness in childhood is related to inse-
cure attachment during infancy, low self-
esteem and regard for others, and aca-
demic problems. It is also linked to
negative emotionality, a temperament
thought to have biological roots. Indeed,
people who are easily upset or angered
tend to report more loneliness than other
people. It is hard to know whether lonely
teens alienate their peers with their diffi-
cult, temperamental style and low self-
regard or, conversely, are overly emo-
tional because their peers do not accept
them. In all likelihood, both factors are at
work. Not surprisingly, extreme loneli-
ness is consistently linked to actual peer
group isolation and victimization. Given
the significance of peer interaction for
children’s development, it is important
that parents, teachers, and friends try to
help identify adolescents with chronic
loneliness. Fortunately, however, the
presence of one stable friendship in a
child’s life greatly reduces feelings of
loneliness, even for kids who have been
rejected by the larger peer group.
Are there gender differences in loneli-
ness? The literature on adult loneliness
suggests that women tend to report
410 Lore
higher levels of loneliness than men
when the questionnaire contains the
words loneliness or lonely. There is little
evidence, however, of gender differences
in children’s perceptions of loneliness
during childhood and early adolescence.
This finding is surprising, given the gen-
der differences in other behavior prob-
lems among youth. Perhaps the gender
differences in adult loneliness are due to
adults’ greater willingness to report their
feelings to other people.
Shirley McGuire
See also Counseling; Depression; Emo-
tions; Parent-Adolescent Relations;
Peer Groups; Peer Status; Peer Victim-
ization in School; Personality; Sadness;
Self-Consciousness; Self-Esteem;
Shyness
References and further reading
Asher, Steven R., Shelly Hymel, and Peter
D. Renshaw. 1984. “Loneliness in
Children.” Child Development 55:
1456–1464.
Cassidy, Jude, and Steven R. Asher. 1992.
“Loneliness and Peer Relations in
Young Children.” Child Development
63: 350–365.
Ernst, John M., and John T. Cacioppo.
1999. “Lonely Hearts: A Psychological
Perspective on Loneliness.” Applied
and Preventive Psychology 8: 1–22.
Graham, Sandra, and Jaana Juvonen. 1998.
“Self-Blame and Peer Victimization in
Middle School: An Attributional Bias.”
Developmental Psychology 34: 587–598.
Parker, Jeffrey G., and Steven R. Asher.
1993. “Friendship and Friendship
Quality in Middle Childhood: Links
with Peer Group Acceptance and
Feelings of Loneliness and Social
Dissatisfaction.” Developmental
Psychology 29: 611–621.
Peplau, Letitia A., and Daniel Perlman.
1982. Loneliness: A Sourcebook of
Current Theory, Research, and Therapy.
New York: Wiley.
Renshaw, Peter D., and Peter J. Brown.
1993. “Loneliness in Middle Childhood:
Concurrent and Longitudinal
Predictors.” Child Development 64:
1271–1284.
Lore
Given the social character of adoles-
cence, it is not be surprising that, in mod-
ern Western societies, there is a social
stereotype or lore of adolescence.
All individuals and families have con-
flicts and negative experiences. Such
experiences are a normal part of life. Yet
many people believe that the adolescent
period is an unusually stormy and stress-
ful one, particularly with respect to the
parent-child relationship. Is such conflict
actually prototypic of adolescence? Does
this developmental stage follow a univer-
sal, inevitable trajectory, regardless of
historical period or culture?
The word adolescence itself is hardly
new. It can be traced to the Latin ado-
lescere, which means “to grow into
maturity.” The term is especially salient,
however, for people of the twenty-first
century. One reason for its current
importance has to do with the ongoing
debate, both popular and scientific, over
the nature of the developments that
occur in this period.
According to psychologist G. Stanley
Hall, for instance, “Human development
everywhere included a period of sturm
und drang between childhood and adult-
hood”—that is, during adolescence
(quoted in Demos, 1986, p. 94). In turn,
anthropologist Margaret Mead designed
her classic study, Coming of Age in
Samoa, as a more or less direct refutation
of Hall’s theory of universal and inevitable
sturm und drang (storm and stress) in ado-
lescence. Mead’s view was that storm and
stress are culturally conditioned and,
indeed, quite specific to developmental
experiences in modern Europe and North
America.
Other anthropologists, too, have
“noticed an absence of special concern
for adolescence in pre-modern cultures

around the world. . . . [S]ociologists dis-
covered a similar pattern—i.e., less versus
more highlighting of adolescence—in
rural as contrasted with urban populations
even within the United States” (Demos,
1986, p. 94). A review of the history of the
adolescent period indicates that the pres-
ence and degree of storm and stress in ado-
lescence are indeed related to historical,
cultural, and subcultural variations.
For instance, teenage pregnancy—one
possible instance of a stressful event for
the adolescent—is not a universal or
inevitable phenomenon of adolescence.
Rather, the occurrence and rate of
teenage pregnancy are related to two his-
torical trends taking place in the United
States especially. One trend involves “a
decline in the capacity of parents and
their agents to direct the behaviors of
their adolescent children” (Modell, 1985,
p. 3); the other entails “a temporarily
enlarged capacity of adolescents them-
selves to construct and maintain a coher-
ent path to adulthood for themselves”
(Modell, 1985, p. 3).
In short, the characteristics attributed
to the adolescent period vary historically
and culturally. It is in this sense that we
can speak of the lore of adolescence.
Richard M. Lerner
See also Storm and Stress; Why Is There
an Adolescence?
References and further reading
Demos, John. 1986. Past, Present, and
Personal. New York: Oxford University
Press.
Hall, G. Stanley. 1904. Adolescence: Its
Psychology and Its Relations to
Physiology, Anthropology, Sociology,
Sex, Crime, Religion, and Education,
Vols. 1 and 2. New York: Appleton.
Lerner, Richard M. 1986. Concepts and
Theories of Human Development, 2nd
ed. New York: Random House.
——— In press. Adolescence: Develop-
ment, Diversity, Context, and
Love 411
Application. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice-Hall.
Mead, Margaret. 1928. Coming of Age in
Samoa: A Psychological Study of
Primitive Youth for Western
Civilization. New York: Morrow.
Modell, J. 1985. A Social History of
American Adolescents, 1945–1985.
Pittsburgh, PA: Carnegie Mellon
University Press.
Love
Love, as defined by Webster’s dictionary,
is “a powerful emotion felt for another
person manifesting itself in deep affec-
tion, devotion, or sexual desire.” Read
carefully, this definition implies that
there are several different forms of love
such as affection for one’s parents, devo-
tion to one’s child, and the sexual desire
one feels for and shares with an intimate
partner. As feelings of love are very sub-
jective to the individual, they cannot eas-
ily be defined or determined by an out-
side observer. Although love is usually a
shared experience between two people, it
can be felt for someone not directly
known to an individual, as when one is
infatuated with a musician or movie star
or feels respect and admiration for a
politician or religious leader. Conversely,
love for a known acquaintance may be
unrequited.
Although the forms of love may vary,
feelings of intimacy and one’s self-
definition—one’s “identity”—are con-
nected. Intimacy and identity influence
each other throughout the life span. As
advances in identity development allow
for greater intimacy, experiences with
greater intimacy lead to further identity
formation.
In most instances, the seeds of love
between parents and children are planted
and begin to be nourished at birth. Ide-
ally, this loving relationship is nurtured
412 Love
and continues to grow and prosper
throughout childhood. For much of child-
hood, the emotion of love is shared with
those closest to the children and those
most responsible for their sense of secu-
rity and happiness—typically, the chil-
dren’s parents and other primary care-
givers. As the children enter adolescence,
however, they begin to experience signif-
icant changes—changes characterized by
the very close relationship between phys-
ical and psychological development.
With the onset of these dramatic
changes, adolescents begin to redefine
and redistribute their expressions and
feelings of love.
Love for Family Members
and Close Friends
Feelings of Love in Early Adolescence.
The emotion of love, which at one time
was easily and naturally expressed and
shared with parents and family, becomes,
in adolescence, more complicated and
less clearly defined. As their physical,
social, and intellectual worlds change, so,
too, do adolescents’ definitions of love
and the objects of their affection. To most
adolescents, the family remains not only
the primary force shaping their social life
but also an important and significant
focus of love. Yet beginning in the early
teen years, the influence of peers
becomes increasingly strong. Although
parents retain their importance in the
lives of adolescents, they can no longer
provide all of the necessary support and
recognition needed for healthy identity
development. Young adolescents feel
both emotionally and cognitively com-
pelled to begin to disengage from the inti-
macy of the family, turning to peers and
new love interests as objects of the love
they once shared with parents and sib-
lings. With the beginning of sexual matu-
rity and the powerful emotions that
come with it, they attempt to redefine
more than just their body image and per-
sonality. At the same time, the definition
of love itself is expanded and redefined.
In middle childhood and early adoles-
cence, males and females tend to interact
predominantly with members of their
own sex. The intimacies shared between
same-sexed friends support identity
development at a time of rapid changes in
both body and mind. In this phase of life,
conversation and the sharing of emotions
are not as important as doing things
together. Young teens feel an emotional
connection and sense of inclusion that
comes from being part of a group.
Although to the adult eye this group men-
tality may seem immature, early adoles-
cents place great importance on their
group identity. Therefore, it is important
to recognize that the intimacy shared in
these early friendships can be quite criti-
cal in the forming of a healthy identity.
Feelings of Love in Middle Adolescence.
In middle adolescence, friendships, par-
ticularly female friendships, become
more defined by a close sharing of emo-
tions and mutual understandings. During
this phase of development the need for a
“best friend” or two is particularly
strong. Young teens are beginning to be
consciously aware not only that they are
changing but that they are changeable.
When attempting to determine what
kind of persons they are or want to be,
they find it helpful to have close friends
who can reflect an image of themselves
back to them. Given that these early
friendships are usually shared between
teens who are similar in both experience
and appearance, they enable the teens to
develop some sense of who they are; the

Although the forms of love may vary, feelings of intimacy and one’s identity are connected.
(Skjold Photographs)
intimate bonds that are formed offer the
social support necessary for the teens to
feel “normal.” These experiences prove
to the adolescents that their sense of
themselves is accurate and acceptable. It
is only through the sharing of experi-
ences and emotions that young teens are
able to realize that others see them as
they see themselves.
Feelings of Love in Late Adolescence. In
late adolescence, patterns of friendship
and expressions of love are once again
redefined. As teens begin to reach the end
of the pubertal maturation process and
have numerous social experiences that
entail adult roles and responsibilities,
adolescent identity becomes increasingly
more consistent and consolidated. One
Love 413
result is that the adolescents no longer
value and love their friends for their sim-
ilarity to themselves. Instead, friends are
now adored and respected for their
uniqueness—for their personal talents
and traits. These more mature friend-
ships generate an emotional closeness
based on mutual understanding and
appreciation.
Ultimately, this heightened and con-
stantly changing intimacy with peers
enables young teens to establish a more
mature relationship with their parents.
The entire process is a good example of
how identity and intimacy impact each
other throughout life. Reliance on peers
allows young teens to gradually and more
easily let go of their earlier dependencies
on their parents—a necessary step in
414 Love
healthy identity development. Parents
who recognize and support the impor-
tance of this shared love between adoles-
cent friends, and who are willing to let go
of some of the strong ties within the fam-
ily, find, in the end, that they have nur-
tured their own relationship with their
children. By “letting go” they enable
themselves and their children to reach a
new level of intimacy and love for each
other. When, and if, these friendships and
changing relationships with parents are
supported, so that intimacy is nurtured
and allowed to develop, adolescents ben-
efit. They learn the social skills of empa-
thy, responsibility, and prosocial behav-
ior, which in turn foster the interpersonal
experiences necessary for future shared
romantic relationships.
Romantic Love
It is not surprising to anyone who has
experienced feelings of romantic love
that the theme of “first love” is repeat-
edly played out in art, music, and litera-
ture. The first true experience of love can
be dramatic, even life changing. Typi-
cally, the experience of first love is
accompanied by intense and powerful
emotions, which stimulate changes in
the individual’s very sense of self. Most
adults report having been “in love” at
least once during their adolescence, and
yet little is known about adolescent love.
Cross-culturally, recollections of the
emotions and experiences of first love,
both heterosexual and homosexual, are
preeminent in memories of adolescence.
Although adults often downplay these
burgeoning emotions as passing fancies
and “puppy love,” feelings of love are
very real to the teenager, and deeply felt.
These teenage emotions of felt love for
another are quite important for healthy
development and identity formation. As
such, they should not be dismissed as
trivial or treated lightly by parents.
Feelings of Romantic Love in Early Ado-
lescence. Much like love for parents and
friends, romantic love tends to change
throughout the adolescent period. It is
during early adolescence that crushes
begin to develop. Although the feelings
attached to a crush are intensely felt by
the young teen, they can easily wane and
be replaced by strong emotions directed
to another object of affection. Again,
although crushes may seem ephemeral to
the adult witness, they should not be
minimized.
The object of a crush is usually older
than—and unobtainable to—the teen, and
possesses attributes that are attractive to
or lacking in the teen. Often crushes
develop as young teens begin to disengage
from their parents and seek out replace-
ments for the affection they once shared
with their parents. Research on the sub-
ject has found that females tend to have
more crushes then males—apparently
because females are more willing and able
to acknowledge their emotions and phys-
ical responses as romantic attraction.
Although the objects of crushes can con-
sume a young teen’s thoughts, it is not
always important that the affection be
acknowledged or returned.
For many gay and lesbian teens,
romantic attraction for someone of the
same sex is a new and overwhelming
feeling. These teens have to deal with
their own emotions and determine what
such emotions mean to their developing
identities. In addition, they must con-
front, often for the first time, the biases
and prejudices that homosexuals experi-
ence in our society. All too often, gay and

lesbian teens feel compelled to repress or
deny the crushes that they develop for
someone of their own gender. Whereas
for most heterosexuals a crush is dis-
cussed by girls with their girlfriends and
by boys with their boyfriends, gay and
lesbian teens often keep such attractions
and emotions to themselves. Since
shared conversations about crushes influ-
ence identity development and offer
teens a sense of inclusion in the adoles-
cent experience, it is important to con-
sider the effect that this usually missed
opportunity has on gay and lesbian youth
development.
Feelings of Romantic Love in Middle
Adolescence. By midadolescence, the
segregation between the sexes begins to
decrease. Although males and females
continue to spend time in same-sexed
groupings within large environments
such as schools, they prefer to spend time
outside of school with someone for
whom they have romantic feelings.
When couples do begin to date or become
more intimate, their conversations
become more personal and mature than
was the case in earlier relationships,
when actual emotions were rarely con-
veyed. These early dating experiences
and the intimacies exchanged between
dating couples provide an additional
opportunity for adolescents to separate
from their parents, laying the ground-
work for later intimate relationships.
Among heterosexual teens in this age
group, it is common for females to be
interested in older boys and for boys to be
interested in younger girls.
Feelings of Romantic Love in Late Ado-
lescence. In late adolescence, dating
becomes more frequent and relationships
Love 415
become more open and emotionally recip-
rocal. During this phase, the open com-
munication typically shared between best
friends begins to characterize romantic
dating relationships. With acknowledg-
ment and support of their emotions from
loved ones, adolescents can more easily
accept themselves as important and valu-
able. These love relationships have a bet-
ter chance of enduring than earlier roman-
tic encounters, due to the mutual
acceptance and respect they engender.
Indeed, such relationships enable teens to
come to terms with their identities and to
feel content with who they are and might
become in the future.
Elizabeth Dowling
See also Dating; Dating Infidelity; Emo-
tions; Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and
Sexual-Minority Youth; Puberty:
Pyschological and Social Changes; Sex-
ual Behavior; Sexuality, Emotional
Aspects of; Social Development; Transi-
tion to Young Adulthood
References and further reading
Erikson, Erik. 1985. Childhood and
Society. New York: Norton.
Guerney, Louise, and Joyce Arthur. 1984.
Adolescent Social Relationships. In
Experiencing Adolescents: A
Sourcebook for Parents, Teachers, and
Teens. Edited by Richard M. Lerner and
N. Galambos. New York: Teachers
College Press.
Hill, Craig, Judith Blakemore, and Patrick
Drumm. 1997. Mutual and Unrequited
Love in Adolescence and Young
Adulthood. Vol. 4, Personal
Relationships. New York: Cambridge
University Press.
Kulish, Nancy. 1998. First Loves and
Prime Adventures: Adolescent
Expressions in Adult Analyses. Vol. 72,
Psychoanalytic Quarterly. New York:
Psychoanalytic Quarterly Press.
Sroufe, Alan, Robert Cooper, and Ganic
DeHart, eds. 1996. Child Development:
Its Nature and Course. New York:
McGraw-Hill.
 M
Maternal Employment:
Historical Changes
A revolutionary increase in mothers’ labor
force participation has occurred since the
Great Depression of the 1930s. As of 1940,
many mothers were potentially available
for work, and mothers’ work had become
the only major avenue available for most
couples over age twenty-five seeking to
maintain, improve, or regain their relative
social and economic status compared to
other families. After 1940, not only did the
economic demands on married women
increase, but work also held a greater
attraction. As a result, the proportion of
adolescents with a mother in the paid
labor force exploded from less then 10 per-
cent in 1940 to 70 percent in 1999 (Her-
nandez, 1993). The most important conse-
quence of this transformation in the
family economy has been the greatly
increased economic resources available to
adolescents during the last half of the
twentieth century.
Adolescents, and younger children as
well, experienced an explosion in their
mothers’ employment after the Great
Depression. In 1940, only 10 percent of
adolescents (twelve to seventeen years
old) lived in families without one parent
in the home (usually the mother) who was
not in the paid labor force, but this
increased by 9 to 12 percentage points
during each of the next five decades, and
417
by 1988 two-thirds (66 percent) of adoles-
cents lived in homes where the coresident
parents were both in the labor force. By
1999, 78 percent of adolescents lived in a
home where the coresident parents were
employed, and 70 percent had mothers in
the labor force. Although younger chil-
dren have been somewhat less likely than
adolescents to live in homes where the
parents were employed, they, too, have
experienced enormous increases. For
example, among children aged zero to five
the proportion with working parents
jumped from 8 percent in 1940 to 51 per-
cent in 1988, and then further to 68 per-
cent in 1999. Thus, between 1940 and
1998, the average proportion with parents
in the home who worked increased by
about 12 percentage points per decade for
adolescents and about 10 percentage
points per decade for young children ages
zero to five (Hernandez, 1993, p. 152).
What caused this revolutionary increase
in mother’s labor force participation?
Much of the answer lies in other historic
changes in the family and economy.
Between the early Industrial Revolution
and about 1940, many parents had three
major avenues for maintaining, improving,
or regaining their relative economic stand-
ing compared with other families. First,
they could move off the farm and have the
husband work in comparatively well paid
jobs in the growing urban-industrial
418 Maternal Employment: Historical Changes
economy. Second, they could limit them-
selves to a smaller number of children,
compared to other families, so that avail-
able family income could be spread less
thinly. Third, they could increase their
educational attainments.
By 1940, however, only 23 percent of
Americans lived on farms, and 70 per-
cent of parents had only one or two
dependent children in the home (Her-
nandez, 1993, p. 392). Consequently, for
many parents, these two historical
avenues to improving their relative eco-
nomic standing had run their course.
Further, most persons achieve their ulti-
mate educational attainments by age
twenty-five, and additional schooling
beyond age twenty-five is often difficult
or impractical. With these avenues to
improving their family’s relative eco-
nomic status effectively closed for a large
majority of parents after age twenty-five,
a fourth major avenue to improving fam-
ily income emerged between 1940 and
1960, namely, paid work by wives and
mothers, because the traditional sources
of female nonfarm labor, that is, unmar-
ried women, were either stationary or
declining, while the demand for female
workers was increasing.
Meanwhile, mothers were becoming
increasingly available and well qualified
for work outside the home. By 1940, the
revolutionary increase in children’s
school enrollment had effectively released
mothers from personal childcare responsi-
bilities for a time period equivalent to
about two-thirds of the hours in an adult
workday for about two-thirds of a full-
time adult work-year, except for the few
years before children entered elementary
school. In addition, many women were
highly educated, since the educational
attainments of women and mothers had
increased along with those of men during
the preceding century. By 1940, young
women were more likely than young men
to graduate from high school, and they
were about two-thirds as likely to gradu-
ate from college (Hernandez, 1993, p. 392).
Paid work outside the home for moth-
ers was becoming increasingly attractive
in our competitive, consumption-ori-
ented society for another reason. Fami-
lies in which the husband’s income was
comparatively low could, by virtue of
the wife’s work, move economically
ahead of families in which the husband
had the same occupational status but
lacked a working wife. This placed fami-
lies with comparatively well paid hus-
bands at a disadvantage, making their
wives’ work more attractive. In addition,
with the historic rise in divorce, paid
work also became increasingly attractive
for mothers as a hedge against the possi-
ble economic disaster of losing most or
all of their husbands’ income through
divorce.
More immediate economic insecurity
and need, associated with father’s lack of
access to full-time employment, also
made mothers’ work attractive. In the
Great Depression year of 1940, 40 percent
of children lived with fathers who did not
work full-time year-round. This propor-
tion declined after the Great Depression,
but has continued at high levels. In 1950
and 1960, 29 to 32 percent of children
lived with fathers who did not work full-
time year-round. Even with the subse-
quent expansion in mother-only families
(with no father present in the home—
(Hernandez, 1993, p. 108), throughout the
half-century following the Great Depres-
sion, at least one-fifth of children lived
with fathers who, during any given year,
experienced part-time work or jobless-
ness. This has been a powerful incentive
for many mothers to work for pay. The
 Maternal Employment: Historical Changes
importance of sheer economic necessity
in fostering growth in mother’s employ-
ment is reflected in the following exam-
ple: In 1988, one of every eight American
children in two-parent families was
either living in official poverty despite
the mothers’ paid employment or would
have been living in official poverty if the
mother had not been employed (Hernan-
dez, 1993, p. 395).
The desire to improve their family’s
relative social and economic status is not,
of course, the only reason that wives and
mothers enter the labor force. Additional
reasons for mothers to work include the
personal nonfinancial rewards of the job
itself, the opportunity to be productively
involved with other adults, and the satis-
factions associated with having a career
in a high-prestige occupation. Nonethe-
less, for many mothers economic insecu-
rity and need provide a powerful incen-
tive to work for pay. Finally, all these
inducements for mothers to enter the
labor force after 1940 existed along with
the fact that at age twenty-five young
women still have a potential for about
forty years when they might work for pay
in the labor force.
As of 1999, only 22 percent of adoles-
cents living with their mothers had a
mother who had not been employed dur-
ing the past year; 46 percent lived with
mothers who were employed full-time
year-round; and 32 percent lived with
mothers employed part-time or part-year.
Among those living with their mothers,
white adolescents (81 percent) were
slightly more likely then black adoles-
cents (78 percent) to have an employed
mother, followed by Hispanic adolescents
(71 percent). But full-time year-round
maternal employment was most common
among black adolescents (53 percent), fol-
lowed by non-Hispanic white adolescents
419
(45 percent) and Hispanic adolescents (39
percent) (Hernandez, 2000).
Adolescents living with a mother but
no father in the home were more likely
than adolescents living with two parents
to have a mother who was employed at
least part-time part-year, at 80 percent
versus 74 percent, in 1999. Adolescents
living with their mother only were espe-
cially likely to have a mother who was
employed full-time year-round (53 per-
cent), compared to adolescents living
with two parents (43 percent). Among
adolescents living with two parents in
1999, the proportions with mothers who
had been employed during the past year
ranged from 80 percent for both whites
and blacks to 63 percent for Hispanics.
But full-time year-round maternal
employment for adolescents in two-par-
ent families was most common for blacks
(58 percent), followed by whites (42 per-
cent) and Hispanics (36 percent). Among
adolescents in mother-only families in
1999, 87 percent of whites had a mother
who had been employed during the year,
compared to 76 percent for blacks and 73
percent for Hispanics. Most of the differ-
ence in mother-only families is accounted
for by differences in full-time year-round
maternal employment, which stood at 60
percent for whites, 49 percent for blacks,
and 46 percent for Hispanics.
Donald J. Hernandez
See also Child-Rearing Styles; Chores;
Family Composition: Realities and
Myths; Grandparents: Intergenerational
Relationships; Mothers and Adoles-
cents; Parental Monitoring; Vocational
Development
References and further reading
Elder, Glen H., Jr. 1974. Children of the
Great Depression: Social Change in Life
Experience. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press.
420 Maternal Employment: Influences on Adolescents
Hernandez, Donald J. 1993. America’s
Children: Resources from Family,
Government, and the Economy. New
York: Russell Sage Foundation.
———. 2000. Calculated by author from
U.S. Census Bureau’s Current
Population Survey, March.
Oppenheimer, Valerie Kincade. 1970. The
Female Labor Force in the United
States. Population Monograph Series,
no. 5. Institute of International Studies.
Berkeley: University of California Press.
———. 1982. Work and the Family. New
York: Academic Press.
Maternal Employment:
Influences on Adolescents
The increase in the number of women in
the labor market that began after World
War II has been one of the most signifi-
cant economic and social trends in mod-
ern U.S. history. Not only is almost half
of the labor force women, but a large por-
tion of these working women are moth-
ers. Many mothers who work have
infants and preschool-aged children,
while other mothers wait until their chil-
dren begin school before entering or re-
entering the world of employment. The
increasing numbers of working mothers
illustrate that the idea of women in the
labor market is no longer the exception
to the rule, but, instead, is the norm for
the majority of families in America.
Women today choose to work for a
variety of reasons. Some women work
due to purely economic circumstances.
They simply must be employed to help
support their family, along with their
husband’s employment, for example, or
they may in fact be the sole breadwinner
and must work in order to support their
family entirely. Other women work for
more personal reasons, such as the self-
satisfaction and fulfillment that they get
from being in the workforce. Despite
their reason for being employed, many
women experience conflict over their
decision to work outside the home and
their roles as a wife and mother. They
may experience feelings of guilt and anx-
iety about leaving their child in the
hands of another caregiver. These feel-
ings can be heightened by the societal
pressure conveying the idea that a
mother “belongs” at home with her
child. It may be difficult to reconcile
these feelings and to balance both work
and family, but, nevertheless, the rewards
of having a satisfying job as well as a fam-
ily make it an attractive lifestyle for mil-
lions of women.
Given the numbers of women, and par-
ticularly mothers participating in the
workforce, parents, teachers, social sci-
entists, and policymakers alike have
become interested in the issue of how a
woman’s employment relates to her chil-
dren’s development, her relationship
with her spouse, and how maternal
employment affects the entire family.
Consequently, there has been a signifi-
cant amount of research done on this
topic over the past thirty years.
Much of the research that has been
conducted has focused on the impact
that maternal employment has on
infants. However, we are continuing to
learn more about how having an
employed mother affects adolescents as
well. Research that has examined adoles-
cents’ adjustment has been somewhat
conflicting, with many studies failing to
show significant differences between
children of employed and nonemployed
mothers on indices of cognitive, social,
and emotional development. However,
several patterns that have emerged across
some studies indicate that (1) daughters
of employed mothers have higher aca-
demic achievement, aspire to more non-
traditional career choices, and show
 Maternal Employment: Influences on Adolescents 421

greater occupational commitment, (2)

children from impoverished backgrounds
have higher scores on measures of both
cognitive and socioemotional develop-
ment when their mothers are employed,
and (3) both sons and daughters of
employed mothers have less traditional
sex role attitudes.
Scholars have suggested that differ-
ences found between working mothers
and nonworking mothers may not neces-
sarily be due to simply whether or not
the mother is employed. Differences in
family socioeconomic status, in parental
attitudes toward employment, in moth-
ers’ work and home stress, in fathers’
involvement in childcare and household
tasks, and in the number of children in
the home may all influence the family
environment and, consequently, chil-
dren’s adjustment. Researchers inter-
ested in examining this topic must
include other variables in the adoles-
Satisfied and happy mothers interact more
cent’s environment that may potentially
positively with their children whether the
effect his or her development when try- mother is employed or home full-time.
ing to decipher the relationship between (Richard T. Nowitz/Corbis)
maternal employment and adolescents’
outcomes.
For example, one related important
factor in adolescents’ development is
maternal role satisfaction, that is, how sider when evaluating the influence of
satisfied a mother is with her role (e.g., as maternal employment on adolescents’
a wife, as a mother, as an employee), development.
whether she is working or not. One study One common concern regarding moth-
demonstrated that both mothers and ers working has been that if mothers are
fathers reported more closeness with employed, they don’t have enough time
their adolescents when mothers had high to spend with their families. Despite the
levels of satisfaction with their employ- fact that employed mothers have less
ment status. High role satisfaction has total time with their children, there is
also been associated with higher aca- little research that demonstrates that
demic competence in adolescents regard- mothers who work give their children
less of whether their mothers were work- less attention than mothers who do not
ing or not. Thus, research has shown that work. In fact, working mothers may try
other factors, be they related to being to compensate for their time away from
employed or not, are important to con- home by spending more time in direct
422 Media
interactions with their children when
they are together. Overall, the most
important conclusion taken from the
research is that satisfied and happy moth-
ers interact more positively with their
children, and it is sensitive and warm
mothering that has the most significant
impact on children’s development and
well-being, whether their mother is
employed or home full-time.
Public Policy Implications
The escalating numbers of women in the
workforce has prompted government to
take action regarding the lack of family
policy in the United States. In 1993, the
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
was signed into law by President Clin-
ton. This law guarantees job security for
employees for a maximum of twelve
weeks, should they need to leave their
job due to the birth of a child or in the
case of a family medical emergency.
However, this leave is entirely unpaid,
meaning that even if parents have the
option of taking time off from their jobs,
they may not financially be able to afford
to do so. As illustrated by the FMLA, the
United States lags behind its industrial-
ized counterparts in terms of parental
leave policies. Until this act was passed
in 1993, the United States was the only
country out of seventy-five industrialized
nations that was without a government-
sponsored family policy that specified
some form of paid maternity benefits,
parental leave for parents, and subsidized
childcare.
Given the lack of national supports for
working women in our country, mothers
have been forced to negotiate leave and
time off from work by themselves, as
well as find and afford quality childcare
and after-school care for their children.
As the numbers of women participating
in the workforce continue to increase,
thereby escalating the numbers of chil-
dren who require out-of-home care, the
United States will be faced with increas-
ing pressures to provide flexible work
policies, and high-quality childcare and
after-school care for the numerous fami-
lies who need it.
Domini R. Castellino
See also Child-Rearing Styles; Chores;
Employment: Positive and Negative
Consequences; Family Composition:
Realities and Myths; Mothers and Ado-
lescents; Parental Monitoring; Single
Parenthood and Low Achievement;
Vocational Development
References and further reading
Furstenberg, F. F., and A. J. Cherlin. 1991.
Divided Families: What Happens to
Children When Parents Part.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press.
Grych, J. H., and F. D. Fincham. 1999.
“Children of Single Parents and
Divorce.” Pp. 321–341 in
Developmental Issues in the Clinical
Treatment of Children. Edited by W. K.
Silverman and T. H. Ollendick. Boston:
Allyn and Bacon.
Keidel, K. C. 1970. “Maternal
Employment and Ninth Grade
Achievement in Bismarck, North
Dakota.” Family Coordinator 19: 95–97.
Schmittroth, L., ed. 1994. Statistical
Record of Children. Detroit: Gale
Research.
Media
Media—including television, music,
movies, magazines, computer games, and
the Internet—are a pervasive part of
teens’ daily lives. The typical American
teen listens to music for about four to six
hours a day (Christenson and Roberts,
1998), and watches television for another
two to four hours (Roberts et al., 1999). In
the bedrooms of adolescents aged four-
teen to eighteen, two-thirds have a televi-

American adolescents are estimated to typically spend about eight hours per day using
media, either as a primary activity or as background to other activities. (Tony Arruza/Corbis)
sion and nearly 90 percent have a tape
player or CD player (Roberts et al., 1999).
Adolescents watch more movies than any
other segment of the population; over 50
percent of adolescents aged twelve to sev-
enteen go to at least one movie per month
(Greenberg, Brown, and Buerkel-Rothfuss,
1993). Over a third of high school juniors
and seniors claim daily magazine reading,
and three-fourths of adolescent girls read
at least one magazine regularly (Durham,
1998; Evans et al., 1991). Altogether it is
estimated that American adolescents typ-
ically spend about eight hours per day
using media, either as their primary activ-
ity or as background to other activities
(Roberts et al., 1999).
Media are used by teens for leisure and
fun and as a way of passing time when
Media 423
they are alone. However, there is a great
deal of concern, in our time, about the
potential negative effects that media
have on teens. Claims of negative effects
include television and aggressiveness,
computer games and aggressiveness, sex
in television and movies, the effects of
rap music, and girls’ magazines and gen-
der socialization.
Television and Aggressiveness
The question of whether television pro-
motes aggressiveness is an issue of partic-
ular importance with regard to teens,
because a high proportion of violent
crimes is committed by young males and
because the rate of violent crimes among
teens rose sharply in the United States
from 1960 to 1990, a period in which there
424 Media
was also an increase in the pervasiveness
of television. Unfortunately, most of the
studies on adolescents and television vio-
lence are correlational studies, which ask
adolescents about the television programs
they watch and about their aggressive
behavior. Correlational studies cannot
prove causality and merely support the
unremarkable conclusion that aggressive
adolescents prefer aggressive television
programs.
In an effort to address the question of
causality, numerous field studies have
focused on the effects of television on
adolescent aggression, in which adoles-
cents (usually boys) in a setting such as a
residential school or summer camp were
separated into two groups, and one group
was shown television or movies with
violent themes while the other viewed
television or movies with nonviolent
themes. However, the findings of these
studies are weak and inconsistent, and
overall they do not provide support for
the claim that viewing violent media
causes adolescents to be more aggressive
(Freedman, 1984; Strasburger, 1995).
Nevertheless, a few studies provide
support for the argument that watching
violent television causes violent behav-
ior. One intriguing study (Williams, 1986)
involved a natural experiment in which a
Canadian community (called “Notel” by
the researchers) was studied before and
after the introduction of television into
the community. Aggressive behavior
among children in Notel was compared to
the behavior of children in two compara-
ble communities, one with only one tele-
vision channel (“Unitel”) and one with
multiple channels (“Multitel”). In each
community, several ratings of aggressive-
ness were obtained, including teachers’
ratings, self-reports, and observers’ rat-
ings of children’s verbal and physical
aggressiveness. Aggressive behavior was
lower among children in Notel than
among children in Unitel or Multitel
when the study began, but increased sig-
nificantly among children in Notel after
television was introduced, so that Notel
children were equal in aggressive behav-
ior to their Unitel and Multitel peers two
years after the introduction of television.
However, the study involved children in
middle childhood rather than adoles-
cents, and it is difficult to say how the
adolescents of the community reacted.
Overall, research provides only tepid
support for the claim that watching vio-
lent television causes teens to behave
aggressively (Freedman, 1984). It is prob-
ably true that, for some adolescents,
watching television violence acts as a
model for their own aggressiveness (Stras-
burger, 1995). However, if watching vio-
lent television were a substantial con-
tributor to violence among teens, the
relationship would be stronger than it
has been in the many studies that have
been conducted by now.
Computer Games and Aggressiveness
In recent years computer video games
have become especially popular among
young adolescents, and especially among
boys. One survey of seventh and eighth
graders found that boys reported spend-
ing over four hours a week playing com-
puter games, and girls about two hours
(Funk, 1993).
Many of these computer games are in
the category of harmless entertainment.
A substantial proportion of the games
simply involve having a computerized
character jump from one platform to the
next; or sports simulations of baseball,
tennis, or hockey; or fantasies in which
the player can escape to other worlds and
take on new identities. However, com-

puter games such as Quake II and Doom
involve depictions of extreme violence. In
fact, the majority of teens’ favorite com-
puter games involve violence. Because
violent games have proven to be so popu-
lar, manufacturers have steadily increased
the levels of violence in computer games
over the past decade (Funk et al., 1999).
Does playing these games promote vio-
lence? Some notorious and widely publi-
cized cases indicate yes. For example, one
of the two boys who murdered twelve
students and a teacher in the massacre at
Columbine High School in 1999 named
the gun he used in the murders “Arlene,”
after a character in the gory Doom video
game.
However, only a handful of studies thus
far have examined the relationship
between video games and aggressiveness,
and the results of these studies are mixed
(Funk et al., 1999). It seems likely that
with computer games, as with other vio-
lent media, there is a wide range of indi-
vidual differences in responses, with
young people who are already at risk for
violent behavior—such as the Columbine
murderers—being most likely to be
affected by the games, as well as most
likely to be attracted to them (Funk et al.,
1999). However, with regard to computer
games specifically, there is not much evi-
dence to go on at this point. Because of
the growing popularity and growing levels
of violence in computer games, this will
be an area to watch for future research.
Sex in Television and Movies
Sex is second only to violence as a topic
of public concern with respect to the pos-
sible effects of television on adolescents.
A high proportion of prime-time televi-
sion shows contain sexual themes. What
sort of information about sexuality does
television present to adolescents?
Media 425
A study by Monique Ward (1995) pro-
vides a detailed examination of the sexual
content of the television shows most
often viewed by adolescents. Her analysis
found that both men and women were
often portrayed as having a “recreational”
orientation toward sex. Part of this recre-
ational orientation was that sexual rela-
tions were frequently portrayed as a com-
petition, a “battle of the sexes” in which
men and women discussed “scoring,”
cheating on partners, stealing partners,
and how to outmaneuver one another.
Another part of the recreational orienta-
tion was the view of sexual relations as
fun, a natural source of play and amuse-
ment that can be enjoyed without con-
cern over commitment or responsibility.
However—in contrast to the early days of
television when the word pregnant was
considered too racy to be mentioned and
even married characters slept in separate
beds—there were also occasional discus-
sions of contraception.
What sort of uses do adolescents make
of the portrayals of sexuality on televi-
sion? In television programs adolescents
learn cultural ideas about how male and
female roles differ in sexual interactions
and what is considered physically attrac-
tive in males and females. For adoles-
cents, who are just beginning to date, this
information may be eagerly received,
especially in a culture where there is little
in the way of explicit instruction in male
and female sexual roles. Of course, the
“information” they receive about sexual
scripts from television—the emphasis on
themes of sex as an arena for recreation
and competition—may not be the kind
most adults would consider desirable.
Television music videos also fre-
quently contain portrayals of sexuality.
However, few good studies investigating
adolescents’ responses to music videos
426 Media
have yet been conducted (Strasburger,
1995).
Movies (in theaters and on video) are
another medium where adolescents wit-
ness portrayals of sexual behavior.
Although adolescents spend less time
watching movies than they do watching
television, the movies they watch tend to
have more frequent and explicit portray-
als of sexuality than television shows do.
In one study by Greenberg and colleagues
(1993) that compared content in prime-
time television programs to content in R-
rated movies, the movies contained seven
times as many sexual acts or references
than the television programs did, and in
the movies sexual intercourse between
unmarried people was thirty-two times
more common than between married peo-
ple. Of course, adolescents under age
eighteen are not supposed to be able to see
R-rated movies (unless accompanied by
an adult), but Greenberg and colleagues
found that the majority of the fifteen- and
sixteen-year-olds they surveyed had seen
the most popular R-rated movies either in
the theater or on video.
Rap Music
Rap music (also known as “hip-hop”)
rose steadily in popularity among teens
during the 1990s, and now equals rock in
popularity (Roberts et al.,1999). Although
rap is especially popular among black
adolescents, white adolescents also com-
prise a substantial proportion of rap fans.
Not all rap is controversial. Some rap
performers enjoy a wide mainstream
audience for themes of love, romance,
and celebration. The controversy over rap
has focused on “gangsta rap” performers
such as Dr. Dre, Tupac Shakur, and
N.W.A. (Niggas with Attitude), and has
especially concerned sexual exploitation
of women and violence.
Gangsta rap has been criticized for pre-
senting images of women as objects of
contempt, deserving sexual exploitation
and even sexual assault. Women in con-
troversial rap songs are often referred to
as “hos” (whores) and “bitches,” and sex-
uality is frequently portrayed as a man’s
successful assertion of power over a
woman (Decker, 1994; Peterson-Lewis,
1991).
Violence is another common theme in
the lyrics of gangsta rap performers.
Their songs depict scenes such as drive-
by shootings, gang violence, and violent
confrontations with the police. The per-
formers of such songs, and their defend-
ers, have argued that their lyrics simply
reflect the grim realities of life for young
black people in America’s inner cities,
such as poverty, violence, and lack of
educational and occupational opportun-
ties (Decker, 1994). However, critics have
accused the performers of contributing to
the stereotype of young black men as
dangerous criminals.
What effects—if any—do rap lyrics
with themes of sexism and violence have
on teens? Unfortunately, although there
have been many academic speculations
about the uses of rap by adolescents, thus
far there are no studies that provide
research evidence on the topic. Perhaps
rap is used by some adolescents as an
expression of their frustration and anger
in the face of the difficult conditions they
live in. But does rap also reinforce and
perhaps magnify tendencies toward sex-
ism and violence? At this point, we lack
an informed answer to this question.
Girls’ Magazines and Gender
Socialization
Girls’ magazines have received criticism
for the messages they deliver to girls about
how they should look and act. Boys read

magazines, too, but their favorite maga-
zines—such as Sport, Gamepro, Hot Rod,
Popular Science—involve active recre-
ation and have not been controversial.
What sort of gender messages do ado-
lescent girls get when they read these
magazines? Several analyses have been
made of the content in girls’ magazines,
and they have reported highly similar
findings (e.g., Durham, 1998; Evans et al.,
1991). The analyses show that the maga-
zines relentlessly promote the gender
socialization of adolescent girls toward
the traditional female gender role. Physi-
cal appearance is stressed as being of ulti-
mate importance, and there is an intense
focus on how to be appealing to boys.
Fashion is the most common topic, fol-
lowed by beauty and health—but most of
the articles on “health” are about weight
reduction and control. Altogether, over
half the content focuses directly on phys-
ical appearance. But this percentage actu-
ally understates the focus on physical
appearance because it does not include
the advertisements. Typically, nearly half
the space in the magazines is devoted to
advertisements, and the ads are almost
exclusively for clothes, cosmetics, and
weight-loss programs.
In contrast to the plethora of articles
and advertisements on physical appear-
ance, there are few articles on political or
social issues. The main topic of “career”
articles is modeling. There are virtually
no articles on possible careers in busi-
ness, or the sciences, or law, or medicine,
or any other high-status profession in
which the mind would be valued more
than the body. Of course, there is little
doubt that the magazine publishers
would carry an abundance of articles on
social issues and professional careers if
they found they could sell more maga-
zines that way. They pack the magazines
Media 427
with articles and ads on how to enhance
physical attractiveness because that is
the content to which adolescent girls
respond most strongly.
Why? Perhaps because early adoles-
cence—the time when these magazines
are most popular—is a time of gender
intensification. Girls become acutely
aware when they reach adolescence that
others expect them to look like a girl is
supposed to look and act like a girl is sup-
posed to act—but how is a girl supposed
to look and act? These magazines prom-
ise to provide the answers. Wear this
kind of blouse, and this kind of skirt, and
style your hair like this, and wear this
kind of eye shadow and this kind of lip-
stick and this perfume, and be sure to
stay or get thin. The message to adoles-
cent girls is that if you buy the right prod-
ucts and strive to conform your appear-
ance to the ideal presented in the
magazines you will look and act like a
girl is supposed to look and act and you
will attract all the boys you want
(Durham, 1998; Evans et al., 1991).
Of course, not only gender intensifica-
tion is involved in the appeal of girls’
magazines but also culture. Girls respond
to their portrayal in the magazines as
appearance-obsessed slaves to love
because they have been taught through
the gender socialization of their culture to
see themselves that way, and by adoles-
cence they have learned that lesson well
(Durham, 1998).
Positive Uses of Media
Although controversial media receive the
bulk of the public attention, in fact most
of teens’ media use is noncontroversial
and can play a positive role in their lives.
Three positive uses of media for teens are
entertainment, identity formation, and
coping (Arnett, 1995).
428 Media
Adolescents and emerging adults, like
children and adults, often make use of
media simply for entertainment, as an
enjoyable part of their leisure lives.
Music is the most-used media form
among adolescents and emerging adults,
and listening to music often accompanies
young people’s leisure, from driving
around in a car to hanging out with
friends to secluding themselves in the
privacy of their bedrooms for contempla-
tion (Larson, 1995). This applies to music
videos, too—adolescents state that one of
their top motivations for watching music
videos is simply entertainment. Televi-
sion is used by many adolescents as a
way of diverting themselves from per-
sonal concerns with entertainment that
is passive, distracting, and undemanding
(Larson, 1995). Entertainment is clearly
one of the uses young people seek in
movies and magazines as well. Media are
used by young people toward the enter-
tainment purposes of fun, amusement,
and recreation.
One of the most important develop-
mental challenges of adolescence and
emerging adulthood is identity forma-
tion—the cultivation of a conception of
one’s values, abilities, and hopes for the
future. In cultures where media are avail-
able, media can provide materials that
young people use toward the construction
of an identity. Part of identity formation
is thinking about the kind of person you
would like to become, and in media ado-
lescents find ideal selves and feared
selves, to emulate and to avoid. The use
of media for this purpose is reflected in
the pictures and posters adolescents put
up in their rooms, which are often of
media stars from entertainment and
sports (Steele and Brown, 1995). After
their parents, media celebrities of various
kinds are mentioned most often by ado-
lescents when they are asked whom they
most admire. Media can also provide ado-
lescents with information that would
otherwise be unavailable to them, and
some of this information may be used
toward constructing an identity. For
example, adolescents may learn about dif-
ferent possible occupations in part by
watching television or reading magazines.
Young people use media to cope with
and dispel negative emotions. Several
studies indicate that “Listen to music”
and “Watch television” are the coping
strategies most commonly used by ado-
lescents when they are angry, anxious, or
unhappy (Arnett, 1995). Music may be
particularly important in this respect. Lar-
son (1995) reports that adolescents often
listen to music in the privacy of their bed-
rooms while pondering the themes of the
songs in relation to their own lives, as a
way of processing difficult emotions. In
the course of early adolescence, when
there is an increase in the amount of prob-
lems, conflict, and stresses at home, at
school, and with friends, there is also an
increase in time spent listening to music,
while time spent watching television
decreases.
New Media: The Internet
A new medium growing rapidly in popu-
larity among young people is the Internet.
In a 1998 survey by Consumers’ Research
Magazine, 79 percent of high school stu-
dents in the United States reported hav-
ing regular Internet access, compared to
just 13 percent of persons over age fifty.
Similar or even higher percentages are
reported for other Western countries, and
for Eastern countries such as Tiawan
(Anderson, 2000). Internet access for
young people in industrialized countries
is expected to become nearly universal in
the next decade, in part because schools

are increasingly becoming linked to the
Internet and encouraging students to use
it for finding information.
The Internet makes available literally
millions of different Web sites and infor-
mation sources, so the potential uses that
adolescents could make of the Internet
are almost limitless. Scholars have sug-
gested that young people’s uses of the
Internet are likely to include both bene-
fits and risks (Bremer and Rauch, 1998).
Benefits of Internet use for young people
include access to educational informa-
tion, access to health information (e.g.,
about sexual health), and the opportunity
to practice social interactions in “chat
rooms” and via e-mail. Risks include
exposure to pornographic material, sub-
stituting computer play for social inter-
actions, and being exposed to adults in
chat rooms who may try to exploit them
sexually. Because Internet use is rela-
tively new, little research has yet
explored how young people use it, but
research is sure to explore this topic in
the future.
Jeffrey Jensen Arnett
See also Appearance, Cultural Factors in;
Attractiveness, Physical; Computers;
Television; Violence
References and further reading
Anderson, Ronald E. 2000. “Youth and
Information Technology.” Unpublished
manuscript, University of Minnesota.
Arnett, Jeffrey J. 1995. “Adolescents’ Uses
of Media for Self-Socialization.” Journal
of Youth and Adolescence 24: 519–533.
Bremer, Jennifer, and Paula K. Rauch.
1998. “Children and Computers: Risks
and Benefits.” Journal of the American
Academy of Child and Adolescent
Psychiatry 37: 559–560.
Christenson, Peter G., and Donald F.
Roberts. 1998. It’s Not Only Rock and
Roll: Popular Music in the Lives of
Adolescents. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton
Press.
Media 429
Decker, Jeffrey L. 1994. “The State of Rap:
Time and Place in Hip Hop
Nationalism.” Pp. 99–112 in
Microphone Fiends: Youth Music and
Youth Culture. Edited by A. Ross and
Tricia Rose. New York: Routledge.
Durham, M. G. 1998. “Dilemmas of
Desire: Representations of Sexuality in
Two Teen Magazines.” Youth and
Society 29: 369–389.
Evans, E. D., J. Rutberg, C. Sather, and C.
Turner. 1991. “Content Analysis of
Contemporary Teen Magazines for
Adolescent Females.” Youth and
Society 23: 99–120.
Freedman, Jonathan L. 1984. “Effects of
Television Violence on Aggressiveness.”
Psychological Bulletin 96: 227–246.
Funk, Jeanne B. 1993. “Reevaluating the
Impact of Video Games.” Clinical
Pediatrics 32: 86–90.
Funk, Jeanne B., Geysa Flores, Debra D.
Buchman, and Julie N. Germann. 1999.
“Rating Electronic Video Games:
Violence Is in the Eye of the Beholder.”
Youth and Society 30: 283–312.
Greenberg, Bradley S., Jane D. Brown, and
Nancy Buerkel-Rothfuss. 1993. Media,
Sex, and the Adolescent. Cresskill, NJ:
Hampton Press.
Larson, Reed. 1995. “Secrets in the
Bedroom: Adolescents’ Private Use of
Media.” Journal of Youth and
Adolescence 24: 535–550.
Peterson-Lewis, Sonja. 1991. “A Feminist
Analysis of the Defenses of Obscene
Rap Lyrics.” Black Sacred Music: A
Journal of Theomusicology 5: 68–80.
Roberts, Donald F., Ulla G. Foehr, Victoria
J. Rideout, and Mollyann Brodie. 1999.
Kids and Media @ the New Millennium.
Menlo Park, CA: Henry J. Kaiser
Foundation.
Steele, Jeanne R., and Jane D. Brown.
1995. “Adolescent Room Culture:
Studying Media in the Context of
Everyday Life.” Journal of Youth and
Adolescence 24: 551–576.
Strasburger, Victor C. 1995. Adolescents
and the Media: Medical and
Psychological Impact. Thousand Oaks,
CA: Sage Publications.
Ward, L. Monique. 1995. “Talking about
Sex: Common Themes about Sexuality
in the Prime-Time Television Programs
Children and Adolescents View Most.”
Journal of Youth and Adolescence 24:
595–616.
430 Memory
Williams, T. B., ed. 1986. The Impact of
Television: A Natural Experiment in
Three Communities. New York:
Academic Press.
Memory
Popular opinion does not hold memory
among the most exciting topics of psy-
chology. Rather, it is thought of as a use-
ful tool, nothing more. It is not even to be
compared with the more important topic
of intelligence, or the highly abstract and
thus mysterious self, or multifaceted per-
sonality, or with unstable, stubborn emo-
tions.
Intelligence and emotions are quite
complex concepts and quite different
from memory. The term memory refers
to millions and millions of bites of infor-
mation stored in a certain order in a small
box of the human brain and able to be
retrieved any time, with or without any
cues. It is daunting to think that the brain
has enough room for all of the informa-
tion contained in memory. Researchers
have discovered that there is great vari-
ability among the levels of performance
on memory tasks, even within just one
person. Memory is very selective: Some
things get memorized and some do not,
and sometimes either can happen in spite
of a person’s conscious efforts.
Memory ability depends on one’s level
of vigilance, many contextual factors, the
nature of information, and the person’s
emotional engagement, or lack of it, in
the material to be memorized. People
tend to better remember what makes
them feel something. Memory holds an
exclusive place among the faculties of
the human psyche—it is involved in
practically every process of one’s think-
ing, in practically every aspect of life.
While thinking, we use stored as well as
new information. While eating, or skat-
ing, or biking, or doing anything at all,
we use procedural memory that tells us
how an action must be performed. The
most independent creative processes,
such as writing or invention, still use a
good deal of stored information as build-
ing blocks of a new creation. The last but
not the least important characteristic of
memory that deserves attention is its
involvement in self, or personality, con-
struction. In fact, autobiographical mem-
ories are the material that our personali-
ties are built with, so without memory, a
person in a sense does not exist. Total
amnesia, or the loss of memory, demon-
strates quite explicitly that a loss of
memory is also a loss of self.
There is really no such thing as a gen-
eral memory. Memory is domain specific.
Also, there are different types of memory
even in one domain. The first and most
basic division is into the sensory register
(SR), a short-term store (STS), and a long-
term store (LTS). The sensory register
takes in everything, all new information.
The best demonstration of how it works
is iconic memory—if we close our eyes,
we will still see the afterimage of what
we just saw. But the information never
stays for more than a second in the SR.
After that, it enters the STS. And here,
the selection procedures begin, since the
storage space of STS is very limited. The
goal is to pass the information to the LTS
to be remembered for the rest of our lives,
or at least for a long enough period. As
already noted, sometimes this entering of
long-term memory happens sponta-
neously and quite effortlessly, but in
most cases different memory strategies
(such as rehearsal) are employed to keep
the information alive until it enters the
LTS. The long-term storage capacities are
thought to be unlimited, and it is amaz-

ing how quickly one is able to retrieve
just exactly what one needs from this
infinite storage house. Yet it is also true
that with time the unused information
from LTS can decay.
The information in LTS is not piled
randomly, but organized in various ways.
In terms of types, most researchers agree
to distinguish declarative and nondeclar-
ative memory. Nondeclarative memory
includes all unconscious knowledge of
skills (procedural memory), and condi-
tional factors such as an intuitive sense
of danger or fear when something previ-
ously experienced as dangerous or fearful
(even without an exact recollection of the
event) is encountered. Declarative mem-
ory is conscious, and it is composed of
two components, semantic (knowledge
of rules, concepts, ideas) and episodic
(knowledge of events) memory. Memory
is also domain specific, and the distinc-
tion, for instance, between the autobio-
graphical memory and the memory for
faces is rather significant. The latter is a
puzzle in itself, if one thinks about thou-
sands of faces that a human being can
recognize.
In recent decades most researchers
have agreed that the amount of informa-
tion retained depends mostly (though not
exclusively) on the speed of processing,
as well as on one’s level of expertise in a
given domain. In other words, if one
wants to memorize more in a particular
field (as already noted, the global mem-
ory is at best a theoretical generaliza-
tion), one may want to simply work hard
in this domain to increase one’s level of
expertise, which in turn will increase the
speed of processing new information,
which in turn will increase the memory
level.
Memory strategies can be taught and
are useful tools for enhancing memory
Memory 431
ability and for learning new information.
Strategies are potentially conscious,
deliberate, and controllable cognitive
plans that are adopted to enhance per-
formance in memory tasks. The most
important of them are rehearsal, organi-
zation, and elaboration.
The idea of rehearsal may be the old-
est, the simplest, and probably the most
effective for memorizing a poem or a list
of items. The frequency of rehearsal is
important, but it is not the only factor
that matters. The style of rehearsal plays
a role in how effective the strategy is.
Two rehearsal styles, passive and active
(or accumulative, when all the informa-
tion is repeated every time), are widely
used, with the latter definitely yielding
better results. However, even accumula-
tive rehearsal may not be good enough if
it is not used with other strategies.
Another strategy, organization, is used
every time one tries to organize the infor-
mation to be remembered according to a
certain system. Elaboration involves
associating items to be remembered with
something new, that was not presented
in the material, but should be invented
through imagination (for instance, if we
need to remember two colors, we may
find an object where they are found
together).
These are three of the basic memory
strategies, but they cannot always be
used with all types of memory. Thus, to
enhance one’s memory performance, it
may be useful to remember the main
principles of memory functioning and
then use them to select or maybe invent
the strategies that work better for a par-
ticular person in a particular memory
task.
• One remembers better what is
interesting, and it is not com-
432 Menarche
pletely out of one’s control to
make something interesting.
• One remembers better what one has
actively processed, upon which one
has acted in one way or another.
• One remembers better information
on a subject or in a field that is
already familiar; in short, knowl-
edge attracts knowledge.
Adolescents should be aware that they
can learn strategies to enhance menory
performance.
Janna Jilnina
See also Academic Achievement; Acade-
mic Self-Evaluation; Cognitive Devel-
opment; Homework; Intelligence Tests;
Thinking
References and further reading
Baddley, Alan D. 1986. Working Memory.
Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press.
Loftus, Elizabeth F. 1980. Memory,
Surprising and New Insights into How
We Remember and Why We Forget.
Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Weinert, Franz, and Marion Perlmutter,
eds. 1988. Memory Development:
Universal Changes and Individual
Differences. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Menarche
Menarche, which means “first menstrual
period,” is a late event during physical
pubertal development. It is most likely to
occur when a girl has reached near-adult
levels of breast and pubic hair growth. In
general, menarche entails at least three
days of vaginal bleeding. (Spotting or bleed-
ing for fewer than three days is not consid-
ered menarche.) This bleeding usually
rarely occurs in the early stages of puberty
when the lining of the uterus is not thick
enough to cause a regular amount of flow.
However, it can also be a result of trauma
such as rape or, in very rare instances, due
to tumors in the vagina or uterus.
The age at which menarche occurs has
steadily declined over time. In 1880, the
average age at which menarche occurred
among American girls overall was
between 14.5 and 15 years. At present, by
contrast, menarche occurs among white
girls at 12.8 years, among black girls at
11.9 years, and among Puerto Rican girls
at 11.5 years (Clayman, 1994).
In fact, the normal range for menarche
in the United States is now between ten
and fourteen years of age. Onset before
age ten or after age fourteen is an indica-
tion of possible abnormal development;
in such cases, a physician should be con-
sulted. Causes for absence of menarche
include late development (which tends to
run in families and can be considered
normal), absence of the ovaries or uterus,
imbalance of the hormones involved in
the menstrual cycle, and pregnancy.
Excessive exercise (especially among
gymnasts and long-distance runners) and
anorexia nervosa are commonly associ-
ated with delayed menarche.
Jordan W. Finkelstein
See also Body Fat, Changes in; Puberty:
Hormone Changes; Puberty: Physical
Changes; Puberty, Timing of; Rites of
Passage; Sex Education
References and further reading
Clayman, Charles B., ed. 1994. The
American Medical Association Family
Medical Guide, 3rd ed.. New York:
Random House, pp. 624, 756.
Menstrual Cycle
The menstrual cycle consists of four
major phases: the menstrual phase, dur-
ing which the lining of the uterus is dis-
carded as bleeding (days 1–5, a total of
five days); the follicular phase (days 6–13,
a total of eight days), during which an egg
(ovum) matures and the lining of the

uterus regrows after being shed during
the menstrual phase; ovulation (day 14, a
total of one day), during which the egg is
released from the ovary and begins its
travel to the fallopian tube; and, finally,
the luteal phase (days 15–28, a total of
fourteen days), during which the lining of
the uterus continues to develop so that it
can receive a fertilized egg. Contrary to
common belief, only about 10–15 percent
of cycles are twenty-eight days long. The
overall cycle length may vary from
twenty-one to forty-two days, but most
mature women’s cycles last between
twenty-five and thirty days. During the
first five years of menstruation, cycles
exhibit considerable variability in terms
of length and regularity. After that time,
however (especially following a preg-
nancy), cycles tend to be more stable.
Among women who ovulate regularly,
the length of the luteal phase is usually
fourteen days. In women with a thirty-
two-day cycle, menstrual bleeding will
occur on days 1–5 (five days), the follicu-
lar phase will last from days 6 to 16
(eleven days), ovulation will occur on
day 17 (one day), and the luteal phase
will occur on days 18–32 (fourteen days).
Alternatively, in women with a twenty-
four-day cycle, menstrual bleeding will
occur on days 1–5 (five days), the follicu-
lar phase will last from days 6 to 9 (four
days), ovulation will occur on day 10
(one day), and the luteal phase will occur
on days 11–24 (again, fourteen days).
This knowledge can be used to predict
ovulation in women whose cycles are
very regular—a procedure that, in turn,
can be used as a method of natural birth
control.
The menstrual cycle, which involves
coordination of hormone secretions from
the pituitary gland as well as the ovaries,
can be influenced by numerous factors
Menstrual Dysfunction 433
including nutritional status, stress, exer-
cise, and chronic disease. Many of these
factors cause periods to stop (amenorrhea)
or to become infrequent (oligomenor-
rhea). For example, the extreme exercise
associated with long-distance running and
gymnastics induces the body to revert to
the hormone pattern seen in prepubertal
children, stopping all menstruation.
Jordan W. Finkelstein
See also Body Fat, Changes in; Puberty:
Hormone Changes; Puberty: Physical
Changes; Puberty, Timing of
References and further reading
Namnoum, A., B. Koehler, and S. E.
Carpenter. 1994. “Abnormal Uterine
Bleeding in the Adolescent.” Adolescent
Medicine: State of the Art Reviews 5:
157–170.
Menstrual Dysfunction
Menstrual dysfunction (MD) refers to
abnormal uterine bleeding that is exces-
sive or unpatterned in amount, duration,
or frequency. A period that is not pre-
ceded by ovulation (known as an anovu-
latory period) is one of the most common
causes of MD. Fifty to 80 percent of
cycles in the first year of menstruation
are anovulatory, as are about 28 percent
of cycles by the fifth year. In short, many
girls experience MD during their first five
years of menstruation.
The absence of ovulation associated
with MD often results in incomplete
shedding of the lining of the uterus. This
lining then gets thicker and thicker with
each cycle, usually leading to very heavy
periods (menorrhagia) and/or irregular
periods (metrorrhagia). Eventually the
thickened lining reaches a critical level, at
which point the lining of the uterus begins
to be shed almost continually, resulting in
434 Menstruation
almost constant menstrual flow or very
heavy periods (menometrorrhagia).
Less common causes of menstrual dys-
function include pregnancy, which is
sometimes complicated by periods of
bleeding, and blood-clotting disorders,
which are seen in about 20 percent of
women. (In one study, among women
who presented with severe blood loss in
their first period, 45 percent had a clot-
ting disorder.) In addition, abnormal
bleeding can be caused by other problems
in the reproductive system, including
trauma, infection, foreign matter in the
vagina, congenital malformations, irrita-
tion of the cervix (the neck of the uterus),
polyps, misplaced lining of the uterus
outside of the uterus (endometriosis),
blood-vessel malformations, and tumors.
Malnutrition, as well as certain chronic
illnesses such as kidney disease, liver
failure, diabetes, and malnutrition, can
also cause MD.
Hormonal dysfunction is another pos-
sible cause of MD. For example, pituitary
problems associated with high prolactin
levels and milk production can lead to
lactation and, ultimately, to MD in a
nonpregnant teenager. Also problematic
are over- or underactive thyroids and
abnormalities of adrenal or ovary func-
tion. The most common form of the lat-
ter, called polycystic ovary syndrome,
involves infrequent periods. It is seen
most often among teenagers with obesity,
high blood pressure, increased growth of
body hair, and, sometimes, diabetes.
In some instances, hormonal medica-
tions, anticoagulants (blood thinners),
and medications to prevent seizures have
also been known to cause MD. Accurate
diagnostic procedures are needed to rule
out these and other such causes.
Jordan W. Finkelstein
See also Anemia; Body Fat, Changes in;
Contraception; Eating Problems; Health
Promotion; Health Services for Adoles-
cents; Nutrition; Puberty: Hormone
Changes; Puberty: Physical Changes;
Puberty, Timing of; Sex Education
References and further reading
Berkow, Robert B., ed. 1997. The Merck
Manual of Medical Information: Home
Edition. Whitehouse Station, NJ: Merck
Research Laboratories.
Clayman, Charles B., ed. 1994. The
American Medical Association Family
Medical Guide, 3rd ed. New York:
Random House.
Menstruation
During menstruation, the lining of the
uterus is shed because a pregnancy has
not occurred during the previous men-
strual cycle. The majority of blood loss
occurs during the first three days of the
cycle, and the usual amount of blood lost
is about one ounce. Loss of more than
three ounces is considered abnormal and
may cause anemia.
Two weeks prior to menstruation, there
are high levels of estrogen and proges-
terone in the blood. Menstruation occurs
when the concentration of these hor-
mones decreases. In other words, men-
struation is the result of withdrawal of
hormones that would otherwise allow the
lining of the uterus (the endometrium) to
be maintained.
Menstrual bleeding stops when the
concentration of estrogen begins to rise at
the beginning of a new menstrual cycle.
This rising level of estrogen not only
increases the ability of blood to clot but
also stimulates the lining to grow again.
The most common problem during
menstruation is abdominal pain from
menstrual cramps (dysmenorrhea). Over-
all, between 30 and 50 percent of women
experience this problem (Sanfilippo and
Hertwick, 1998). About 30 percent of

The most common problem during menstruation is abdominal pain from menstrual cramps
(dysmenorrhea). (Skjold Photographs)
women present with dysmenorrhea in
the first six months after menarche (first
period), and it is the leading cause of
short-term school absence among adoles-
cent girls. Dysmenorrhea is caused by
the increased production of hormones
called prostaglandins, which induce con-
tractions of the uterus and are experi-
enced as cramping.
Some antiprostaglandin medications
(such as ibuprofen and other nonsteroidal
anti-inflammatory drugs) can decrease
the symptoms of dysmenorrhea. When-
ever possible, these medications should
be started two or three days prior to the
expected start of bleeding and then con-
tinued for three days after bleeding has
commenced. They should be taken at the
proper dose and around the clock rather
Menstruation 435
than only when pain occurs. Oral contra-
ceptives may also reduce or eliminate the
symptoms of dysmenorrhea, given that
cramping occurs only during cycles in
which ovulation occurs and these contra-
ceptives inhibit ovulation. Of course,
among sexually active adolescents, oral
contraceptives provide the additional
benefit of preventing pregnancy.
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is
another common problem associated
with menstruation. Its symptoms include
fluid retention, bloating, breast tender-
ness, headaches, irritability, fatigue, anx-
iety, hostility, and depression. Many
women also experience cravings for cer-
tain foods or drinks. PMS is usually worst
in girls who also have dysmenorrhea.
Several treatments are reported to be
436 Mental Retardation, Siblings with
effective, including changes in diet, exer-
cise, hormones, diuretics (water pills),
vitamins, and drugs that affect behavior.
The usual duration of the menstrual
cycle ranges from twenty-one to forty-
two days, and bleeding generally lasts for
fewer than seven days. Women with
menstruation occurring outside these
limits should consider medical evalua-
tion. Prolonged, irregular, and frequent
menstruation is generally related to
abnormal ovarian function, the most
common cause of which is failure to ovu-
late. This condition is most often seen in
women who have just started menstruat-
ing. Between 55 and 82 percent of men-
strual cycles in the first two years after
menarche are anovulatory (i.e., ovulation
does not occur) (Sanfilippo and Hertwick,
1998). In the second through fourth years
after menarche, 30–55 percent of women
do not ovulate; in the fourth and fifth
years, the range is 0–20 percent. Other
causes of prolonged, irregular, frequent
bleeding include disorders of blood clot-
ting, certain medications, hormonal dis-
orders, and certain sexually transmitted
diseases—all of which should be evalu-
ated in all women with this problem.
Treatment of the most common form
of abnormal bleeding (due to lack of ovu-
lation) is accomplished by using the hor-
mones involved in the normal menstrual
cycle—specifically, by using oral contra-
ceptives. Other forms of hormone
replacement are also available, but they
are not as convenient as oral contracep-
tives. In addition, specific treatments are
available for causes of this problem other
than lack of ovulation.
Women with absent periods fall into
two categories. Those who have breast
and sexual hair development but who
have not experienced menstruation by
the age of sixteen years, or those who
have no breast or sexual hair develop-
ment and no periods by the age of thir-
teen years, have primary amenorrhea.
Fewer than 0.1 percent of women have
this problem. The most common causes
are hormonal disorders and absence of
the ovaries or uterus. Women who have
periods at intervals of more than three
months have secondary amenorrhea, a
problem experienced by about 0.7 per-
cent of women (Sanfilippo and Hertwick,
1998). The most common causes include
hormonal disorders, certain medications,
substantial changes in weight, stress, and
excessive exercise. Both groups need
medical evaluation. Administration of
hormones such as oral contraceptives
can induce periods in those individuals
who have hormonal abnormalities
involving the ovaries but no other identi-
fiable causes. Specific treatments are
appropriate for those persons whose dis-
orders have been specifically identified.
Jordan W. Finkelstein
See also Body Fat, Changes in; Puberty:
Hormone Changes; Puberty: Physical
Changes; Sex Education; Sports and
Adolescents
References and further reading
Berk, Laura. 1999. Infants, Children, and
Adolescents. Needham Heights, MA:
Allyn and Bacon.
Sanfilippo, J. S., and S. P. Hertwick. 1998.
“Physiology of Menstruation and
Menstrual Disorders.” Pp. 990–1017 in
Comprehensive Adolescent Health
Care. Edited by S. B. Friedman, M.
Fisher, S. K. Schoenberg, E. M.
Adlerman, and E. Mosby. New York:
Random House.
Mental Retardation, Siblings with
Millions of adolescents in the United
States have a brother or sister with men-
tal retardation or some other type of

developmental disability. Mental retarda-
tion is a lifelong condition that is charac-
terized by problems with adaptive behav-
ior and by significant limitations in
intellectual functioning. It can be caused
by a variety of genetic, metabolic, and
environmental conditions. Although
many persons with mental retardation
achieve a measure of independence as
adults, most live with the support of
their families throughout their lives.
Although mothers and fathers of persons
with mental retardation bear the major
responsibility for ensuring needed care,
siblings in the family face many unique
and lifelong challenges. This entry ex-
plores the experiences and concerns of
being an adolescent with “a difference in
the family” (Featherstone, 1980).
Of all human relationships, the sibling
relationship is the longest in duration,
and as such, it goes through many
changes over the life course. When one of
the siblings in a family has mental retar-
dation, a cascade of issues is confronted
by the nondisabled sibling(s), issues that
have been well described by siblings, par-
ents, clinicians, and researchers. These
include:
• Ongoing need for information
about their sibling’s disability (its
cause, manifestations, future
course, and the like)
• Feelings of isolation, because they
might not have access to others in
similar situations and/or because
they are being excluded from dis-
cussions with service providers and
even family members
• Guilt feelings about having caused
the disability or being spared the
condition
• Resentment of the extra time par-
ents devote to the sibling with
Mental Retardation, Siblings with 437
mental retardation and of parental
overprotectiveness or indulgence of
the brother or sister with mental
retardation
• Perceived pressure to achieve in
academics, athletics, or social situ-
ations
• Increased caregiving requirements,
particularly from nondisabled sis-
ters
• Concerns over their own future
role as potential caregivers for their
brother or sister with mental retar-
dation
Adolescence can be a particularly diffi-
cult time for all individuals, and some of
the challenges of sibling relationships
during adolescence are magnified when a
nondisabled person has a brother or sister
with mental retardation. There are also
unique issues faced by siblings of persons
with mental retardation during adoles-
cence that may set them apart from their
friends who do not have the same family
situation. Using knowledge gained from
over a dozen years of studies of families
of persons with mental retardation,
including research on siblings’ lives, this
entry highlights the personal, social, and
familial impacts of having a brother or
sister with mental retardation. It also
includes some of the advice that adult
siblings of persons with mental retarda-
tion have offered to teenagers, and it con-
cludes with a list of resources that may
be useful to adolescents with a brother or
sister with mental retardation.
Having a brother or sister with mental
retardation used to be considered a fam-
ily tragedy. One of the biggest worries
was that parents would need to spend so
much time caring for the child with men-
tal retardation that their other children
would feel neglected. It was also assumed
438 Mental Retardation, Siblings with
that sisters of children with mental retar-
dation would be thrust prematurely into
a caretaking role to help out their moth-
ers and would not be able to develop
independent lives as an adolescent. To
some extent, even today, these attitudes
about what it means to have a child with
mental retardation still exist in the gen-
eral public. However, studies of siblings
of persons with mental retardation reveal
a much more complex and generally pos-
itive picture.
Most adult siblings of persons with
mental retardation, in looking back on
their childhood and adolescence, say that
their experiences were “mostly posi-
tive”—they feel deep love for their
brother or sister with mental retardation,
and they learned valuable lessons about
appreciating people’s differences, about
tolerance and patience, about accepting
situations that cannot be changed, and
about the value of each individual. Many
say that their families have been stronger
and more loving because they have a
member with mental retardation. As one
sibling put it, “There are much worse
things that can happen to a family, so
look for your blessings.” From their per-
spective as adults, however, many sib-
lings point to their adolescent years as a
time when new difficulties arose and
when their emotional relationship to
their brother or sister with mental retar-
dation underwent strains that had not
been as evident during their earlier child-
hood years. We describe some of these
strains below.
Unique Challenges during Adolescence
There are several unique challenges that
adolescents who have a brother or sister
with mental retardation face. First,
nondisabled adolescents often worry
about what their future role will be
regarding the care and support of the
brother or sister with mental retardation.
It is often during adolescence that sib-
lings, and particularly sisters, of persons
with mental retardation start to antici-
pate how their adult lives will be affected
by the reality that their brother or sister
with mental retardation will need ongo-
ing support. About 25 percent of siblings
anticipate living with their brother or sis-
ter during adulthood and about half
expect to be their brother or sister’s legal
guardian (Krauss et al., 1996). Many do
not know what their role will be, but
knowing that their brother or sister will
have lifetime needs for family support
can weigh heavily on the minds of ado-
lescents who are also thinking about
their own futures. Indeed, over half of the
siblings we’ve studied said that their own
plans for the future were affected by their
having a sibling with mental retardation.
The areas in which the greatest impacts
were noted included their feelings about
themselves, their plans for their future,
where they expected to live as adults, and
their choices of romantic partners.
Second, adult siblings often described
adolescence as a time when they experi-
enced much more embarrassment about
having a disabled sibling and resentment
of their responsibilities toward him or
her. The behavioral oddities or problems
of the brother or sister with mental retar-
dation were more stigmatizing, which
resulted in the nondisabled adolescents
seeking to avoid going out in public with
their brother or sister. While most adoles-
cents cringe at being seen with their par-
ents and family in public, the added issue
of having a brother or sister who has atyp-
ical behaviors and skills can be particu-
larly painful. The push toward conform-
ity, toward being accepted by one’s peer
group, often makes differences less cher-

ished during adolescence. One sibling
commented, “When I was younger, I was
proud of the attention my brother
brought our family, but as I entered ado-
lescence, I didn’t want to be different.”
Another noted, “My friends from grade
school accepted my brother, but as I went
to junior high, it was more difficult to
have new friends over. They didn’t under-
stand and were afraid. The few places we
did go (like to the zoo), people really
stared at my brother.”
Third, nondisabled adolescents must
cope with changes in their feelings
toward their brother or sister with men-
tal retardation; their feelings may get
more complicated, and they may feel
emotionally distant during adolescence
in comparison to early childhood. Most
adolescents renegotiate their family rela-
tionships during the teen years as they
struggle toward greater personal inde-
pendence and autonomy. Many adult sib-
lings of persons with mental retardation,
however, described a wild flux of emo-
tions about their brother or sister that
stood in contrast to their earlier child-
hood memories of less stormy, more
accepting relationships. As one sibling
put it, “Through grade school, I felt he
was more like another ordinary brother
but as I went through high school, I went
through all sorts of stages—extreme
embarrassment, extreme protectiveness,
disgust, as well as love and compassion.”
Advice from Adult Siblings of
Persons with Mental Retardation
to Adolescents
In the course of their research, Krauss
and her colleagues asked adult siblings of
persons with mental retardation what
advice they would give to teenagers in
their situation. The most common coun-
sel was to treat the brother or sister with
Mental Retardation, Siblings with 439
mental retardation as a “normal” person,
to encourage his/her potential, and to
give lots of love and attention. Others
mentioned the need to access commu-
nity services, both for oneself (such as
sibling support groups) and for one’s sib-
ling with mental retardation. Many also
advised patience and having frequent
contact with the brother or sister.
Many encouraged a high level of
involvement by brothers and sisters with
their sibling with mental retardation.
One wrote, “Encourage your sibling’s
independence as much as possible, for
there will be a time when parents will
not be there to support your brother or
sister. You must have a mutual respect
for his/her ideas and thoughts.”
Others advised that acceptance of the
brother or sister with mental retardation
was critically important. “Probably my
strongest advice would be to accept the
problem the brother or sister has and
then try and treat the person as simply a
person with a type of problem that can
possibly be an experience that will make
you a more sensitive individual.”
Another strong sentiment was to view
the situation as a family issue and to
work closely with parents regarding care-
taking decisions. One wrote, “Make sure
you maintain open communication with
your family about your needs and your
sibling’s needs. Remember that your par-
ents have a big responsibility caring for
your sibling—relieve them sometime and
give them some time off. It’s okay to
think about alternatives to living at
home and talking about it with parents.”
Another wrote, “Encourage your parents
now to plan for the future and find some
kind of independent placement for your
sibling that will not impact on your life.”
Others encouraged teenagers to partic-
ipate in peer support groups. One said,
440 Mentoring and Youth Development
“Take advantage of educational and peer
support groups. I did not have this oppor-
tunity.” And many encouraged teenagers
to just enjoy their adolescence. One
wrote, “This too shall pass. The teenage
hormones conspire to make the most
self-assured child a monster of insecurity.
Conformity is impossible if your family
is different. It is a good thing to develop
some coping skills early in life.”
Resources for Siblings of Persons
with Mental Retardation
Many communities offer sibling peer sup-
port groups through the local Arc (Associ-
ation for Retarded Citizens—www.
thearc.org). There are also national and
international efforts to increase the oppor-
tunities for siblings of persons with men-
tal retardation to meet personally or elec-
tronically (via the Internet) to share
concerns, ideas, and understanding. The
Sibling Support Project, directed by Don-
ald Meyer at the Children’s Hospital and
Regional Medical Center in Seattle, Wash-
ington, has a Web site that posts useful
information for siblings of all ages
(www.chmc.org/departmt/sibsupp). There
is also a list server for siblings (www.
chmc.org/departmt/sibsupp/SendMail1.
asp). The Family Village (www.
familyvillage.wisc.edu) is a Web site for
family members of people with disabili-
ties, containing a wealth of information
about the causes of different kinds of dis-
abilities and describing strategies families
have found to be helpful in responding to
a variety of challenging situations. In addi-
tion, a variety of written materials, some
listed in the reference list, may be particu-
larly helpful to adolescents with a brother
or sister with mental retardation.
Marty Wyngaarden Krauss
Marsha Mailick Seltzer
See also Cognitive Development; Learn-
ing Disabilities; Learning Styles and
Accommodations; Sibling Differences;
Sibling Relationships; Teasing
References and further reading
Featherstone, Helen. 1980. A Difference in
the Family. New York: Basic Books.
Kaufman, Sandra Z. 1999. Retarded Isn’t
Stupid, Mom! Baltimore, MD: Paul H.
Brookes.
Krauss, Marty W., Marsha M. Seltzer,
Rachel Gordon, and Donna H.
Friedman. 1996. “Binding Ties: The
Roles of Adult Siblings of Persons with
Mental Retardation.” Mental
Retardation 34, no. 2: 83–93.
McHugh, Mary. 1999. Special Siblings:
Growing Up with Someone with a
Disability. New York: Hyperion.
The research on which this entry is based
was funded by the National Institute on
Aging (Grant No. R01 AG08768) and by
the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., Foundation
and was administratively supported by
the Starr Center on Mental Retardation,
Heller School, Brandeis University, and
the Waisman Center at the University
of Wisconsin.
Mentoring and Youth
Development
Mentoring programs for youth involve a
structured one-to-one relationship or
partnership that focuses on the needs of
the mentored participant. However, to be
effective in helping young people develop,
a mentor and a mentoring program must
do more than simply pair an adult with a
young person.
“One to One,” the National Mentoring
Partnership, has described several ele-
ments of effective practice in youth men-
toring programs (National Mentoring
Working Group, 1991). In line with its
mission—to increase the availability of
responsible personal and economic men-
toring for America’s children—One to

One convened a volunteer subgroup of
organizations with substantial experi-
ence in the conduct of mentoring pro-
grams for young people (e.g., Big Broth-
ers/Big Sisters of America, Baltimore
Mentoring Institute, the National Black
Child Development Institute, the
National Urban League, the Enterprise
Institute, and Campus Partners in Learn-
ing/Campus Compact). This subgroup
was called the National Mentoring
Working Group. This working group
developed a brochure called Elements of
Effective Practice that specified the fea-
tures mentoring programs need to have if
they are to provide effective mentoring to
young people. The group noted that a
responsible mentoring program fosters
caring and supportive relationships,
encourages individuals to develop to
their fullest potential, helps an individ-
ual develop his own vision for the future,
and represents a strategy to develop
active community partnerships.
Moreover, the National Mentoring
Working Group of One to One specified
also that the conduct of a mentoring pro-
gram in a responsible manner involves
the following elements: regular, consis-
tent contact between the mentor and the
participant; support by the family or
guardian of the participant; an estab-
lished organization of oversight; written
administrative and program procedures;
and written eligibility requirements for
program participants.
One to One notes that research pro-
vides evidence that mentoring facilitates
the experience by youth of relationships
marked by mutual caring, accountability,
and trust. A mentoring relationship pro-
vides youth with the resources to avoid
behavioral risks and problems and facili-
tates the development among youth of a
healthy and productive life.
Mentoring and Youth Development 441
The scholarship of Jean Rhodes and her
colleagues provides considerable evidence
that mentoring programs having the pro-
gram characteristics specified by One to
One can indeed effectively promote the
positive development of youth. For exam-
ple, among pregnant and parenting
African American adolescents, the sup-
port of a natural mentor lowers depres-
sion and increases optimism, career activ-
ities, and beliefs about opportunity (Klaw
and Rhodes, 1995; Rhodes, Ebert, and Fis-
cher, 1992). Similarly, Latina adolescent
mothers with natural mentors have lower
levels of depression and anxiety, are more
satisfied with their support resources, and
are more able to cope effectively with
relationship problems (Rhodes, Con-
treras, and Mangelsdorf, 1994). Moreover,
only 20 percent of urban adolescent girls
with mentors continue to show sexual-
and school-related risk behaviors (Rhodes
and Davis, 1996).
Urban youth involved in Big Brother/
Big Sister mentor relationships for a year
or longer show the largest number of
improvements. However, mentoring
appears to work best when it is extended
for specific lengths of time, and, in turn,
some people profit more from mentoring
than do others. For example, among
youth who are in mentoring relationships
that terminate earlier, progressively
fewer positive effects occur, and adoles-
cents who are in relationships that termi-
nate after a very short period of time
show deterioration in their behavior.
Older adolescents, adolescents referred
for having experienced sustained emo-
tional, sexual, or physical abuse, married
volunteers aged twenty-six to thirty
years, and volunteers with low incomes
are most likely to be in relationships that
end early (Grossman and Rhodes, in
press).
442 Middle Schools
Moreover, particular levels of mentor-
ing seem most effective. That is, among
ten- to sixteen-year-old youth involved
in Big Brother/Big Sister programs, men-
toring relationships that involve moder-
ate levels of both support and structure
are associated with improvements in
parent and peer relationships, in per-
sonal development, and in academic
performance (Langhout et al., 2000).
These positive effects of mentoring rela-
tionships on academic performance are
mediated primarily through improve-
ments in parent-child relationships and
are associated as well with reductions in
unexcused absences and improvements
in academic perceived competence
(Rhodes, Grossman, and Resch, in
press).
Finally, there is evidence that mentor-
ing programs can be effective with youth
in difficult family circumstances. For
instance, among foster-care youth
involved in Big Brother/Big Sister pro-
grams, mentoring relationships are asso-
ciated with improved social skills,
greater trust and comfort in social inter-
actions, stable peer relationships, proso-
cial behavior, and self-esteem (Rhodes,
Haight, and Briggs, 1999).
Richard M. Lerner
See also Academic Achievement; Appren-
ticeships; Career Development; Cogni-
tive Development; College; School,
Functions of; Vocational Development
References and further reading
Grossman, Jean B., and Jean E. Rhodes. In
press. “The Test of Time: Predictors and
Effects of Duration in Youth Mentoring
Relationships.” American Journal of
Community Psychology.
Klaw, Elena L., and Jean E. Rhodes. 1995.
“Mentor Relationships and the Career
Development of Pregnant and Parenting
African-American Teenagers.”
Psychology of Women Quarterly 19:
551–562.
Langhout, Regina E., Lori N. Osborne,
Jean B. Grossman, and Jean E. Rhodes.
2000. An Exploratory Study of
Volunteer Mentoring: Toward a
Typology of Relationships. Unpublished
manuscript.
National Mentoring Working Group. 1991.
Elements of Effective Practice.
Washington, DC: United Way of
America and One to One/The National
Mentoring Partnership.
Rhodes, Jean E., and Anita A. Davis. 1996.
“Supportive Ties between Nonparent
Adults and Urban Adolescent Girls.”
Pp. 213–225 in Urban Girls: Resisting
Stereotypes, Creating Identities. Edited
by Bonnie J. R. Leadbeater and Niobe
Way. New York: New York University
Press.
Rhodes, Jean E., Josefina M. Contreras, and
Sarah C. Mangelsdorf. 1994. “Natural
Mentor Relationships among Latina
Adolescent Mothers: Psychological
Adjustment, Moderating Processes, and
the Role of Early Parental Acceptance.”
American Journal of Community
Psychology 22: 211–227.
Rhodes, Jean E., Lori Ebert, and Karla
Fischer. 1992. “Natural Mentors: An
Overlooked Resource in the Social
Networks of Young, African-American
Mothers.” American Journal of
Community Psychology 20: 445–461.
Rhodes, Jean E., Jean B. Grossman, and
Nancy L. Resch. In press. “Agents of
Change: Pathways through Which
Mentoring Relationships Influence
Adolescents’ Academic Adjustment.”
Child Development.
Rhodes, Jean E., Wendy L. Haight, and
Ernestine C. Briggs. 1999. The Influence
of Mentoring on the Peer Relationships
of Foster Youth in Relative and Non-
Relative Care. Journal of Research on
Adolescence 9: 185–201.
Middle Schools
Middle school generally encompasses
grades 5–8 or 6–8. These middle grades
can be situated in one of two settings: as
part of a kindergarten through eighth

Middle school students possess many newly emerging developmental abilities and needs.
(Skjold Photographs)
grade (K through 8) setting or as a separate
and distinct school setting. In the last ten
to fifteen years, the number of middle
schools in the United States has risen
nearly 50 percent, whereas the number of
junior high schools (usually grades 7–8 or
7–9) has declined by nearly 40 percent.
One important issue regarding middle
schools as separate and distinct school
settings is the actual middle school expe-
rience for ten- to fourteen-year-olds.
As part of the educational reform
movement, middle schools have drawn a
great deal of attention in the last few
years for three interrelated reasons: (1)
because the period of early adolescence is
viewed by psychologists and educators as
a significant time for development at sev-
Middle Schools 443
eral levels simultaneously (physically,
socially, emotionally, and cognitively);
(2) because the organization, structure,
and curriculum of traditional middle
schools do not tend to fit well with the
developmental needs and abilities of
early adolescents; and (3) because more
than 88 percent of public school students
enter a new school when they begin the
middle grades, and many of these stu-
dents experience difficulty making the
transition from elementary school to
middle school, as demonstrated by
decreased motivation, self-esteem, and
academic achievement.
Middle school students possess many
newly emerging developmental abilities
and needs. For example, ten- to fourteen-
444 Middle Schools
year-olds begin to demonstrate an in-
creased desire for autonomy (i.e., for self-
governing), stronger peer orientation,
heightened self-consciousness, explo-
ration into identity issues, concern over
heterosexual relationships, capacity for
abstract cognitive activity, and an interest
in opportunities that demonstrate higher-
order thinking and problem-solving skills.
The characteristics of the middle school
setting and the characteristics of the early
adolescent reflect what is referred to as a
developmental mismatch. In other words,
traditional middle school settings are not
suited to the needs and abilities of their
students.
Psychologists have identified seven key
developmental needs as characteristic of
early adolescence: positive social interac-
tion with adults and peers, structure and
clear limits, physical activity, creative
expression, competence and achieve-
ment, meaningful participation in family
and school, and community experiences
as opportunities for growing self-defini-
tion. Traditional middle schools, how-
ever, appear to lie in opposition to fulfill-
ment of these needs.
Three problems associated with middle
schools are school size, departmentaliza-
tion, and instructional style. First, stu-
dents often go from smaller neighborhood
elementary schools to larger middle
schools that draw students from several
different elementary schools. At a time
when adolescents are becoming capable of
and requiring greater intimacy and close-
ness with peers and adult role models, the
sudden change from a smaller neighbor-
hood school to a larger middle school can
foster alienation, isolation, anonymity,
and difficulties in communication and
intimacy. Some schools have emphasized
the role of homerooms and/or an advisory
system in an attempt to offset the isolat-
ing effects of a large school as well as to
foster the development of relationships
with peers and teachers.
Departmentalization poses a second
problem. Although students in elemen-
tary school tend to spend the better part
of their day with the same teacher and the
same group of students, departmentaliza-
tion forces students to switch from class-
room to classroom and from teacher to
teacher, thereby imposing a series of dis-
ruptions throughout the day that decrease
the number of opportunities for students
to develop closer relationships with oth-
ers. Allowing students to navigate such
switches as groups rather than as individ-
uals lessens this interference in their
communication and contact with peers.
The third problem, instructional style,
impedes three aspects of development
among adolescents: increased autonomy,
cognitive ability, and self-consciousness.
In the context of autonomy, researchers
have discovered that most middle school
teachers tend to exert more control over
student behavior, maintain stricter rules
and discipline, and allow less student
input in decision making than do most
elementary school teachers. This approach
decreases the likelihood of positive stu-
dent-teacher interactions, thus potentially
preventing the development of relation-
ships with much-needed supportive adult
role models. Moreover, student reactions
to seemingly unfair and punitive control
over the environment can range from act-
ing-out to losing interest altogether.
Whenever possible, the structure and
process of general classroom and school
management should respond to and foster
adolescents’ growing capacity for auton-
omy, responsibility, and critical thinking.
In terms of cognitive ability, adoles-
cents have reached a developmental stage
in which they are generally more capable

of logical and abstract thinking. They can
now formulate and test hypotheses or
ideas mentally; use more effective strate-
gies for studying and remembering class
material; and plan, monitor, and evaluate
the steps they must take in order to solve
a problem. Upon entering middle school,
many students encounter increased work
demands and stricter grading policies,
but not necessarily a demand for higher-
order thinking and problem-solving
skills. On the contrary, many find middle
school work less cognitively challenging
than what they experienced in the last
year or so of elementary school.
Finally, researchers have shown that
the middle school experience sometimes
results in increased self-consciousness as
well as decreased motivation in all but
the highest-performing students. One
explanation for this finding is that mid-
dle school classes tend to involve occa-
sions of public comparison in which
achievement is based on a competitive
rather than collaborative model of task
completion and academic success.
Although the physical and physiologi-
cal changes associated with adolescence
have remained fundamentally the same
for generations, the broader historical
context within which these changes are
played out is dramatically different than
before, highlighting the need for and
importance of an appropriate match
between students and middle schools.
Every day, early adolescents now con-
front pressures to engage in sex and to
use alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana. In
addition, many suffer from feelings of
depression, isolation, and alienation. For
example, at least one-third of students in
this age range report that they have con-
templated suicide.
The school plays a significant role in
the lives of young people: Development
Middle Schools 445
of educational programs that meet their
needs is vital to their future as healthy,
happy, and successful teenagers and
adults. Middle school programs and prac-
tices can meet the developmental needs
of early adolescents in a variety of ways.
By means of advisory programs, for exam-
ple, schools can provide students with
social and emotional support through
consistent contact with peers and adults
in small-group settings. Some researchers
claim that strong, small-group advisory
programs are helpful in reducing feelings
of isolation and anonymity. Urban
schools that serve high-risk students are
especially encouraged to implement such
programs.
Interdisciplinary teaching teams pro-
vide another means of meeting the needs
of middle school students. A typical
interdisciplinary team consists of four
teachers (usually in math, English, social
studies, and science, respectively) who
share the same group of students. This
approach is intended to meet the social,
emotional, and cognitive needs of stu-
dents. Ideally these four teachers meet
regularly to coordinate their lesson plans
in a way that enables students to make
connections between ideas across differ-
ent subjects or disciplines, ensures that
the material is sufficiently challenging,
allows the students to provide social and
professional support to one another, and
enables the teachers themselves to peri-
odically assess the students’ progress and
plan interventions. Of course, this
approach requires that teachers receive
training in team teaching and that school
schedules are sufficiently flexible to per-
mit regular team meetings.
Some schools have also created pro-
grams designed to ensure that the transi-
tion from elementary to middle school is
as smooth as possible. These programs
446 Middle Schools
generally consist of three activities: hav-
ing elementary school students visit
prospective middle schools, having
administrators of elementary and middle
schools meet, and having middle school
counselors or staff meet with elementary
school counselors or staff.
More generally, effective and develop-
mentally appropriate middle schools are
attuned to all levels of student develop-
ment: physical, social, emotional, and
cognitive. They help students explore
their sense of self, their aspirations, and
their concerns; they involve students in
setting goals, planning, and assessing
their own learning; they provide challeng-
ing content and appropriate teaching and
assessment techniques; they create an
environment where individual students
have the opportunity to experience them-
selves as successful; they ensure that
teachers and staff are accessible and sup-
portive and serve as positive role models;
they create a climate that stimulates stu-
dent exploration, curiosity, and creativity;
they provide a stable, safe environment in
which to learn; and, finally, they support
ongoing faculty development.
Middle schools are invited to integrate
these new practices into their programs.
But they are also advised to phase out
certain existing features. Examples
include curricula consisting of separate
subjects in which skills are taught and
tested in isolation from one another; stu-
dent assessments that do not take
progress into account along with content
mastery; tracking of students into rigid
ability groups; reliance upon lecturing,
rote learning, and drills; use of textbooks
and work sheets almost exclusively; and
low investment in ongoing faculty and
staff development.
The role of the middle school is a criti-
cal and demanding one; however, it con-
stitutes only one of two important social-
izing institutions in our society, the other
being the family. As early adolescents
develop a growing desire for independence
and privacy, it is no small task for parents
to remain involved in their children’s
lives, yet parents are one of the richest
resources available to schools, inasmuch
as they facilitate student achievement
and positive attitudes toward school.
Parental involvement tends to decrease as
children move through elementary and
middle school; however, the involvement
of parents in their children’s schooling
depends strongly on how the schools seek
to involve parents. This is especially true
among schools that serve students from
low-income, minority families.
Collaboration between parents and
schools can take many forms. First
among these is school-home communi-
cation. Even before the first day of mid-
dle school, parents should be fully
informed of the expectations, rules, and
procedures that students will encounter.
In particular, the parents need to see how
such practices differ from those imple-
mented in elementary school and to
understand the varied effects that new
demands and roles can have on students.
When parents are aware of these circum-
stances and their potential consequences,
they can be more supportive and under-
standing toward their children through-
out the adjustment period, which may
initially include a slight decline in
achievement, motivation, and positive
attitude toward school. Middle schools
have an obligation to keep parents
informed about the programs that are
available (academic or otherwise) as well
as about the students’ achievement,
progress, and general well-being. Com-
munication can take the form of letters,
telephone calls, conferences, and so on.

Of still greater importance is the timing
of such communication. Indeed, it
should be ongoing rather than restricted
solely to scheduled schoolwide report
card periods and parent conferences.
Active engagement in learning activi-
ties is another form of parental involve-
ment. Parents may not always be able to
directly help with homework assign-
ments, but they can certainly monitor
their children to ensure that they are
spending time doing homework and be
aware of the academic expectations
placed on their children as well as the
quality of their children’s response to
those demands. Teachers, in turn, can
integrate assignments that require stu-
dents to share and discuss with their par-
ents the skills and information they are
learning at school.
Yet another form of parental involve-
ment has to do with the role of parents in
school governance and decision making.
Parent associations and committees can
be instrumental in advancing general
schoolwide improvement, supporting
academic and extracurricular activities,
and handling concerns and problems
regarding school programs, quality of
school life, student behavior and atti-
tudes, and so on. Too often the prevailing
view is that teachers and principals take
care of what happens at school, whereas
parents take care of what happens at
home. But sustaining links between
school and home can be mutually
informative and supportive as well as
promote relationships based on trust and
respect.
The world of ten- to fourteen-year-olds
is filled with increasing newness and
complexity that can be both exciting and
distressing. However, if the middle
schools they attend are attuned to their
abilities and needs, and if they actively
Miscarriage 447
encourage and guide parental involve-
ment, these early adolescents can experi-
ence continuity, consistency, and a sense
of stability amid all the ongoing change
and increasing pressure confronting
them.
Imma De Stefanis
See also Conformity; Peer Groups; Peer
Pressure; Private Schools; School, Func-
tions of; School Transitions; Schools,
Single-Sex; Teachers
References and further reading
Eccles, Jacquelynne, Carol Midgley, Allan
Wigfield, and Christy M. Buchanan.
1993. “Development during
Adolescence: The Impact of Stage
Environment Fit on Young Adolescents’
Experiences in Schools and in
Families.” American Psychologist 48,
no. 2: 90–101.
Hollifield, John H. 1995. “Parent
Involvement in Middle Schools.”
Principal 74, no. 3: 14–16.
National Middle School Association. 1995.
This We Believe: Developmentally
Responsive Middle-Level Schools.
Columbus, OH: National Middle School
Association.
Scales, Peter C. 1991. A Portrait of Young
Adolescents in the 1990s: Implications
for Promoting Health Growth and
Development. Minneapolis: Search
Institute/Center for Early Adolescence.
Wigfield, Carol, and Jacquelynne Eccles.
1994. “Children’s Competence Beliefs,
Achievement Values, and General Self-
Esteem: Change across Elementary
School and Middle School.” Journal of
Early Adolescence 14, no. 2: 107–138.
Miscarriage
A miscarriage is sometimes called a
spontaneous abortion. It is the loss of a
fetus from natural causes before the
twentieth week of pregnancy (the average
duration of pregnancy is forty weeks).
About 85 percent of miscarriages occur
in the first twelve weeks of pregnancy
and about 20 percent of all pregnancies
448 Miscarriage
A miscarriage is the loss of a fetus from natural causes before the twentieth week of
pregnancy. (Alan Towse; Ecoscene/Corbis)
are miscarried (Berkow, 1997, p. 1150).
Sometimes an adolescent’s menstrual
period is late and then some bleeding
occurs. In some instances this is actually
a very early miscarriage.
The most common symptom of a mis-
carriage is vaginal bleeding. About 20
percent of all women who know they are
pregnant have some vaginal bleeding dur-
ing the early part of pregnancy. About
half the time, this results in miscarriage.
The rest of the time the bleeding stops
and the pregnancy continues. Abdominal
cramping may also occur because of con-
tractions of the uterus of the kind that
happen during labor (caused by the
release of hormones). These contractions
may result in a miscarriage—the expul-
sion of the fetus and placenta (afterbirth).
Many times an ultrasound of the fetus
is used to tell if the fetus is still alive.
Fetal death leads to miscarriage. In some
miscarriages the fetus and the afterbirth
may be completely discharged from the
uterus, in which case nothing further
need be done. If they are not discharged
or only incompletely discharged, then
the fetal parts or placenta that remain
must be removed. This is usually done
through the vagina by using suctioning of
the contents of the uterus of the kind
commonly done in an induced abortion.
The teenager rarely has to stay overnight
in a hospital for this procedure.
There is no effective medical treatment
to prevent a person who is pregnant and
bleeding or cramping from having a mis-
carriage. Bed rest is usually advised. Hor-

mone treatment (progesterone) has not
proved effective and in some instances
may be harmful to a fetus who survives
(since it can result in abnormal genital
development). Effective prevention meas-
ures include obtaining early prenatal
care, which most teenagers fail to do, and
using contraception (which prevents
pregnancy if used correctly). Prenatal care
among adolescents is commonly put off
until the third missed period or later,
which places both mother and fetus at
risk for complications of pregnancy,
including miscarriage. Adolescents who
delay prenatal care usually do so because
of denial or fear of confronting their par-
ents with the pregnancy. Some sex educa-
tion programs in schools provide infor-
mation to adolescents about where to
obtain care confidentially. Services at
family planning clinics are also available
to the adolescent, in most cases without
parental consent. Of course, the most
beneficial situation for the adolescent is
to confide in parents early so that appro-
priate steps for the care of the mother and
the fetus can be taken.
Other risk factors for miscarriage
include a history of previous miscarriage,
certain chronic diseases such as diabetes,
infectious diseases such as hepatitis, high
blood pressure, kidney disease, substance
abuse, and some immune disorders such
as lupus. Some women have problems
with their uterus, such as an underdevel-
oped uterus or a double uterus. In some
instances the cervix (the part of the
uterus that opens into the vagina) is
weak and allows the fetus to fall out of
the uterus. In some cases this weakness
can be treated. Most of the time, a mis-
carriage is the result of chromosome
abnormality of the fetus. The abnormal-
ity is so severe in these cases that the
fetus was not meant to survive.
Moral Development 449
A miscarriage usually results in signif-
icant depression, even if the pregnancy
was not planned. A miscarriage may sug-
gest that the adolescent is not competent
to bear a child, and this may be very
upsetting to a young woman. Some ado-
lescents wrongly feel that a miscarriage
might be their fault, especially if they did
not want to be pregnant. After a miscar-
riage, there is a slight increase in the risk
of having subsequent miscarriages, but
most women are able to have successful
pregnancies (Merck, 1997). Counseling is
essential for any young woman who has
experienced a miscarriage.
Jordan W. Finkelstein
See also Abortion; Coping; Counseling;
Sadness; Services for Adolescents
References and further reading
Berkow, Robert B., ed. 1997. The Merck
Manual of Medical Information: Home
Edition. Whitehouse Station, NJ: Merck
Research Laboratories.
Boston Women’s Health Collective. 1998.
Our Bodies, Ourselves for the New
Century. New York: Simon and
Schuster.
Clayman, Charles B., ed. 1994. The
American Medical Association Family
Medical Guide, 3rd ed. New York:
Random House.
Moral Development
Research in moral development has
focused primarily upon two relatively
simple questions: How do children
decide what is “fair” and what is “right,”
and Do children, adolescents, and adults
differ from one another in the way that
they make such judgments? Lawrence
Kohlberg’s theory of moral development
has thus far provided the most compre-
hensive response to such questions. His
theory suggests that the moral reasoning
of children is different in important
450 Moral Development
Adolescence is a period of changes in moral reasoning. (Skjold Photographs)
ways from the reasoning of adolescents
and adults, respectively. One of the
important reasons for such differences is
that children have not yet developed
some of the cognitive skills necessary for
more sophisticated reasoning. In other
words, since younger children tend to
have difficulty taking the perspective of
others while simultaneously appreciat-
ing the consequences of certain actions,
their moral judgments are limited and
tend to be based on less sophisticated
reasoning (Piaget, 1932, 1936; Kohlberg,
1969).
Kohlberg was heavily influenced by
Jean Piaget’s (1936) theory of cognitive
development and by his ideas regarding
moral development. Piaget’s theory of
cognitive development described how
children move from an egocentric stage
in which they cannot assume the per-
spectives of others to a stage in which
they are capable of more logical, flexible,
and organized thought. During this latter
stage, Piaget argued, children begin to be
able to focus on several aspects of a prob-
lem at once and to understand reversibil-
ity and reciprocity; and by around eleven
years of age, more abstract thought
processes emerge.
Piaget’s (1932) early work on children’s
moral judgment built upon his basic the-
ory of cognitive development. Specifi-
cally, Piaget suggested that children
move through two broad stages of moral
understanding: “heteronomous” moral-
ity, which involves respect for rules, and
“autonomous” morality, which involves
respect for the persons who make the
rules. In other words, children at earlier

stages of development submit to regula-
tion by others and to rules whose reason
is external to their understanding, but as
they mature their judgments come to be
based upon more internal principles.
Extending Piaget’s notion that individ-
ual moral reasoning becomes more
autonomous with maturity, Kohlberg
(1969) developed a six-stage model that
describes the development of moral rea-
soning through adolescence and into
adulthood. Kohlberg’s six moral stages
are grouped into three major levels: the
preconventional (Stages 1 and 2), the con-
ventional (Stages 3 and 4), and the post-
conventional (Stages 5 and 6). These
stages progress from a rather egocentric
morality to a more socially oriented one.
Those operating at the preconventional
level tend to judge the “goodness” of an
action on the basis of its consequences.
In other words, they view the “good”
action to be the one that enables them to
avoid punishment and to satisfy their
own needs (Kohlberg, 1969). This first
level primarily characterizes the moral
reasoning of children, although it also
applies to some adolescents and adult
criminal offenders.
During preadolescence, most individu-
als move into the conventional level of
moral reasoning, becoming less self-
interested and more concerned with con-
forming to the fixed rules of society. In
making moral judgments, the “conven-
tional” individual is guided by the notion
that the rules, expectations, and norms
of authority and of society should be
upheld. In the first stage of this level
(Stage 3), “good behavior” is equated
with that which pleases and is approved
by others, whereas the focus in the sec-
ond stage (Stage 4) shifts to what
Kohlberg described as a “law and order”
orientation. In this second stage, the
Moral Development 451
“right” behavior consists of doing one’s
duty, showing respect for authority, and
maintaining the given social order for its
own sake.
At Kohlberg’s highest level of moral
reasoning, the postconventional or prin-
cipled level, the individual comes to rec-
ognize that what is “moral” cannot
always be equated with what is legal or
socially accepted, and, indeed, that the
two often conflict. In the earlier stage of
this level (Stage 5), individuals accept
that a rigid adherence to the law is not
always best, and that the law should, in
some instances, be changed in the inter-
est of social utility. In simplest terms,
the philosophy of Stage 5 might be “the
greatest good for the greatest number.”
Finally, Stage 6 has been termed the stage
of universal ethical principles, inasmuch
as individuals at this stage make moral
judgments on the basis of self-chosen
ethical principles that they believe best
promote “universal justice.” Thus, the
person at Stage 6 focuses on broader,
more abstract principles such as univer-
sality, consistency, and the equality of
human rights in making moral judg-
ments and recognizes that the value of
the law lies in its ability to promote
higher principles. It follows, then, that in
cases where the law violates these higher
principles, the person at Stage 6 acts in
accordance with “principles” and rejects
the law. Research has found, however,
that most adults fail to reach this level,
remaining instead in either Stage 3 or
Stage 4 (Snarey, 1985).
Thus, Kohlberg’s stages, like Piaget’s,
assume that moral development pro-
gresses from judgments that equate con-
vention with morality to judgments that
view convention as subordinate to
higher moral principles. This progres-
sion is particularly apparent if one con-
452 Moral Development
siders Kohlberg’s levels of moral reason-
ing as three different types of relation-
ships between the self, on the one hand,
and society’s rules and expectations, on
the other. For example, those at the pre-
conventional level view rules and social
expectations as something external to
the self, to which they must adhere sim-
ply in order to avoid punishment. Those
at the conventional level, by contrast,
follow society’s rules and conventions
out of concern for the welfare of others
and out of loyalty to other people and/or
authority. And, finally, those at the post-
conventional or principled level differ-
entiate morality from the rules and
expectations of others, defining it in
terms of self-constructed principles that
are believed to best promote “universal
justice.”
Through a description of his teaching
experiences with a group of seventh
graders, Robert Kegan (1982) provides a
particularly good example not only of the
limitations of children’s moral reasoning
at the earliest stages but also of how such
limitations are tied to children’s cogni-
tive skills in much the same way that
Kohlberg’s theory suggests. Kegan de-
scribes having told his class a story in
which a group of children are choosing
sides for a baseball game. In this story, a
boy named “Marty” is always chosen
last and forced to play in the outfield.
This is humiliating for Marty, and, as
luck would have it, when the ball finally
does come his way, he misses it and costs
his side the game. Each time this hap-
pens, his teammates ridicule him and
leave him feeling very badly about him-
self. Then, a new kid appears one day,
and he is even more awkward than
Marty. When the sides are chosen for the
game, this new kid, not Marty, is chosen
last. Much the same thing happens to
this new kid: When the ball comes his
way, he misses. And when the game is
over, the teammates begin to ridicule
him just as they had ridiculed Marty—
except that Marty is the one who begins
and leads such teasing. When Kegan
(1982, p. 47) asked his twelve-year-old
students to describe the moral of this
story, their answers were largely as fol-
lows: “The story is saying that people
may be mean to you and push you down
and make you feel crummy and stuff, but
it’s saying things aren’t really all that bad
because eventually you’ll get your
chance to push someone else down and
then you’ll be on top.”
Kohlberg’s theory helps us to under-
stand both the immaturity and the sophis-
tication of such a response. Although its
immaturity is initially more striking to
the listener, the response does suggest the
beginnings of moral understanding
(Kegan, 1982). The children are clearly try-
ing to decide what is “fair,” and they are
basing their judgment on an understand-
ing of reciprocity. This capacity for reci-
procity is a developmental milestone, yet
the overall judgment of these children is
characteristic of Kohlberg’s conventional
level of moral reasoning because they are
unable to integrate their understanding of
reciprocity into an appreciation of the per-
spective of the “other.” These children
simply cannot yet take the viewpoints of
“Marty” and the “new kid” simultane-
ously. As a consequence, they fail to rec-
ognize that Marty, more than anyone,
should have understood how the new kid
felt and objected to such treatment.
In short, Kohlberg suggests that moral
development very closely mirrors cogni-
tive development. His theory explicitly
proposes that a basic shift in cognitive
structure is required if a person is to move
from one stage to another. Thus, each

stage presupposes the understanding
gained at previous stages and represents a
more advanced underlying thought struc-
ture. If children develop and change their
notion of what is just, they do so always
in the direction of Stage 2 to Stage 3,
never the reverse (Kegan, 1982). In other
words, children who reason at Stage 2
will prefer a Stage 3 solution to a given
conflict if it is explained to them in a way
they can understand (Kegan, 1982). How-
ever, children at Stage 3 already under-
stand the Stage 2 solution and do not pre-
fer it (Kegan, 1982; Rest, 1979). A
considerable body of research provides
evidence that individuals do move
through these stages in the order in which
Kohlberg suggests (Colby et al., 1983;
Walker and Taylor, 1991).
Cultural Differences in
Moral Development
Although Kohlberg initially claimed that
his proposed stages were “culturally uni-
versal,” psychologists have since discov-
ered that the rate and level of moral
development attained vary considerably
among distinct social groups. Cross-sec-
tional data from five societies (Kohlberg,
1969) as well as longitudinal data from
Turkey indicate that whereas children
throughout the world appear to pass
through Kohlberg’s earliest stages of
moral reasoning, those from isolated
peasant villages fail to reach his higher
stages. Similar findings apply to Western
society: Although only a minority of
adults from either class attain the “post-
conventional” level, middle-class adults
tend to attain higher levels than working-
class adults—a result that holds true
even when IQ and educational level are
held constant (Gibbs and Liebermann,
1983). A social class difference favoring
the middle class has also been found in a
Moral Development 453
study investigating the rate of children’s
progression through the stages (Gibbs
and Liebermann, 1983).
Two distinct reasons for such differ-
ences in moral development have been
set forth in the literature. First, the oppor-
tunities for social perspective taking and
dialogue vary across social classes and in
distinct cultures, and such variability
contributes to the differences in moral
reasoning noted. For example, Bindu
Parikh (1980) and Lawrence Walker and
John Taylor (1991) have found that the
disposition of parents to allow or encour-
age dialogue on value issues is one of the
clearest determinants of moral-stage
advancement in children. Their findings
suggest that mutuality of role taking
between parent and child facilitates the
development of the child’s higher moral
reasoning by providing the child with
more opportunities to take on the social
perspectives of others. Such research
strongly supports Kohlberg’s assertion
that individuals develop moral reasoning
through their “opportunities” for “role
taking,” and it is in providing such oppor-
tunities that parents influence the rate
and level of moral development attained
by the child. Indeed, Kohlberg (1969, p.
398) equates role taking with the ability
to communicate and take on the role of
the other, stating that “principles of jus-
tice are themselves essentially principles
of role-taking.”
An alternative explanation of the dif-
ferences noted in moral development
across social groups has been set forth by
cultural psychologists who suggest that
the cultural differences in moral devel-
opment noted in Kohlberg’s research
may be indicative of something more
than developmental delay (Miller, 1994;
Shweder, Mahapatra, and Miller, 1987).
That is, distinct cultural and socio-
454 Moral Development
economic groups may well adhere to
principles that are distinct from those
proposed by Kohlberg and, in turn, may
use moral reasoning that does not fit
with the structures that Kohlberg set
forth. Cultural psychologists have pro-
posed that children’s cognitive and moral
development is shaped by the everyday
practices of their cultural groups. Thus,
differences in moral development do not
reflect deficits within distinct communi-
ties so much as point to the problem that
comes with assuming that all children
“construct” their world in much the
same manner. In short, although Kohl-
berg’s stages of moral development may
be descriptive of upper-middle-class
Western individuals, they do not neces-
sarily reflect the moral development of
other social groups that prioritize and
teach distinct values to their children.
Gender Differences in
Moral Development
In addition to the cross-cultural differ-
ences in moral development evidenced by
research employing Kohlberg’s scale, a
gender discrepancy favoring men has been
noted in the literature (Gilligan, 1982; but
see also Brabeck, 1983, 1996). Some
researchers claim that women typically
fail to achieve Kohlberg’s higher stages,
and that their judgments generally fall
within Kohlberg’s Stage 3, which con-
ceives morality in interpersonal terms
and equates goodness with helping and
pleasing others. In response to this argu-
ment, Carol Gilligan asserts that the prob-
lem lies not in women but, rather, in the
scale that has been used to measure moral
development. Her suggestion is that
women have a different mode of thinking
about morality that is represented in-
adequately—indeed, misrepresented—by
Kohlberg’s theory (Gilligan, 1982).
Gilligan (1977, 1982) further argues
that a gender bias is inherent in Kohl-
berg’s “justice” orientation. Noting that
no females were even considered in the
research from which Kohlberg derived
his theory (Gilligan, 1982), Gilligan
points to the fact that Kohlberg’s six
stages of moral development were based
empirically on a study of eighty-four boys
whose development Kohlberg followed
for a period of over twenty years. In defin-
ing justice as the central feature of the
moral domain, then, Kohlberg fails to
account for women’s orientation toward
“care” and “responsibility to others.” As
Gilligan (1982) puts it, to understand
women’s development, one must move
away from a system that focuses exclu-
sively upon an “ethic of justice” to one
that incorporates an “ethic of care.”
In this context, Gilligan points to dif-
ferences in socialization between the
sexes and suggests that such distinctions
have important implications for moral
development, which Kohlberg has failed
to address. She stresses that whereas men
are socialized to value separation, auton-
omy, and natural rights, women are
taught the importance of attachment,
relationships, and responsibility. Her
argument is that if women conceptualize
moral problems as arising from conflict-
ing responsibilities rather than compet-
ing rights, they are inevitably misrepre-
sented by Kohlberg’s measure of moral
development, which holds the rights of
the individual above the responsibilities
that one has to another. In short, Gilligan
(1982) claims that what is actually a
problem in theory becomes a “problem
in women’s development.” Although
many studies have tested and refuted
Gilligan’s claim that Kohlberg’s approach
underestimates the moral maturity of
females (Brabeck, 1983; Walker and Tay-

lor, 1991), her argument raises an impor-
tant issue by pointing to the extent to
which Kohlberg prioritizes justice above
other values. Like the argument set forth
by cultural psychologists regarding cross-
cultural differences, Gilligan’s (1982)
work suggests that there may be qualita-
tively different but equally valid moral
codes that differ in important ways from
Kohlberg’s model. Thus, although
Kohlberg’s theory is the most influential
approach to moral development to date,
it may represent a culturally specific
rather than universal way of thinking.
This issue, a controversial one within the
literature on moral development, contin-
ues to generate considerable research.
Dita G. Andersson
See also Child-Rearing Styles; Cognitive
Development; Conflict and Stress; Con-
flict Resolution; Decision Making;
Identity; Political Development; Self
References and further reading
Brabeck, Mary. 1983. “Moral Judgment:
Theory and Research on Differences
between Males and Females.”
Developmental Review 3: 274–291.
———. 1996. “The Moral Self, Values,
and Circles of Belonging.” Pp. 145–165
in Women’s Ethnicities: Journeys
through Psychology. Edited by K.
Wyche and F. Crosby. Boulder, CO:
Westview Press.
Colby, Anne, Lawrence Kohlberg, John
Gibbs, and Marcus Liebermann. 1983.
“A Longitudinal Study of Moral
Judgment.” Monographs of the Society
for Research in Child Development 48
(issues 1–2, serial no. 200).
Gibbs, John, and Marcus Liebermann.
1983. “A Longitudinal Study of Moral
Judgment.” Monographs of the Society
for Research in Child Development 48:
1–124.
Gilligan, Carol. 1977. “In a Different
Voice: Women’s Conceptions of Self and
of Morality.” Harvard Educational
Review 47: 481–517.
———. 1982. In a Different Voice:
Psychological Theory and Women’s
Mothers and Adolescents 455
Development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press.
Kegan, Robert. 1982. The Evolving Self:
Problem and Process in Human
Development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press.
Kohlberg, Lawrence. 1969. “Stage and
Sequence: The Cognitive-
Developmental Approach to
Socialization.” Pp. 347–481 in
Handbook of Socialization Theory and
Research. Edited by D. Goslin. Chicago:
Rand McNally.
Miller, Joan. 1994. “Cultural Diversity in
the Morality of Caring: Individually
Oriented versus Duty-Based
Interpersonal Moral Codes.” Cross-
Cultural Research 28: 3–39.
Parikh, Bindu. 1980. “The Development of
Moral Judgment and Its Relation to
Family Environmental Factors in Indian
and American Families.” Child
Development 51: 1030–1039.
Piaget, Jean. 1932. The Moral Judgment of
the Child. Harmondsworth, UK:
Penguin Books. (Reprinted in 1965.)
———. 1936. The Origins of Intelligence
in Children. New York: International
Universities Press. (Reprinted in 1952.)
Rest, James. 1979. Development in
Judging Moral Issues. Minneapolis:
University of Minnesota Press.
Shweder, Richard, M. Mahapatra, and Joan
Miller. 1987. “Culture and Moral
Development in India and the United
States.” Pp. 1–90 in The Emergence of
Morality in Young Children. Edited by
Jerome Kagan and Sharon Lamb.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Snarey, John. 1985. “Cross-Cultural
Universality of Social-Moral
Development: A Critical Review of
Kohlbergian Research.” Psychological
Bulletin 97: 202–232.
Walker, Lawrence, and John Taylor. 1991.
“Family Interactions and the
Development of Moral Reasoning.”
Child Development 62: 264–283.
Mothers and Adolescents
The period of adolescence is one in which
significant changes in physiological, psy-
chological, and social aspects of develop-
ment occur. For instance, adolescents are
456 Mothers and Adolescents
For most adolescents, mothers (and fathers) remain important and positive figures in their
lives. (Skjold Photographs)
faced with the biological changes that
accompany puberty, new challenges
involving school transitions and achieve-
ment during middle and high school,
increasing independence from parents,
and, subsequently, changing adolescent-
parent relations. Indeed, various changes
in both the quantity and quality of the
adolescent-parent relationship—such as
the amount of time spent together, nego-
tiations regarding supervision, activities,
and decision making in general—affect
virtually all adolescents and their parents
during this developing period. For chil-
dren and their parents, adolescence can
be a time of both anxiety and excitement,

happiness and conflict, discovery and
bewilderment—a time of breaking away
from past childhood years and yet contin-
uing some childlike behaviors.
Because of these changes, a consider-
able amount of attention has been
directed to adolescent-parent relations
and to the influence of the family on
development during the adolescent
period. For example, research has shown
that families with adolescents are likely
to be less cohesive and more chaotic than
families with either younger or older
children. Moreover, adolescents today
tend to spend less time with their parents
than did adolescents in earlier years—
largely because youth are now more pres-
sured to achieve independence from par-
ents during this period. These gains in
autonomy can alter the adolescent-par-
ent relationship, often in ways that
heighten family conflict.
Much of the research on adolescent-
parent relationships focuses on adoles-
cents and mothers—in part, because
mothers still spend the most time with
their children, despite the fact that
increasing numbers of mothers are work-
ing outside the home.
Some studies have shown that,
throughout puberty, warmth and in-
volvement between mothers and sons
decline and conflict increases—that is,
until the boys pass through puberty, after
which conflict decreases. Acting-out and
noncompliant behaviors also increase.
These tendencies are not evident among
pubertal girls, even though mothers
become less involved and monitor their
daughters’ behaviors less effectively as
they progress through puberty. Similar
results have been reported in other stud-
ies, indicating that pubertal development
is indeed associated with increased con-
flict and tension, less effective discipline
Mothers and Adolescents 457
and control, and decreased warmth and
involvement by parents.
Why do conflict and tension increase
between adolescents and their mothers
during this period? One possible explana-
tion points to the multiple life changes
that adolescents are undergoing and the
consequent adjustments that parents
must make.
Single Mothers
Given the 50 percent divorce rate in this
country, it is estimated that the majority
of all American youth born in the 1990s
will spend some amount of time in a sin-
gle-parent family before the age of six-
teen years (Furstenberg and Cherlin,
1991). In addition, approximately 25 per-
cent of American children are born to
nonmarried women (Grych and Fincham,
1999), resulting in a staggering number of
youth in single-parent families. In 1991,
almost 29 percent of all families in the
United States were single-parent fami-
lies, a sharp increase from only 9 percent
in 1960. The overwhelming majority of
all single-parent homes—approximately
90 percent—are homes without a father
(Schmittroth, 1994). Therefore, most
children in single-parent families are liv-
ing in homes where the mother is prima-
rily, if not solely, responsible for the over-
all well-being of the household. Single
mothers are faced with a host of chal-
lenges, including financial pressures and
adolescent supervision and discipline—
challenges that can be especially harsh if
the mothers lack access to support from
friends or family.
What is the impact for adolescents
growing up in a home without a father? It
is difficult to answer this question con-
cretely because of the many factors
involved in the adjustment of adoles-
cents to their fathers’ absence. One such
458 Mothers and Adolescents
factor may be the presence of a “father
figure” (e.g., an uncle, older brother, or
coach) in the adolescent’s life; another
may be the quality of the relationship
between the adolescent and his or her
mother; still another may have to do
with the reason for the father’s absence,
such as divorce or death. In general, how-
ever, research suggests that boys are
more likely than girls to have difficulty
when a father is not present: Compared
to girls in the same situation, they tend
to be more impulsive, to perform lower
in school, and to exhibit poorer relations
with their peers. It has been suggested
that father absence has a greater impact
on sons than on daughters because the
boys lack a same-sex role model with
whom to identify, making adjustment
more difficult for them.
The effects of father absence on girls
have been studied less, but one general
finding is that adolescent girls experience
anxiety and difficulty relating to males
when a father is not present in their lives.
Mother absence, on the other hand,
seems to have a more dramatic effect on
girls. Girls in father-custody families are
reported to be less feminine, less inde-
pendent, and more demanding than girls
whose mothers are present. It is critical
to remember, however, that even though
many factors affect the ways in which
adolescents adjust to the absence of a par-
ent, whether mother or father, the major-
ity of adolescents make a successful
adjustment to living in a single-parent
home.
Working Mothers
Partly as a consequence of the growing
number of single-mother families and,
therefore, of the greater role played by
single mothers in maintaining responsi-
bility for the financial well-being of the
family, the participation of women in the
U.S. workforce has increased consider-
ably. In 1997, women accounted for 46
percent of the workforce. Specifically, in
that year more than 78 percent of moth-
ers with children between the ages of six
and seventeen were employed. The num-
ber of women in the workforce is
expected to grow even further over the
next fifteen years.
Because of the increasing numbers of
mothers now working, a great deal of
research has taken up the question of how
mothers’ employment affects adolescents.
Many studies, for instance, have exam-
ined how working mothers influence
their adolescents’ career and educational
goals. Although some of these studies
conclude that the educational and career
aspirations of adolescents are not associ-
ated with having an employed mother,
many more investigations suggest the
contrary. For example, higher educational
aspirations have been found among col-
lege females with employed mothers than
among those with nonemployed mothers.
Among females attending college to pur-
sue traditionally male-dominated occupa-
tions, more had working mothers than did
those pursuing traditionally feminine
occupations. Daughters with working
mothers received higher grades in college
and more often aspired to work outside
the home. Adolescent females with
employed mothers have less-stereotyped
ideas regarding female roles and are more
willing to consider nontraditional roles
for themselves. And, finally, maternal
occupational level has been associated
with adolescent outcomes. For example,
ninth-grade adolescents whose mothers
work in professional-level occupations
tend to earn higher grade-point averages
than those whose mothers work in lower-
level occupations.

Mothers’ Education
Another important factor related to ado-
lescent development is mothers’ educa-
tion level. Higher maternal education is
associated with adolescent daughters’
higher educational aspirations, a greater
knowledge of occupations, more nontra-
ditional courses taken in high school, and
a greater likelihood of working during
high school. Both the sons and the daugh-
ters of mothers who have attained higher
levels of education are more likely to
attend and complete college. And higher
levels of maternal education are associ-
ated with higher occupational aspirations
among daughters.
Of course, many other factors can also
affect adolescent outcomes. For example,
family socioeconomic status, parental
attitudes toward employment, the degree
of work and home stress experienced by
mothers, fathers’ involvement in child-
care and household tasks, and the num-
ber of children in the home may influ-
ence the family environment and,
consequently, adolescents’ development.
Overall, however, the most important
conclusion is that satisfied and happy
mothers interact more positively with
their children than those who are not sat-
isfied. Indeed, sensitive and warm moth-
ering has the most significant impact on
children’s development and well-being.
Domini R. Castellino
See also Child-Rearing Styles; Family
Relations; Fathers and Adolescents;
Grandparents: Intergenerational Rela-
tionships; Maternal Employment: His-
torical Changes; Maternal Employment:
Influences on Adolescents; Parent-
Adolescent Relations; Parental Moni-
toring; Parenting Styles
References and further reading
Furstenberg, F. F., and A. J. Cherlin. 1991.
Divided Families: What Happens to
Motivation, Intrinsic 459
Children When Parents Part.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press.
Grych, J. H., and F. D. Fincham. 1999.
“Children of Single Parents and
Divorce.” Pp. 321–341 in
Developmental Issues in the Clinical
Treatment of Children. Edited by W. K.
Silverman and T. H. Ollendick. Boston:
Allyn and Bacon.
Keidel, K. C. 1970. “Maternal
Employment and Ninth Grade
Achievement in Bismarck, North
Dakota. Family Coordinator 19: 95–97.
Schmittroth, L., ed. 1994. Statistical
Record of Children. Detroit: Gale
Research.
Motivation, Intrinsic
Motivation concerns actions undertaken
toward particular goals. When individuals
are strongly motivated, they typically find
themselves enthusiastically pursuing cer-
tain activities. On the other hand, activi-
ties that are undertaken when individuals
have low motivation are generally more
difficult to participate in. Motivation to
succeed in school is of great importance in
adolescence. Adolescents’ future lives are
often strongly shaped by the choices made
during these years. For example, choosing
to complete high school and enter college
will produce a far greater range of opportu-
nities than failing to complete a high
school education. Because of the enor-
mous importance of decisions that young
people make during these years, motiva-
tion is of critical importance. Whereas
there are several types of motivation that
concern academic achievement, such as
developing a sense of self-worth, striving
to compete with a standard of excellence,
expecting and valuing certain goals and
activities, or understanding the causes of
one’s own successes or failures, intrinsic
motivation is particularly salient for stu-
dents’ academic success. Specifically,
460 Motivation, Intrinsic
Adolescents’ future lives are often strongly shaped by the choices made during their teenage
years. (Skjold Photographs)
intrinsic motivation concerns enjoyment
of learning involving curiosity, persist-
ence, and the desire to learn challenging
tasks. Students who are intrinsically moti-
vated enjoy their involvement in these
learning activities without expecting to
receive external rewards such as prizes.
These individuals desire to master their
pursuits.
Intrinsic motivation that is geared
specifically toward school learning,
termed academic intrinsic motivation, is
measured with a self-report instrument
called the Children’s Academic Intrinsic
Motivation Inventory (CAIMI). Three
versions of the CAIMI have been devel-
oped, which together span across the
school years. The CAIMI was first devel-
oped for students in the upper elemen-
tary through the middle school years.
Two additional versions were developed
to measure academic intrinsic motiva-
tion in younger and older students. The
Young-CAIMI (YCAIMI) is for young ele-
mentary school children, and for high
school students the CAIMI-HS (High
School) version was developed.
Specific subject areas distinguish aca-
demic intrinsic motivation. For example,
individuals who are highly motivated in
English may not be highly motivated in
math, and vice versa. Research has found
that intrinsic motivation is distinguished
into reading/English, math, social stud-
ies/history, and science. Students also
experience motivation for school in gen-
eral. Within each subject area, students
who have a stronger enjoyment of learn-

ing tend to be more competent in school
performance. Those with higher intrinsic
motivation have higher report card
grades and higher achievement test
scores. Their teachers also view them as
more highly intrinsically motivated.
Such students are also more likely to
view themselves as more competent and
less likely to be anxious about their
school performance. These relationships
between academic intrinsic motivation
and school performance have been found
throughout adolescence, and they have
beginnings extending back to elementary
school. Moreover, the link between aca-
demic intrinsic motivation and school
performance is valid across the grades,
for girls and boys, and for children of dif-
ferent ethnicities. Children and adoles-
cents with higher intellectual abilities
tend to be those who are more intrinsi-
cally motivated as well.
Intrinsic Motivation Trends
across Adolescence
There have been some recently obtained
trends about the course of academic
intrinsic motivation across adolescence.
Academic intrinsic motivation tends to
become quite stable and predictable over
these years. In terms of the adolescent,
the intrinsic motivation with which they
enter their teenage years tends to remain
similar throughout that period. If adoles-
cents are strong in academic intrinsic
motivation compared to their peers, they
are likely to remain consistently higher
than their peers. Conversely, if adoles-
cents have weak academic intrinsic moti-
vation compared to their peers, they are
likely to have lower motivation through-
out adolescence. Because academic
intrinsic motivation is related to school
achievement and performance, and
because academic intrinsic motivation
Motivation, Intrinsic 461
becomes increasingly stable over the ado-
lescent years, adolescents with relatively
stronger academic intrinsic motivation
would be expected to be more competent
in their school performance throughout
this period; likewise, those who have rel-
atively weaker academic intrinsic moti-
vation would be expected to be less aca-
demically competent across this period.
Therefore, adolescents’ academic intrin-
sic motivation must be as strong as possi-
ble when entering this period. This is
especially important since the choices,
such as course decisions, that adolescents
make are likely to be based in part upon
their intrinsic motivation. Further, ado-
lescents are likely to become more
knowledgeable about their preferences,
successes, and areas that interest them
most, and intrinsic motivation is likely
to be an influence in these. These find-
ings indicate the incredible importance of
providing experiences to encourage ado-
lescents’ intrinsic motivation. Parents,
teachers, counselors, and peers may all be
expected to play important roles in pro-
viding the environment that will encour-
age or discourage such motivation.
A second and alarming trend is the
decline of intrinsic motivation across the
adolescent years. Consistently across
many studies, findings have shown that as
children progress across these years, their
enjoyment of learning, curiosity, and
desire for challenge decreases. This
process begins as early as the upper ele-
mentary school years and continues
through high school. Particular subject
areas provide different declining trends.
Intrinsic motivation for math declines
most steeply, followed by intrinsic moti-
vation for science, reading/English, and
finally for school in general. On the other
hand, intrinsic motivation for social stud-
ies/history shows no decline at all. To
462 Motivation, Intrinsic
what are these differences due? Perhaps
the difficulty of the subject areas plays a
role. If students perceive great difficulty in
a subject area, such as math, they may
lose their intrinsic motivation for that
area. Further, if students feel less capable
in a particular subject area, or if they feel
that they have little control or choice over
the subject matter or assignments, their
sense of intrinsic motivation may suffer.
Alternatively, a subject area such as social
studies/history may provide more room
for choice, which may contribute to the
absence of decline in intrinsic motivation
across adolescence. There is a point at
which the decline in academic intrinsic
motivation ends. From ages sixteen to sev-
enteen, near the end of high school, the
drop in intrinsic motivation ceases and
motivation even increases slightly. With
high school graduation near, and new vis-
tas ahead, such as college or work, intrin-
sic motivation may prove to become
important in charting new paths.
Influences on Intrinsic Motivation
There are important influences on adoles-
cents’ academic intrinsic motivation.
Schools themselves may contribute to a
decline in such motivation. For example,
in middle and high schools, there may be
an increase in peer group competition for
which students are more likely to com-
pare their achievement with others. Fur-
ther, school environments may become
increasingly extrinsic in orientation.
Grades may become more important to
students as they decide upon college appli-
cations versus entering the workforce.
When students receive external rewards
for activities their intrinsic motivation
often decreases. If adolescents believe that
they are participating in learning prima-
rily to receive the reward, such as grades,
they are less likely to appreciate and enjoy
the learning itself. Some rewards, such as
praise, are not detrimental to intrinsic
motivation. Praise differs from tangible
rewards because students’ capability is
usually emphasized, thereby supporting
their sense of competence.
Research has also shown that parents
have an important influence on students’
academic intrinsic motivation. For exam-
ple, academic intrinsic motivation and
achievement is higher in children whose
parents encourage their curiosity, enjoy-
ment of learning, and active engagement
in the learning process. On the other
hand, children tend to have lower aca-
demic intrinsic motivation and achieve-
ment when their parents are more likely
to give them extrinsic rewards for suc-
cessful school performance, such as
money or toys, or who withhold external
rewards when performance is less ade-
quate, such as removing privileges. There-
fore, the type of motivational practices
used by parents has a significant effect on
their children’s academic intrinsic moti-
vation and their school performance.
Another aspect of home environment,
the quality of cognitive stimulation, has
been shown to be related to adolescents’
intrinsic motivation. Adolescents’ aca-
demic intrinsic motivation tends to be
stronger when parents provide stimulat-
ing activities, such as going to the library,
visiting museums, extracurricular les-
sons, and having discussions in the home.
Therefore, to stimulate their adolescents’
intrinsic motivation parents must realize
their influence in providing an intellectu-
ally stimulating home environment.
Intrinsic motivation does not emerge
fully developed in adolescence. Child-
hood provides the foundation. Infants
who are more attentive, persistent, and
goal directed when engaged in activities
become more intrinsically motivated

later in childhood. Similarly, children
who are more intrinsically motivated as
early as first grade are more intrinsically
motivated by age nine, and those who are
more intrinsically motivated at age nine
are more motivated at age seventeen.
Therefore, parents and teachers must pay
particular attention to encouraging and
stimulating children’s interests and
opportunities from the earliest ages and
thereafter throughout adolescence. Edu-
cators can assess academic intrinsic
motivation in order to detect and encour-
age both weak and strong areas. The com-
mitment of students, parents, teachers,
counselors, and peers provides the frame-
work to promote enjoyment of learning
throughout adolescence. Encouraging
intrinsic motivation for learning is one of
the most important gifts of adolescence
as it will go far to helping our next gener-
ation to a higher level of satisfaction and
success.
Adele Eskeles Gottfried
See also Academic Achievement; Acade-
mic Self-Evaluation; Cognitive Devel-
opment; Homework; School Engage-
ment; Thinking
References and further reading
Anderman, Eric M., and Martin Maehr.
1994. “Motivation and Schooling in the
Middle Grades.” Review of Educational
Research 64: 287–309.
Gottfried, Adele E. 1985. “Academic
Intrinsic Motivation in Elementary and
Motivation, Intrinsic 463
Junior High School Students. Journal of
Educational Psychology 77: 631–645.
———. 1986. Children’s Academic
Intrinsic Motivation Inventory. Odessa,
FL: Psychological Assessment
Resources.
Gottfried, Adele E., and Allen W.
Gottfried. 1996. “A Longitudinal Study
of Academic Intrinsic Motivation in
Intellectually Gifted Children:
Childhood through Early Adolescence.”
Gifted Child Quarterly 40: 179–183.
Gottfried, Adele E., James S. Fleming, and
Allen W. Gottfried. 1994. “Role of
Parental Motivational Practices in
Children’s Academic Intrinsic
Motivation and Achievement.” Journal
of Educational Psychology 86:
104–113.
———. 1998. “Role of Cognitively
Stimulating Home Environment in
Children’s Academic Intrinsic
Motivation: A Longitudinal Study.”
Child Development 69: 1448–1460.
———. 2001. “Continuity of Academic
Intrinsic Motivation from Childhood
through Late Adolescence: A
Longitudinal Study.” Journal of
Educational Psychology 93: 3–13.
Lepper, Mark R., Sheena Sethi, Dialdin
Dania, and Michael Drake. 1997.
“Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation: A
Developmental Perspective.” Pp. 23–50
in Developmental Psychopathology:
Perspectives on Adjustment, Risk, and
Disorder. Edited by Suniya S. Luthar,
Jacob A. Burack, Dante Cicchetti, and
John Weisz. New York: Cambridge
University Press.
Stodolsky, Susan, Scott Salk, and Barbara
Glaessner. 1991. “Student Views about
Learning Math and Social Studies.”
American Educational Research Journal
28: 89–116.
ADOLESCENCE
IN AMERICA
An Encyclopedia
 The American Family

The six titles that make up The American Family offer a revitalizing new take
on U.S. history, surveying current culture from the perspective of the family and
incorporating insights from psychology, sociology, and medicine. Each two-vol-
ume, A-to-Z encyclopedia features its own advisory board, editorial slant, and
apparatus, including illustrations, bibliography, and index.

Adolescence in America
edited by Jacqueline V. Lerner, Boston College,
and Richard M. Lerner, Tufts University;
Jordan W. Finkelstein, Pennsylvania State University,
Advisory Editor

Boyhood in America
edited by Priscilla Ferguson Clement, Pennsylvania State
University, Delaware County, and Jacqueline S. Reinier,
California State University, Sacramento
The Family in America
edited by Joseph M. Hawes, University of Memphis,
and Elizabeth F. Shores, Little Rock, Arkansas

Girlhood in America
edited by Miriam Forman-Brunell,
University of Missouri, Kansas City

Infancy in America
edited by Alice Sterling Honig, Emerita, Syracuse University;
Hiram E. Fitzgerald, Michigan State University;
and Holly Brophy-Herb, Michigan State University

Parenthood in America
edited by Lawrence Balter, New York University
 ADOLESCENCE
IN AMERICA

An Encyclopedia

Volume 2
N–Y

Jacqueline V. Lerner, editor

Boston College

Richard M. Lerner, editor

Tufts University

Jordan Finkelstein, advisory editor

Pennsylvania State University

Santa Barbara, California

Denver, Colorado
Oxford, England
Copyright © 2001 by Jacqueline V. Lerner and Richard M. Lerner

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored

in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, elec-
tronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except for the
inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without prior permission in
writing from the publishers.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

1-57607-205-3 (hardcover)
1-57607-571-0 (e-book)

06 05 04 03 02 01 00 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 (cloth)

ABC-CLIO, Inc.
130 Cremona Drive, P.O. Box 1911
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This book is also available on the World Wide Web as an e-book. Visit
www.abc-clio.com for details.

This book is printed on acid-free paper ∞

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 About the Editors

Jacqueline V. Lerner is professor of psychology and chair of the Counseling and

Developmental Psychology program at Boston College.

Richard M. Lerner holds the Bergstrom Chair in Applied and Developmental

Science in the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Development, Tufts Univer-
sity.

Jordan Finkelstein is professor of behavioral health, human development, and

pediatrics at Pennsylvania State University.

v
 Contents

A-to-Z List of Entries ix

Volume 1: Entries A to M 1
Volume 2: Entries N to Y 465

Bibliography 827
Index 903

vii
 A-to-Z List of Entries

VOLUME 1, A–M Autonomy

B
A
Body Build
Abortion Body Fat, Changes in
Abstinence Body Hair
Academic Achievement Body Image
Academic Self-Evaluation Bullying
Accidents Bumps in the Road to Adulthood
Acne
Adoption: Exploration and Search
Adoption: Issues and Concerns
C
African American Adolescents,
Cancer in Childhood and Adolescence
Identity in
Career Development
African American Adolescents,
Cheating, Academic
Research on
Chicana/o Adolescents
African American Male Adolescents
Child-Rearing Styles
Aggression
Children of Alcoholics
Alcohol Use, Risk Factors in
Chores
Alcohol Use, Trends in
Chronic Illnesses in Adolescence
Allowance
Cigarette Smoking
Anemia
Cliques
Anxiety
Cognitive Development
Appearance, Cultural Factors in
College
Appearance Management
Computer Hacking
Apprenticeships
Computers
The Arts
Conduct Problems
Asian American Adolescents:
Conflict and Stress
Comparisons and Contrasts
Conflict Resolution
Asian American Adolescents: Issues
Conformity
Influencing Identity
Contraception
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity
Coping
Disorder (ADHD)
Counseling
Attractiveness, Physical
Cults

ix
x A-to-Z List of Entries

D Freedom

Dating
Dating Infidelity
G
Decision Making
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Sexual-
Delinquency, Mental Health, and
Minority Youth
Substance Abuse Problems
Gender Differences
Delinquency, Trends in
Gender Differences and Intellectual and
Dental Health
Moral Development
Depression
Developmental Assets Gifted and Talented Youth
Developmental Challenges Gonorrhea
Diabetes Grandparents: Intergenerational
Discipline Relationships
Disorders, Psychological and Social
Divorce H
Down Syndrome
Drug Abuse Prevention Health Promotion
Dyslexia Health Services for Adolescents
High School Equivalency Degree
E Higher Education
HIV/AIDS
Eating Problems Homeless Youth
Emancipated Minors Homework
Emotional Abuse
Emotions I
Empathy
Employment: Positive and Negative Identity
Consequences Inhalants
Environmental Health Issues Intelligence
Ethnic Identity Intelligence Tests
Ethnocentrism Intervention Programs for Adolescents

F J
Family Composition: Realities and
Juvenile Crime
Myths
Juvenile Justice System
Family Relations
Family-School Involvement
Fathers and Adolescents L
Fears
Female Athlete Triad Latina/o Adolescents
Foster Care: Risks and Protective Learning Disabilities
Factors Learning Styles and Accommodations
 A-to-Z List of Entries xi

Loneliness Personal Fable

Lore Personality
Love Physical Abuse
Political Development
Poverty
M Pregnancy, Interventions to Prevent
Private Schools
Maternal Employment: Historical
Programs for Adolescents
Changes
Proms
Maternal Employment: Influences on
Prostitution
Adolescents
Psychosomatic Disorders
Media
Psychotherapy
Memory
Puberty: Hormone Changes
Menarche
Puberty: Physical Changes
Menstrual Cycle
Puberty: Psychological and Social
Menstrual Dysfunction
Changes
Menstruation
Puberty, Timing of
Mental Retardation, Siblings with
Mentoring and Youth Development
Middle Schools R
Miscarriage
Moral Development Racial Discrimination
Mothers and Adolescents Rape
Motivation, Intrinsic Rebellion
Religion, Spirituality, and Belief
Systems
Responsibility for Developmental Tasks
VOLUME 2: N–Y
Rights of Adolescents
Rights of Adolescents in Research
Risk Behaviors
N Risk Perception
Rites of Passage
Native American Adolescents Runaways
Neglect
Nutrition
S

P Sadness
School Dropouts
Parent-Adolescent Relations School Engagement
Parental Monitoring School, Functions of
Parenting Styles School Transitions
Peer Groups Schools, Full-Service
Peer Pressure Schools, Single-Sex
Peer Status Self
Peer Victimization in School Self-Consciousness
xii A-to-Z List of Entries

Self-Esteem Teenage Parenting: Childbearing

Self-Injury Teenage Parenting: Consequences
Services for Adolescents Television
Sex Differences Television, Effects of
Sex Education Temperament
Sex Roles Thinking
Sexual Abuse Tracking in American High Schools
Sexual Behavior Transition to Young Adulthood
Sexual Behavior Problems Transitions of Adolescence
Sexuality, Emotional Aspects of Twins
Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Shyness
Sibling Conflict
V
Sibling Differences
Violence and Aggression
Sibling Relationships
Vocational Development
Single Parenthood and Low
Volunteerism
Achievement
Social Development
Spina Bifida W
Sports and Adolescents
Sports, Exercise, and Weight Control Welfare
Standardized Tests White and American: A Matter of
Steroids Privilege?
Storm and Stress Why Is There an Adolescence?
Substance Use and Abuse Work in Adolescence
Suicide

Y
T
Youth Culture
Teachers Youth Gangs
Teasing Youth Outlook
 N
Native American Adolescents
Today’s Native American adolescents
may choose to identify as American Indi-
ans, as Indians, as members of their tribe,
or simply by their given name. They share
many of the same concerns as other
groups of teenagers: identity, daily living,
teenage pregnancy, alcoholism and sub-
stance use, getting a good education, hav-
ing a good career, having access to youth
groups and activities, and having access to
positive role models and mentors.
In the United States in 1996, there were
reportedly 237,000 American Indians
between ten and fourteen years of age
(120,000 boys and 117,000 girls). Current
population figures for 2000 indicate that
17.4 percent of American Indians (418,000)
are between the ages of five and thirteen,
8.2 percent (196,000) are between fourteen
and seventeen years of age, and 12.6 per-
cent (238,000) are between the ages of
eighteen and twenty-four; moreover, all
three totals are declining (www.doi.gov/
nrl/StatAbst/Aldemo.pdf). Indeed, Ameri-
can Indians are regarded as the “invisible
minority” because of their small presence,
in terms of both numbers and percentages.
Native American teenagers today strug-
gle with many of the same identity issues
that their parents and grandparents con-
fronted in the past. For native teens even
the simple question “Who am I?” is made
more difficult by the fact that they feel
465
they live in two worlds: one Indian and
one European. They strive to maintain
their native culture while trying to fit in
with and adapt to the larger society (one
that is not very friendly toward them)—a
struggle commonly referred to as bicultur-
alism. Several native youth have expressed
their difficulty with identity issues by stat-
ing that they need role models to show
them how to live their life on a day-to-day
basis, and to do so successfully (Grand
Rapids Youth Groups, 2000). Indeed, as C.
Farris (1976, p. 387) notes in writing about
the efforts of Indian children to survive in
this dual world, “Indian children critically
need to have meaningful contact with suc-
cessful role models who are also Indians
and can accurately interpret and teach
their mutual tribal heritage.”
Unlike generations before them, today’s
native teenagers live with their families
and attend public, private, charter, or
year-round Native American schools. In
1978, Congress passed the Indian Child
Welfare Act in order to prevent the
removal of native children from their
families of origin. Prior to this year,
native children could be removed from
their families because of poverty or alco-
holism and sent to live in boarding
schools or non-Indian homes, often hun-
dreds of miles away from their parents.
Of the current population of American
Indians, estimated at 2 million, 65.6
466 Native American Adolescents
Contemporary Native American teenagers struggle with many of the same identity issues that
their parents and grandparents confronted in the past. (Miguel Gaudert/Corbis)
percent have a high school education
or higher (www.doi.gov/nrl/TribalPop/
pdf). The degrees earned by Native
American graduates in the U.S. popula-
tion break down as follows: 0.9 percent
Associates, 0.5 percent Bachelor of Arts,
0.4 percent Master of Arts, 0.3 percent
Doctorates, and 0.5 percent First Pro-
fessional Degrees (www.doi.gov/nrl/
StatAbst/Aleduc.pdf). Education contin-
ues to be a main concern among Ameri-
can Indian families because children are
seen as the community’s most valuable
resource.
Government statistics show that 45
percent of first-time mothers in the
Native American community are under
age twenty, compared to an average of 24
percent in all other races. Moreover, the
infant mortality rate among Native
Americans is 30 percent higher than the
average rate for all other races, although
it has dramatically decreased (by 61 per-
cent) since 1972. The leading causes of
infant deaths among Native Americans
are sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
and birth defects (www.doi.gov/nrl/
StatAbst/Birth_inf_matern_mort.pdf).
Native American adolescents want the
general public to know that they are not
all alcoholics, substance users, high
school dropouts, and aimless teens. They
continue to fight many of the same stereo-
types and myths that their parents and
grandparents fought in past generations.
For example, native youth complain that
others do not understand their culture.
Many of these youth feel left out and lack

a sense of belonging because of differences
in their cultural practices. Native adoles-
cents uphold the principle of diversity;
central to their culture is the belief that
difference is to be valued, respected, and
appreciated. Unfortunately, however,
many native male teens have been teased
by peers because they have let their hair
grow long, honoring an age-old cultural
practice. It is not uncommon to hear sto-
ries about male adolescents who have cut
their hair because of such peer pressure—
in an attempt to fit in, to belong.
Native teens also want the general
public to know that they take pride in
their heritage. They are grateful that they
can practice their religious and cultural
ceremonies without the fear that their
ancestors experienced, thanks to passage
of the American Indian Religious Free-
dom Act in 1978. They are trying to bet-
ter their lives and to make a difference
for native adolescents in the future. And
they are emphatically fighting the stereo-
type that they are apathetic, aimless
teens with no direction in life and no
ambition to make something good of
themselves. Indeed, many native youth
are actively involved in youth groups,
leadership councils, cultural activities
that educate others about who they are,
theater productions, community presen-
tations, and community sobriety walks
in conjunction with powwows. Above
all, they are strong, positive role models
for the generations to come. As such,
they are living proof that “knowing one’s
heritage, place of origin, and identity, as
well as passing that knowledge from one
generation to the next, is a critical form
of resistance to racial/cultural oppression
and annihilation” (Kawamoto and
Cheshire, 1999, p. 98).
Le Anne E. Silvey
Neglect 467
See also Ethnic Identity; Identity; Racial
Discrimination
References and further reading
Farris, C. 1976. “Indian Children: The
Struggle for Survival.” Social Work 21:
386–389.
Grand Rapids Youth Groups. 2000.
Nishnabek Youth Leadership Council
and People of Our Time. Personal
communication (January 25).
Kawamoto, Walter T., and Tamara C.
Cheshire. 1999. “Contemporary Issues
in the Urban American Indian Family.”
Pp. 94–104 in Family Ethnicity:
Strength in Diversity, 2nd ed. Edited by
Harriette P. McAdoo. Thousand Oaks,
CA: Sage.
Neglect
Neglect is the most prevalent form of mal-
treatment facing American children and
adolescents today. According to The Third
National Incidence Study of Child Abuse
and Neglect (NIS-3), 879,000 children and
adolescents are neglected each year (Sed-
lak and Broadhurst, 1996). Based on a con-
servative index established by the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Ser-
vices, this figure equates to 13.1 acts of
neglect per 1,000 children and adolescents.
Each year 16.3 percent of all reports to
Child Protective Services (CPS) agencies
involve youth ages twelve and older
(USDHHS, 1997). Yet the NIS-3 study
indicates that only 18 percent of all neg-
lect cases are eventually investigated by
CPS agencies. This finding implies that
adolescent neglect incidents are more
likely to be underreported to CPS agencies
than other forms of maltreatment or neg-
lect incidents involving younger children.
In addition, compared to other forms of
maltreatment such as physical and sexual
abuse, reports of neglect are less likely to
be substantiated once investigated.
Adolescent neglect generally falls into
three categories: physical, educational,
468 Neglect
Adolescent neglect generally falls into three
categories: physical, educational, and
emotional. (Urban Archives, Philadelphia)
and emotional. Physical neglect is typi-
cally defined in terms of refusal to provide
healthcare, delay in providing healthcare,
abandonment, expulsion of an adolescent
from the home, inadequate supervision,
failure to meet food and clothing needs,
and clear failure to protect an adolescent
from hazards. Educational neglect is asso-
ciated with acts of omission and commis-
sion that permit chronic acts of truancy,
failure to enroll an adolescent in school,
and inattention to individual academic
needs. Emotional neglect includes such
behaviors as failing to meet the nurturing
or affection needs of an adolescent, expos-
ing a minor to severe and chronic spousal
abuse, allowing the use of alcohol or other
controlled substances, encouraging an
adolescent to engage in antisocial behav-
iors, refusal to provide psychological care,
delaying the provision of mental health-
care, and other forms of inattention to an
adolescent’s developmental needs (Gelles,
1999). The NIS-3 study found that the
highest rates of emotional neglect occur
during late childhood and adolescence,
between the ages of nine and seventeen. It
is important to recognize that many ado-
lescents experience more than one form
of maltreatment and that the boundaries
between the subcategories of neglect are
often blurred.
Potential Contributors to Neglect
Adolescent neglect is often associated
with risk factors such as stress, social iso-
lation, and involvement with delinquent
peers. According to the NIS-3 study, chil-
dren and adolescents in families with an
income under $15,000 per year were
twenty-two times more likely to be vic-
tims of neglect than children in families
with an income over $30,000. The rate of
neglect was also significantly higher
among children living with a single par-
ent. Nevertheless, most children raised
in low-income or single-parent families
do not experience neglect, and within
low-income communities, families who
neglect their children are viewed as
deviant (Black and Dubowitz, 1999).
Outcomes of Neglect
Neglected adolescents have been found
to display deficits in cognitive and social-
emotional functioning in conjunction
with socially withdrawn behavior. For
example, research by John Eckenrode and
his colleagues (1993) indicates that neg-
lected children and adolescents perform
more poorly in school than nonmal-
treated children and adolescents. And

although some neglected youth show
signs of passivity and withdrawal,
research by Cathy Spatz Widom (1989)
suggests that other neglected youth
exhibit higher levels of violent behavior
compared to abused children.
Protective Factors and Interventions
Studies indicate that a positive tempera-
ment, good intellectual capacity, and
flexibility serve as protective factors for
at-risk youth. Resilient youth are able to
recognize and change undesirable emo-
tions such as fear, anger, and sadness.
Moreover, the use of external support
systems by adolescents and their families
promotes competent functioning in the
presence of adversity.
Adolescents who have experienced neg-
lect may need interventions centered on
overcoming deficits in cognitive, aca-
demic, and social skills. Interventions that
have been proven to be helpful include (1)
special education programs to remedy
deficits in cognitive stimulation and moti-
vation to learn, (2) school- or community-
based tutorial programs using professional
teachers or volunteers to provide academic
assistance and encourage relationships
with nurturing adults (e.g., mentoring),
and (3) enrichment classes for older chil-
dren and adolescents designed to develop
personal and life skills appropriate to their
ages and developmental levels (Gaudin,
1999, p. 227). According to Diane DePan-
filis (1999), the “integral ingredients” in all
such interventions include helping
alliances and partnerships with family
members, empowerment of families to
cultivate and use their strengths, and a
flexible service model to better meet the
needs of different families. Indeed, educa-
tors, counselors, and parents need to adopt
a difference, rather than deficiency, per-
spective that allows them to be sensitive
Neglect 469
to the many cultural variations intrinsic to
the process of rearing children. Adolescent
neglect is most readily understood when
each youth is examined within the con-
text of the many systems in which she or
he is embedded (Bronfenbrenner, 1979).
Lyscha A. Marcynyszyn
John Eckenrode
See also Accidents; Child-Rearing Styles;
Coping; Foster Care: Risks and Protec-
tive Factors; Parent-Adolescent Rela-
tions; Parental Monitoring
References and further reading
Black, M. M., and Howard Dubowitz.
1999. “Child Neglect: Research
Recommendations and Future
Directions.” Pp. 261–277 in Neglected
Children. Edited by Howard Dubowitz.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Bronfenbrenner, Urie. 1979. The Ecology
of Human Development. Cambridge,
MA: Harvard University Press.
DePanfilis, Diane. 1999. “Intervening with
Families When Children Are
Neglected.” Pp. 211–236 in Neglected
Children. Edited by Howard Dubowitz.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Eckenrode, John, Molly Laird, and John
Doris. 1993. “School Performance and
Disciplinary Problems among Abused
and Neglected Children.”
Developmental Psychology 29, no. 1:
53–62.
Gaudin, J. M. 1999. “Child Neglect: Short-
Term and Long-Term Outcomes.” Pp.
89–108 in Neglected Children. Edited
by Howard Dubowitz. Thousand Oaks,
CA: Sage Publications.
Gelles, R. J. 1999. “Policy Issues in Child
Neglect.” Pp. 278–298 in Neglected
Children. Edited by Howard Dubowitz.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Sedlak, Andrea J., and Diane D.
Broadhurst. 1996. The Third National
Incidence Study of Child Abuse and
Neglect. Washington, DC: National
Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and
Neglect Information.
U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services (USDHHS), Administration on
Children, Youth, and Families. 1997.
Child Maltreatment 1997: Reports from
the States to the National Child Abuse
470 Nutrition
and Neglect Data System. Washington,
DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Widom, Cathy S. 1989. “Does Violence
Beget Violence? A Critical Examination
of the Literature.” Psychological
Bulletin 106, no. 1: 3–28.
Nutrition
The teenage years comprise a period
involving the most rapid growth and
physiological maturation since infancy,
requiring greatly increased amounts of
calories and nutrients. However, the psy-
chological, emotional, and social changes
experienced at this time often lead to
exploratory and experimental behaviors
that, in turn, result in food choices plac-
ing teens at risk for poor or less than
optimal health during adolescence as
well as subsequent adulthood.
Specific Nutrient Requirements
As noted, the rapid growth and develop-
mental changes of adolescence require
significant increases in nutrients. Rec-
ommended dietary allowances (RDAs),
which reflect current knowledge of nutri-
ent needs, have been established for dif-
ferent gender and age groups. These
allowances include a safety factor and are
intended as guidelines for optimal nutri-
tion. Energy, in the form of calories, is
required to support rapid linear growth
and increased lean body mass: Daily calo-
rie recommendations range from 2,200
calories per day for girls between eleven
and fourteen to 3,000 calories per day for
boys between fifteen and eighteen. At the
same time, there is wide variation in the
caloric needs of both sexes, depending
upon their rate of growth (which may not
be apparent until a growth spurt is com-
pleted) and physical activity.
Protein recommendations, which are
based on height and growth rates, range
from 44 grams per day for girls between
fifteen and eighteen to 59 grams per day
for boys between fifteen and eighteen.
Most teens consume considerably more
than the RDA for protein; however, in
cases where energy intake is inadequate
(as when a teen is dieting, chronically ill,
or unable to afford sufficient food), pro-
tein may be used for energy rather than
for growth needs, thereby compromising
linear growth and augmentation of lean
body mass.
Mineral needs increase significantly
during adolescence. For example, because
almost half of an individual’s skeletal
mass is deposited during adolescence, cal-
cium requirements are significantly
higher than during childhood. The Rec-
ommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for
calcium is 1,300 milligrams for all adoles-
cents. National surveys indicate, how-
ever, that average calcium intakes during
adolescence are less than two-thirds of
this amount. In addition, many teens
drink large amounts of soft drinks (com-
prising up to 15 percent of their total
caloric intake), and the increased
amounts of phosphorus and caffeine in
these beverages may interfere with
metabolization of calcium in the body.
This, in turn, may affect calcium skeletal
deposition and final total bone mass—
especially in girls who drink inadequate
amounts of milk. Such girls are at greater
risk for osteoporosis in later adulthood.
Both males and females need extra iron
during adolescence to support increased
blood volume and increased lean body
mass (and, in females, to replenish men-
strual losses). Iron recommendations are
12 and 15 milligrams per day for males
and females, respectively. However, sur-
veys indicate that 12 percent of boys and
14 percent of girls are iron deficient. The
need for most other minerals, as well as
 Nutrition 471

for vitamins, also surges during adoles-

cence. For example, larger amounts of B
vitamins such as thiamine, niacin, and
riboflavin are required for the increased
energy processes, tissue syntheses, and
cell growth characteristic of this period.

Physical Changes
Puberty is defined, in part, as the orderly
growth and development that occur from
childhood to adult maturity. Part of this
development manifests as linear growth
and body composition changes (Spear,
2000, p. 263). Although the pubertal
process is sequential and predictable,
there is wide variation among individuals
in terms of initiation of puberty, rates of
growth, and growth completion, with
resulting differences in specific indicators
such as menarche and growth spurts.
Teens gain about 15 percent of their adult
height and, as noted, almost half of their
adult skeletal mass during adolescent
growth. On average, girls attain their adult
Healthy growth during adolescence requires
height at about four and one-half years
greatly increased amounts of calories and
after menarche (approximately seventeen nutrients. (Wartenberg/Picture Press/Corbis)
years of age), and boys, at about twenty-
one years of age. During this period, teens
also gain about one-half of their ideal
adult body weight and experience signifi- and maturation, adolescents shift from
cant body shape and composition changes. the status of children to more independent
Girls tend to gain weight slightly before adult roles. This transition involves a
they achieve gains in height, whereas boys number of processes and experiences,
tend to gain weight and height at the same including experimentation. Most teens
time. As children, girls and boys have sim- test boundaries and try new behaviors—
ilar body proportions of fat and muscle especially eating behaviors. They eat more
(about 15 percent and 20 percent, respec- meals and snacks away from home; family
tively). During maturation, however, such meal patterns and food behaviors may be
proportions change to those of mature at least partly replaced by social meals and
adulthood: Girls attain about 23 percent snacks with peers at fast-food restaurants
body fat and boys about 15 percent. or shopping malls. Many teens skip meals,
especially breakfast. And they often try
Psychosocial Changes new food styles such as vegetarianism or
In addition to the significant physiological diets to lose or gain weight. Busy sched-
changes that occur with physical growth ules—with time allocated to school, out-
472 Nutrition
side activities such as sports or the arts,
and part-time jobs—influence when and
where teens eat. Another factor is the
amount of money they are able to spend.
Fast food and other meals away from
home often provide calories and protein
but are usually low in nutrients such as
vitamins, minerals, and fiber. In addition,
fast food tends to be high in calories, fat,
sodium, and simple carbohydrates such as
sugar, relative to the other nutrients pro-
vided. In short, it has low nutrient density.
Adolescents typically try new food
choices and behaviors and then gradually
return to the familiar food patterns of
their childhood and families of origin.
Other Influences on
Adolescent Eating Behaviors
Although peers and outside activities
affect adolescent eating behaviors, the
family food milieu is, for many teens, the
strongest influence on their eating habits.
Teens raised in families with healthy atti-
tudes toward food are used to making
food choices and may thus feel free to
experiment with new behaviors and then
return to more healthy ones. Ellyn Satter
(1987) describes a healthy food relation-
ship as one in which the parent or care-
taker provides a reasonably well balanced
selection of foods on a regular schedule
(i.e., meals and snacks) in a safe and pleas-
ant environment; each family member is
then responsible for deciding how much
to eat or even whether to eat. Children
raised in such a food environment are
likely to respond to interior eating cues
such as fullness or satiety as a signal to
stop eating rather than to exterior cues
such as a clean plate. Other components
of a positive food environment include
healthy attitudes toward body size and
shape as well as a moderate approach to
exercise. Parents who obsess about thin-
ness, dieting, or exercise encourage chil-
dren and teens to adopt similar attitudes
and behaviors, just as parents who require
that children “learn to like” certain foods
or that they “eat their vegetables before
having dessert” often end up creating
aversions for the very foods they hoped
would be consumed. In contrast are those
parents who model good food behaviors,
present their families with reasonable
food choices, and let family members
make individual eating choices, thus
encouraging their children to accept a
wider variety of foods and to attend to
internal cues as signals to eat or not to
eat. Parents can also influence their fam-
ily’s eating habits through careful selec-
tion of the foods they purchase as well as
through healthy food preparation meth-
ods. Indeed, since teens tend to prefer
foods to which they have been regularly
exposed, those who are accustomed to
foods prepared with large amounts of fat
or sugar will tend to prefer such foods
themselves, whereas those whose parents
have regularly offered lower-fat food
choices and lots of fruits and vegetables
will more often make these healthy
choices in their own lives.
Yet another influence on adolescent
eating behaviors is passive recreation.
Research indicates that television view-
ing and computer use are associated with
higher-than-normal weight levels among
children and teens. Time spent in front of
a television or computer screen involves
very low energy use, and television view-
ers, in particular, often simultaneously
consume high-calorie snacks. In addi-
tion, most food advertisements targeted
at youth are for snack foods with high
sugar and fat content; studies show that
children frequently exposed to such

advertising request more of the adver-
tised foods than do children not so fre-
quently exposed. Less is known about
how food advertising affects teens, but
given that food habits tend to persist over
time, it seems logical to assume that
early childhood choices for advertised
foods could have long-term influences.
Surveys of food choices indicate that
many American adolescents fail to select
the kinds and amounts of foods most
desirable for optimal health and growth.
(Interestingly, teenage boys are more
likely than teenage girls to meet their
nutrient and energy recommendations by
choosing appropriate kinds and amounts
of foods.) The Food Guide Pyramid was
created by the U.S. Department of Agri-
culture as a model to help individuals
make healthy food choices. Its daily rec-
ommendations include six or more serv-
ings of grain products, two or more fruits,
three or more vegetables, and two or
more servings from milk and meat
groups. (Fats and sweets are considered
“extras” to be chosen in small amounts.)
Teens who choose foods based upon this
guide are likely to consume the recom-
mended amounts of nutrients; con-
versely, those who neglect one or more
food groups are likely to have inadequate
intakes of specific nutrients. For exam-
ple, teens who avoid the milk group
almost always have low calcium intakes,
and those who rarely choose foods in the
fruit or vegetable groups tend to have low
vitamin and fiber intakes. In fact, teen
diets overall are characterized by low lev-
els of selections from milk, vegetable,
and whole-grain groups, with resulting
low calcium, vitamin, and fiber intakes.
A related factor is dental health. Den-
tal caries and gum disease have multiple
causes including genetics, diet, and oral
Nutrition 473
hygiene. Frequent exposure to sweet or
sticky foods increases the risk for caries.
Since as much as 80 percent of the aver-
age person’s dental decay occurs during
adolescence, this age range is a time to
choose foods conducive to good dental
health such as vegetables, fruits, and
dairy products; to continue the use of
fluoridated water; and to get regular oral
hygiene and dental checkups.
Obesity and Eating Disorders
The incidence of overweight and obesity
among adolescents (as well as adults and
children) is increasing at a rapid rate in the
United States and other countries. Based
on the body mass index (BMI) definition of
obesity, data from the National Health
and Nutrition Examination Survey show
that adolescent obesity increased from to
5.7 percent of adolescents in 1976–1980 to
12 percent of adolescents in 1988–1994,
and, more recently, that 21.7 percent of
males and 21.4 percent of females are clas-
sified as overweight. Obesity is a major
concern because of its association with
various health and psychosocial risks.
Among adolescents it is associated with
elevated blood lipid levels and abdominal
obesity, which lead to elevated risk for
cardiovascular disease in adults; glucose
intolerance; noninsulin-dependent dia-
betes (NIDDM), which is increasing rap-
idly among children and adolescents
(since 1982 its incidence has increased
tenfold in Cincinnati) (Dietz, 1998); gall-
stones; elevated liver enzymes; hyperten-
sion; sleep apnea; and orthopedic compli-
cations. Possible psychosocial effects of
adolescent obesity include negative self-
image, low self-esteem, disturbed body
image, and decreased socioeconomic sta-
tus, educational level, and marriage rates
(Dietz, 1998).
474 Nutrition
Other weight-related disorders include
binge eating, unhealthy dieting practices
such as inappropriate weight loss and poor
food choices, and anorexic and bulimic
behaviors such as laxative use, overexer-
cising, and self-induced vomiting. These
conditions may be causally related to such
factors as individual inherited susceptibil-
ity, cultural pressures for thinness in
women and a muscular physique among
men, and adverse individual and family
experiences such as a history of over-
weight or need for control. Surveys indi-
cate that as many as 60 percent of girls
consider themselves overweight and that
40 percent of girls and 15 percent of boys
are dieting at any given time. Approxi-
mately 30 percent of clinically overweight
teens and 2.5 percent of all college stu-
dents have binge eating disorder, 10–20
percent of adolescents have exhibited
anorexic or bulimic behaviors one or more
times in their lives, 1–3 percent of adoles-
cents are diagnosed with bulimia, and 1
percent of adolescents (primarily young
women) are diagnosed with anorexia ner-
vosa. Treatment of weight-related disor-
ders is difficult, and long-term outcomes
are poor. Dieting to lose weight rarely
results in permanent appropriate weight
stabilization (rebound and regain are more
common), and bulimia and anorexia often
lead to long-term deleterious physical
effects or even death. Diagnosis and treat-
ment of the latter two conditions, espe-
cially, should be made by an interdiscipli-
nary team experienced in short- and
long-term physiological and psychological
treatment of eating disorders.
Athletics
Teens who participate in organized sports
such as gymnastics or wrestling are some-
times pressured to “make weight” or to
attain a specific body shape or composi-
tion. Such attempts are not recommended,
however, because they can be extremely
harmful—to the point of impeding normal
growth and development. Carbohydrate
loading, though occasionally recom-
mended for endurance activities such as
swimming or track, has been shown to
have widely varying individual effects and
may compromise performance. Similarly,
numerous dietary supplements such as
amino acids have been promoted as mus-
cle building and endurance enhancing but
usually enhance only the wallet of the
seller. To avoid such outcomes, all partici-
pants in athletics (and their coaches) are
advised to consult a registered dietitian
with training and experience in sports
nutrition for expert advice on performance
nutrition.
Physical Activity
Activity level influences caloric use and
thus body weight. Numerous factors
account for the decreased physical activ-
ity of many teens today: Not only televi-
sion and other sedentary work and play
activities such as computer use and video
games but also transportation and tech-
nological home and work improvements
have resulted in lower physical output
and caloric consumption. Moreover,
fewer and fewer schools offer regular
physical education from kindergarten
through high school, and even fewer
require it. The combined effect of these
factors has been to divide adolescent pop-
ulation into two groups: one that has lit-
tle or no exposure to school-affiliated
physical activities and another that regu-
larly participates in organized sports and
is more active and physically fit.
Any individual’s weight is a delicate
balance between growth and mainte-

nance, calorie intake and activity. Regu-
lar physical activity is an important part
of good health and weight regulation. It is
also a significant factor in preventing
adult maladies such as cardiovascular
disease and diabetes.
Food and Nutrition Advice
Teens are often faced with conflicting
advice: They are encouraged, on the one
hand, to eat more (or at least to eat better)
and, on the other, to eat less and be slim.
Many groups and organizations offer
recommendations on making good food
choices in the interest of good health and
disease prevention; these include the
American Heart Association, the Ameri-
can Cancer Association, the American
Public Health Association, and the Amer-
ican Dietetic Association. The U.S. gov-
ernment, too, has issued guidelines such
as the Food Guide Pyramid and Dietary
Guidelines for Americans as well as spe-
cific nutrient recommendations such as
RDAs and dietary reference intakes (both
of which can usually be found on food
labels). In addition, numerous books offer
food or nutrition advice; some provide
reliable information, others do not. It is
often difficult to decide which informa-
tion is beneficial—let alone to follow it!
The best advice for teens and others inter-
ested in good nutrition and health is to
aim for moderation, balance, and, espe-
cially, variety in food choices. For most of
us, the easiest model to use is probably
the Food Guide Pyramid. Choosing foods
that are low in fat (such as skimmed milk
and lean meats) and high in fiber (vegeta-
bles, fruits, and whole-grain products) not
only contributes to healthy weight con-
trol but also helps prevent chronic dis-
eases such as cardiovascular disease, can-
cer, and diabetes. Daily physical activity
Nutrition 475
is also recommended. Indeed, good eating
habits and exercise will help youth feel
better, gain more energy, and stay on
track to good health throughout the teen
years and beyond.
Marcia Vandenbelt
See also Acne; Anemia; Body Build; Body
Fat, Changes in; Diabetes; Eating Prob-
lems; Sports, Exercise, and Weight Con-
trol
References and further reading
Birch, Leann L., and Jennifer O. Fisher.
1998. “Development of Eating
Behaviors among Children and
Adolescents.” Pediatrics 101 (suppl.):
539–549.
Clark, Nancy. 1996. Nancy Clark’s Sports
Nutrition Guidebook. Champaign, IL:
Human Kinetics Publishers.
Dietz, William H. 1998. “Health
Consequences of Obesity in Youth:
Childhood Predictors of Adult Disease.”
Pediatrics 101 (suppl.): 518–525.
Haworth-Hoeppner, S. 2000. “The Critical
Shape of Body Image: The Role of
Culture and Family in the Production of
Eating Disorders.” Journal of Marriage
and the Family 62: 212–227.
Hill, James O., and John C. Peters. 1998.
“Environmental Contributions to the
Obesity Epidemic.” Science 280:
1371–1374.
Kelder, Steven H., Cheryl L. Perry, Knut-
Inge Klepp, and Leslie L. Lytle. 1994.
“Longitudinal Tracking of Adolescent
Smoking, Physical Activity, and Food
Choice Behaviors.” American Journal of
Public Health, 84, no. 7: 1121–1126.
Munoz, Kathryn A., Susan M. Krebs-
Smith, Rachel Ballard-Barbash, and
Linda E. Cleveland. 1997. “Food Intakes
of U.S. Children and Adolescents
Compared with Recommendations.”
Pediatrics 100, no. 3: 323–329.
Neumark-Szainer, Dianne, and Jillian K.
Moe. 2000. “Weight-Related Concerns
and Disorders among Adolescents.” Pp.
288–317 in Nutrition throughout the
Life Cycle. Edited by Bonnie S.
Worthington-Roberts and Sue Rodwell
Williams. Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Satter, Ellyn. 1987. How to Get Your Kid
to Eat . . . But Not Too Much: From
476 Nutrition
Birth to Adolescence. Palo Alto, CA:
Bull Publishing.
Spear, Bonnie A. 2000. “Adolescent
Nutrition: General.” Pp. 262–287 in
Nutrition throughout the Life Cycle.
Edited by Bonnie S. Worthington-
Roberts and Sue Rodwell Williams.
Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Troiana, Richard P., and Katherine M.
Flegal. 1998. “Overweight Children and
Adolescents: Description, Epidemiology,
and Demographics.” Pediatrics 101
(suppl.): 497–504.
Walsh, Timothy B., and Michael J. Devlin.
1998. “Eating Disorders: Progress and
Problems.” Science 280: 1387–1390.
 P
Parent-Adolescent Relations
Adolescence is a time when both changes
in the individual and changes within their
relationships are markedly evident. In
particular, adolescents undergo many
alterations in their relationship with their
parents. Many parents experience appre-
hension and concern about their children
beginning with the adolescent years. In
fact, the teenage period has often been
referred to as one of storm and stress, a
time marked by conflict, rebellion, and
acting-out. But is this really the case for
most adolescents or is this a stereotype
that has been perpetuated over the years?
Although changes in adolescents are evi-
dent, contemporary research suggests that
most adolescents and their parents con-
tinue to have a positive relationship dur-
ing the adolescent period of development.
It is true that adolescents do undergo a
variety of changes that may, to varying
degrees, alter the parent-adolescent rela-
tionship. For example, the period of ado-
lescence is marked by physiological,
social, and psychological changes. Specifi-
cally, physiological alterations such as
those involved in puberty, including hor-
monal changes, bodily growth and matu-
ration, and sexual maturation and aware-
ness, are all part of adolescence. Social
transitions also take place, such as the
transition from elementary to middle
school or junior high school. These transi-
477
tions are important ones for the adoles-
cent in several ways. In many cases, the
young person experiences changes in
school structure, and, often, these changes
require adjustment to a larger school, to
different grading procedures, to more
stringent teacher expectations, and to a
less personal overall school environment.
In addition, as a consequence of changes in
school environments, adolescents may
experience alterations in their friends and
peer groups. They are also confronted with
new temptations, which may include
engaging in sexual activity or participating
in deviant behavior or substance use.
Finally, psychological changes result, for
example, in the need for increased inde-
pendence from parents that is yet another
alteration from the childhood years to the
teenage years. Adolescence is a period in
the life span when changes begin that con-
tribute to one’s life course development.
Taken together, these changes represent
major adjustments and transitions from
the earlier childhood period. Conse-
quently, it would seem reasonable that
some changes would occur in the parent-
adolescent relationship as well during this
period of development.
The adjustment of both adolescents and
their parents to these changes is related, at
least in part, to the nature and quality of
their relationship prior to the onset of the
adolescent years. For example, a child
478 Parent-Adolescent Relations
who was overprotected by her parents
during her early years may find it espe-
cially difficult to adjust to the new expec-
tations for independence and self-reliance
during adolescence. On the other hand, a
child who was reared permissively may
be more likely to give in to new tempta-
tions such as engaging in delinquent or in
sexual behavior. Because of the multiple
changes and transitions that are associ-
ated with this period of the life span,
social scientists have paid a considerable
amount of attention to the influence of
the family on adolescent development
and to the nature of parent-adolescent
relations during the adolescent years.
Research suggests that despite the per-
vasive influence of parents on youth
behavior and development across the ado-
lescent period, there is generally a
decrease in the amount of time that ado-
lescents spend with their parents. For
instance, one study reported that the
amount of time adolescents spent with
their families decreased from 35 percent
to 14 percent of waking hours as youth
progressed through adolescence (Larson
et al., 1996). At the same time, adoles-
cents begin to spend more time with
their peers. Often this change in where
adolescents spend their time is a result of
the pressure put on youth to achieve
independence from parents during this
period. Whatever the cause, these gains in
autonomy can alter the parent-adolescent
relationship and can heighten family con-
flict. In turn, some research has found
that families with adolescents are more
likely to be less cohesive and more
chaotic than families with either younger
or older children. This finding is not
really surprising. As noted, adolescents
are at a time where they are striving to
gain independence and autonomy and
thus spend less time with parents and
more time with peers. It would follow
then that families with adolescent chil-
dren would seem to be less cohesive than
families with younger children where
independence is not a focal concern, or
with families with older children who
have already undergone the transition.
Moreover, adolescents strive to gain more
influence over decision making as a result
of their increasing independence, and
since they typically spend less time with
parents, one might anticipate a more
chaotic environment due to these factors.
Additional research suggests that alter-
ations in the parent-child relationship
may be a function of puberty. For exam-
ple, E. R. Anderson and colleagues have
found that pubertal development is
related to decreases in mothers’ warmth
and involvement with their children.
Mothers were also reported to monitor
their adolescents less effectively. This
research lends support to what L. Stein-
berg has termed the distancing hypothe-
sis. That is, as pubertal development pro-
ceeds, relationships within the family
become increasingly disengaged as a
result of pubertal maturation. On the
other hand, the acceleration hypothesis
suggests that disengagement in the
parent-child relationship may result in
accelerated physical maturation. In fact,
Steinberg reported that greater distance
between adolescents and their mothers
was associated with faster pubertal
development for girls in one study. Simi-
lar results were not reported for boys,
however.
Adolescents, Mothers, and Fathers
Much of the research that has been done
on adolescents and their parents focuses
on adolescents and mothers in particular.
This is due, at least in part, to the fact
that mothers still spend the most time

with their children, despite the fact that
increasing numbers of mothers are work-
ing outside the home. In fact, adolescents
feel that their mothers know them better
than their fathers do. Moreover, many
families in the United States today are
single-parent families, and the over-
whelming majority of all single-parent
homes are homes without a father. Thus,
much of what we know about parents
and adolescents specifically pertains to
mothers and adolescents.
In contrast to the vast literature on
mothers and children, there is a paucity of
empirical research on fathers’ contribu-
tions to their adolescents’ development.
However, literature is beginning to
emerge that documents the importance of
the role of the father in parent-child rela-
tions and in child adjustment. The greater
attention to father-child relations may be
due to increased interest in the role of the
father in general, and to the recent
assumption by many fathers of the more
traditional caretaking roles that have
been previously held by mothers. This
shift may be primarily due to increases in
women’s employment and to changes in
societal expectations regarding fathers’
involvement with their children.
Research suggests that mothers and
fathers engage in different types of inter-
actions with their children. In the early
years, for example, in contrast to moth-
ers, who specialize in caretaking and nur-
turance, fathers specialize in play. M. E.
Lamb reports that although mothers may
actually spend more time in play activity,
clearly fathers spend a greater proportion
of their time with children engaged in
play. During the adolescent years, differ-
ences between mothers and fathers are
evident as well. For example, D. M.
Almeida and N. L. Galambos report that
fathers have been found to have less feel-
Parent-Adolescent Relations 479
ing for and show less understanding
toward their adolescents than mothers.
Fathers also, however, were reported to
have less intense conflicts with their
children as compared to mothers. This
may be related to the fact that, in general,
mothers are more involved with their
children’s day-to-day activities than
fathers are. In fact, research has supported
this idea. When fathers were more
involved with their adolescents, they also
reported having more conflict with them
than less involved fathers.
Contemporary Research on the Family
and Adolescent Adjustment
Self-esteem has been the focus of a con-
siderable amount of adolescent research.
Perhaps this focus is due, in part, to the
key developmental issue concerning this
period of the life span, the formation of
one’s identity. According to Erik Erikson,
the most important task of the adoles-
cent period is that of achieving an iden-
tity. The knowledge that the adolescent
has gained thus far of who he is is chal-
lenged by the changes that begin during
the early adolescent period: changes in
physical, psychological, cognitive, and
social dimensions. Thus, the adolescent
is forced to evaluate himself in light of
these changes, and is faced with the ques-
tion, Who am I? This is basically a ques-
tion that requires information (knowl-
edge) about the self. In addition, if this
development allows the youth to find a
socially approved role in society, Erikson
argues, then positive self-esteem will
accrue.
Because of the multiple transitions
associated with adolescence, self-esteem
has been an important focus of research
and has been given much attention by
social scientists. The family, and the
interactions that occur within the family,
480 Parent-Adolescent Relations
are considered of primary importance for
the development of one’s self-concept.
For instance, adolescent self-esteem and
well-being have been related to support-
ive, close family relationships. David
Demo and his colleagues found that ado-
lescents’ perceptions of communication
within the family and participation with
parents were related to adolescent self-
esteem. Parental control was reported to
have an inverse relationship to adoles-
cent self-esteem. Further, sons’ self-
esteem, more so than daughters’, was
related to dimensions of the parent-child
relationship, including communication
with parents and with youth participa-
tion in joint activities with them. Simi-
larly, other research reported that adoles-
cents’ perceptions of parents’ supportive
behaviors were related to positive self-
esteem in the mother-daughter dyad.
Parental coercive behavior was nega-
tively related to self-esteem in the father-
daughter dyad.
In addition to self-esteem, parenting
behavior is related to adolescents’ aca-
demic achievement. Studies assessing
parenting styles in relation to scholastic
achievement report that children with
authoritative parents have higher grades
and have more positive attitudes toward
school as compared to children with
authoritarian or permissive parents.
Authoritative parents also tend to be
more involved in their children’s educa-
tion, for instance, through participating
in activities and helping with homework.
Researchers such as A. E. Gottfried and
D. L. Stevenson and D. P. Baker have also
confirmed that the more parents are
involved in their children’s education,
the better they do in school.
Moreover, researchers have reported
that other parental characteristics are
related to adolescents’ academic achieve-
ment. For example, school achievement
in adolescence has been positively related
to parents’ educational aspirations for
their children. Similarly, positive parental
beliefs and attributions about their ado-
lescent’s capabilities are positively related
to adolescent academic achievement.
High levels of parental control and high
parental responsiveness were also related
to positive achievement outcomes for
adolescents. One study reported that the
way adolescents themselves perceived
the quality of parenting they received and
how they assessed the degree of their par-
ents’ involvement in their lives mattered
more for their achievement in school
than the way the parents saw their own
parenting (Paulson, 1994).
Although some research finds negative
outcomes for the parent-adolescent rela-
tionship during this period, other research
suggests that the majority of adolescents
feel they get along well with their parents
and in general report feeling positive
about their relationships with their par-
ents. And, although some research reports
heightened conflict between parents and
children, these disruptions are often tem-
porary and not long-lasting. In addition,
despite the fact that there is generally a
decrease in the amount of time that ado-
lescents spend with their parents,
research indicates that youth still most
often seek parental advice on matters
regarding further education, career choice,
and financial matters. In essence, then,
past research indicates that, despite quan-
titative and qualitative changes in the
parent-child relationship, parents still
play an important role in the socialization
of their adolescents, and most adolescents
and parents maintain an overall positive
relationship during this period.
Domini R. Castellino

See also Academic Achievement;
Allowance; Child-Rearing Styles; Fam-
ily Composition: Realities and Myths;
Family Relations; Fathers and Adoles-
cents; Identity; Mothers and Adoles-
cents; Parenting Styles; Parental Moni-
toring; Sibling Relationships
References and further reading
Almeida, D. M., and N. L. Galambos.
1991. “Examining Father Iinvolvement
and the Quality of Father-Adolescent
Relations.” Journal of Research on
Adolescence 1, no. 2: 155–172.
Anderson, E. R., E. M. Hetherington, and
W. G. Clinempeel. 1989.
“Transformations in Family Relations
at Puberty: Effects of Family Context.”
Journal of Early Adolescence 9, no. 3:
310–334.
Demo, D. H., S. A. Small, and R. C. Savin-
Williams. 1987. “Family Relations and
the Self-Esteem of Adolescents and
Their Parents.” Journal of Marriage and
the Family 49: 705–715.
Erikson, E. H. 1963. Childhood and
Society. New York: Norton.
Gottfried, A. E. 1991. “Maternal
Employment in the Family Setting:
Developmental and Environmental
Issues.” Pp. 63–84 in Employed Mothers
and their Children. Edited by J. V.
Lerner and N. L. Galambos. New York:
Garland.
Lamb, M. E. 1997. The Role of the Father
in Child Development, 3rd ed. New
York: Wiley.
Larson, R. W., M. H. Richards, G. Moneta,
G. Holmbeck, et al. 1996. “Changes in
Adolescents’ Daily Interactions with
Their Families from Ages 10 to 18:
Disengagement and Transformation.”
Developmental Psychology 32, no. 4:
744–754.
Paulson, S. E. 1994. Relations of Parenting
Style and Parental Involvement with
Ninth-Grade Students’ Achievement.
Journal of Early Adolescence 14:
250–267.
Steinberg, L. 1988. “Reciprocal Relation
between Parent-Child Distance and
Pubertal Maturation. Developmental
Psychology 24: 122–128.
Stevenson, D. L., and D. P. Baker. 1987.
The Family-School Relation and the
Child’s School Performance. Child
Development 58: 1348–1357.
Parental Monitoring 481
Parental Monitoring
Parental monitoring is the activity that
allows parents to be knowledgeable
about their adolescents’ whereabouts,
activities, and companions. Parents mon-
itor their adolescents when they keep
track of them from a distance. Parents
who are effective monitors know about
their adolescent’s day and are aware of
their adolescent’s experiences.
Monitoring is not an isolated activity
but part of the parent-adolescent relation-
ship. Parents who are good monitors are
interested in their adolescents and make
an effort to establish open channels of
communication with them. Because most
of the information parents have about
their adolescents comes from the adoles-
cents themselves, adolescents must be
willing to share their experiences with
their parents and be honest about those
experiences. Effective parental monitor-
ing emerges from a trusting relationship
between interested and involved parents
and open and truthful adolescents.
Parental monitoring is more than just
knowing where adolescents are, what
they are doing, and whom they are with.
Good monitors attempt to influence the
behavior of their adolescents and try to
shape their experiences. Good parental
monitoring not only includes knowledge
of adolescent behaviors but also includes
attempts by parents to instill positive
behaviors and discourage adolescent
deviant behavior.
Researchers who study parent monitor-
ing typically measure it by comparing the
responses of adolescents and parents to
questions about typical or specific experi-
ences of the adolescent. Adolescents
answer questions about themselves, their
friends, and their recent activities, and
these answers are compared to the same
questions asked of parents about their
482 Parental Monitoring
Parental monitoring involves actions that
enable parents to be knowledgeable about
their adolescents’ whereabouts, activities,
and companions. (Laura Dwight/Corbis)
adolescents. Questions include items
that assess knowledge about an adoles-
cent’s activities in school and after
school, television watching, and interac-
tions with friends. One cannot be certain
which individual more accurately por-
trays the reality of the adolescent’s expe-
riences, but researchers usually assume
that the adolescent’s report is accurate
and examine the match between parent
report and adolescent report.
What adolescents say they do and what
parents think their adolescents do is fre-
quently at odds, oftentimes to a signifi-
cant degree, and especially in regard to
illegal and unhealthy behavior. For exam-
ple, in one study of ninth graders by Deb-
orah Cohen and Janet Rice, 19 percent of
parents indicated that they thought their
adolescents had used alcohol or drugs, a
percentage in striking contrast to the 55
percent of these same adolescents who
reported that they had used these sub-
stances. Many parents believe that other
adolescents use drugs and alcohol, but
their own adolescents do not.
Although monitoring is a specific
aspect of parenting, it is related to several
other components of parenting. A study
by Debra Mekos and colleagues found
that parents who are good monitors are
also likely to be warm and supportive
and to have relationships with their ado-
lescents that are low in conflict and neg-
ativity. Parental monitoring is positively
related to using discipline effectively and
reinforcing healthy adolescent behavior.
Monitoring is also positively related to
family cohesion and good parent-adoles-
cent communication. All of these find-
ings suggest that effective monitoring is
built upon a healthy and positive parent-
adolescent relationship.
In general, mothers are better monitors
than fathers; they know more about the
everyday whereabouts of their adoles-
cents and their activities. This gender dif-
ference is not only true for mothers who
are full-time homemakers but even for
mothers who are employed full-time out-
side the home. Ann Crouter and Susan
McHale found that fathers seem to cali-
brate the extent to which they monitor
their adolescents based in part on the
availability of mothers. Fathers monitor
their adolescents more when mothers
work than when they do not, but fathers
typically monitor their adolescents less
than mothers in either work situation.

Even though mothers know more
about their adolescents than do fathers,
parents of both genders know more about
their same-sex adolescent than they do
their opposite-sex adolescent. Several
factors may play a part in this same-sex
matching: fathers and sons, as well as
mothers and daughters, may have more
related interests and engage in more sim-
ilar activities; parents may be more inter-
ested in the lives of same-sex adoles-
cents; and same-sex adolescents may be
more likely to confide in a parent of the
same sex.
Debra Mekos and colleagues also
found that in remarried families parents
monitor their biological children more
closely than they do their stepchildren.
The low monitoring of stepchildren may
be one reason stepchildren are more
likely to engage in problem behavior
than biological children. In general, step-
parents seem to adopt a disengaged style
of parenting with stepchildren, especially
when the stepchildren are adolescents.
Between childhood and late adolescence
there is a marked decrease in parent mon-
itoring. What this means is that as adoles-
cents get older they spend an increasing
amount of time away from home and par-
ents, and that parents are not well
informed about where their adolescents
are, what they are doing, and whom they
are with. Many adolescents handle this
increase in freedom and autonomy well,
but for some adolescents a decrease in par-
ent monitoring is associated with contact
with deviant peers and participation in
unhealthy and illegal activities.
Many studies have shown that effec-
tive parent monitoring of adolescents
decreases adolescents’ involvement in
unhealthy and deviant behavior. Low
parental monitoring is associated with
adolescent academic problems; tobacco,
Parental Monitoring 483
alcohol, and marijuana use; and antiso-
cial behavior. In addition, parents who
are ineffective and inconsistent monitors
are more likely to have sons who engage
in sexual intercourse at an early age. The
pathway from low parental monitoring to
adolescent problem behavior is through
association with deviant peers, which
increases the risk of involvement in ille-
gal and unhealthy behavior. Monitoring
plays a pivotal role in the prevention of
adolescent problem behavior. When par-
ents are aware of where their adolescents
are spending their time and with whom,
the opportunity for engaging in deviant
behavior is reduced.
Monitoring becomes an especially
important aspect of parenting during ado-
lescence, when adolescents spend more
unsupervised time with peers after
school and in the evenings. In general,
studies with adolescents show that poor
parental monitoring is more highly
related to adolescent problem behavior
than any other aspect of parenting. Over-
all, adolescents who do well in school, do
not abuse alcohol or drugs, and do not
engage in delinquency have parents who
are good monitors and who are warm and
supportive.
Raymond Montemayor
See also Child-Rearing Styles; Employ-
ment: Positive and Negative Conse-
quences; Family Relations; Fathers and
Adolescents; Maternal Employment:
Historical Changes; Maternal Employ-
ment: Influences on Adolescents; Moth-
ers and Adolescents; Parent-Adolescent
Relations; Parenting Styles
References and further reading
Ary, D. V., T. E. Duncan, A. Biglan, C. W.
Metzler, J. W. Noell, and K.
Smolkowski. 1999. “Development of
Adolescent Problem Behavior.” Journal
of Abnormal Child Psychology 27:
141–150.
484 Parenting Styles
Bahr, S. J., R. D. Hawks, and G. Wang.
1993. “Family and Religious Influences
on Adolescent Substance Abuse.” Youth
and Society 24: 443–465.
Capaldi, D. M., L. Crosby, and M.
Stoolmiller. 1996. “Predicting the
Timing of First Sexual Intercourse for
At-Risk Adolescent Males.” Child
Development 67: 344–359.
Cohen, Deborah A., and Janet C. Rice.
1995. “A Parent-Targeted Intervention
for Adolescent Substance Use
Prevention: Lessons Learned.”
Evaluation Review 19: 159–180.
Crouter, Ann C., and Susan M. McHale.
1993. “Temporal Rhythms in Family
Life: Seasonal Variation in the Relation
between Parental Work and Family
Processes.” Developmental Psychology
29: 198–205.
Crouter, Ann C., H. Helms-Erikson, K.
Updegraff, and Susan M. McHale. 1999.
“Conditions Underlying Parents’
Knowledge about Children’s Daily Lives
in Middle Childhood: Between- and
Within-Family Comparisons.” Child
Development 70: 246–259.
Forehand, R., K. S. Miller, R. Dutra, and
M. W. Chance. 1997. “Role of Parenting
in Adolescent Deviant Behavior:
Replication across and within Two
Ethnic Groups.” Journal of Consulting
and Clinical Psychology 65: 1036–1041.
Hetherington, E. M., and W. G.
Clingempeel. 1992. “Coping with
Marital Transitions.” Monographs of
the Society for Research in Child
Development 57 (2–3, serial no. 227).
Jacobson, K. C., and L. J. Crockett. 2000.
“Parental Monitoring and Adolescent
Adjustment: An Ecological
Perspective.” Journal of Research on
Adolescence 10: 65–97.
Mekos, Debra, E. M. Hetherington, and D.
Reiss. 1996. “Sibling Differences in
Problem Behavior and Parental
Treatment in Nondivorced and
Remarried Families.” Child
Development 67: 2148–2165.
Patterson, G. R., and M. Stouthamer-
Loeber. 1984. “The Correlation of
Family Management Practices and
Delinquency.” Child Development 55:
1299–1307.
Stoolmiller, M. 1994. “Antisocial
Behavior, Delinquent Peer Association
and Unsupervised Wandering for Boys:
Growth and Change from Childhood to
Early Adolescence.” Multivariate
Behavioral Research 29: 263–288.
Parenting Styles
The term parenting style refers to a clus-
ter of parental attitudes and practices
that tend to produce certain identifiable
patterns in child and adolescent adjust-
ment outcomes. Research has demon-
strated that particular parenting styles
may differentially impact an adolescent’s
psychosocial adjustment, achievement
level, success in school, and involvement
with drugs or alcohol. Many factors are
likely to influence what type of parenting
style a particular family adopts when
their child reaches adolescence. For
instance, research suggests that the cog-
nitive, social, and emotional changes
that developing adolescents experience
are likely to influence which parenting
styles their parents adopt. Individual
characteristics of parents, and the parent-
ing style adopted earlier in their child’s
development, may also influence which
parenting style is most prominent in
their child’s teenage years.
It is generally accepted that there are
two dimensions of parenting, demand-
ingness and responsiveness, and these
two dimensions are used to define four
parenting styles (authoritative, authori-
tarian, permissive, and rejecting-neglect-
ful; see table). Demandingness refers to
the extent to which parents supervise
and discipline their offspring and place
age-appropriate demands on them.
Demandingness
High Low
Responsiveness High Authoritative Permissive
Low Authoritarian Rejecting-
Neglectful

Parenting style refers to the set of behaviors and attitudes used by parents to raise their
children. (Jennie Woodcock; Reflections Photolibrary/Corbis)
Responsiveness refers to the degree to
which parents are accepting of their off-
spring and how attentive and sensitive
parents are to their changing needs. The
four styles of parenting are defined in
terms of these two dimensions: Authori-
tative parents are both highly responsive
and demanding; permissive parents are
highly responsive but not demanding;
authoritarian parents are highly demand-
ing but not responsive; and rejecting-neg-
lectful parents are neither demanding nor
responsive.
History of Parenting Styles
Parenting styles have been extensively
researched during the past sixty years.
Over the course of that time there have
been several major developments that
Parenting Styles 485
have shaped the way in which we think
about parenting styles today. Scholars in
the 1960s and 1970s employed factor
analytic techniques to identify parenting
constructs that repeatedly emerged from
parenting questionnaires and interviews.
The first major development in this field
was the emergence of two dimensions,
warmth-hostility and permissiveness-
restrictiveness, that seemed to account
for most of the variation in parenting
attitudes and practices. Building on
research that spurred these dimensional
constructs, a classification system that
categorized parents as being authorita-
tive, authoritarian, permissive, or reject-
ing-neglectful was employed to further
describe the differences between parents.
These four categories were defined by
486 Parenting Styles
two-dimensional constructs that were
different in name but quite similar in
nature to the earlier dimensional ideol-
ogy. The revised dimensions, termed
demandingness and responsiveness, were
quickly adopted into the literature and
became very influential in further
research endeavors. The four categories
of parenting style and the two-dimen-
sional constructs upon which they are
based comprise the classic nomenclature
in this field and are mentioned in some
way by most studies on parenting styles.
Another key development in the field
of parenting styles was the discovery of
discrete parenting characteristics, other
than those captured by the responsive-
ness and demandingness dimensions,
that seemed to consistently cluster with
particular categorical parenting styles. In
an effort to represent these characteris-
tics, the existing classification system
was broadened to include four hybrid
terms: authoritative-reciprocal, authori-
tarian-autocratic, indulgent-permissive,
and indifferent-uninvolved. Since this
last major development in the field,
researchers on parenting styles have con-
tinued to come up with new terminology
to more accurately and precisely classify
parenting characteristics. Despite the
evolving nature of this classification sys-
tem, a basic understanding of the four
most widely used parenting styles
(authoritative, authoritarian, permissive,
and rejecting-neglectful) is the key to
understanding and interpreting this body
of research.
In order to better understand the clas-
sic categories of parenting styles, one
must clearly understand what researchers
mean by responsiveness and demanding-
ness. Responsiveness refers to how
attuned parents are to the individual
needs of their adolescents. A parent who
is responsive is highly aware of his ado-
lescent’s development and is able to fos-
ter social and emotional development in
his adolescent. Demandingness refers to
the extent to which a parent places matu-
rity demands on his adolescent, as well as
the way in which a parent chooses to
enforce those demands. A parent who is
moderately demanding is able to teach
his adolescent social responsibility and
the value of delayed gratification. Addi-
tionally, a moderately demanding parent
is likely to set reasonable goals and
demands for his adolescent and follow up
with consistent but nonpunitive disci-
pline. The most successful parenting hap-
pens when demandingness and respon-
siveness are in balance with one another.
As will be discussed, when there is either
too much or too little of either respon-
siveness or demandingness, negative out-
comes can ensue. A better understanding
of how these are integrated into parenting
styles requires taking a closer look at
each parenting style and its associated
outcomes in terms of adolescent psy-
chosocial adjustment.
Authoritative, Permissive,
Authoritarian, and Rejecting-
Neglectful Parenting Styles
Research has shown that the most suc-
cessful parents are those who adopt an
authoritative parenting style. Authorita-
tive parents are highly responsive as well
as somewhat demanding. Parents who are
authoritative work with their adolescent
to establish clear and reasonable rules to
live by, and they expect that their adoles-
cent will be responsible and behave in an
age-appropriate manner. Authoritative
parents may make demands on their ado-
lescent, but they also allow their adoles-
cent to make demands upon them. In this
sense, authoritative parents foster a part-

nership with their adolescent that is
mutually respectful and reciprocal in
nature. When an adolescent misbehaves,
an authoritative parent will provide con-
sistent but reasonable disciplinary action.
At the same time, an authoritative parent
provides a warm and supportive environ-
ment in which their adolescent is encour-
aged to make her own decisions, express
her own opinions, and strive for auton-
omy. Authoritative parents typically raise
adolescents who have a positive sense of
themselves, are well socialized, are high
achievers, do well in school, and are not
likely to get involved with drugs, alcohol,
or antisocial activities.
A permissive parenting style is highly
responsive but not demanding. Permis-
sive parents are warm and accepting but
do not set appropriate rules or reprimand
their adolescent, and in an effort to avoid
confrontation, permissive parents will not
hold their adolescent accountable for mis-
conduct. Permissive parents may try too
hard to be friends with their adolescent,
and as a result these parents typically do
not provide enough adult influence and
guidance in the home environment. Per-
missive parenting generally produces ado-
lescents who are comparable to adoles-
cents of authoritative parents, except that
adolescents of permissive parents tend to
have difficulty in school and to be at
increased risk for drug and alcohol use.
Authoritarian parents are highly de-
manding but not responsive. Authoritar-
ian parents set extensive rules and guide-
lines for their adolescent and do not
tolerate a cooperative or reciprocal rela-
tionship with their adolescent. Authori-
tarian parents frequently assert parental
power by enforcing punitive discipline
when their adolescent does not adhere to
rules or live up to parental expectations.
Adolescents raised by authoritarian par-
Parenting Styles 487
ents tend to have psychological difficul-
ties (depression or anxiety), difficulty in
school, low self-esteem, and even though
these adolescents typically exhibit good
self-control, they are at risk for involve-
ment with drugs, alcohol, and illegal
activities.
The rejecting-neglectful parent is low
on both responsiveness and demanding-
ness. A rejecting-neglectful parent is
uninvolved with his adolescent and does
not provide either support or structure.
The rejecting-neglectful parent may view
parenting as a burden and therefore may
limit both the quality and quantity of
time he spends with his adolescent. As a
result, adolescents raised by rejecting-
neglectful parents tend to have a signifi-
cant amount of internalizing difficulties,
problems asserting themselves, a high
frequency of drug and alcohol use, and
may have lower cognitive skills and aca-
demic abilities than adolescents raised by
authoritative parents.
Parenting Attitudes and Practices
Parental attitudes and parental practices
are both important components of a par-
enting style. However, there are distinct
differences between these three terms.
Parenting attitudes represent the way in
which parents think or believe they
should raise their adolescent. Parenting
style is the term used to describe a con-
stellation of parenting attitudes. As such,
parenting styles set the emotional tone of
parent-adolescent interactions and pro-
vide the framework for the parent-adoles-
cent relationship. Although parenting
styles define the contextual features of a
parent-adolescent relationship, the man-
ner in which parents actually impose
their belief systems (i.e., parenting prac-
tices) may actually comprise the nuts and
bolts of parenting. Therefore, although
488 Parenting Styles
parenting styles greatly influence which
parenting practices are implemented,
these two constructs are not interchange-
able. Research has shown that parenting
practices directly impact adolescent out-
come, while parenting attitudes or styles
have a more indirect role. It is not diffi-
cult to see how this relationship unfolds;
a parent believes their adolescent should
behave in a certain way, but simply hav-
ing these beliefs (parenting attitudes or
style) does not directly influence an ado-
lescent. It is the manner in which a par-
ent chooses to enforce these beliefs (par-
enting practices) that directly affects the
adolescent.
It is especially important that parent-
ing practices be fluid, reflecting the
developmental changes of the adolescent
as she progresses into young adulthood.
Parents who are inflexible with their par-
enting practices are likely to be in con-
flict with their adolescent. This parent-
adolescent conflict typically occurs when
parenting practices that worked well dur-
ing childhood are viewed by an adoles-
cent or young adult as an infringement
on her autonomy. The most successful
parents are those who are in sync with
the changing needs of their adolescent.
Though it is difficult to generalize across
all adolescents, parenting is most likely
to be effective when parents allow the
power structure in the family to shift as
their adolescent matures. Thus, while a
more parent-centered family structure is
appropriate for young children, a more
balanced structure between parents and
their maturing adolescent is necessary. It
has been found that parents who are able
to balance the power structure and adopt
fluid and responsive parenting practices,
while at the same time maintaining sta-
bility in the home environment, have
better relationships with their adoles-
cents, and their adolescents have higher
self-esteem and are more satisfied with
their lives.
The influence of different parenting
styles has been relatively consistent
across socioeconomic status, gender, age,
and family composition. However, most
of the research on parenting styles has
been focused on European Americans,
and research with other ethnic groups in
the United States and abroad is relatively
new. Developing a better understanding
of cross-cultural differences in parenting
styles will require further research.
Rachael B. Millstein
Grayson N. Holmbeck
Sean N. Fischer
Wendy E. Shapera
See also Child-Rearing Styles; Family
Relations; Fathers and Adolescents;
Mothers and Adolescents; Parent-Ado-
lescent Relations; Parental Monitoring
References and further reading
Baumrind, Diana. 1973. “The
Development of Instrumental
Competence through Socialization.” Pp.
3–46 in Minnesota Symposia on
Adolescent Psychology, vol. 7. Edited by
Anne D. Pick. Minneapolis: University
of Minnesota Press.
———. 1991. “Parenting Styles and
Adolescent Development.” Pp. 746–758
in Encyclopedia of Adolescence, vol. 2.
Edited by Richard M. Lerner, Anne C.
Peterson, and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn.
New York: Garland.
Darling, Nancy, and Laurence Steinberg.
1993. “Parenting Style as Context: An
Integrative Model.” Psychological
Bulletin 113, no. 3: 487–496.
Holmbeck, Grayson, Roberta Paikoff, and
Jeanne Brooks-Gunn. 1995. “Parenting
Adolescents.” Pp. 91–118 in Handbook
of Parenting, vol. 1. Edited by Marcus
H. Bornstein. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Maccoby, Eleanor E., and John A. Martin.
1983. “Socialization in the Context of
the Family: Parent-Adolescent
Interactions.” Pp. 1–101 in Handbook of

Adolescent Psychology, vol. 4. Edited by
Paul H. Mussen. New York: Wiley.
Steinberg, Laurence. 1999. “Families.”
Pp.118–149 in Adolescence, 5th ed.
Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Steinberg, Laurence, Nina Mounts, Susie
Lamborn, and Sanford M. Dornbusch.
1991. “Authoritative Parenting and
Adolescent Adjustment across Varied
Ecological Niches.” Journal of Research
on Adolescence 1, no. 1: 19–36.
Peer Groups
As children make the transition into ado-
lescence, they exhibit increased interest
in their peers and a growing psychologi-
cal and emotional dependence on them
for support and guidance. One reason for
this growing interest is that many young
adolescents enter new middle school
structures that necessitate interacting
with larger numbers of peers on a daily
basis. In contrast to the predictability of
self-contained classroom environments
in elementary school, the uncertainty
and ambiguity of multiple classroom
environments, new instructional styles,
and more complex class schedules often
result in students turning to each other
for ways to cope, information, and social
support. Interest in sexuality and dating
also increases at this age, widening the
focus of peer interactions from same-sex
to opposite-sex peers. As a result, young
adolescents quickly form groups based
on factors such as mutual interest, val-
ues, activities, or ethnicity; group mem-
bership is a hallmark of adolescent soci-
ety well into the high school years.
Typically, adolescent peer groups are
studied in two ways. Peer crowds reflect
fairly large, reputation- and status-based
collectives of peers who have common
interests, values, or attitudes. Peer net-
works or cliques are characterized by
Peer Groups 489
smaller groups of self-selected friends
who interact with each other on a fre-
quent basis.
Peer crowds are largely defined by
stereotypic characterizations of individu-
als based on interests, attitudes, behav-
ioral repertoires, values, or even race and
social class. Therefore, crowd member-
ship is typically a function of how a stu-
dent is perceived by her peers rather than
what she is really like or the extent to
which she actually interacts with the
other students in the crowd. In fact,
although a peer crowd is often thought of
as a group to which an individual actu-
ally belongs, students do not necessarily
think they belong to a crowd to which
their peers assign them. Moreover, peer
crowds can serve as reference groups for
those who would like to be a part of the
crowd but are not. In other words, stu-
dents observe crowd behavior for infor-
mation about acceptable behavior, popu-
lar styles, and what they should be like.
In general, the importance of belonging
to a crowd peaks during early adoles-
cence and then decreases over the course
of the high school years.
Although adolescents themselves seem
to define and organize their own groups,
adults can play a critical role in group for-
mation. For instance, class size can deter-
mine the size of peer cliques, and ability
grouping and tracking practices can deter-
mine their composition. The degree to
which schools emphasize group activi-
ties, such as sports and music, or aca-
demics also can influence the types of
crowds that are formed and their relative
status in a school.
Peer crowds differ on a range of charac-
teristics, including the social status asso-
ciated with group membership, the ease
with which the group accepts new mem-
bers, and the degree to which the group is
490 Peer Groups
Young adolescents form groups based on factors such as natural interest, values, activities, or
ethnicity. (Skjold Photographs)
similar to or different from other groups.
Most peer crowds are easily recognized by
the defining norms or activities of the
group. For instance, most schools have
groups that students label as nerds, jocks,
druggies, populars, and loners. Nerds, or
brains, are students who earn high aca-
demic grades and are perceived as being
smart. Jocks are students who like and
participate in sports and physical activi-
ties. Druggies, in contrast, are typically
known for using drugs and for antisocial
forms of behavior. Populars are those stu-
dents perceived as having many friends,
going to lots of parties, being cool, and
having fun. Loners are perceived as not
belonging to any particular crowd and not
being accepted by peers in general.
Although these groups are typically found
in all schools, other crowds based on eth-
nicity, social class, or specific activities
are also common.
During the early adolescent years, peer
crowds are often large and typically rep-
resent only two or three distinct sets of
interests or levels of social status. For
instance, middle school crowds might
simply consist of those students who are
popular and those who are not. It is rela-
tively difficult to move in and out of
these crowds, and many students remain
associated with a crowd for two or more
years. As adolescents progress through
high school, crowds become more differ-
entiated, with five or six groups repre-
senting the peer population. In contrast
to young adolescent crowds, which are
defined primarily on the basis of behav-

ioral styles and activities, crowds of mid-
adolescents are defined to a greater
extent according to abstract and person-
ality-based qualities. For instance, at this
time crowds might have highly distinct
characteristics, as represented by labels
such as nerds, druggies, punkers, or pop-
ulars. High school crowds also represent
varying levels of the social status hierar-
chy, although students often are able to
move from one crowd to another. By the
end of high school, social status becomes
less important in defining peer crowds.
At this age, students can and do move
from crowd to crowd with relative ease.
In contrast to peer crowds, peer net-
works or cliques are smaller and based on
mutual relationships. Peer cliques can
also be formed on the basis of common
activities such as study groups, athletic
teams, or music and arts activities. A
young adolescent in sixth grade might be
affiliated with a crowd comprised of
roughly a half or a third of her class while
at the same time belonging to a peer
clique of seven or eight peers. Members
of peer cliques based on friendships are
likely to have similar behavioral styles,
similar orientations toward aggression,
for instance, or similar tendencies to be
cooperative and prosocial, as well as sim-
ilar personality styles. Adolescents
belonging to the same friendship net-
work also tend to be similar in terms of
levels of emotional stress or psychologi-
cal well-being.
Members of peer cliques interact with
each other frequently, although not
exclusively. Like peer crowds, networks
can be characterized according to the vis-
ibility and importance of the group
within a classroom, and they often differ
in the social status accorded their mem-
bers. The status and centrality of specific
individuals in a particular network also
Peer Groups 491
help define these groups. Adolescents
often belong to several peer networks and
make new friends as a result. Because of
the changing nature of adolescent friend-
ships, network membership is more
unstable than crowd membership.
Adolescent peer groups seem to play
several important roles in the social and
emotional development of young people.
Peer crowds are believed to serve two pri-
mary functions, to facilitate the forma-
tion of identity and self-concept and to
structure ongoing social interactions.
With respect to identity formation,
crowds are believed to provide adoles-
cents with values, norms, and interaction
styles that are sanctioned and commonly
displayed. Behaviors and interaction
styles that are characteristic of a crowd
are modeled frequently, and so they can
be easily learned and adopted by individ-
uals. In this manner, crowds provide pro-
totypical examples of various identities
for those who wish to try out different
lifestyles and can easily affirm an adoles-
cent’s sense of self. As adolescents enter
high school and the number of crowds
increases, identities associated with
crowds are more easily recognizable and
afford the opportunity to try on various
social identities with relatively little risk.
Because crowds are associated with
specific norms and patterns of behavior,
they also tend to structure the nature of
adolescents’ social interactions. For in-
stance, crowd affiliation can determine
the quality of one’s friendships. Members
of popular crowds often have friendships
that are fairly superficial and status
based, whereas members of low-status
crowds tend to form friendships marked
by loyalty, stability, and commitment.
Because it is often easier to move to one
crowd with similar characteristics than
to another crowd that has very different
492 Peer Groups
norms and values, crowd membership
also tends to determine how many
friends an individual might have and the
ease with which friends can be made out-
side one’s crowd.
A specific example of the power of
crowd influence is reflected in relations
between crowd membership and adoles-
cents’ attitudes toward academic achieve-
ment. Peer crowds differ in the degree to
which they pressure members to become
involved in academic activities, with jock
and popular groups providing signifi-
cantly more pressure for academic
involvement than other groups. Ethnic
group status also appears to be a factor, in
that white and Asian American adoles-
cents tend to value an education, whereas
in African American samples valuing
education is less prevalent. At a more
general level, the degree to which adoles-
cents are able to establish positive rela-
tionships with groups of peers is related
to their adjustment to and ultimate suc-
cess in school. Students who believe that
their peers support and care about them
tend to be more engaged in positive
aspects of classroom life than students
who do not perceive such support. In par-
ticular, perceived social and emotional
support from peers has been associated
positively with prosocial outcomes such
as helping, sharing, and cooperating, and
related negatively to antisocial forms of
behavior. In contrast, young adolescents
who do not perceive their relationships
with peers as positive and supportive tend
to be at risk for academic and behavioral
problems.
Of additional interest with respect to
academic achievement, however, is that
being liked by teachers might offset any
negative effects of peer rejection on ado-
lescents’ adjustment at school. For
instance, young adolescents who have
few friends but are not necessarily dis-
liked by their peers are often highly moti-
vated students if they are well liked by
their teachers. These adolescents tend to
remain academically and socially well
adjusted over the course of the middle
school years. Therefore, it appears that
the absence of peer relationships does not
inevitably influence motivation to
achieve and academic performance if
supportive relationships with teachers
exist.
The function of peer networks is
believed to be somewhat different from
that of peer crowds. Peer networks typi-
cally provide members with the help,
support, companionship, and mutual aid
typical of close friendships. Peer net-
works also play a role in defining social
boundaries and status hierarchies that
help to maintain social control and
enforce conformity to group norms and
practices. Social control can be accom-
plished when adolescents provide each
other with positive types of support such
as instrumental help and emotional vali-
dation. In addition, however, social con-
trol can be maintained by peer interac-
tions that are less helpful and often quite
negative.
Adolescent gossip is a typical mecha-
nism of social control that conveys
approval or disapproval of behavior to
group members. It is clear that adoles-
cents are often highly motivated to con-
form to peer standards of behavior for
fear of rejection or ridicule. Indeed, emo-
tional distress has been linked consis-
tently to peer rejection and lack of peer
support during this stage of development.
Interestingly, adolescents who believe
that approval from peers makes them feel
good about themselves suffer from the
negative emotional effects of peer rejec-
tion, whereas adolescents who believe

that feeling good about one’s self leads to
peer acceptance do not.
Perhaps one of the more interesting
questions with respect to peer groups is
how great the strength of their influence
is when compared to that of parents and
other adults. It often is assumed by
researchers as well as the general public
that adolescent peer groups provide alter-
native and competing influences to those
of parents. Interestingly, however, this is
not entirely the case. Although adoles-
cents vary in the extent to which they
succumb to peer pressure, adolescents
typically follow parental advice when
faced with conflicting advice from par-
ents and peers, especially if decisions
involve future plans such as choosing
and attending a college. As adolescents
get older, they tend to make important
decisions on their own, independently of
advice or pressures from peers or parents.
Exceptions to this pattern are found in
adolescents who associate with delin-
quent gangs. In this case, peers have an
enormous amount of influence on indi-
vidual gang members. However, the
strength of gang influence is in large part
due to parents who have been ineffective
in providing their children with social
skills and emotional support. In the case
of gang cultures that evolve among chil-
dren from poor immigrant or ethnic-
minority groups, economic hardships,
cultural discontinuities, and lack of sup-
portive programs in the schools serve to
weaken further the role of parents in ado-
lescents’ lives. As a result, these adoles-
cents who have become detached from
family and school cultures tend to group
together into gangs that offer them
friendship, emotional support, a sense of
security, and protection. Most adoles-
cents, however, do not engage in gang
activities and are able to negotiate the
Peer Groups 493
world of peer groups successfully, espe-
cially if they have the support of patient
and nurturing parents.
Kathryn R. Wentzel
See also Cliques; Dating; Ethnic
Identity; Ethnocentrism; Identity;
Proms; Social Development; Youth
Gangs
References and further reading
Brown, Bradford B. 1989. “The Role of
Peer Groups in Adolescents’
Adjustment to Secondary School.” Pp.
188–215 in Peer Relationships in Child
Development. Edited by Thomas J.
Berndt and Gary W. Ladd. New York:
Wiley.
Brown, Bradford B., Margaret S. Mory, and
David Kinney. 1994. “Casting
Adolescent Crowds in a Relational
Perspective: Caricature, Channel, and
Context.” Pp. 123–167 in Personal
Relationships during Adolescence.
Edited by Raymond Montemayor,
Gerald R. Adams, and Thomas P.
Gullotta. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Epstein, Joyce L. 1989. “The Selection of
Friends: Changes across the Grades and
in Different School Environments.” Pp.
158–187 in Peer Relationships in Child
Development. Edited by Thomas J.
Berndt and Gary W. Ladd. New York:
Wiley.
Furman, Wyndol. 1989. “The
Development of Children’s Social
Networks.” Pp. 151–172 in Children’s
Social Networks and Social Supports.
Edited by Deborah Belle. New York:
Wiley.
Kindermann, Thomas A., Tanya
McCollam, and Ellsworth Gibson. 1996.
“Peer Networks and Students’
Classroom Engagement during
Childhood and Adolescence.” Pp.
279–312 in Social Motivation:
Understanding Children’s School
Adjustment. Edited by Jaana Juvonen
and Kathryn R. Wentzel. New York:
Cambridge University Press.
Urberg, Kathryn A., Serdar M.
Degirmencioglu, Jerry M. Tolson, and
Kathy Halliday-Scher. 1995. “The
Structure of Adolescent Peer
Networks.” Developmental Psychology
31: 540–547.
494 Peer Pressure
Peer Pressure
Peer pressure is the influence that peer
groups exert, through implicit or explicit
demands, on individual members to con-
form to a group’s activities, beliefs, or
norms. Although peer pressure can be in
positive directions, the focus has prima-
rily been on the negative impact that
peer pressure can have on adolescent
development. It is popularly believed
that peer pressure is one of the key
causes of deviant and antisocial adoles-
cent behavior. This belief has influenced
social policies and research concerning
peer pressure in adolescence, generating
policy and research biases toward discov-
ering ways to keep adolescents from suc-
cumbing to the negative influence of peer
pressure, neglecting positive effects that
it might have. However, concerns over
research design and methods of data col-
lection have raised questions about the
impact that peer pressure has. Studies
that address these concerns demonstrate
that although peer pressure plays a role
in adolescent development, the impor-
tance of that role has been overstated.
Additionally, other research shows that
peer pressure is not experienced uni-
formly by all adolescents. Factors such as
age, gender, group status, the nature of
the peer group demands, and parenting
style all play a role in determining sus-
ceptibility to peer pressure.
Peer pressure is popularly perceived as
a major cause of deviant behavior among
adolescents. This belief has its roots in
neo-Freudian theories of adolescent de-
tachment, according to which “healthy”
adolescents “break free” of parents dur-
ing puberty, a detachment that occurs
with a concomitant attachment to peers.
Belief in the rejection of parental influ-
ence and increase in peer influence is
reinforced by the positive correlation
consistently found between individual
levels of antisocial behavior (e.g., smok-
ing, substance use, delinquency, and the
like) and antisocial behavior among
peers. Thus, social programs aimed at
preventing these antisocial behaviors
typically target peer groups, attempting
to inoculate adolescents against con-
formity pressures. The most famous
example of such a program was First
Lady Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No”
American antidrug campaign, in which
teens were advised to say “no” to peer
demands. Programs such as this one
operate under the assumption that peer
groups exert a large influence over ado-
lescent behavior and use this influence to
enforce antisocial norms. Thus, many
studies investigating peer pressure focus
on how peers initiate and maintain nega-
tive pressure. Studies investigating posi-
tive aspects of peer pressure are seldom
conducted, overlooking the role that
peers can have on socially desirable out-
comes, for example, school achievement.
Given the negative emphasis society and
social policy place on peer pressure, it is
important to understand the impact it
has on adolescent behavior.
Due to research designs, the impor-
tance of peer pressure in the lives of ado-
lescents tends to be overstated. Peer pres-
sure is not a reflection of how similar
peer group members are, but of the
degree to which the group influences the
behaviors of individual members. Inves-
tigations that use a single time period to
explore the relationship between an ado-
lescent’s behavior and that of her peer
group are assessing similarity, not peer
pressure. These studies confound peer
selection with peer influence; not all
similarities between peers are due to con-
formity demands. Adolescents tend to
join peer groups that have similar inter-

Peer pressure is one of the key causes of deviant and antisocial adolescent behavior. (Shirley
Zeiberg)
ests. For example, a teenager who is in
the school band is not forced by peer
pressure to learn to play an instrument.
Instead, the teenager typically joins the
band if she already knows how to play an
instrument. Therefore, measuring the
level of similarity among band members’
musical ability needs to account for the
fact that they may have originally been
highly similar. In order to assess the
degree to which an adolescent changes to
conform to peer pressure, she needs to be
studied over time, in a longitudinal
research design. Although peer groups
have an impact on adolescent behavior,
studies using a longitudinal design find
Peer Pressure 495
that the majority of similarities observed
are due to initial selection.
A similar research problem arises in
how information is gathered about adoles-
cent and peer similarity. Many researchers
have chosen to use a single adolescent
informant. That is, one teenager provides
information for both his behaviors and the
behaviors of peers. Thus, a positive rela-
tionship between a teenager and peers
could partially reflect the teenager project-
ing his behaviors onto peers. Studies that
have collected information from both ado-
lescents and peers support this idea. Peer
pressure is still found to have an impact
when it is measured with multiple
496 Peer Pressure
informants; however, its impact is signifi-
cantly lower than when assessed with a
single informant.
Additionally, researchers investigating
peer pressure have found various factors
that influence the impact of peer pres-
sure. One of the most reliable findings is
the role of age. Conformity to peer pres-
sure appears as an inverted U across
time. That is, adolescent conformity to
peer pressure increases as individuals
enter adolescence, peaks during middle
adolescence (approximately twelve to fif-
teen years old), and declines thereafter.
Gender has also proven a relatively
consistent modifier of susceptibility to
peer pressure. Although male and female
adolescents generally display similar lev-
els of susceptibility to peers, males are
more likely to conform to peer demands
to engage in antisocial activities than are
females. Both genders are equally suscep-
tible to peer pressure concerning musical
preferences, but females are less suscepti-
ble to peer pressure involving illegal
activities. Classic views of peer pressure
as a negative phenomenon, therefore, are
more applicable to the adolescent male
experience.
The status a teenager has in a peer group
also affects the nature of peer pressure.
Low-status group members are usually
subject to unilateral influences from the
peer group; the peer group pressures the
adolescent and she conforms. Higher sta-
tus adolescents also experience peer pres-
sure, but in a more subtle and bidirec-
tional manner. Higher-status teens can
influence and guide the peer group, yet
their status and influence are bound by
group expectations. Thus, although higher
status members appear more influential,
their behavious are guided in less obvious
ways by the demands of the group.
The degree to which adolescents con-
form to peer pressure also depends on
what the peer group is demanding. Ado-
lescents are more likely to be influenced
by peer pressure involving neutral behav-
iors than peer pressure involving antiso-
cial or deviant behaviors. Thus, although
teenagers may readily conform to peer
demands to attend a certain film, they
are less likely to conform to similar pres-
sures to take illegal drugs. On a related
point, teenagers are also more susceptible
to peer pressure in some areas of their life
than others. Life decisions involving
short-term and transient outcomes are
highly subject to peer pressure, but peer
pressure has a smaller impact on long-
term decisions. For example, peer pres-
sure plays a larger role in the color that a
teenager dyes his hair but a smaller role
in college selection.
The broader social context of the ado-
lescent, especially her relationship with
parents, also modifies the impact that peer
pressure has on behavior. Permissive or
authoritarian parents tend to increase the
degree to which a teen is susceptible to
peer pressure. Additionally, it has recently
been shown that autocratic parenting
influences adolescent susceptibility differ-
ently, depending on whether peer pressure
is positive or negative. Teens with highly
autocratic parents are more influenced by
positive peer pressure and less influenced
by pressure to engage in positive rather
than negative behaviors than are teens
with less autocratic parents.
Douglas W. Elliott
See also Cliques; Conflict and Stress; Dat-
ing; Decision Making; Ethnocentrism;
Identity; Juvenile Crime; Moral Devel-
opment; Substance Use and Abuse;
Teasing; Youth Gangs

References and further reading
Berndt, Thomas J. 1979. “Developmental
Changes in Conformity to Peers and
Parents.” Developmental Psychology
15: 608–616.
Berndt, Thomas J., and Keuho Keefe. 1995.
“Friends’ Influence on Adolescents’
Adjustment to School.” Child
Development 66: 1312–1329.
———. 1996. “Transitions in Friendship
and Friends’ Influence.” Pp. 57–84 in
Transitions through Adolescence:
Interpersonal Domains and Context.
Edited by Julia A. Graber, Jeanne
Brooks-Gunn, and Anne C. Petersen.
Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates.
Brown, B. Bradford, Donnie Rae Classen,
and Sue Ann Eicher. 1986. “Perceptions
of Peer Pressure, Peer Conformity
Dispositions, and Self-Reported
Behavior among Adolescents.”
Developmental Psychology 22: 521–530.
Bukowski, William M., Andrew F.
Newcomb, and Willard M. Hartup.
1996. The Company They Keep:
Friendship in Childhood and
Adolescence. New York: Cambridge
University Press.
Chassin, Laurie, Clark C. Presson, Steve J.
Sherman, Daniel Montello, and John
McGrew. 1986. “Changes in Peer and
Parent Influence during Adolescence:
Longitudinal versus Cross-Sectional
Perspectives on Smoking Initiation.”
Developmental Psychology 22: 327–334.
Kandel, Denise B. 1978. “Homophily,
Selection, and Socialization in
Adolescent Friendships.” American
Journal of Sociology 84: 427–436.
Mounts, Nina S., and Laurence Steinberg.
1995. “An Ecological Analysis of Peer
Influence on Adolescent Grade Point
Average and Drug Use.” Developmental
Psychology 31: 915–922.
Youniss, James. 1980. Parents and Peers in
Social Development: A Sullivan-Piaget
Perspective. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press.
Peer Status
What characteristics of the person and of
his context enhance the quality of his
peer status? How can adolescents be
Peer Status 497
aided in building healthy and supportive
friendships? Although there has not been
a lot of theoretical attention paid to con-
ceptualizing what individual and contex-
tual variables may help answer these
questions, research does indicate that
there are three dimensions of peer rela-
tionships, or friendships, that affect the
course of youth development: first, sim-
ply having friends; second, the kind of
person one has as a friend; and third, the
quality of the friendship. Variations in all
three of these dimensions are related to
differences in the adjustment of youth.
Clearly, unless one has a friend, the
other influences of friendship on adoles-
cent development cannot act. There is a
diverse set of individual and contextual
variables that shape the formation of
friendships in adolescence.
Friendships are formed more readily by
youth who are more age-mate oriented
than family oriented in their attempts to
establish new social relationships with
peers. Also, the ability to take the per-
spective of other people whom one is
meeting is important in establishing new
friendships in adolescence. In addition,
knowledge of what are appropriate and
inappropriate strategies to use in making
friends is important in establishing
acceptance by peers. Knowing these
strategies, along with the ability to take
someone else’s perspective, can be quite
useful, since being able to fit one’s style
of behavior to that desired by peers is a
key factor in positive peer relations and
popularity.
Useful strategies in establishing friend-
ships include managing conflicts in ways
that avoid any disruption in the relation-
ship (that is, that avoid “stopping talking”
for a while) and using display behaviors to
enhance one’s attractiveness to others.
498 Peer Status
Friendships marked by stability, engagement, and lack of deviance in the friend are
associated with positive self-esteem among adolescents. (Skjold Photographs)
For instance, and in light of the fact that
physical attractiveness is linked to better
peer relations in both boys and girls, each
gender may use a set of behaviors that
they believe is associated with greater
physical attractiveness. For instance, in
order to try to appear more attractive, girls
have been found to display chin strokes,
hair flips, head tilts, coy looks, and move-
ments designed to make themselves
appear physically smaller.
To the extent that these behaviors and
characteristics are successful in forming
a friendship, and if the adolescent can
then become engaged in a friendship that
is marked by the qualities of
1. stability (duration over time);
2. engagement (i.e., being involved in
activities with a best or close
friend); and
3. lack of deviance in the friend (that
is, a friend who does not get into
trouble, a friend who has behaviors
and attitudes that are socially posi-
tive),
then it is likely that positive self-esteem
will develop in the youth.
However, not all friendships are
formed with youth who are engaged in
positive behaviors and who avoid trouble
and deviance. When friendships are
formed with youth having negative char-
acteristics, the implications for adoles-
cent development are not favorable. For

instance, when a youth’s friends engage
in antisocial behavior or in disruptive
behavior, it is likely that the youth will
follow the same course.
In addition, young people and their
friends frequently have the same feelings
of internal distress, and such personality
characteristics can be associated with
both adolescent and peer substance
abuse. Involvement with deviant peers
and feelings of depression increase the
likelihood that the adolescent will use
drugs. Similarly, changes in youths’
grades and drug use are linked to these
same changes in their friends.
Such associations may develop through
a process involving both hostile and low-
reciprocity relationships with a close
friend, occurring in relation to feelings of
depression and self-destructive behaviors
in a youth. Indeed, such a process has
been found to be related to high levels of
alcohol use among adolescents.
In sum, a range of types of friendships
exists in adolescence. As with peer rela-
tions in general, there are specific impli-
cations for youth behavior and develop-
ment of the type of friendships they
possess.
Richard M. Lerner
See also Cliques; Ethnocentrism; Loneli-
ness; Social Development
References and further reading
Hartup, Willard. 1993a. “Adolescents and
Their Friends.” New Directions for
Child Development 60: 3–22.
———. 1993b. “The Company They Keep:
Friendships and Their Developmental
Significance.” Child Development 67:
1–13.
Kolaric, G. C., and Nancy L. Galambos.
1995. “Face-to-Face Interactions in
Unacquainted Female-Male Adolescent
Dyads: How Do Girls and Boys
Peer Victimization in School 499
Behave?” Journal of Early Adolescence
15, no. 3: 363–382.
Laursen, Brett. 1993. “Conflict
Management among Close Peers.” New
Directions for Child Development 60:
39–54.
Lerner, Richard M. In press. Adolescence:
Development, Diversity, Context, and
Application. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice-Hall.
Rubin, Kenneth A. 1998. “Peer
Interaction, Relationships, and Groups.”
Pp. 619–700 in Handbook of Child
Psychology, vol. 3. 5th ed. Social,
Emotional, and Personality
Development. Edited by W. Damon and
N. Eisenberg. New York: Wiley.
Windle, Michael. 1994. “A Study of
Friendship Characteristics and Problem
Behaviors among Middle Adolescents.”
Child Development 65: 1764–1777.
Peer Victimization in School
Peer victimization can be defined as the
repeated bullying, insulting, terrorizing,
or intimidating of youth that takes place
in and around school in contexts where
adult supervision is minimal. Although
victimization is of concern to teachers,
administrators, and parents of school-
aged children at any age level, early ado-
lescence may be a particularly critical
developmental period for understanding
the nature of chronic harassment, as well
as its causes and consequences. Both the
pubertal changes that signal the onset of
adolescence and the transition to middle
school bring about major shifts in the
importance of the peer group to individ-
ual well-being. Given their heightened
concern about finding their niche, fitting
in, and peer approval in general, adoles-
cents who are targets of peer victimiza-
tion may be particularly vulnerable to
adjustment difficulties. Academic prob-
lems may also be exacerbated among
adolescent victims, since they must
Peer victimization is repeated bullying, insulting, terrorizing, or intimidating of youth. (Skjold
Photographs)

learn to cope with the general decline in
motivation that often accompanies the
middle school transition and adjust to a
school structure that provides more
opportunities for avoidance (e.g., skip-
ping classes).
Types of Peer Victimization
Peer victimization takes many forms. It
can be either direct, entailing face-to-face
confrontation, or it can be indirect, usu-
ally involving a third party. Direct vic-
timization can be further distinguished as
either physical (e.g., assault, damage to
one’s property) or verbal (e.g., name-call-
ing, threats, racial slurs). Indirect victim-
ization usually involves spreading nasty
rumors, gossiping, or other kinds of
behaviors that are designed to exclude or
ostracize the victim from his or her peer
group. The most common types of vic-
timization reported by middle school stu-
dents are being the target of nasty
rumors, name-calling, and public ridicule.
Overt physical victimization appears to
decline from childhood to adolescence,
whereas the psychological types, both
direct and indirect, increase from ele-
mentary to secondary school.
How pervasive is peer-directed victim-
ization in schools? Harassment begins as
early as preschool, and its effects are evi-
dent at a relatively young age. For exam-
ple, survey data reveal that children as
young as age seven list feeling unsafe at
school as one of their greatest worries.
Other studies indicate that more than
one-third of all aggressive acts against
twelve- to fifteen-year-olds take place at
school, with another 20 percent occurring
on the way to school. Furthermore, any-
where from 40 percent to 80 percent of
students report that they personally have
been victimized at school, with the
reported incidents ranging from verbal
Peer Victimization in School 501
abuse and intimidation to property dam-
age and serious assault (Hoover, Oliver,
and Hazler, 1992). In some urban second-
ary schools most of the youth who carry
weapons to school claim that they do so
for self-defense. All of these findings sug-
gest that psychological abuse, physical
threat, and direct aggression have become
accepted facts in American schools, and
that the perpetrators of hostility are
becoming more aggressive and the targets
of their abuse are feeling more vulnerable.
Although the public tends to think of
peer victimization as a dyadic interaction
between a perpetrator (bully) and her vic-
tim, it may be more accurate to portray
victimization as a group phenomenon
involving multiple social roles. As many
as six participant roles that children may
assume during a victimization incident
have been identified. In addition to bully
and victim, these roles are bully’s assis-
tant, bully’s reinforcer, victim’s defender,
and bystander. In studies among middle
and high school students, a greater per-
centage of students report taking on roles
that encourage and maintain peer abuse
as opposed to roles that discourage it. For
example, at least 35 to 40 percent of ado-
lescents act as bullies, assistants, or rein-
forcers. If those in the bystander role are
included, there are as many as 60 to 70
percent of students who do nothing to
stop bullying. In contrast, only about 20
percent of students report that they take
on defender roles (Salmivalli, 1999).
There are no clear gender differences in
victimization. Girls and boys are about
equally likely to be harassed by their
peers, although they tend to be harassed
in different ways. Boys are more often
physically victimized, whereas girls are
more typically indirectly or relationally
victimized by being excluded from social
groups. Verbal harassment, such as name-
502 Peer Victimization in School
calling, occurs with about the same fre-
quency among males and females.
As a special type of peer victimization,
sexual harassment in school does have
clear links to gender. Girls are more
likely to report being the victim of
unwanted sexual attention than boys.
The most common types of sexual vic-
timization reported in school are being
the target of sexual comments, jokes, or
gestures, and being touched, grabbed, or
pinched in a sexual way. The least com-
mon types reported are voyeurism (i.e.,
being spied on as one gets undressed in
the locker room) and forcible rape. Sexual
harassment is likely to occur more often
and be perceived as more severe in high
school than in middle school, and among
older than younger high school students.
Because sexual harassment is unique and
has its own developmental course, it is
not included in the sections that follow
on the causes and consequences of peer
victimization.
Risk Factors for Peer Victimization
Although large percentages of students
report some experiences with victimiza-
tion, only about 10 to 15 percent of
school children are chronic victims
(Olweus, 1991). These are the youngsters
who are repeatedly harassed by their
peers. Chronic victimization can last
from a few weeks to several years.
The reasons why some children become
chronic victims are not well understood,
but there are both individual and family
factors that place a child at particular risk.
Because victimization occurs when there
is an imbalance of power between individ-
uals, one characteristic that appears to
directly contribute to victimization is
physical weakness. Physically weak chil-
dren are often increasingly victimized
over time because they lack the ability
and confidence to ward off the attacks of
their peers. Late pubertal development rel-
ative to one’s peers has been linked to vic-
timization for boys, because boys who
mature later are typically smaller and
physically weaker in middle school than
their on-time and early-maturing male
classmates.
A second risk factor for victimization
is being different from others. Habitual
teasing is especially likely for children
who look different due to, for example,
being fat, wearing glasses, being an eth-
nic minority, or having speech problems
or an obvious physical disability. Young-
sters who behave in a deviant way are
also at increased risk. Hyperactivity and
other kinds of annoying or disruptive
behavior often invite peer harassment.
Hence, the dimensions of difference that
can cause victimization may be both
within the potential victims’ control
(e.g., annoying behavior) and outside of
their control (e.g., looking different).
The absence of good-quality friendship
networks is a third risk factor for victim-
ization. It has been shown that children
who are vulnerable in other ways are less
likely to be harassed by peers if they have
even one close friend. A close friend pro-
vides not only emotional support but
also someone who will stick up for the
child if victimization does occur. Studies
have shown that bullies prefer to attack
friendless children because there is little
risk of retaliation from others. On the
other hand, the quality as well as the
quantity of one’s friendships can also be
an important consideration. Chronic vic-
tims who do have more than one friend
often have chums who themselves are
weak, timid, and fearful. Nevertheless,
victims often do have close relationships
that can offer much in the way of support
or protection against bullies.

A fourth risk factor can be traced to
the chronic victim’s family relation-
ships. Children who display what is
called insecure attachment to parents
are often the targets of peer harassment.
As infants and toddlers, insecurely
attached children are easily upset by
novelty, have difficulty separating from
their parent, and are not easily comforted
by their parent when they are upset.
When these children reach school age,
they tend to be anxious and reluctant to
explore or try new things, and they cry
easily. Such behaviors often invite
harassment by classmates. Parenting
styles also are related to victimization.
Overprotectiveness or intrusiveness by
mothers, particularly toward their sons,
can interfere with the boy’s development
of physical play and risk taking, which
are behaviors that are valued by the male
peer group and that protect against vic-
timization. In contrast, overcontrolling
parents who use coercion and threat of
love withdrawal to insure compliance
are more likely to be a risk factor for
girls. Parents who employ such tactics
may foster self-doubts in their daughters
about their ability to develop the kind of
interpersonal relationships that are more
expected of girls.
In summary, there are individual child
factors and family factors that can be
causes of victimization. It is important to
remember, however, that the presence of
these risk factors does not mean that vic-
tims are responsible for their plight. Peer-
directed victimization would not take
place if there were no bullies to initiate it
and if there were better ways to supervise
and monitor all children at school.
Consequences of Peer Victimization
The psychological and behavioral conse-
quences of chronic victimization are
Peer Victimization in School 503
overwhelmingly negative. Chronic vic-
tims tend to have low self-esteem, and
they feel more lonely, anxious, unhappy,
and insecure than their nonvictimized
peers. Studies of victimization over time
reveal that these psychological conse-
quences can have long-term effects. For
example, one large-scale study conducted
in Norway showed that chronic victim-
ization in ninth grade predicted depres-
sion, negative self-views, and suicide
attempts ten years later when the former
victims were young adults.
One reason why many victims suffer
from low self-esteem and depression is
that they blame themselves for what hap-
pens to them. That is, when youngsters
are harassed by others, they often ask
themselves, “Why me?” To the extent
that their answer to this question focuses
on their own perceived weaknesses (e.g.,
“I’m a wimp,” “I’m the type of person
who deserves to be picked on”), they will
feel worse about themselves. Victims
who attribute their plight to situational
factors (e.g., “This school has a lot of
tough kids”) that do not single them out
(e.g., “These kids pick on everybody”)
show better coping and adjustment.
There is increasing evidence that
chronic victims are also at risk for school
difficulties. Victims of all ages report that
they like school less than do nonvictims.
At the secondary level, victimization is
associated with attendance problems,
such as tardiness and unexcused absences.
Such findings may indicate that victims
use avoidance as a way of coping with
chronic harassment by others. Less is
known about how victimization directly
affects actual school performance, as
measured by grade-point average. What is
clear, however, is that when victimization
is accompanied by psychological prob-
lems, such as low self-esteem or depres-
504 Peer Victimization in School
sion, adolescents are at particular risk for
diminished academic performance.
In addition to suffering from negative
self-views and school difficulties, victims
tend to be rejected by the general peer
group, especially during early adoles-
cence. In addition to showing dislike,
studies on peer attitudes document that
young adolescents express little concern
that victimization might cause pain and
suffering for the target of such behavior.
In general, adolescents appear to be
unsympathetic toward victims and to
endorse the belief that these children
bring their problems on themselves. This
may partly explain why peers take on the
role of participants in the victimization
process and why victims have difficulty
finding peers who will either protect
them or come to their aid.
As a result of negative self-views and
peer rejection, many victims become pas-
sive and withdrawn, and they yield to
bullies’ demands with little or no protest.
Other victims, in contrast, become hos-
tile and aggressive themselves. When
picked on by others, they react with
exaggerated displays of anger and hostil-
ity. But such youngsters are rarely suc-
cessful in their attempts to defend them-
selves or gain acceptance from the peer
group. The long-term consequences of
being an aggressive victim can be just as
devastating as those associated with
being a passive victim. One such conse-
quence is perhaps best illustrated by the
series of school shootings that took place
in America over a two-year period in the
late 1990s. A common factor underlying
almost all of these shootings was that the
perpetrator had a history of being teased
and taunted by fellow classmates, and
that he felt picked on and persecuted.
In summary, research on the conse-
quences of chronic peer harassment por-
trays a dismal picture of the school life of
victimized youth. Victims feel bad about
themselves, lonely, isolated, and de-
pressed. They are also disliked by their
peers, who are very unsympathetic to
their plight. The behavioral conse-
quences of victimization involve both
turning inward, with submissiveness and
withdrawal, and turning outward, with
hostility and aggression. Chronic harass-
ment can also lead to poor school per-
formance.
School-Based Interventions
for Victimization
The negative consequences of victimiza-
tion highlight the need for intervention,
and a few different approaches have been
offered. One approach focuses on the vic-
tim, in order to teach social skills and
strategies for dealing with harassment.
These may include assertiveness train-
ing, where victims learn to defend them-
selves in nonaggressive ways; the learn-
ing of effective problem-solving tactics;
and friendship development training,
such as learning cooperation and sharing.
Many victims are reluctant to tell any-
one about their experiences out of fear of
further retaliation or being singled out as
an easy mark. To address this problem,
victim hot lines have been established as
a second approach. A phone call to coun-
selors at the victim’s discretion is
thought to both protect their privacy and
encourage help seeking.
Yet a third kind of approach has been
designed to change the school environ-
ment where peer harassment takes place.
The goal is to target everybody in the
school setting, including staff, teachers,
and all students. This kind of approach is
guided by the belief that victimization
can be combated only if two things hap-
pen: First, teachers and administrators

must take harassment seriously and
know how to handle it. And second, the
student body must become less tolerant
of victimization and more empathetic
toward victims. Schoolwide programs are
multifaceted, in that they typically
include a curriculum for staff develop-
ment and empathy training for all stu-
dents, as well as specific interventions
for both victims and bullies.
Given the pervasiveness and serious-
ness of peer victimization in schools
today, it seems that schoolwide programs
will be the most effective strategy for
both prevention and intervention. Only
when the school community comes to
accept the fact that the problem of vic-
timization is everyone’s responsibility
will the climate be right for effective and
lasting change.
Sandra Graham
See also Cliques; Conflict and Stress;
Ethnocentrism; Identity; Shyness;
Teasing
References and further reading
Graham, Sandra, and Jaana Juvonen. 1998.
“A Social Cognitive Perspective on Peer
Aggression and Victimization.” Annals
of Child Development 13: 21–66.
Hoover, J., R. Oliver, and R. Hazler. 1992.
“Bullying: Perceptions of Adolescent
Victims in Midwestern USA.” School
Psychology International 13: 5–16.
Juvonen, Jaana, and Sandra Graham, eds.
2000. Peer Harassment in School: The
Plight of the Vulnerable and
Victimized. New York: Guilford Press.
Lee, Valerie, Robert Croninger, Eleanor
Linn, and Xianglei Chen. 1996. “The
Culture of Sexual Harassment in
Secondary Schools.” American
Educational Research Journal 33:
383–417.
Olweus, Dan. 1991. “Bully/Victim
Problems among School Children: Basic
Facts and Effects of a School-Based
Intervention Program.” Pp. 411–454 in
The Development and Treatment of
Childhood Aggression. Edited by Debra
Personal Fable 505
Pepler and Kenneth Rubin. Hillsdale,
NJ: Erlbaum.
Rigby, Ken. 1996. Bullying in Schools and
What to Do about It. Melbourne:
Austrailian Council for Educational
Research.
Salmivalli, Christina. 1999. “Participant
Role Approach to School Bullying:
Implications for Intervention.” Journal
of Adolescence 22: 453–459.
Verlinden, Stephanie, Michael Hersen, and
Jay Thomas. 2000. “Risk Factors in
School Shootings.” Clinical Psychology
Review 20: 3–56.
Personal Fable
The personal fable is a story adolescents
tell themselves, about themselves. The
personal fable emerges during adoles-
cence when they begin to think differ-
ently about the world. While they are
developing new cognitive abilities, ado-
lescents become self-centered or egocen-
tric. Aspects of egocentrism are extreme
self-consciousness, a sense that one is
always under critical scrutiny of others,
and a feeling that one is different from
everyone else. In the personal fable the
adolescent portrays herself as special or
unique. People at all stages of their lives
have personal fables that help them to
overcome difficult times. For adoles-
cents, however, the fable dominates their
thinking and understanding.
The period of adolescence is marked by
dramatic changes in ways of thinking.
Adolescents gain the ability to think
abstractly and hypothetically. For in-
stance, they can now think about what
might happen given certain circum-
stances. Adolescents can reflect on their
own and other people’s thinking and can
consider the point of view or perspective
of others. However, with these new abil-
ities come errors in judgment. These
errors contribute to the personal fable.
506 Personal Fable
Personal fables can lead to adolescents’ feel-
ing they are invulnerable or indestructible.
(Shirley Zeiberg)
The personal fable may appear in many
different forms. Adolescents may fail to
distinguish between experiences and
feelings that are unique to them and
those that are common to humanity.
They may underestimate how much
other people can relate to their experi-
ences. For example, a young man may
have his heart broken and believe that no
one has experienced the pain he feels.
Alternatively, adolescents often believe
that others share their own concerns and
preoccupations. A young woman with a
blemish on her face is likely to think that
everyone else notices it, too, and cares
about it as much as she does.
Another part of the personal fable is
that adolescents have a feeling of invul-
nerability or indestructibility. They be-
lieve that “bad things happen to other
people but not to me.” Since they are spe-
cial and unique, they are not vulnerable
to the same dangers as other people. This
belief may lead to risk-taking behavior.
For instance, although adolescents know
drunk driving is dangerous and may even
know of someone who was involved in a
drunk-driving accident, they do not
think it could ever happen to them.
The personal fable can be adaptive for
adolescents, since it protects them from
being overwhelmed by fears and experi-
ences that they did not have to deal with
as children. As their thought processes
mature, adolescents begin to realize the
many threats in the world that were not
of concern to them previously. The per-
sonal fable may also protect and help
develop self-esteem at a time when ado-
lescents are particularly vulnerable to
criticism.
In general, personal fable behavior
begins to diminish as young people begin
to develop friendships in which intima-
cies are shared. Once young people begin
to share their personal feelings and
thoughts, they discover that they are less
unique and special than they originally
thought. In addition, the sense of loneli-
ness in being special and apart from
everyone else diminishes. As adoles-
cents move into adulthood, self-esteem
increases and the need to fit in dimin-
ishes, as does the need for the personal
fable.
Susan Averna
See also Accidents; Ethnocentrism; Iden-
tity; Lore
References and further reading
Buis, Joyce, and Dennis Thompson. 1989.
“Imaginary Audience and Personal
Fable: A Brief Review.” Adolescence 24,
no. 96: 774–781.

Elkind, David. 1978. “Understanding the
Adolescent.” Adolescence 13, no. 49:
127–134.
Lapsley, Daniel, Matt Milstead, Stephen
Quintana, Daniel Flannery, and
Raymond Buss. 1986. “Adolescent
Egocentrism and Formal Operations:
Tests of a Theoretical Assumption.”
Developmental Psychology 22, no. 6:
800–807.
Personality
Each person is different, not like anybody
else, unique. This uniqueness is a very
complex set of biological characteristics,
ideas, memories, motivations, attitudes,
and values. Theoretically, the number of
characteristics that each person pos-
sesses is unlimited or at least very large.
Moreover, these characteristics them-
selves are not equal; they define a very
complicated system called a human
being, and they define it in different
ways. Some of these characteristics can
be observed directly and established
objectively (like eye color or height),
some could be judged based on a person’s
action (like kindness or anxiety), some
influence a person’s behavior in life situ-
ations (for instance, sociability), and
some do not (again, eye color or, for
instance, blood type).
Personality is defined as one’s charac-
teristics that define one’s behavior in life
situations. These characteristics are called
personality traits. They are “individual
differences in the tendency to behave,
think, and feel in certain consistent ways”
(Caspi, 1998, p. 312). Some of these traits
are biologically determined (as properties
of one’s nervous system) and related
closely to one’s temperament; some are
mostly cognitive (like values and atti-
tudes) and related to a person’s self, a men-
tal structure that encompasses a person’s
views and beliefs about him/herself and
Personality 507
the world around them. Personality can be
viewed as a kind of geometrical shape
with multiple facets, with each facet rep-
resenting a personality characteristic, and
all the facets with unique joints between
them should be taken into consideration if
one wishes to explain or predict a person’s
behavior in any given moment. This
shape is personality. There are numerous
traits, so it would be hard or maybe impos-
sible to describe a particular personality
without some kind of generalization. In
the early years of research on personality,
scholars noted that those characteristics
might be grouped, reducing their number
and making descriptions, explanations,
and comparisons much easier. Continuing
to use a geometrical metaphor, if the
shape is viewed from a distance, the edges
between some facets would be blurred and
several of them would be perceived as one,
bigger facet. The number of facets we see
will depend on the distance, or, more sci-
entifically, the number of traits to take
into consideration will depend on the
level of analysis.
In sum, personality might be thought
of as a hierarchy of traits, from broadest
domains that correspond to the most
general tendencies of a person’s behavior,
to smaller traits, as well as the values and
ides that may influence his reaction to a
particular situation.
On the top of the hierarchy are the Big
Five factors, the broadest qualities each
of which encompasses several more pre-
cise personality characteristics. Most
researchers agree that these five factors
are:
• Extraversion, or Positive Emotion-
ality, defining to which extent a
person actively engages in life on
the whole and likes to seek new
experiences; extraverts are usually
Personality is defined as the characteristics that define an adolescent’s behaviors, emotions,
and motivations. (Skjold Photographs)

active, assertive, enthusiastic, out-
going, humorous, and sociable;
• Neuroticism, or Negative Emotion-
ality, defining to which extent a
person sees the world as hostile,
distressful, and threatening; people
who possess this quality are basi-
cally anxious, self-pitying, con-
cerned with adequacy, not self-
reliant, worrying, and have
fluctuating moods;
• Agreeableness, defining warm, giv-
ing, and sharing quality of a person’s
interpersonal nature; manifests
itself in generousness, kindness,
warmth, compassion, and trust;
• Conscientiousness, or Constraint,
or the strength of one’s self-con-
trolling ability; conscientious peo-
ple are organized, planful, reliable,
and responsible;
• Openness, or Intellect, defining the
complexity of one’s intellectual
life; as it is obvious, it is directly
related to a person’s intellectual
level and expresses itself in creativ-
ity, curiosity, width of interests,
the depth of understanding experi-
ences, artistry, and fantasy.
The above schema is widely accepted
by most scholars of personality and rep-
resents the two highest levels of the per-
sonality hierarchy. Yet the complexity of
a human being cannot be represented in
one, even one very well developed and
very precise schema. In many instances
one cannot predict their own behavior or
the behavior of others. In fact, human
personality is much more complex than
any schema can represent, and, in addi-
tion, it is constantly changing. It is also
interesting that the very nature of our
understanding of personality is full of
contradictions. Some of these are:
Personality 509
• between the holistic nature of per-
sonality and the need, already dis-
cussed, for some classification and
generalization;
• between objectivity and subjectiv-
ity—there is no way of objectively
measuring any personality traits;
• between stability and change;
• between the roles of heredity, envi-
ronment, and the conscious will in
development of one’s personality.
The first contradiction is that there are
a large number of traits, attitudes, and
values that influence any act in any situ-
ation. These numerous traits were in-
vented by psychologists to describe and
measure personality with a certain degree
of precision, but in reality all of these
qualities are at work simultaneously.
The ability to generalize is useful if we
want to compare two personalities, or if
we want to measure change in one’s per-
sonality over time. However, these scales
and dimensions are approximations. For
instance, we may want to describe some-
one as outgoing, agreeable, extravert,
kind, generous, self-reliant, yet not planful
enough, who likes to avoid responsibility,
yet is always devoted to his friends. Based
on these characteristics, a person can be
judged. Yet, it would still be an approxi-
mation, and it would be impossible to pre-
dict this person’s behavior in a given situ-
ation just based on that description. Thus,
the first contradiction lies in the idea of
personality as a scientific concept.
The second contradiction is evident
when one attempts to measure all the
qualities that are considered to be part of
personality. How do we know that the
person is kind, or sociable, or optimistic?
How do we compare one person with
another and claim that one of them has
more of a certain quality than another?
510 Personality
How can we judge our own qualities? In
other words, the question is how some
degree of objectivity is reached while
making judgements about personality
characteristics.
One measurement strategy is to judge
personality based on a person’s actions. A
kind person does more for the others. A
sociable person has more friends. Yet,
there are at least two problems with
using this way of measuring. First, there
is no way of recording ALL of a person’s
actions and behaviors, even during some
short period of time. Second, one’s
actions and behaviors in any situation
depend on the situation no less than they
depend on one’s personality characteris-
tics, so to make a comparison between
two people, for instance, we would need
to compare their actions in absolutely
identical situations, which is not realis-
tic. In addition, there are some personal-
ity traits (like optimism) that do not dis-
play themselves directly into actions and
define more global attitudes toward life.
However, using actions to measure per-
sonality is common in questionnaires
and interviews. Another way to capture
one’s personality is to rely on people’s
opinions, and, if opinions of several peo-
ple concur, then that our measurement
has at least some degree of objectivity.
The next contradiction is between con-
tinuity and change. As it can be inferred
from the definition of personality traits,
traits are consistent qualities. At the
same time, human personality is an ever-
changing system. The questions that
arise out of the notion of a changing sys-
tem have to do with whether change is
possible; if it is possible, is it necessary;
and last, what changes?
First of all, change is possible. More-
over, the scholars in the field of behav-
ioral genetics, who deal with the prob-
lems of heredity in temperament and per-
sonality characteristics, claim that
change is genetically programmed; in
other words, people are born with predis-
positions for more or less change. For
instance, it is well known that twin stud-
ies have shown that all twins, even those
who grow up in the same family, during
the life course always grow apart or
become less similar. At the same time,
those studies have shown that different
pairs of twins (even of one kind, monozy-
gotic, or biologically most similar twins)
display different degrees of change. Since
in such studies all the other variables
seem constant (all monozygotic, all
growing together in a normal environ-
ment), the only logical explanation
would be that the proneness to change is
another genetic characteristic.
Most of the change happens in the first
part of life, from birth until early adult-
hood. In other words, this change is part
of usual maturation, which is, as we
know, biologically inevitable. On the
other hand, people change for the rest of
their lives, though this change, happen-
ing beyond young adulthood, is less dras-
tic and more environmentally than bio-
logically influenced.
Trying to draw conclusions about
whether change is necessary is more dif-
ficult. It implies that change should be
evaluated as positive or negative for
development.
Basically, researchers agree that stabil-
ity is positive and that people whose per-
sonalities remain relatively stable from
adolescence to adulthood are more intel-
lectually, emotionally, and socially suc-
cessful than those who exhibit higher
degrees of change (Block, 1971). Some
have hypothesized that stability, or con-
sistency of personality characteristics, is
related to the very important and defi-

nitely positive human trait—integrity,
which means a person’s stability and
strength in the face of different life events.
To answer the question of what
changes is difficult. Human personality
is a complex construct that is hierarchi-
cally organized. There are global traits
(domains), there are specific ones, and
there are ideas and attitudes situated at
the lowest levels of hierarchy. Keeping in
mind that all change is relative to consis-
tency, it is nevertheless possible to claim
that there is at least one global rule of
change that holds true for most human
personalities. The more global the trait
is, the slower it changes. The most stable
across the life span are the five factors, or
domains, which are mostly biologically
determined and thus harder (yet not
impossible) to change. The less stable are
traits, values, and attitudes that are cul-
turally and cognitively created and thus
are possible to reshape when a new cul-
ture, new environment, or a new stream
of events comes into play.
The last contradiction that arises when
the topic of personality is looked at is the
one between heredity, environment, and
conscious will in shaping one’s personal-
ity. This problem is probably the most
important one, since some information
in this field would promote one’s under-
standing of the forces shaping his person-
ality and his own role among these
forces.
On one hand, the most basic personal-
ity traits are biologically determined,
hence inherited, hence hard to change.
Yet taken literally, this fact contradicts
the very idea of contemporary develop-
mental psychology, which states that
nothing, or very little in human psyche,
is predetermined and impossible to
change; everything is the result of a very
complex interplay of biology and envi-
Personality 511
ronment. There are different opinions
about this issue in the field.
First of all, the scholars of behavioral
genetics claim that heredity is responsi-
ble for from 22 to 46 percent of variation
in different personality characteristics,
more so for Extraversion and Neuroti-
cism and less for the rest of the factors
(Agreeableness, Constraint, Openness).
These numbers seem pervasive. But if
one thinks about it not in terms of bare
numbers but in terms of people and
imagine that, for instance, if two people
have the same inherited level of sociabil-
ity, and then for one of them it remained
as it was but for another one it increased
four times (this could be true, since this
is the difference between inherited 22
(25) percent and the 100 percent that we
have as the result of different life influ-
ences), even without being acquainted
with these two people we can say that
they will be quite different.
So a great deal of flexibility and unpre-
dictability exists here, and it is easier to
understand if we think of the fact that
“we do not inherit personality traits or
even behavioral mechanisms as such.
What is inherited are chemical templates
that produce and regulate proteins
involved in building the structure of the
nervous system and the neurotransmit-
ters, enzymes, and hormones that regu-
late them. . . .” (Zuckerman, 1991). These
biological characteristics are always
somehow influenced by the environ-
ment, so it is in a sense artificial to talk
about biological characteristics as sepa-
rate factors.
Another consideration that may evolve
here is the idea that in usual studies
researchers deal with usual environmen-
tal influences and do not deal with envi-
ronments especially designed for a spe-
cific goal, for instance, in families where
512 Physical Abuse
parents put all of their efforts to suppress
aggression and develop sociability in
their child. Since the effect of such an
experiment would be impossible to
measure (we could never know how this
child would develop under normal cir-
cumstances), we cannot estimate it in
terms of numbers and percentages, but
we can suppose that the impact of such a
special, goal-oriented environment might
be impressive.
Another example of an environmental
impact is what we call “a self-made per-
son.” This can be understood in the con-
text of the previous example, with the
only difference being that this is the per-
son himself, and not his parents who cre-
ated a special environment for develop-
ing special personality traits. The
mechanism of this change is a little more
complex than for any other change, since
to create the environment the person
needs to understand exactly what the dif-
ference between his ideal self and his real
self is and how to eliminate this differ-
ence. To do this, he needs to understand
exactly and correctly his real self, and to
determine the means of change. It is very
hard, but still possible, and though, as in
the previous examples, the effects of the
impact of an intentionally created envi-
ronment would be impossible to meas-
ure, it is here that the complex, yet flexi-
ble and open to perfection nature of
human personality is clearly seen.
Janna Jilnina
See also Autonomy; Conformity; Disor-
ders, Psychological and Social; Emo-
tions; Ethnocentrism; Gender Differ-
ences; Identity; Moral Development;
Motivation, Intrinsic; Rebellion; Self;
Self-Consciousness; Sex Roles; Shy-
ness; Social Development; Tempera-
ment
References and further reading
Block, Jack. 1971. Lives through Time.
Berkeley, CA: Bancroft Books.
Caspi, Avshalom. 1998. “Personality
Development across the Life Course.”
In Handbook of Child Psychology.
Edited by W. Damon and N. Eisenberg.
New York: Wiley, pp. 311–388.
Caspi, Avshalom, Glen Elder, and Ellen
Herbener. 1990. “Childhood Personality
and the Prediction of Life-Course
Patterns.” In Straight and Devious
Pathways from Childhood to
Adulthood. Edited by Lee N. Robins
and Michael Rutter. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Zuckerman, Marvin. 1991. Psychobiology
of Personality. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Physical Abuse
There is no single definition of what con-
stitutes child physical abuse. Arriving at
a consensus definition is difficult be-
cause of diverse beliefs and values regard-
ing parents’ rights to discipline their
children using physical means. Within
the United States, some national leaders
and child welfare experts believe that
hitting a child in any way (e.g., spanking,
slapping) should be considered abuse,
whereas others believe that physical
punishment is an appropriate method of
discipline. Following the lead of Sweden,
several European countries forbid all
physical punishment. No state in the
United States forbids parents from using
physical punishment on their children.
Given that it is not unlawful for par-
ents or guardians to use corporal punish-
ment, when does physical discipline
become abuse? Most states employ
guidelines that define physical abuse as
inflicting physical injury to a child caus-
ing abrasions, lacerations, and fractures.
However, a determination of abuse
involves taking into consideration such
A child who has been the victim of physical abuse is at risk for juvenile delinquency, drug
and alcohol abuse, and criminal activity. (Corbis/Bettmann)
514 Physical Abuse
factors as the age of the child, the extent
of injury, and the circumstances sur-
rounding the incident. Ultimately, feder-
ally mandated state agencies, called child
protective services, are responsible for
determining if abuse has occurred. Child
protective services often work in con-
junction with the police because physical
abuse can be a criminal act. Child pro-
tective services can seek the removal of
children from parents and placement in
foster care through court action if chil-
dren are determined to be at substantial
risk of further harm.
Prevalence
Historically, parents in the United States
have used physical methods to punish
their children for perceived misbehavior.
National surveys indicate that approxi-
mately 97 percent of Americans have
received physical discipline at some
point during their childhood. More than
50 percent of adults report that they were
physically punished by their parents dur-
ing adolescence.
Approximately 205,000 children were
identified by child protective service
agencies as being physically abused
within the United States in 1998 (a rate
of 2.9 per 1,000 children). Child protec-
tive service records showed that the
physical abuse rate was 3.2 per 1,000
among 12-15 year-olds and 1.9 per 1,000
among 16-17 year-olds; these victimiza-
tion rates are based on cases known to
the authorities and are likely to signifi-
cantly underestimate the number of ado-
lescents who are physically abused. Phys-
ical abuse occurs in all socioeconomic
groups, yet children from families who
earn less than $15,000 are at least fifteen
times more likely to experience physical
abuse than children who are from fami-
lies with incomes of more than $30,000.
A 1995 Gallup poll of parents on their
use of physical punishment concluded
that 49 children per 1,000 were physi-
cally abused; this estimate of the rate of
abuse indicated that approximately 3
million children were physically abused
that year. However, parents are not likely
to be completely candid about their use
of physical discipline in an interview, so
these data are also likely to underesti-
mate the prevalence of physical abuse.
There were 1,110 child fatalities in
1998 as the result of child maltreatment,
which includes both neglect and physical
abuse. Many experts believe this figure
underestimates the number of deaths
resulting from maltreatment because of
the difficulty in determining the exact
cause of death for many young children.
Several states have instituted child fatal-
ity review teams to review and investi-
gate the causes of all accidental child
deaths.
Children under the age of five are the
most vulnerable to severe physical harm
and death (approximately 85 percent of
child deaths due to physical abuse in-
volved children under five) because they
cannot flee from harm, verbalize what has
happened, or defend themselves, and they
have only minimal contact with adults
beyond their families. Further, their bodies
are the most vulnerable to physical injury.
The most frequent cause of serious injury
(brain damage) or death for children under
the age of three is shaken baby syndrome.
Shaken baby syndrome can occur when
an adult grabs an infant by the shoulders
and shakes the child; the child’s head bobs
back and forth causing the brain to hit the
skull resulting in internal hemorrhaging.
Although many school-aged children
are injured by their caregivers each year,
school-aged children are less likely than
younger children to suffer severe injuries

due to physical abuse. The reduction in
serious injury is attributed primarily to
their greater physical development and
access to teachers, principals, and coun-
selors who are mandated to report any
suspected abuse to child protective ser-
vices. If a child discloses any form of
child maltreatment to school officials,
these professionals must immediately
make a report to child protective serv-
ices. Teachers and other professionals
(e.g., counselors, doctors, nurses) who fail
to report suspected abuse are subject to
criminal prosecution.
Causes
No single factor has been identified as
the cause of physical abuse. Research
reveals that there are many factors that
contribute to child abuse. These include
parents who have a history of being phys-
ically abused as children, are of low
socioeconomic status, are young and sin-
gle, have less than a high school educa-
tion, have poor impulse control, lack
social supports, are under significant
stress, and/or have a special needs child.
Statistics indicate that 70 percent to 80
percent of parents who abuse their chil-
dren were physically abused themselves.
However, the majority (60–70 percent) of
physically abused children do not harm
their children when they become par-
ents. Fifty to 80 percent of all physical
abuse cases occur when parents are
intoxicated or using illegal substances. A
link has also been established between
domestic violence and child abuse; many
men who batter their spouses or partners
also abuse the children in the home.
Effects
Children who experience physical abuse
are frequently reluctant to disclose what
has occurred. They are often threatened
Physical Abuse 515
with further punishment, fearful of get-
ting their parents into serious trouble, or
frightened of the unknown consequences
following disclosure. Some children, in
order to maintain secrecy regarding their
victimization, may hide their injuries by
wearing extra clothing, creating fictitious
stories about their injuries when ques-
tioned, or stay at home until the injuries
are healed. Children who believe that a
nonoffending parent will support them
are far more likely to disclose their abuse
than children who feel unsupported.
It is common for abused children to
think that they deserved the physical
abuse they received. Children are taught
to love and respect parents; conse-
quently, they may believe that parents
are acting in their best interest even
when physical injury occurs. This is
especially true for younger children.
Unless children become aware that there
are legal limits to physical discipline,
they may be subject to continuous abuse
without considering seeking help to pre-
vent further incidents.
The impact of physical abuse on phys-
ical development varies. Beyond immedi-
ate physical pain and temporary injury,
research indicates that abused children
have a greater likelihood of neurological
impairment. Sensory and motor skills
problems are associated with physical
abuse. In cases of severe abuse, children
may experience a lifetime of physical
limitations.
The effects of physical abuse are not
limited to bodily harm. There are also
psychological consequences for children
and adolescents who have been emotion-
ally traumatized by the experience of
physical abuse. The most significant con-
sequence is that victims of abuse often
view the world around them as a hostile,
unpredictable place that threatens them
516 Physical Abuse
with harm. Abused children and adoles-
cents learn that in order to survive they
must physically, psychologically, and
emotionally protect themselves from
others. They can become distrustful and
suspicious of any adult.
Research shows that adolescents who
have been physically abused are more
likely than nonabused peers to act out in
an aggressive manner or to withdraw
from peers. They may have difficulty ini-
tiating and maintaining positive social
relationships during adolescence, and
this pattern may still be evident in adult-
hood. Adolescents with a history of
physical abuse frequently show low lev-
els of self-esteem and have a much
greater probability of suffering from
depression and anxiety disorders than
nonabused adolescents; they also report
thinking more often about committing
suicide than other adolescents. Physical
abuse has been linked to other problem
behaviors in adolescence and adulthood.
Having been physically abused increases
the probability of participation in juve-
nile delinquency, drug and alcohol abuse,
and criminal activity. More than 80 per-
cent of adult criminals in prison for
assault reported being physically abused
as children.
Remediation and Treatment
Several factors can mitigate the harmful
effects of physical abuse. Less severe
abuse, shorter duration, and being older
than five have all been linked to fewer
negative consequences. Studies consis-
tently show that the most powerful factor
in minimizing or eliminating the harmful
consequences of abuse is experiencing a
trusting, supportive relationship with an
adult, preferably the nonoffending parent.
Such relationships serve to provide chil-
dren with physical and psychological
safety; they can reduce feelings of fear,
betrayal, and self-blame that are often
found in victims of physical abuse.
Psychotherapy is the recommended
treatment for abused children. The spe-
cific type of therapy utilized (play, cogni-
tive behavioral, group, and/or family
therapy) depends on the age of the child,
familial support, and circumstances sur-
rounding the physical abuse. The pri-
mary issues include assisting children in
expressing feelings, gaining a sense of
control over traumatic memories, per-
sonal empowerment, enhancing self-
esteem, building positive relationships,
and developing alternatives to acting-out
behaviors. Children and adolescents may
need to participate in psychotherapy for
varying lengths of time and at different
stages of development to overcome the
effects of physical abuse. Victims of
abuse who have participated in psy-
chotherapy report significant benefits to
self-esteem and interpersonal relation-
ships. In addition, they are able to resolve
traumatic memories and reduce feelings
of self-blame.
James Henry
Tom Luster
See also Aggression; Alcohol Use, Risk
Factors in; Anxiety; Bullying; Coping;
Counseling; Emotional Abuse; Foster
Care: Risks and Protective Factors;
Neglect; Parent-Adolescent Relations;
Rights of Adolescents; Self-Injury; Sex-
ual Abuse; Violence; Youth Gangs
References and further reading
Dote, Martha. 1999. “Emotionally and
Behaviorally Disturbed Children in the
Child Welfare System: Points of
Preventative Intervention.” Children
and Youth Services Review 21, no. 1:
7–29.
Egeland, Byron. 1993. “A History of Abuse
Is a Major Risk Factor for Abusing the
Next Generation.” Pp. 197–208 in
Current Controversies on Family

Violence. Edited by Richard J. Gelles
and Donileen R. Loseke. Newbury Park,
CA: Sage.
English, Diana. 1998. “The Extent and
Consequences of Child Maltreatment.”
The Future of Children 8, no. 1: 39–51.
National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse
and Neglect Information. 1999. “Child
Fatalities Fact Sheet.” Washington, DC:
U.S. Government Printing Office, pp.
1–3.
Straus, Murray A., and Glenda K. Kantor.
1994. “Corporal Punishment of
Adolescents by Parents: A Risk Factor
in the Epidemiology of Depression,
Suicide, Alcohol Abuse, Child Abuse,
and Wife Beating.” Adolescence 29, no.
115: 543–560.
Urquiza, Anthony J., and Cynthia Winn.
1999. “Treatment for Abused and
Neglected Children: Infancy to Age 18.”
National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse
and Neglect Information. Washington,
DC: U.S. Government Printing Office,
pp. 1–16.
Political Development
Teenagers typically consider politics a
boring topic with little relevance for their
lives, probably because by politics they
mean the business of elected officials.
But politics is a much broader domain. It
concerns rights and responsibilities and a
commitment to the principles that bind
us together as a society. Political partici-
pation is the way in which we stabilize
our society and make our communities a
good place to live. It is also the way in
which we challenge our society and con-
tribute to social change.
Political comes from the word polis,
which means the public sphere of soci-
ety. Aristotle referred to the polis as a
network of friends working together for
their common good. The common good
or public sphere refers to those things
that members of a community share,
that no one individual or group owns but
that belong to everyone—like public
Political Development 517
schools, public parks, or public roads.
They exist for the people, and the people
have a stake in making them work well.
Political participation is the way peo-
ple work together to make their commu-
nities good places to live. In this sense it
is very similar to civic work or public
service. When teenagers do volunteer
work in their communities—whether
cleaning up a river or helping children
learn to read—they are doing civic work.
Such work benefits the public, that is, all
citizens, not just the individuals that the
adolescent helps. When a river is pol-
luted, everyone for whom it was a source
of drinking water or of recreation loses
out. Likewise, if a child doesn’t learn to
read, as an adult she will be poorly pre-
pared to find work that can support a
family or to make informed decisions
that affect the entire community.
When politics is conceived in this
broader way, teenagers are very engaged.
In fact, the results of an annual nation-
wide study of college freshman found
that 81 percent of the class of 2000 had
done volunteer work and 45.4 percent
had participated in an organized demon-
stration, but only 28.1 percent said that
they were interested in keeping up with
politics (Kellogg, 2001). This is a far cry
from the self-absorbed and apathetic pic-
ture that is sometimes painted of youth.
In fact, adolescents are real assets to their
communities—with fresh ideas and the
energy to make things happen.
Getting involved as a teenager seems
to predict a lifetime of political participa-
tion and civic engagement. Adults who
are active in the civic and political affairs
of their communities were active in
extracurricular activities at school and in
other community and youth groups
when they were teenagers (Verba, Schloz-
man, and Brady, 1995). Why this is so is
518 Political Development
Political participation is the way people work together to make their communities good
places to live. (Skjold Photographs)
not entirely clear. However, it is likely
that by being a member of a group and
helping to define and work toward com-
mon goals, one gets a sense of what it
means to work for the common good.
The feeling of group solidarity is a good
one, and membership in the group
becomes part of who one is. One identi-
fies with the group, cares about the other
members, and wants to help accomplish
the goals of the group. This group identi-
fication is an essential part of political
development because political goals are
rarely accomplished by individuals. They
result from group effort.
Getting involved in extracurricular
activities or community groups is not the
only factor that promotes political or
civic participation. Families also play an
important role, especially in the values
they teach children. In a large study of
adolescents in seven different countries,
Flanagan et al. found that youth in each
country were more likely to be involved
in civic work if their parents had taught
them that it was important to empathize
with others’ feelings and needs and not
just their own. In fact, research by Wendy
Rahn and John Transue shows that
increasing materialist aspirations among
youth over the past few decades have
eroded their feelings of trust in others,
and low levels of social trust are related
to lower levels of political participation.
Social trust does increase, however, as a
result of participating in community

activities. Thus, youth participation in
community service should increase their
trust in others.
The adolescent and young adult years
are generally considered an ideal stage in
life for reflecting on political issues. Ado-
lescence is the period when questions of
identity—who I am, where I am headed,
what meaning my life has—come to the
fore. Questions of values—what I stand
for, what ideals I believe in, and where my
society is headed—may also emerge. Erik
Erikson held that an ideology was a psy-
chological necessity for adolescents, offer-
ing them, among other things, a corre-
spondence between the inner world of
ideals and the social world and helping
them frame a perspective for the future.
Our political views reveal something
about ourselves and our view of the
world. And the political views that evolve
during the adolescent years are concor-
dant with the person the teen is becoming
and with his personal aspirations, values,
and beliefs (Flanagan and Tucker, 1999).
As they search for a direction in life,
adolescents experiment with different
ideas, roles, and lifestyles. Indeed, there is
a certain freedom during this time to
search because, compared to adults, ado-
lescents are relatively free from responsi-
bilities, especially for families. For these
reasons, Karl Mannheim argued that it
was during the late adolescent and early
adult years that youth experienced a fresh
contact with their society. They saw it
from a new vantage point and could
decide how their own ideals meshed with
their social order and which aspects of
that order were in need of change. As
each new generation of youth comes of
age, the particular political and historical
events of the era are the context for their
decisions about personal identity and
political action. Politics is a world of con-
Political Development 519
tested views, and in their choice of music
or the clothes they wear, youth make
political statements. They decide who
they are and with which groups and cul-
tural messages they are aligned. And by
the culture they create as a generation,
they shape the world around them.
According to generational theorists,
social change occurs because each new
generation of youth, with their own set of
experiences, ideals, and choices, replaces
the generation before them. Although
political views continue to evolve after
the adolescent and young adult years, the
way an individual grapples with social
and political issues during this period and
the values to which she commits are
formative of her personality and behav-
iors thereafter.
Constance Flanagan
See also Autonomy; College; Conformity;
Decision Making; Ethnic Identity; Eth-
nocentrism; Family Relations; Freedom;
Gender Differences and Intellectual and
Moral Development; Identity; Media;
Moral Development; Parent-Adolescent
Relations; Peer Pressure; Racial Dis-
crimination; Religion, Spirituality, and
Belief Systems; Rights of Adolescents;
Self; Social Development; Transition to
Young Adulthood; White and Ameri-
can: A Matter of Privilege?; Youth Cul-
ture; Youth Outlook
References and further reading
Erikson, Erik H. 1968. Identity: Youth and
Crisis. New York: Norton.
Flanagan, Constance A., and Leslie S.
Gallay. 1995. “Reframing the Meaning
of ‘Political’ in Research with
Adolescents.” Perspectives on Political
Science 24: 34–41.
Flanagan, Constance A., and Corrina
Jenkins Tucker. 1999. “Adolescents’
Explanations for Political Issues:
Concordance with Their Views of Self
and Society.” Developmental
Psychology 35, no. 5: 1198–1209.
Flanagan, Constance A., Jennifer Bowes,
Britta Jonsson, Beno Csapo, and Elena
Sheblanova. 1998. “Ties That Bind:
520 Poverty
Correlates of Adolescents’ Civic
Commitments in Seven Countries.” In
Political Development: Youth Growing
Up in a Global Community. Journal of
Social Issues 54, no. 3: 457–475.
Kellogg, Alex. 2001. “Looking Inward,
Freshmen Care Less about Politics and
More about Money.” Chronicle of
Higher Education Jan. 26: A47–A49.
Mannheim, Karl. 1952. “The Problem of
Generations.” Pp. 276–322 in Essays on
the Sociology of Knowledge. London:
Routledge and Kegan Paul. (Original
work published 1928).
Rahn,Wendy M., and John E. Transue.
1998. “Social Trust and Value Change:
The Decline of Social Capital in
American Youth, 1976–1995.” Political
Psychology 19: 545–565.
Verba, Sidney, Kay Lehman Schlozman,
and Henry E. Brady. 1995. Voice and
Equality: Civic Voluntarism in
American Politics. Cambridge, MA:
Harvard University Press.
Youniss, James, Jeffrey A. McLellan, and
Miranda Yates. 1997. “What We Know
about Engendering Civic Identity.”
American Behavioral Scientist 40:
620–631.
Poverty
Income and poverty levels and trends are
important, because adolescents in low-
income families may experience marked
deprivation in such basic areas as nutri-
tion, clothing, housing, and healthcare,
and because differences in family income
influence an adolescent’s chances of
achieving economic success during adult-
hood. Many adolescents throughout the
past half-century have experienced the
deprivations associated with low family
incomes, and the proportion has increased
over the past two decades. Using a
poverty measure that is most appropriate
for historical and international compar-
isons, about one-fourth of adolescents in
the United States lived in relative poverty
in 1998, a proportion substantially higher
than for other rich Western countries
(U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1998). The
proportion who ever experienced relative
poverty at any time during childhood or
adolescence is substantially higher. The
primary factors determining both levels
and trends in adolescent poverty have
been the trends in fathers’ and mothers’
employment and income earned from
their work. Poverty is higher among ado-
lescents in the United States than in other
rich countries primarily because govern-
ment income transfer programs in other
countries are much more generous than
in the United States.
Adolescents in the United States have
experienced two distinct eras of economic
change during the past half-century, with
corresponding changes in poverty and eco-
nomic inequality. The post–World War II
era of rising prosperity and improved
opportunities was followed by declining
economic circumstances and prospects.
An understanding of the consequences of
these changes for adolescents requires
attention both to changes in average eco-
nomic levels and to shifts in inequality in
access to economic resources.
In a specific year, one-half of families
have incomes below the median family
income, and one-half have incomes
above the median. During the twenty-six
years from 1947 to 1973, median family
income more than doubled. But twenty-
five years later, in 1998, median family
income was only 12 percent greater than
in 1973, despite the enormous jump in
mothers’ labor force participation. In
fact, because increased mothers’ labor
force participation requires additional
work-related expenditures including
transportation, clothing, and childcare
(Ruggles, 1990; Citro and Michael, 1995),
the average income actually available to
families for nonwork-related expendi-
tures increased less than indicated by

change in the median income during the
post–World War II era.
Economic deprivation is often meas-
ured by the official U.S. poverty rate,
which was developed in the 1960s, based
on income levels, or poverty thresholds,
that were designed to measure the mini-
mum income needs experienced by fami-
lies as of the early 1960s. The official
poverty rate for adolescents ages twelve
to seventeen fell sharply during the 1960s
from 24 percent in 1959 to 15 percent in
1969 (Hernandez, 1993, p. 260). Since
then, official poverty has increased some-
what for adolescents, rising to 16 percent
as of 1998.
For studies of long-term change, how-
ever, increasing numbers of scholars call
into question the official poverty meas-
ure. One major limitation of the current
official measure is that it fails to take
into account changing social perceptions
about what income levels are viewed as
“normal” or “adequate.” Given the enor-
mous increase in real income between
World War II and 1973, for example, it
would be surprising if a corresponding
change had not occurred in social percep-
tions regarding the amount of income
needed to maintain a “normal” or “ade-
quate” level of living.
That such judgments are relative has
been noted for at least 200 years. Adam
Smith emphasized in Wealth of Nations
that poverty must be defined in compari-
son to contemporary standards of living.
He defined economic hardship as the
experience of being unable to consume
commodities that “the custom of the
country renders it indecent for creditable
people, even of the lowest order, to be
without” (cited in U.S. Congress, 1989,
p. 10).
More recently, John Kenneth Galbraith
also argued, “People are poverty-stricken
Poverty 521
when their income, even if adequate for
survival, falls markedly behind that of the
community. Then they cannot have what
the larger community regards as the mini-
mum necessary for decency; and they can-
not wholly escape, therefore, the judgment
of the larger community that they are
indecent. They are degraded for, in a literal
sense, they live outside the grades or cate-
gories which the community regards as
respectable” (1958, pp. 323–324).
Based on these insights, and Lee Rain-
water’s comprehensive review of existing
U.S. studies and his own original research,
as well as additional literature, Hernandez
developed a measure of income inequality
that classifies family income levels in
terms of “relative poverty,” “near-poor
frugality,” “middle-class comfort,” or
“luxury,” based on income thresholds set
at 50, 75, and 150 percent of median fam-
ily income in specific years and adjusted
for family size (1993, pp. 241–242).
This measure shows that adolescents
experienced a sharp drop in relative
poverty after the Great Depression from
37 percent in 1939 to 30 percent in 1949,
and then a continuing rapid decline to 23
percent in 1959. The 1960s and 1970s
brought a much smaller decline of only 3
percentage points, but these gains were
lost during the 1980s and 1990s. By 1998,
nearly one in four adolescents, 24 per-
cent, lived in relative poverty.
At the opposite extreme, adolescents
in families with luxury-level incomes
declined from 23 percent in 1939 to a
nearly constant 20 to 21 percent during
the 1940s and 1950s. The proportion liv-
ing in luxury then increased to about 24
percent in 1979, and 27 percent in 1988
and 1998. As a result adolescents living
in middle-class comfort or near-poor fru-
gality increased from 38 percent in 1939
to 58 percent in 1969, but declined to 56
522 Poverty
percent in 1979, and further to 49 percent
in 1988 and 1998.
All told, income inequality for adoles-
cents narrowed markedly after the Great
Depression, but then expanded substan-
tially beginning in the 1970s.
What accounts for these trends in rela-
tive poverty and income inequality? Fur-
ther analysis indicates that change in
available fathers’ incomes can account
for much of the post-depression decline
and subsequent increase in childhood rel-
ative poverty, and that changes in moth-
ers’ incomes acted to speed the earlier
decline in relative poverty and then slow
the subsequent increase. Additional in-
come from relatives other than parents in
the home had little effect on poverty
trends after 1949, and the total effect of
cash welfare programs on these trends is
no more than 2–3 percentage points,
although the effects of taxes and the
value of noncash government benefits
would be important, if they were taken
into account (see below). Finally, the rise
of mother-only families, which often
leads to lack of access to fathers’ incomes
in many of these families, has also con-
tributed to the recent poverty increase,
but the prime factor in determining both
levels and trends in childhood poverty
has been trends for fathers’ and mothers’
employment and income earned from
their work (Hernandez, 1993, p. 371;
1997, p. 33).
For example, between 1964 and 1974,
employed men became substantially less
likely to have low earnings, that is,
annual earnings below the official
poverty level for a four-person family
(U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1992b). Since
1974, but especially since 1979, substan-
tial increases have occurred in men with
low earnings, especially among men
working full-time year-round, and of the
ages when children are most likely to be
in the home. Among year-round full-time
workers, the proportion with low earn-
ings for men ages thirty-five to fifty-four
dropped from 13 to 5 percent between
1964 and 1974, but then climbed to 9 per-
cent by 1990 (Hernandez, 1993).
The trends were similar for white,
black, and Hispanic males with full-time,
year-round work, but the proportions
with low earnings were much higher for
blacks and Hispanics than for whites. It
is not surprising that trends in relative
(and official) poverty rates have followed
a similar pattern during the past quarter-
century, and that black and Hispanic
children are much more likely to live in
poverty.
In 1998, for example, relative poverty
rates of 44 to 45 percent for black and
Hispanic adolescents were three times
greater than the rate of 14 percent for
non-Hispanic white adolescents. In fact,
while about one-fourth of non-Hispanic
white adolescents (26 percent) lived in
relative poverty or near-poor frugality,
more than three-fifths of black and His-
panic adolescents, 62 and 66 percent,
respectively, lived in families with rela-
tively poor or near-poor incomes. Hence,
while most non-Hispanic white adoles-
cents (74 percent) live in families with
middle-class or luxury-level incomes,
fewer than four-fifths of black (38 per-
cent) or Hispanic (34 percent) adolescents
live in families with middle-class or
higher income levels.
Adolescents experience economic
inequality not only among themselves
but also compared to younger children.
In 1959 and 1969, for example, adoles-
cents were slightly (2 percentage points)
less likely than young children ages zero
to five to live in relative poverty, but this
gap expanded to 5 percentage points in

1979, and to 7 percentage points in 1988
and 1998. Thus, the transition from early
childhood to adolescence has involved a
decline in relative poverty for children
born during the past half-century.
Adolescents also experience economic
inequality compared to adults. At least
since the Great Depression, the eco-
nomic situation has been less favorable
for adolescents than for adults. The 8 per-
centage point gap in relative poverty sep-
arating children from adults shrank to
only 3 percent in 1969, but then
expanded to 7 percentage points in 1988,
virtually the same as in 1939. Mean-
while, the 12 percentage point deficit in
1939 in the proportion of adolescents,
compared to adults, living in families
with luxury-level incomes expanded to
14 percentage points in 1949, and then
fell to the nearly constant level of 10 per-
centage points between 1969 and 1988.
Among adults, poverty trends for par-
ents with children under eighteen in the
home have been most similar to those for
children, since such parents and children
share the same households, but other
working-age adults have experienced
quite different trends. Immediately after
the Great Depression, relative poverty
declined more slowly for adults without
children than for parents, but by 1969 the
gap had closed, and after 1979 children
and their parents experienced substantial
increase in relative poverty, while work-
ing-age adults without children experi-
enced a slight decline.
At the opposite extreme, parents, like
children, experienced declines in luxury
living between 1939 and 1969, followed
by substantial increases to 30 and 22 per-
cent, respectively, as of 1988, while
working-age adults without children at
home experienced high rates of 38–42
percent during the Great Depression,
Poverty 523
with increases, especially after 1969, to
45–50 percent.
Adolescents experienced less relative
poverty than the elderly until the 1980s.
But if the value of homes owned by the
elderly is taken into account (since eld-
erly homeowners have lower current
housing costs than other groups), adoles-
cents experienced less relative poverty
than the elderly until the 1970s, when a
sharp reversal occurred as social security
pensions increased and other federal poli-
cies favorable to the elderly were enacted.
Adolescents have been about as likely as
the elderly to live in luxury since 1996.
Economic status measures presented
here are based on before-tax income, that
is, before the reduction in available
income associated with paying taxes, and
not including as income the value of
health insurance and other noncash ben-
efits provided by employers or govern-
ments. Because such taxes and benefits
effectively decrease or increase the eco-
nomic resources actually available to per-
sons and families, they should be taken
into account to accurately measure levels
and changes in economic status. Empiri-
cal estimates for long-term historical
change taking these factors into account
do not exist, but an overall assessment of
how broad conclusions would be altered
based on available evidence is possible.
First, tax law changes between 1965
and 1989 tended to increase relative
poverty and economic inequality, but the
trend then reversed during the 1990s,
because of the increasing value of the
earned income tax credit for low-income
working families. Second, increasing pri-
vate health insurance, especially for mid-
dle-class and higher-income families
between 1939 and the mid-1950s, tended
to increase inequality and relative
poverty, while the subsequent spread
524 Poverty
downward of private insurance, and
growth of public insurance (Medicaid and
Medicare) after 1965, tended to reduce
relative poverty. But during the early
1980s, declining Medicaid coverage for
the relatively poor and near-poor, and
increased private coverage for the middle
class, tended to increase relative poverty.
Third, the effect of other cash and non-
cash welfare programs changed little
between 1939 and the mid-1960s, but
then tended to reduce relative poverty by
several additional percentage points as of
1979. From 1979 to 1991, the effect of
these programs remained about constant
(U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1992a, p. 98),
while subsequent changes tended to
reduce relative poverty during the early
1990s and increase relative poverty dur-
ing the later 1990s.
Altogether, then, taking these three
factors into account might yield the fol-
lowing. During the 1940s and 1950s,
actual adolescent relative poverty proba-
bly declined less than the estimated 14
percentage points. During the 1960s and
1970s, actual adolescent relative poverty
probably declined by more than the esti-
mated 2–3 percentage points, although
about 29 percent of relatively poor and
near-poor persons remained without
health insurance by 1980. Since the early
1980s, actual adolescent relative poverty
probably has increased by more than the
estimated 4 percentage points, since
access to health insurance among low-
income families has declined, while little
change has occurred in the combined
effect of changes in taxes and in the value
of other cash and noncash benefits.
Another approach to measuring poverty
is to estimate the proportion of persons
who experience a low family income dur-
ing one or more years over an extended
period of years. By this accounting, the
proportion of adolescents ever experienc-
ing low family incomes before reaching
adulthood is much higher than indicated
here, because some children fall into
poverty, while others rise out of poverty
from one year to the next. Compared to
other developed countries, poverty rates
for U.S. children in general, and no doubt
for adolescents in particular, are unusu-
ally high. Using a measure similar to the
relative poverty measure described above,
for example, U.S. children in the mid-
1980s were substantially more likely to
live in poverty than were children in
Canada, Germany, Sweden, France, or the
United Kingdom. At the extreme, U.S.
children were about nine times as likely
as Swedish children to be living in rela-
tive poverty (27 versus 3 percent), and
U.S. children in single-parent families
were about fourteen times as likely as
corresponding Swedish children to be liv-
ing in poverty (63 versus 4 percent)
(Smeeding and Torrey, 1993, p. 874; 1995,
p. 10).
What accounts for these international
differences in poverty rates? Part of the
explanation is the low levels of support
provided by U.S. government transfers
compared to Sweden. In the United States
around 1980, for example, the average
poor family with children received only
about $2,400 per year in government
transfers, compared to $6,400 in Sweden.
An additional part of the explanation is
the low proportion receiving any govern-
ment transfers. Among the United States,
Australia, Canada, Germany, Sweden,
and the United Kingdom around 1980,
only 73 percent of poor families with chil-
dren in the United States received gov-
ernment transfers—27 percent received
none—while in all the other countries
99–100 percent of poor families with
children received government transfers

(Hobbs and Lippman, 1990, pp. 12, 36).
These comparisons suggest that the high
and increasing poverty rates experienced
by U.S. children of all ages, including ado-
lescents, are not inevitable, but result at
least partly from explicit public policy
decisions.
Donald J. Hernandez
See also Coping; Homeless Youth; Inter-
vention Programs for Adolescents; Juve-
nile Crime; Maternal Employment:
Historical Changes; Runaways; School
Dropouts; Self-Esteem; Social Develop-
ment; Welfare
References and further reading
Citro, Connie, and Robert Michael. 1995.
Measuring Poverty: A New Approach.
Washington, DC: National Academy
Press.
Duncan, Greg J., and Willard L. Rodgers.
1988. “Longitudinal Aspects of
Childhood Poverty.” Journal of
Marriage and the Family 50: 1007–1021.
Galbraith, John Kenneth. 1958. The
Affluent Society. Boston: Houghton
Mifflin.
Hernandez, Donald J. 1993. America’s
Children: Resources from Family,
Government, and the Economy. New
York: Russell Sage Foundation.
———. 1997. “Poverty Trends.” Pp. 18–34
in Consequences of Growing Up Poor.
Edited by Greg J. Duncan and Jeanne
Brooks-Gunn. New York: Russell Sage
Foundation.
Hobbs, Frank, and Laura Lippman. 1990.
“Children’s Well-Being: An
International Comparison.” U.S. Bureau
of the Census, International Population
reports, series P-95, no. 80.
Washington, DC: U.S. Government
Printing Office.
Rainwater, Lee. 1974. What Money Buys:
Inequality and the Social Meanings of
Income. New York: Basic Books.
Ruggles, Patricia. 1990. Drawing the Line:
Alternative Poverty Measures and
Their Implications for Public Policy.
Washington, DC: Urban Institute
Press.
Smeeding, Timothy M., and Barbara Boyle
Torrey. 1993. “Poor Children in Rich
Countries.” Science 242: 873–877.
Pregnancy, Interventions to Prevent 525
———. 1995. “Revisiting Poor Children in
Rich Countries.” Unpublished
manuscript.
Smith, Adam. 1776. Wealth of Nations
(London: Everyman’s Library, cited in
“Alternative Measures of Poverty.” A
Staff Study Prepared for the Joint
Economic Committee (of the U.S.
Congress), October 18, 1989, p. 10.
U.S. Bureau of the Census. 1992a.
Measuring the Effects of Benefits and
Taxes on Income and Poverty: 1979 to
1991. Current Population Reports,
series P-60, no. 183. Washington, DC:
U.S. Government Printing Office.
———. 1992b. Workers with Low
Earnings: 1964 to 1990. Current
Population Reports, series P-60, no. 178.
Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government
Printing Office.
———. 1998. “Poverty and the United
States: 1997.” Current Populations
reports, series P-60, no. 178.
Washington, DC: U.S. Government
Printing Office.
U.S. Congress. 1989. “Alternative
Measures of Poverty.” A Staff Study
Prepared for the Joint Economic
Committee, October 18.
Pregnancy, Interventions to Prevent
Teen pregnancy is a significant social,
economic, and political concern.
Although rates of teen pregnancy have
decreased in the United States in recent
years, they are higher than any other
industrialized nation. In 1997, the U.S.
rate was 52.3 births per 1,000 women
aged fifteen to nineteen. In the 1950s and
1960s, birthrates were almost double
what they are today. Teen pregnancy
increases the risk of negative outcomes
for mothers and their children. Teen
mothers are more likely to have poorer
school and job outcomes, and their chil-
dren are at risk for behavior and school
problems.
There are many reasons why teens
become pregnant. Although teen preg-
nancy occurs in all segments of society, it
526 Pregnancy, Interventions to Prevent
Teen pregnancy is most common among
teenagers living in poverty. (Anna
Palma/Corbis)
is more frequent among teens living in
poverty. Pregnancy and parenthood may
appear to be positive options for teens
living in poor communities with few pos-
itive role models and no job opportuni-
ties. Some teens may be imitating the
behavior of their peers, and others may
be seeking emotional closeness by having
a baby.
As a result of the widespread concern
about teen pregnancy, many intervention
programs have been established with the
goal of reducing teen pregnancy. These
interventions include pregnancy preven-
tion education, providing access to con-
traception, and community-based pro-
grams offering a broad variety of educa-
tional and job skills as alternatives to
pregnancy. The programs use a variety of
approaches, including hospital- or clinic-
based, school-based, and home visitation
services.
Pregnancy Prevention Education
Pregnancy prevention education or fam-
ily life education is a common approach
of intervention programs. Data from the
1995 National Survey of Family Growth
indicates that 90 percent of women
eighteen to nineteen years of age report
that they have received formal instruc-
tion on safe sex. Many pregnancy preven-
tion education programs provide infor-
mation about sexuality, reproduction,
decision making, and sexual relationship
issues. In addition, these programs often
promote abstinence as the major method
of birth control. Many of the abstinence-
based programs focus on attitudes about
early sexual initiation and communica-
tion with parents and peers about absti-
nence-related values. Pregnancy preven-
tion education programs by themselves
have been successful in increasing teen’s
short-term knowledge about contracep-
tion and reproduction; however, long-
term impact is less certain.
Programs that provide teens with fac-
tual information and skills to negotiate
difficult peer relationships are more suc-
cessful than programs that focus on
knowledge about sexuality alone. One
such program is Postponing Sexual
Involvement. This program was devel-
oped in Atlanta, Georgia, and was
designed to provide teens sixteen years of
age and younger with skills to resist peer
pressure. The main message of the pro-
gram is to delay sexual intercourse. The

program consists of ten sessions that are
lead by a male and female senior high
school student. The program targets low-
income students. Results of the program
showed that by the end of the eighth
grade, boys who did not participate in the
program were three times more likely to
engage in sexual intercourse than boys
who participated in the program. At the
end of the eighth grade, females not par-
ticipating in the program were fifteen
times more likely to have engaged in sex
than females who participated in the pro-
gram. Similar programs have been devel-
oped in other areas of the country in
schools and other community groups.
Another program, Reducing the Risk,
was a sex education program in health
education classes in high schools in Cal-
ifornia. Teens who received this program
were less likely to have started sex than
other teens and less likely to report
engaging in unprotected sex. In general,
education programs that use small
groups, teen counselors, and community-
based components have been most suc-
cessful preventing teen pregnancy. As a
result, program developers have begun to
incorporate an educational/informa-
tional component of teen pregnancy into
larger, more comprehensive programs.
Contraceptive Services Approaches
Programs that provide family planning
services can be an important method for
preventing teen pregnancy. In recent
years, new methods of birth control have
also been available to teens. For example,
some teens using depo provera injections
have a lower incidence of pregnancy than
those using the birth control pill. Contra-
ceptive services approaches to teen preg-
nancy prevention also may be useful in
promoting healthy, responsible behavior
related to birth control. The most suc-
Pregnancy, Interventions to Prevent 527
cessful of these programs have focused
on contraceptive use by promoting prob-
lem-solving and decision-making skills
and addressing difficulties in accessing
birth control.
Research indicates that teens are more
likely to use contraceptive services if
services are teen-friendly and easy to
obtain. A large number of teens receive
contraception services through family
planning clinics. For example, data from
the 1995 National Survey of Family
Growth indicates that almost 30 percent
of fifteen- to nineteen-year-old females
were seen by a healthcare provider for at
least one family planning visit during the
past year. Program results indicate that
contraceptive service programs also need
to engage teens just before their first sex.
Recent figures from the 1995 National
Survey of Family Growth show increases
in the use of contraceptives at the time of
first sex for both teen and adult women.
Teens, however, are still more likely to
delay birth control services until well
after their first intercourse, and this delay
can have serious consequences.
School-based clinics can be a way to
provide primary healthcare to students
who may otherwise have difficulty get-
ting access to health services. Although
school-based clinics often incorporate
counseling and sex education into their
programs, fewer than 20 percent actually
provide contraception services on-site. In
addition, their services can be limited to
students and miss the highest risk teens,
who may have dropped out of school.
One well-known, successful school-based
program in Baltimore, Maryland, pro-
vided middle and high school students
with classroom instruction, group dis-
cussion, and individual consultation
about sexuality and reproduction. A com-
munity clinic provided contraceptive
528 Pregnancy, Interventions to Prevent
services across the street from the high
school. A social worker provided individ-
ual counseling, and a nurse provided edu-
cation about reproduction and contra-
ception. Presentations were made at
homeroom classes, during lunch hours,
and after school. A peer leader compo-
nent was also used for small-group dis-
cussion. Results of this program indi-
cated that pregnancy rates for teens
participating in the program decreased 30
percent at a three-year follow-up period.
Pregnancy rates for teens not enrolled in
the program increased by 58 percent
(Zabin et al., 1986, p. 18).
Family planning programs may be use-
ful in answering questions related to
increasing use of contraception. One
clinic-based pregnancy prevention initia-
tive in Philadelphia involved tailoring
services to the need of teens. It incorpo-
rated additional hours for teens and it
trained staff about the special needs of
teens. The program also offered a media
campaign and school- and community-
based components. Results of this city-
wide program indicated that teens who
received the teen-friendly services were
more likely to continue using a birth
control method than a group who
received traditional contraceptive ser-
vices. Other programs include a series of
integrated psychological counseling vis-
its and medical appointments.
Community-Based Life
Options Programs
In recent years community-based preg-
nancy prevention initiatives have
become more common. Many hospital-
or university-based prevention programs
have developed community partnerships.
Community-based programs are a prom-
ising approach to teen pregnancy preven-
tion. They go beyond pregnancy preven-
tion to providing ways of increasing
teens’ life options. Successful programs
provide comprehensive services, includ-
ing recreational programs, education
about birth control, physical and mental
health services, mentoring, job skills
training, and even admission to local col-
leges. When teens feel successful and
confident in their academic or employ-
ment skills, they may feel less pressure
to define success by becoming a parent.
Increasing educational and employment
incentives for teens may be an effective
approach to preventing pregnancy among
teens.
An example of a community partner-
ship is the Adolescent Pregnancy Preven-
tion Coalition of North Carolina, a group
of community members and professionals
who assist groups in the community to
implement programs to reduce teen preg-
nancy. The statewide coalition has fol-
lowed state teen pregnancy rates from
1978. Community media and outreach
campaigns have also become more preva-
lent. Some community marketing cam-
paigns have used public-service announce-
ments, condom vending machines, and
small-group workshops focusing on deci-
sion-making skills. Results of some of
these programs have demonstrated that
during the campaign there was a signifi-
cant increase in a specific behavior such as
condom use, but after the campaign
ended, condom use returned to prepro-
gram levels.
Many of the community programs
stem from grassroots agencies. One grass-
roots initiative is Pain Talk. This pro-
gram targets six communities across the
country. Its goal is to increase teens’
knowledge about sexuality and commu-
nication between teens and adults about
sexuality issues. Individual communities
identify a contact agency, which works

with community members to address
teen pregnancy in their community.
Another program has even offered guar-
anteed admission to a local college.
Finally, some programs have used con-
crete monetary investments in teens,
rather than job training per se. For exam-
ple, teens are paid for each hour they
spend in the program. They can work
toward a savings account, and they
receive bonuses after working a certain
number of hours.
Programs to Reduce Repeat Pregnancy
Approximately 30 percent to 35 percent
of all first-time teen mothers have a
repeat pregnancy within two years after
the first delivery (East and Felice, 1996, p.
36). A variety of programs aimed at reduc-
ing repeat pregnancy have been devel-
oped. Successful programs that reduce
repeat pregnancy are comprehensive and
focus on areas that extend beyond the
prevention of a second pregnancy, includ-
ing peer support and educational and
occupational skills. Some programs also
have used monetary incentives to reduce
repeat pregnancies among teen mothers.
Mothers can receive a specific amount of
money per week if they do not become
pregnant again. Another kind of program
to prevent repeat pregnancy is a home
visitation program in rural areas that pro-
vides counseling and comprehensive
health services. Programs to reduce
repeat teen pregnancy also need to inter-
vene with other members of the teen’s
family and enlist their help and support,
either through family counseling or home
visitation. Programs have begun to
include the father of the baby and the
grandmother of the baby. Programs
increasing positive family relationships
and support may lead to better pregnancy
prevention.
Pregnancy, Interventions to Prevent 529
Federal and State Programs
In response to the high rates of teen preg-
nancy, the federal and state governments
have developed various agencies to help
reduce teen pregnancy. These agencies
can be sources of important information
for teens and their families. For example,
Congress passed the Adolescent Family
Life Act (AFL) in 1981. The main objec-
tive of the AFL was to decrease the nega-
tive consequences associated with teen
pregnancy and parenting. As part of this
legislation, the Adolescent Family Life
Program was created as part of the Office
of Population Affairs of the U.S. Public
Health Service. The AFL Program has
funded demonstration, care, and research
projects related to teen pregnancy and
parenting. In recent years other organiza-
tions have been created with the purpose
of reducing the high rates of pregnancies
and births among teens. For example, the
National Campaign to Prevent Teen Preg-
nancy is a recent initiative whose goal is
to reduce the teen pregnancy rate by one-
third by the year 2005. Grants help com-
munities develop innovative approaches
to preventing teen pregnancy by promot-
ing good health and preventing unhealthy
behaviors in both boys and girls.
Numerous state initiatives have also
been developed. For example, the Califor-
nia Department of Education imple-
mented a grant program targeting high-
risk youth to prevent teen pregnancy.
Similarly, the state of Maryland formed
the Governor’s Council on Adolescent
Pregnancy Prevention and funds preg-
nancy prevention programs throughout
the state.
Effective Programs
Effective teen pregnancy prevention pro-
grams have certain components that par-
ents and teens can look for. Effective
530 Pregnancy, Interventions to Prevent
programs focus on sexual behaviors that
lead to pregnancy, such as not using con-
traception or initiation of sexual inter-
course. These programs have a clear mes-
sage about using condoms or abstaining
from sex. A second component is that
effective programs are age appropriate
and sensitive to the culture of the pro-
gram participants. For example, pro-
grams need to be tailored differently for
middle and high school students and for
African American and Hispanic teens.
Culturally based programs need to
address the positive contributions of a
cultural group with the belief that by
strengthening cultural awareness, they
will help teens to be less likely to engage
in unprotected sex.
In addition, programs need to be of suf-
ficient duration for teens to acquire the
skills necessary for pregnancy preven-
tion. Programs must be long enough to
provide opportunities to complete com-
prehensive services. Programs that offer a
variety of teaching methods including
mentoring, role playing, and practicing
communication skills that help teens
resist peer pressures also may be more
effective than programs offering only one
style of teaching. Successful programs
also provide practice with regard to peer
communication and assertiveness train-
ing. Developing specific skills is essential
to negotiating peer situations that
involve sexuality.
In addition, programs with multiple
approaches, which focus on issues that go
beyond individual decisions about birth
control, are also more successful. There
are multiple predictors of adolescent preg-
nancy and childbearing. Poverty, school
failure, family problems, and being the
child of an adolescent parent increase the
risk for adolescent pregnancy. Teen preg-
nancy prevention programs should recog-
nize the impact of family, neighborhood,
and community influences on sexual
behavior and address these issues.
Effective programs also recognize that
some programs may need to be tailored
to the individual needs of each teen.
Some youth may require long-term,
intensive intervention, whereas others
may only require information and birth
control. It is important to differentiate
which components are effective for dif-
ferent teens and to determine the level of
intensity that is required by each teen.
Programs need to disseminate their find-
ings so that successful programs can be
replicated in other parts of the country.
Programs should also include males or
other family members in their interven-
tions. For many years programs on ado-
lescent pregnancy focused only on
females and virtually ignored males. In
recent years programs have begun to
focus on the partners of teen mothers.
Young fathers have many of the same
characteristics as young mothers, includ-
ing low educational and occupational
attainment. However, many fathers of
the children born to teen mothers are not
teens themselves. Programs need to
include males and consider the role of
males in teen pregnancy prevention. Pro-
grams also need to intervene with other
members of the teen’s family and enlist
their support. Family instability often
precedes adolescent pregnancy. Thus,
programs to enhance family functioning
should lead to lower rates of teen preg-
nancy. Recently, programs have begun to
focus on the younger sisters of teen
mothers. Adolescent mothers are strong
role models for early parenthood to
younger sisters. Therefore, programs
need to target this high-risk group.
Different strategies are also needed for
teens who have not yet experienced a

first pregnancy and teens who have
already given birth. For adolescent moth-
ers, the return to school within a rela-
tively short period of time may be more
important in preventing a repeat preg-
nancy than birth control alone.
Obviously from this discussion, many
programs are already targeted toward
reducing births to teenagers. Given our
nation’s high teen pregnancy rates, we
still need to continue to develop pro-
grams that offer incentives to delay preg-
nancy and make them accessible to all of
our country’s youth.
Katherine Nitz
See also Abstinence; Contraception; Dat-
ing; Decision Making; Family Rela-
tions; Health Promotion; High School
Equivalency Degree; Menstrual Cycle;
Peer Pressure; Programs for Adoles-
cents; Risk Behaviors; Sex Education;
Sexual Behavior; Sexually Transmitted
Diseases; Single Parenthood and Low
Achievement
References and further reading
Abma, J., A. Chandra, W. Mosher, L.
Peterson, and L. Piccinino. 1997.
“Fertility, Family Planning, and
Women’s Health: New Data from the
1995 National Survey of Family
Growth.” National Center for Health
Statistics. Vital Health Statistics 23, no.
19.
Alan Guttmacher Institute. 1994. Sex and
America’s Teenagers. Washington, DC:
Author.
California Senate Office Research. 1997.
Issue Brief: California Strategies to
Address Teenage Pregnancy.
Sacramento, CA: Senate Printing Office.
Delgado, D. 1994. “The Annie E. Casey
Foundation’s Plain Talk Initiative.”
PSAY Network 2: 1–12.
East, P. L. 1996. “Do Adolescent
Pregnancy and Childbearing Affect
Younger Siblings?” Family Planning
Perspectives 28: 148–153.
East, P. L., and M. E. Felice. 1996.
Adolescent Pregnancy and Parenting:
Findings from a Racially Diverse
Sample. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Private Schools 531
Howard, M., and J. McCabe. 1990.
“Helping Teenagers Postpone Sexual
Involvement.” Family Planning
Perspectives 22: 21–26.
Hughes, M. E., F. F. Furstenberg, and J. O.
Teitler. 1995. “The Impact of an
Increase in Family Planning Services on
the Teenage Population of
Philadelphia.” Family Planning
Perspectives 27: 60–65.
Kirby, D. 1997. No Easy Answers:
Research Findings on Programs to
Reduce Teen Pregnancy. Washington,
DC: National Campaign to Prevent
Teen Pregnancy.
Peterson, S., and C. Brindis. 1995.
Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention:
Effective Strategies. San Francisco:
National Adolescent Health
Information Center.
Zabin, L. S., M. B. Hirsch, E. A. Smith, R.
Street, and J. Hardy. 1986. “Evaluation
of a Pregnancy Prevention Program for
Urban Teenagers.” Family Planning
Perspectives 14: 15–21.
Private Schools
In the United States most schools fall
under one of two broad categories: pri-
vate or public. Approximately 46 million
students from kindergarten through
grade 12 are enrolled in public schools in
the United States, while 6 million stu-
dents in the same grades are enrolled in
private schools (National Center for Edu-
cation Statistics, 1997, p. 87). The discus-
sion of private schools here pertains to
both religiously affiliated and nonsectar-
ian (i.e., schools that are independent or
have no religious affiliation) day schools
whose goal is to place the majority of
their students in two- or four-year col-
leges. This discussion does not include
boarding schools or trade schools.
Private schools differ from public
schools in three key areas: school attrib-
utes (e.g., school organization and cli-
mate), student/family attributes, and
teacher/administrator attributes. There
532 Private Schools
Approximately 46 million students from kindergarten through grade 12 are enrolled in public
schools in the United States, while 6 million students in the same grades are enrolled in
private schools. (David H. Wells/Corbis)
is an ongoing debate regarding the merits
of private schools versus public schools.
Some of the differences that exist favor
public schools, while others favor private
schools.
Regarding school attributes, school
organization encompasses many features.
The defining organizational distinction of
private school, however, lies in the
sources of financial support. Public
schools depend primarily on local school
district, state, and federal funds to
finance the operation of a school, which
includes, but is not limited to, basic
maintenance of building and grounds;
teacher, staff, and administrator salaries
and benefits; classroom and teacher sup-
plies and materials; and whatever equip-
ment or supplies are necessary to main-
tain a variety of extracurricular activities.
Private schools have virtually all of the
same expenses but receive no public
monies. Instead, private schools are usu-
ally funded by tuition, grants, charitable
donations, and large-scale fund-raising
campaigns. Tuition varies considerably
by grade level and whether or not the
school has a religious affiliation. Tuition
ranges anywhere from $2,000 to $20,000
per year, with religiously affiliated schools
tending toward lower tuition rates than
nonsectarian schools.
Tuition represents one form of selectiv-
ity characteristic of private schools.
Although many schools offer academic
and financial scholarships, the majority of

students attending a private school tend
to come from families in higher income
brackets who can afford to pay the tuition
of one or more of their children over the
course of several years. Another form of
selectivity exercised by private schools is
through an admissions process. Schools
vary considerably in how selective they
are and in the criteria they use for selec-
tion; however, there is almost always an
application process. This process gener-
ally entails completing various applica-
tion forms, taking an entrance examina-
tion, obtaining teacher recommendations
from one’s previous school, spending a
day at the school, and engaging in student
and parent interviews with principals,
headmasters or headmistresses, and/or an
admissions committee.
Another feature of school organization
is size. Private schools and classes within
private schools tend to be considerably
smaller than public schools. For example,
public schools tend to have up to three or
four times as many students overall, and
classes may contain nearly twice as
many students. There is a good deal of
recent research emphasizing the merits
of smaller school and class sizes. For ado-
lescents, who tend to desire closer con-
tact with peers and need close, positive
contact with adults, smaller schools tend
to promote a sense of community
between and among students and teach-
ers. In addition, smaller schools and
classes are thought to be easier to man-
age and to allow teachers more opportu-
nities to provide students with individual
attention as needed. To the extent that
one values small school and class size,
this distinguishing feature of private
schools is a significant advantage.
Since private schools tend to have
admissions policies and criteria that
require students to demonstrate their
Private Schools 533
academic potential and commitment, the
curriculum or academic program in pri-
vate schools also tends to be more rigor-
ous. For example, the National Commis-
sion on Education and the Economy has
proposed that all high school graduates
be required to complete four years of En-
glish, three years each of social studies,
science, and mathematics, and some for-
eign language study. Private schools tend
to have similar requirements, so virtually
all students in private schools will have
completed this course work as required
for graduation. In addition, a large pro-
portion of private school students are
more likely to have taken advanced
mathematics and science courses. This is
not to say that public schools do not pro-
vide rigorous classes or requirements, but
rather that the proportion of students in
a public school who opt for more rigorous
programs and/or are able to manage them
tends to be smaller.
With regard to academic programs,
requirements, and performance in public
school settings, it is important to empha-
size that public schools vary considerably
according to their location and the popu-
lation served. For example, public schools
located in wealthier, suburban areas
where the majority of students and par-
ents are oriented toward college and post-
graduate professional education (e.g.,
advanced degrees in medicine, law, and
business) tend to resemble private schools
in their programs and requirements.
These families tend to resemble families
found in private schools, when we con-
sider such characteristics as parents’ edu-
cational level and family income level.
School climate refers to the degree to
which the school environment promotes
and is conducive to positive social, emo-
tional, and educational experiences for
students and teachers. Neither students
534 Private Schools
nor teachers can work to the best of their
ability when schools are unsafe or if
teaching and learning are disrupted by
persistent behavior problems. Private
school students tend to experience far
less exposure to crime and violence than
do public school students, particularly
public school students in urban settings
also characterized by higher rates of
crime and violence.
Alcohol and drug use among adoles-
cents also contributes to the quality of a
school’s climate. Although alcohol and
drug use is a rampant problem among
adolescents regardless of socioeconomic,
racial, or cultural backgrounds, there are
significant differences in the degree to
which such use affects school climate.
For example, private schools tend to have
fewer occurrences of alcohol consump-
tion or drug use during the school day on
school premises. Perhaps the most signif-
icant difference between private and pub-
lic schools lies in their ability to control
and create safe environments. Private
schools are not obliged to retain students
who pose persistent and serious behavior
problems or threaten the potential safety
and learning of others. As a result, pri-
vate schools can more effectively main-
tain school climates conducive to teach-
ing and learning.
Along with the differences in parent
education and income levels discussed
above, private schools tend to be less
racially and ethnically diverse than pub-
lic schools. As a result, minority students
attending private schools may feel iso-
lated or alienated at times. For this rea-
son, it is especially important that pri-
vate schools emphasize the richness of
diverse cultures, which is a difficult
undertaking when that richness does not
appear to be immediately present.
Although many private schools, espe-
cially those located near or within urban
settings, are eager to build more diverse
student and faculty populations, the
recruitment of such students and faculty
is difficult as long as the school remains
largely homogeneous (i.e., middle- to
upper-middle-class white families, teach-
ers, and administrators).
To the extent that one sees racial and
ethnic diversity as an asset and as afford-
ing an opportunity to teach students
respect and tolerance for differences, the
diversity of public schools serves as a
potential advantage over private schools.
However, it is often an advantage in
potential only; the benefits of diversity
are not always part of daily school expe-
rience, because such diversity can also
pose great challenges and tension in a
school. Part of what may make private
schools easier to “manage,” as men-
tioned earlier, is lack of diversity and the
wide array of challenges and tensions
this can also bring.
Private schools also tend to differ from
public schools in terms of teacher/
administrator attributes. Teachers in pri-
vate schools tend to earn lower salaries
than do public school teachers, but are
less likely to perceive students and their
families as having problems that inter-
fere with learning and are more likely to
perceive themselves as effective in mak-
ing a difference in the lives of their stu-
dents. Teachers in private schools also
tend to enjoy greater autonomy in the
classroom. That is, they tend to have a
certain amount of control over what and
how they teach. Thus, it appears that
teachers in private schools may be will-
ing to accept lower salaries as a trade-off
for enjoying smaller classes, fewer disci-
pline problems, a stronger sense of com-
munity, and more influence over curricu-
lum, teaching, and policy.

Private schools have historically been
accessible to those who can afford them,
that is, white, middle- to upper-middle-
class students and their families. At the
same time, these schools have many
attributes that potentially promote a
more positive and safe environment for
students and teachers alike and that are
in keeping with the academic and social
recommendations made by educators,
policymakers, and parents. In the last
five to ten years private, religiously affil-
iated middle schools have been opening
in inner-city areas around the country.
These schools are private in the sense
that they do not receive financial support
from local school district, state, or federal
educational offices. Some schools are
still tuition based, but tuition is nominal
and set according to what families can
afford. Others have corporations and
sponsors who financially support a class
throughout its four years of middle
school. Additional financial and material
support comes largely from grants, chari-
table donations, and fund-raising efforts,
both within and beyond the local com-
munity. Such schools are committed to
providing early adolescents with the
organizational and curricular benefits of
private school in combination with the
rich racial and ethnic diversity generally
found in public school settings.
Imma De Stefanis
See also Academic Achievement; College;
Gifted and Talented Youth; Homework;
Middle Schools; School Engagement;
School, Functions of; School Transi-
tions; Schools, Single-Sex; Teachers;
Tracking in American High Schools
References and further reading
Alexander, Karl L., and Aaron Pallas. 1983.
“Private Schools and Public Policy:
New Evidence on Cognitive
Achievement in Public and Private
Programs for Adolescents 535
Schools.” Sociology of Education 56, no.
4: 170–182.
National Center for Education Statistics.
1997. Public and Private Schools: How
Do They Differ? Washington, DC: U.S.
Department of Education, Office of
Educational Research and Improvement.
Programs for Adolescents
Youth today have more discretionary
time than ever before in America. For
instance, one research study found that
approximately 40 percent of the waking
hours of a sample of high school youth
were spent in leisure time (Csikszentmi-
halyi and Larson, 1984). It is also impor-
tant to note that most of that time is
spent without companionship or supervi-
sion from adults. Often this discretionary
time is not spent in constructive activi-
ties; rather, it is spent on watching tele-
vision, talking on the phone with friends,
and playing computer games. Yet un-
structured time is an opportunity for
youth to engage either in positive activi-
ties that enhance their development and
foster their competency or in negative
activities that increase their chances of
yielding to social pressures to engage in
drug use, sex, and antisocial activities.
For example, FBI statistics indicate 47
percent of violent juvenile crime occurs
on weekdays between the hours of 2 p.m.
and 8 P.M. (Sickmund, Snyder, and Poe-
Yamagata, 1997).
Creating structured activities through
youth programs during the nonschool
hours offers a strategy for promoting the
positive development of youth. Programs
for nonschool hours include not only
after-school programs and activities but
evening, weekend, and summer pro-
grams. By being engaged in constructive
activities, youth have an opportunity to
explore their world, develop skills, and
536 Programs for Adolescents
Youth programs allow adolescents to see themselves as a part of their community. (Kevin R.
Morris/Corbis)
gain a sense of belonging with peers and
adults. This entry will present some of
the evidence for the importance of these
programs, followed by an overview of the
critical components of quality youth pro-
grams. A youth program is defined here as
any structured activity offered during the
nonschool hours. Youth programs include
but are not limited to sports programs,
after-school clubs, service clubs, faith-
based organizations, 4-H Youth Develop-
ment, Boys and Girls Clubs, Boy Scouts
and Girl Scouts, YMCA, and programs
run by other youth-serving organizations.
Importance of Youth Programs
Nonschool programs offer youth an
opportunity to meet their developmental
needs while decreasing the likelihood
that youth will engage in risky behavior
that threatens their life chances. These
programs provide youth the chance to
develop positive relationships connect-
ing them to peers, other adults, and their
communities. The development of these
relationships in conjunction with the
structured activities provided by a pro-
gram increases the likelihood that youth
will successfully navigate the challenges
they face as they move toward adult-
hood. Participation in quality youth pro-
grams engages young people in reflective
learning experiences. These experiences
enhance youths’ understanding of self
and others. Moreover, youth are able to
see themselves as a part of their commu-
nity, become invested, and engage in
activities that better the community.

In a recent synthesis of research find-
ings, Peter Scales and Nancy Leffert
examined the impact that involvement
in youth programs had on young people.
Their review of more than thirty
research studies suggests that involve-
ment in youth programs is linked to the
following:
• Increased self-esteem, sense of per-
sonal control, and enhanced iden-
tity development
• Better-developed life skills, leader-
ship skills, public speaking skills,
and decision-making skills, and
increased job dependability and
responsibility
• Increased academic achievement
• Improved protection of students at
risk of dropping out of school
• Improved likelihood of college
attendance
• Increased involvement in construc-
tive activities in young adulthood
• Increased safety
• Increased family communication
• Decreased psychological problems,
such as loneliness, shyness, and
hopelessness
• Decreased involvement in risky
behaviors
This synthesis of numerous research
studies provides strong scientific evi-
dence of the positive influence that pro-
grams can have on youth development.
Programs do more than occupy the idle
time of youth; they provide them a play-
ing field on which they can learn essen-
tial life lessons, develop practical life
skills, and build strong positive relation-
ships with adults and peers. Yet not all
youth programs are the same in their
effectiveness. The impact that participat-
ing in a youth program has on a young
Programs for Adolescents 537
person is determined by the quality of
that program.
Key Components of Quality
Youth Programs
According to a recent study, engagement
in youth programs was the most perva-
sive positive influence and common pre-
dictor of positive youth outcomes (Scales
et al., 2000). The level of positive influ-
ence that a youth program has on a young
person is dependent on the focus of the
program, on the level of youths’ partici-
pation, and on the adults leading it. Pro-
grams that focus on promotion of skills
and competencies in addition to preven-
tion are more likely to have a positive
influence on youth. By becoming thor-
oughly engaged in programs, youth
increase the number of core experiences
and opportunities for positive develop-
ment. Adult leaders who possess a strong
sense of commitment to the youth and
their engagement are going to foster the
positive development of youth. For
example, a coach who emphasizes the
growth and development of each player
and the team as a whole would create a
very positive learning experience, one
that would provide youth with opportu-
nities to learn teamwork, problem solv-
ing, fine and gross motor skills, and
sportsmanship. On the other hand, a
coach who emphasizes winning at all
costs can create a negative learning expe-
rience, one that would increase the like-
lihood of youth learning inappropriate
behaviors that could negatively influence
their life trajectory. Therefore, programs
and the staff who conduct them must
establish a clear focus that intentionally
includes time for positive relationship
building between the adults and youth.
Besides offering access to caring adults
and responsible peers, high-quality youth
538 Programs for Adolescents
programs provide skill-building activities
that reinforce positive values and skills.
Scholars in the youth development field
have identified the following characteris-
tics of quality youth programs (Carnegie
Council on Adolescent Development,
1992; Quinn, 1995; Roth et al., 1998).
• Good youth programs provide
youth an opportunity to have an
ongoing one-on-one positive rela-
tionship with a caring adult. These
interactions are organized around
concrete productive purposes. In
addition, the program offers fre-
quent opportunities for youth to
interact with other adults through
intergenerational events and activi-
ties.
• Good youth programs provide
youth with social support by con-
necting youth to a positive peer
group.
• Good youth programs create a
strong sense of belonging with
clear rules and expectations,
responsibilities, and, at the same
time, flexibility. Flexibility means
being able to adapt a program to
meet the unique needs of the
young people involved.
• Good youth programs focus on the
specific needs and interests of
young people. Therefore, a quality
program engages youth as partners
in the identification of the needs a
program will meet, as well as in
the planning, implementation, and
evaluation of the program. Youth
can be engaged in these processes
through various methods (e.g.,
focus groups, concept mapping, and
coleadership).
• Good youth programs offer young
people the opportunity to hold
meaningful leadership roles within
the program and the parent organi-
zation. Moreover, youth are
engaged in organized service activi-
ties within the community.
• Good youth programs provide an
accessible safe haven for youth
both physically and emotionally.
They provide youth with a sense of
a positive group experience.
• Good youth programs provide
learning opportunities that are
active and participatory. Therefore,
programs use experiential learning
opportunities and encourage young
people to take positive risks. All
attempts, successful or unsuccess-
ful, are viewed as part of the learn-
ing process. Thus, learning how to
take risks also involves learning
how to “fail courageously.” This
approach empowers youth to con-
sistently take new risks without
fear of being rejected.
• Good youth programs focus on
recruiting and retaining young peo-
ple from diverse backgrounds (e.g.,
diverse in race, ethnicity, family
income, family structure, and gen-
der) by intentionally designing
activities that address their needs.
• Good youth programs provide mul-
tiple opportunities for youth to
engage in activities with their fam-
ilies and communities.
• Good youth programs encourage
parental involvement by offering a
variety of possibilities for participa-
tion (e.g., social events, parental
workshops, volunteer opportuni-
ties).
• Good youth programs are designed
and conducted based on explicit
theories of adolescent develop-
ment. The theory may be helpful

in the identification of the target
population and in the types of
activities to be implemented
within the program.
• Good youth programs strive to
assist youth in avoiding identified
problem behaviors by providing
them with other opportunities.
These opportunities are designed to
enhance skills (e.g., goal setting,
decision making, problem solving,
and accepting delayed gratifica-
tion), civic responsibility, and
prosocial behavior.
• Good youth programs offer skill-
building activities that reinforce
the values and skills linked with
doing well in school and maintain-
ing good physical health.
• Good youth programs are ongoing
and occur on a frequent basis. They
are at least a year in length and
have built-in follow-up sessions.
• Good youth programs offer a vari-
ety of resources through collabora-
tion with other youth-serving com-
munity organizations and schools.
• Good youth programs have clearly
stated goals that are assessed on a
regular basis. These goals are
linked to outcomes for youth (e.g.,
development of decision-making
skills, problem-solving skills, and
conflict-resolution skills) that
emphasize the benefits of program
participation. The evaluation strat-
egy being used allows for mid-
course corrections in the program.
• Good youth programs have well-
trained staff: The staff have appro-
priate educational backgrounds and
are diverse, the program provides
for frequent staff in-services, and
the turnover rate for staff is low.
Staff are visible advocates for youth.
Programs for Adolescents 539
• Good youth programs have a visi-
ble organizational structure and are
well organized and managed.
• Good youth programs have estab-
lished strategies for recognizing the
accomplishments of their partici-
pants.
No one program can address all the
needs of young people. However, the
research is clear—youth who are engaged
in programs are making a positive differ-
ence in their world now and are increas-
ing their chances of being successful as
adults. As with anything, however, too
much of a good thing can be bad. Re-
searchers have found that youth who are
engaged in more than twenty hours of
extracurricular activities a week are
more likely to engage in risky behaviors
compared to youth who engage in five to
nineteen hours of extracurricular activi-
ties. Therefore, young people’s participa-
tion in youth programs must be balanced
with meeting other demands for their
time (e.g., school and family).
Young people develop as the result of
core experiences with diverse persons and
systems, communities, and the institu-
tions in those communities. Communi-
ties and institutions can be supportive
influences in youths’ lives through pro-
grams. Communities that offer a variety
of programs and encourage youth partici-
pation are more likely to harness youths’
energy toward the common good. Pro-
grams, through positive connections and
activities, empower youth to develop their
skills, build their capacity to be resource-
ful, and increase their self-confidence.
In order for programs to provide all
youth with the developmental opportu-
nities that they need, communities and
citizens are going to have to intentionally
commit themselves to expanding those
540 Proms
programs. For example, some 29 percent
of the adolescent population, approxi-
mately 5.5 million, are not being served
by any existing youth programs. Most of
these young people are in impoverished
neighborhoods and are in dire need of a
safe place to be challenged. Thus, barriers
to participating in youth programs need
to be addressed in order to provide equal
access.
If we as citizens want our children and
youth to do more than avoid risky behav-
iors, if we want them to be contributing,
engaged members of society, then we
must take the initiative to create places
and opportunities that nurture their
development. The core experiences that
young people can gain from participating
in youth programs during the nonschool
hours can provide them with a clear
sense of direction as to what they should
be doing.
Daniel F. Perkins
Lynne M. Borden
See also Alcohol Use, Risk Factors in;
Apprenticeships; Children of Alco-
holics; Counseling; Delinquency, Men-
tal Health, and Substance Abuse Prob-
lems; Drug Abuse Prevention; Eating
Problems; Foster Care: Risks and Pro-
tective Factors; Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual,
and Sexual-Minority Youth; High
School Equivalency Degree; Interven-
tion Programs for Adolescents; Juvenile
Justice System; Schools, Full-Service;
Services for Adolescents; Sex Educa-
tion; Substance Use and Abuse; Suicide
References and further reading
Carnegie Council on Adolescent
Development. 1992. A Matter of Time:
Risk and Opportunity in the Nonschool
Hours. New York: Carnegie
Corporation.
Csikszentmihalyi, M., and Reed Larson.
1984. Being Adolescent: Conflict and
Growth in the Teenage Years. New
York: Basic Books.
Durlack, Joseph A. 1998. “Common Risk
and Protective Factors in Successful
Prevention Programs.” American
Journal of Orthopsychiatry 68: 512–520.
Larner, Mary B., Lorraine Zippiroli, and
Richard E. Behrman. 1999. “When
School Is Out: Analysis and
Recommendations.” The Future of
Children 9: 4–20.
Quinn, Jane. 1995. “Positive Effects of
Participation in Youth Organizations.”
Pp. 274–303 in Psychosocial
Disturbances in Young People:
Challenges for Prevention. Edited by M.
Rutter. New York: Cambridge
University Press.
Roth, Jodie, Jeanne Brooks-Gunn,
Lawrence Murray, and William Foster.
1998. “Promoting Healthy Adolescents:
Synthesis of Youth Development
Program Evaluations.” Journal of
Research on Adolescence 8: 423–459.
Scales, Peter C., and Nancy Leffert. 1999.
Developmental Assets: A Synthesis of
the Scientific Research on Adolescent
Development. Minneapolis: Search
Institute.
Scales, Peter C., Peter L. Benson, Nancy
Leffert, and Dale A. Blyth. 2000.
“Contribution of Developmental Assets
to the Prediction of Thriving among
Adolescents.” Applied Developmental
Science 4: 27–46.
Sickmund, Mellisa, Howard Snyder, and
Eileen Poe-Yamagata. 1997. Juvenile
Offenders and Victims: 1997 Update on
Violence. Washington, DC: U.S.
Department of Justice, Office of
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention.
Zill, Nicholas, Christine W. Nord, and
Laura S. Loomis. 1995. Adolescent Time
Use: Risky Behavior and Outcomes: An
Analysis of National Data. Washington,
DC: U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services.
Proms
Discussions of dresses and tuxedos, lim-
ousines and flowers—is there a wedding
on the horizon? Not necessarily. If it’s
springtime, it’s prom time for most
teenagers, and that means an American

tradition is about to occur—a rite of pas-
sage for many teens that signals the
prospect of romance and glamour.
Throughout history, traditional cultures
around the world have invented rituals
that signify the passage from childhood
into adulthood. These cultural rituals
often involve tests or celebrations of
physical endurance, intellect, and matu-
rity, and serve as a way for society to
guide young men and women through a
period of developmental challenges. Mod-
ern American teenagers often refer to
prom as a significant milestone in their
development, as much more than an ordi-
nary school dance. Upon close examina-
tion it is apparent that proms incorporate
many of the components of other cultural
rituals, both cognitive and physical. Cog-
nitive aspects of prom can range from
community efforts, such as planning the
celebration, to the more personal aspects,
such as self-esteem. Physical aspects of
prom involve appearance, such as style of
dress, but also more serious concerns
about body image and sexuality.
Most often, a high school prom is an
annual event that is recognized by
teenagers as a culmination of social activ-
ity. The effort involved in organizing a
prom is tremendous, and usually a com-
mittee is selected by the student body.
This committee manages the organiza-
tional details, such as location (hotel or
school cafeteria?), theme (“Enchantment
under the Sea” or “Dream Date”?), music
(band or disc jockey?), food (chicken or
filet mignon?), and price of admission.
Local stores tend to donate items or ser-
vices in return for advertising, and the
whole community may choose to take
part in the event. Attention to prom
extends past the immediate community
into the larger teenage community, as the
Proms 541
media hype topics such as “prom fash-
ions” and “finding the perfect date.”
There are thousands of Web sites dedi-
cated to proms, and numerous books,
such as Sheryl Berk’s The Ultimate Prom
Guide, that provide suggestions and
strategies for the occasion. However, for
many teenagers, the prom can still be an
anxiety-provoking experience.
The stresses of prom night begin well
before the night of the prom. Problems
are most often associated with girls, per-
haps because they articulate their wor-
ries more frequently than boys, and soci-
ety dictates that boys aren’t supposed to
care as much about prom as girls. Both
parents and their teens invest time and
money in prom night, which can put a
strain on the family.
More subtle strain comes from worries
such as, “What if no one asks me to the
prom?,” “What will I wear?,” and “Who
will pay for the tickets? Limo? Dinner?”
These questions often plague girls and
boys as the prom looms in the distant
future. Once the prom arrives, new wor-
ries replace old worries, such as, “How
do I look?,” “I think I blinked in our pic-
ture,” and “What does she think will
happen when we’re alone tonight, after
the prom?” For those students who are
either not asked to the prom or are
rejected by prospective dates, the nega-
tive associations can leave painful, long-
lasting imprints on the teenager’s self-
esteem. Books such as Sean Covey’s The
7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens aim to
help teens navigate through some of
these issues, most of which are not lim-
ited to prom season.
Physical concerns associated with
prom night vary, but the first and most
common concern is about physical
appearance. Clothes, hair, makeup, and
542 Prostitution
accessories are important factors in the
prom experience. Students sometimes
spend up to a thousand dollars on a prom
“look,” and those students who cannot
afford such lavish expenditures most def-
initely notice the contrast between the
“haves” and “have nots.” This serves as
a blatant reminder of economic differ-
ences that are usually diluted because of
related social differences. Physical
appearance also includes weight and
height, and many teens resort to dieting
or purging to lose a few pounds before
prom. The outcomes of these behaviors
can have serious, sometimes dangerous,
outcomes.
The implications of prom fashions also
extend to issues of sexuality, particularly
sexual intercourse. In addition to the
social rite of passage, a large number of
teenagers include an additional rite of
passage from so-called “innocent” youth
into the realm of sexually active individ-
uals. At a time when sexual intercourse
can result in life-threatening viral infec-
tions, many parents and educators worry
about the physical well-being of their stu-
dent population. Alcohol consumption
and drug use are other concerns for
adults, since drugs and alcohol often
accompany the prom celebration, and
intoxication can be lethal if a student
decides to drink and then drive to or from
the dance. Many communities create hot
lines, staffed by parent volunteers, that a
teen may call if he requires assistance of
any kind. The no-questions-asked policy
and promise of confidentiality make this
an invaluable teen resource.
The American prom experience may
have changed in some ways over the
years. For example, it is not uncommon
for boys and girls to go with same-sex
partners to the dance, and an increasing
number of students choose to go without
a date (“stag”), rather than miss the big
event. Yet, much of the tradition remains
the same as it was fifty years ago. There
are still dresses and tuxedos, corsages and
boutonnieres, and dancing until stu-
dents’ feet are swollen. Prom is perceived
by many teens as an American rite of pas-
sage, not a rite of exclusion. It is the
embodiment of life’s joys and anticipa-
tion about the future.
Lisa B. Fiore
See also Alcohol Use, Risk Factors in;
Appearance, Cultural Factors in;
Appearance Management; Conformity;
Dating; Decision Making; Gay, Lesbian,
Bisexual, and Sexual-Minority Youth;
Peer Groups; Peer Pressure; Rites of
Passage; School Transitions; Schools,
Single-Sex; Sexual Behavior; Substance
Use and Abuse; Transitions of Adoles-
cence; Youth Culture
References and further reading
Berk, Sheryl. 1999. The Ultimate Prom
Guide. New York: HarperCollins
Juvenile Books.
Covey, Sean. 1998. The 7 Habits of Highly
Effective Teens: The Ultimate Success
Guide. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Prostitution
Prostitution is engaging in sexual rela-
tions in return for material goods. Prosti-
tution is not a problem just in the United
States; it is a profitable industry all over
the world. Young children and adoles-
cents are routinely sold or lured into sex-
ual labor. In the United States, many
teenage prostitutes are youth who have
run away from homes where they have
experienced physical, mental, and/or sex-
ual abuse. Their parents may be abusing
drugs or alcohol and may be neglectful.
These young people often describe them-
selves as “latchkey” kids. Children run
away to escape difficult home lives, but
 Prostitution 543

the problem of teenage prostitution can-

not be blamed entirely on the family.
Although these young people may be
estranged from their families, they are
often experiencing difficulty in school
and with peers as well. They feel they
have nowhere to go, no option but to run
away to a “better life.” Only the life is
not always what they expect.
Adolescents often do not know of ser-
vices that can help them to escape a dys-
functional home environment, or these
services are inadequate to meet their
needs. Once young people run away from
home, they typically attempt to seek
legitimate employment. Often they are
thwarted in these attempts by legal
restrictions on employment for young
people or by an inability to find jobs that
will support their needs for food, shelter,
and other basic necessities. In many
cases, they cannot find a job at all.
Searching through dumpsters for food
In the United States, many teenage
and begging is frequently the next step,
prostitutes are youth who have run away
but often these acts are not enough to from homes where they have experienced
support adolescent needs. As a conse- physical, mental, or sexual abuse. (Robert
quence, young children and adolescents Holmes/Corbis)
may turn to prostitution in order to make
money to survive.

Male and Female Teenage Prostitutes
Although most people think of prosti-
tutes as female, estimates are that one-
third of the teenage prostitutes currently
on the street are male. It is often harder
for male prostitutes to find someone to
take them in, so they are very susceptible
to beatings, theft, and other dangers of
the street. There is little written about
young male prostitutes, and what is writ-
ten is often focused on the sexual orien-
tation of these young men. Male prosti-
tutes are not necessarily homosexual.
They are often lured into prostitution by
the same means used to lure young
female prostitutes: the promise of money,
food, protection, and shelter, as well as
attention and friendship from their pimps
(men who get clients for prostitutes) or
madams (women who run houses of pros-
titution, and get clients for prostitutes).
Young prostitutes, both male and
female, are in demand by customers.
Young prostitutes are wanted because
there is a mistaken belief that the
younger prostitutes are “cleaner” (i.e., do
not have sexually transmitted diseases),
and thus the client will not catch any-
thing from the young person. The exact
number of young prostitutes on the
544 Prostitution
street is difficult to measure precisely, as
there are debates regarding what consti-
tutes prostitution (e.g., whether to
include those adolescents involved in
child pornography). In addition, there is
no consistency in defining what ages are
considered, and the information on gen-
der inclusion is often absent. One esti-
mate puts the number of child prosti-
tutes currently within the wide range of
300,000–600,000, while a slightly more
optimistic count places the number at
100,000–300,000.
Pathways to Prostitution
Resistance to prostitution is often bro-
ken by forced sex. Many teenage run-
aways are raped during their first months
on the street. The young person is then
approached by a paying client, and he
finds it difficult to resist offers of food,
shelter, drugs, and attention. Often, for
female prostitutes, men will offer the
attention and companionship these
young girls are desperately seeking, mak-
ing the young girl feel loved. The first-
time sexual experience as a teenage pros-
titute can be emotionally confusing.
Prostitutes will describe their feelings of
shame and guilt for having performed
sexual acts in exchange for money, and
yet they also feel relief over having
earned often desperately needed money.
For street children, prostitution becomes
a survival strategy.
Most prostitutes work for a pimp or
madam in return for promises of money
and protection. Pimps can cast them-
selves in the role of boyfriend and protec-
tor, while at the same time exploiting the
young man or woman for money. The
young people then become the victims of
violence at the hands of their pimps if
they aren’t “working hard enough.”
Madams and pimps will isolate young
prostitutes in order to keep them under
control and create a sense of dependency,
so that they feel they have no one else.
This isolation is achieved by not allow-
ing the young person to have outside
friends, a boyfriend or girlfriend, other
jobs, or to attend school. The pimp or
madam will also try to ensure that the
teenage prostitute does not make any
attempts to contact her family. Threats
of violence from their pimp or madam,
the lure of money, and a perceived lack of
options keep many young people in pros-
titution. Pimps and madams often take
the lion share of teenage prostitutes’
earnings, thus further keeping the young
people under their control by making
them financially dependent. They also
keep a close eye on their prostitutes to
make sure they will not escape.
Although pimps are often portrayed as
adults, young prostitutes often work for
pimps who are young people themselves.
One example would be a girlfriend pros-
tituting for her boyfriend. The boyfriend
will convince the young woman that the
sex will not mean anything emotionally
but will help them financially. However,
there does not have to be this form of a
relationship for a young person to pimp
for another young person.
Pimps or madams use teenage prosti-
tutes to recruit other young people into
the world of prostitution. They will lure
other young people on the street into
prostitution with the promise of lots of
money and protection, while hiding the
dangers of the work. They glamorize the
freedom of life on the streets. Once new
prostitutes have been lured in, competi-
tion between the prostitutes is fierce, and
is in fact promoted by the pimps and
madams. This fierce competition is

another way to keep the young prosti-
tutes isolated and loyal.
Dangers of Teenage Prostitution
Teenage prostitutes are subject to a vari-
ety of dangers. Many teenage prostitutes
become addicted to drugs and become
the victims of rape and/or other forms of
violence. These young women and men
live in constant fear of being beaten,
raped, or even murdered. Since drug use
is often associated with life on the streets
and prostitution, these teenagers are also
at risk for addiction, overdosing, and dis-
eases associated with intravenous drug
use (e.g., HIV/AIDS).
Although laws vary by state, the risk of
jail time for prostitution is very real.
Prostitutes often find their pimp or
madam will abandon them when it
comes time to pay for an attorney or to
post bail money. Thoughts of self-
destruction and suicide are very real risks
for teenage prostitutes.
Clients will pay extra money not to
use protection, and the teenage prostitute
is often overcome by the lure of money,
or uninhibited because of drugs and alco-
hol, and will thus engage in unsafe sex
practices. Female prostitutes face the risk
of getting pregnant, thus having to
choose between abortion, adoption, or
raising a child in an already difficult
lifestyle. Unprotected sex with multiple
partners also increases the chances of
contracting HIV/AIDS and other sexually
transmitted diseases (STDs), such as gon-
orrhea and chlamydia. Even oral sex,
once thought to be safer than vaginal or
anal intercourse, is now known to be
quite dangerous for the transmission of
HIV. Contracting an STD can also leave a
woman unable to have a child and can
cause sterility in men.
Prostitution 545
Prostitution also interferes with the
successful completion of many of the
important developmental tasks of adoles-
cence. In adolescence, there is a conflict
between needing to belong and creating
an identity, which is difficult to resolve
when under the control of another person
such as a pimp or madam. Selling one’s
body for sex can also cause confusion
about the role of sexuality in relation-
ships and causes problems for establish-
ing sexual identity. Intimacy is another
developmental task of adolescence. Pros-
titution inhibits the forming of intimate
relationships. Prostitutes distance them-
selves from the psychological dimension
of the physical act of sex. Whether this is
through denial, drug and alcohol use, or
other methods, the result is the same—
the failure to meet the developmental
task of learning to form intimate rela-
tionships.
Finally, although most of this article
has been focused on street prostitution,
young people also end up involved in so-
called high-class prostitution. This form
of prostitution is presented as being
cleaner and safer than street prostitution.
However, young people involved in
white-collar prostitution face all the
same risks of violence, sexually transmit-
ted diseases, and failure to develop psy-
chologically as do teenagers in street
prostitution.
Helpful Resources for
Teenage Prostitutes
There is no one reason why a young per-
son ends up in prostitution. Prostitution
is the end result of a variety of problems
faced by the young person in the family,
school, and peer context. Lack of support
for exploration of gender roles, lack of
social services to recognize children at
546 Psychosomatic Disorders
risk for running away, the failure to pro-
vide such youth with counseling and
assistance, and problems with the wel-
fare system all contribute to youth pros-
titution. Given the diversity of reasons
youth engage in prostitution, there are
several useful approaches to helping
teenage prostitutes.
Although there have been no longitudi-
nal studies of the long-term effects of
childhood prostitution, there are organiza-
tions that report success stories of young
women and men escaping the life of pros-
titution. Former prostitutes can go on to
live productive, drug-free lives with the
right assistance from a variety of organiza-
tions. This assistance is offered through
agencies or community-based programs
that offer resources for teenagers thinking
about running away, currently on the
streets, or involved in prostitution. These
organizations and programs provide sup-
port and referrals, they help young people
get off the streets, and they provide them
with resources such as education, food,
shelter, clothing, and counseling. They
include the following:
• The National Runaway Switch-
board, 1–800–621–4000,
www.nrscrisisline.org
• Children of the Night,
1–800–551–1300, www.
childrenofthenight.org
• Boys Town, 1–800–448–3000,
www.boystown.org
• Covenant House, 1–800–999–9999,
www.covenanthouse.org
Deborah L. Bobek
See also Counseling; Delinquency, Mental
Health, and Substance Abuse Problems;
High School Equivalency Degree;
Homeless Youth; Juvenile Crime; Juve-
nile Justice System; Physical Abuse;
Programs for Adolescents; Rape; Risk
Behaviors; Runaways; Sexual Abuse;
Sexual Behavior; Sexually Transmitted
Diseases
References and further reading
Bell, Laurie. 1987. Good Girls/Bad Girls:
Feminists and Sex Trade Workers Talk
Face to Face. Toronto: The Women’s
Press.
Ennew, Judith, Kusum Gopal, Janet
Heeran, and Heather Montgomery.
1996. Children and Prostitution: How
Can We Measure and Monitor the
Commercial Sexual Exploitation of
Children? New York: UNICEF.
Hart, Jordana. 1998. “Young and on the
Run after Fleeing Home, They Often
Find a World of Rape, Prostitution and
Drugs.” The Boston Globe, February 2,
A1.
Jesson, Jill. 1993. “Understanding
Adolescent Female Prostitution: A
Literature Review.” British Journal of
Social Work 23, no. 5: 517–530.
Schissel, Bernard, and Kari Fedec. 1999.
“The Selling of Innocence: The Gestalt
of Danger in the Loves of Youth
Prostitutes.” Canadian Journal of
Criminology 41, no. 1: 33–56.
Strauss, David Levi. 1992. “A Threnody
for Street Kids: The Youngest
Homeless.” The Nation 254: 752–755.
Weisberg, D. Kelly. 1985. Children of the
Night: A Study of Adolescent
Prostitution. Lexington, MA: Lexington
Books.
Psychosomatic Disorders
The term psychosomatic disorders indi-
cates that a physical disease is the conse-
quence of the interaction between the
mind (or psyche) and the body (or soma).
Examples of psychosomatic disorders are
asthma, neurodermatitis, ulcers, migraine
headaches, and hypertension (high blood
pressure). Psychosomatic disorders are
studied, among others, by the field of
behavioral medicine, which is concerned
with the integration of behavioral and
medical knowledge and techniques for
the prevention, diagnosis, and rehabilita-

tion of illness. Since adolescence is a time
of rapid and often stressful change, psy-
chosomatic disorders are common, and an
understanding of the mechanics of these
disorders is useful to anyone who deals
with adolescents.
Psychosomatic disorders are also some-
times called psychophysiological disor-
ders, and in the fourth edition of the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), the term
psychosomatic was replaced by the diag-
nostic category of “psychological factors
affecting medical conditions.” This last
concept specifies that psychological fac-
tors can adversely affect the person’s
physical condition, and the influence of
these factors is made evident by the tem-
poral association between the psycholog-
ical factors and the initiation, exacerba-
tion, and aggravation of, or delayed
recovery from, the general condition.
Some general psychological factors that
could affect physical conditions are men-
tal disorders (e.g., depression), psycholog-
ical symptoms (e.g., anxiety, depressive
symptoms), personality traits or coping
style (e.g., not recognizing or denying the
need of a surgery), maladaptive health
behaviors (e.g., overeating, unsafe sex,
lack of exercise), and stress-related physi-
ological responses (e.g., headache pro-
duced by tension or stress).
Psychosomatic disorders are distin-
guished from the concept of somatiza-
tion, which refers to a tendency to expe-
rience and express physical symptoms in
the absence of a known physical illness.
For example, a sudden blindness without
a demonstrated biological cause is an
example of somatization. In these cases,
nothing is physically wrong with the
patient, although the physical problems
are real in the patient’s mind. The person
usually does not recognize and may even
Psychosomatic Disorders 547
deny that the psychological distress
might be related to the illness. Somatiza-
tion might be useful to the individual
because, through it, he may attain certain
psychological and/or social gains (e.g.,
extra attention or relief from responsibil-
ities). A bad headache, for example, may
exempt a student from taking an exam
that she does not want to take. Constant
stomachaches might result in frequent
visits to the doctor’s office, which would
mean more attention from adults. In
other words, somatization can be used as
an unconscious strategy to cope with the
demands and frustrations of life.
Psychosomatic disorders, on the other
hand, do involve real, organic pathology.
They are real physical illnesses that
involve a clear disturbance of the body, in
which anxiety is the main emotion
involved in producing the symptoms. In
other words, if the person is not able to
process or handle emotions on a psycho-
logical level, the conflicting emotions
may be transferred to the body.
The tendency to experience and com-
municate distress through the body
rather than through a psychological
mode exists in different societies, but it
does not necessarily imply that the indi-
vidual displaying it has a psychiatric dis-
order. After all, we all somatize at some
point of our lives, because we all go
through stressful times in life. It is not
uncommon to experience dizziness,
headaches, stomachaches, shortness of
breath, palpitations, or other symptoms
during these stressful periods.
In the case of psychosomatic illnesses,
there can be changes in the perceptual,
structural, or functional responses of the
body. This happens because the brain, the
organ of the mind, is connected to the
organs of the body through nerves and
hormones. Through these connections,
548 Psychosomatic Disorders
the mind can contribute to the creation
and course of illnesses that reside in the
body, such as neurodermatitis, peptic
ulcer, and asthma, among others. Changes
in the organs of the body are more likely
to occur when the mind is overwhelmed
by certain emotions, and the changes are
a way of dealing with these emotions
(Dubovsky, 1997).
Emotions give rise to mental and phys-
ical changes in the body. When emotions
are expressed openly (e.g., when anger is
openly discussed or expressed with the
person we are angry with), the mental and
physical activities in which the individ-
ual engages help to end the physiological
changes that occur in the body because of
those emotions (Dubovsky, 1997). When
we feel angry, for example, there is more
blood flow to the muscles and our heart
rate accelerates. These physical changes
prepare the person for an action to deal
with the emotion, such as yelling at the
source of anger to relieve the anger. Nor-
mally, the physiological state created by
the emotion returns to its usual function-
ing after the action is done and the emo-
tion is relieved. In the case of anger, the
muscles relax and the heart rate returns
to its usual level of activity. If, instead,
the feelings and emotions are repressed or
relegated to the unconscious mind, the
physiological changes will not be termi-
nated through action, and the body may
continue to respond to the emotion.
Physiological changes such as rapid heart-
beat, elevated blood pressure, muscle ten-
sion, headache, or an upset stomach will
continue until the emotion is resolved
(Dubovsky, 1997). Repressed anger and
anxiety, for example, have been associ-
ated with a particular type of neuroder-
matitis in which the person loses hair
very rapidly due to the altered emotional
state (e.g., repressed anger). Rapid hair
loss, at the same time, produces great lev-
els of anxiety because of the fear of
becoming bald—establishing a pattern of
anxiety, hair loss, anxiety—which may be
quite difficult to treat.
The continuous physical stimulation
of undischarged emotions is not neces-
sarily dangerous for a body that is
healthy. However, a body that is vulnera-
ble and that is subjected to intense and
prolonged somatic responses to stressful
situations may be permanently changed.
For example, a person who is continually
angry and whose heart is vulnerable
might experience rapid, uncontrollable
cardiac rhythms. With time, the person’s
heart may adjust to the rapid beating, and
“may reset itself to a pathological level of
functioning that is independent of the
emotional state that originally mobilized
it” (Dubovsky, 1997, p. 47).
Obviously, certain experiences may
give rise to emotions that are natural in
human beings, such as anger, anxiety,
grief, love, or sexual desire. Under certain
circumstances, it may be difficult to
express these feelings and emotions
openly, or they may become too strong.
Thus, they may become uncomfortable.
For example, an adolescent who is
becoming aware of his growing sexual
thoughts and impulses might feel anx-
ious due to these newly felt desires. Soci-
etal conventions do not allow a free
expression or immediate satisfaction of
these desires, which can make the ado-
lescent feel even more anxious about his
new emotions. He might feel shame,
guilt, and, sometimes, fear in relation to
these emotions. When anxiety and feel-
ings of guilt, fear, or shame become too
strong, the conscious mind might try to
push these problematic responses into
the unconscious mind, into the part of
the mind that will keep them out of his

awareness. In order for these problematic
feelings to remain out of the person’s
awareness, the conscious mind needs
continuous vigilance over them. When a
person is having difficulty dealing with
the emotions on a psychological level,
the emotions can take the form of differ-
ent psychological symptoms such as pho-
bias or depression, which might not be as
difficult for the person to deal with as the
original ones were. However, these
symptoms also reflect the same strong,
hidden, and unconscious emotions. In
some of these cases, it is also possible for
the conflict to be transferred to the body.
We also know that certain personality
types are more prone to physical damage
than others. These are those who seem
more incapable of dealing with their
problems, and they tend to keep them
from getting out (e.g., from leaving the
unconscious mind). Again, when people
cannot deal with their problems effi-
ciently, the problems may turn into a
body dysfunction. In this way, getting
sick may be an unconscious way of deal-
ing with guilt, of manipulating others, or
of obtaining care and attention. People
who have learned that it is wrong to
express their feelings and emotions
directly may communicate them indi-
rectly through, for example, physical
symptoms (Dubovsky, 1997). In the case
of psychosomatic disorders, the idea of
somatic involvement does not mean, as
early theoreticians believed, that either
the organs or the autonomic nervous sys-
tem can actually express an unconscious
idea. However, it does mean that there is
an interaction between the body and the
mind, through which the mind and psy-
chological factors can affect physiologi-
cal changes in the body.
Stress is a factor that is involved in the
origin and course (“etiology”) of psycho-
Psychosomatic Disorders 549
somatic disorders. It has been defined as a
challenging event that requires physiolog-
ical, cognitive, and behavioral adaptation
(Oltmanns and Emery, 1998). Stress is
known to play an essential role in the
onset or exacerbation of most physical ill-
nesses. It can be caused by many events
in a person’s life, such as the death of a
spouse, a divorce, detention in jail or
other institution, the death of a close fam-
ily member, a major personal injury or ill-
ness, a major change in behavior or health
of a family member, pregnancy, sexual
difficulties, gaining a new family member
(e.g., birth, adoption, oldster moving in,
etc.), major change in the financial state,
outstanding personal achievement, begin-
ning or ceasing formal schooling, a major
change in life conditions (e.g., remodeling
a home), a change in residence, or a
change to a new school.
Some people distinguish between ex-
ternal and internal stress. External stress
refers more to observable events that hap-
pen or have happened to a person, such as
pressures at work, difficult deadlines,
troubles at home, or heavy traffic. Inter-
nal stress, on the other hand, refers to the
different ways in which people can react
physiologically to stress. Some people
may perceive some challenges of life dif-
ferently than others. For example, for
some people a minor event might be per-
ceived as something extremely stressful.
Nowadays, however, most researchers
argue that stress is the result of the inter-
action between the environment and the
person, as well as how the person per-
ceives the challenges of the environment.
As we all know, adolescence is a time
of many physical, intellectual, emo-
tional, and social changes that occur in a
short period of time. There are changes in
the anatomy and physiology of the body,
changes in cognitive abilities, changes
550 Psychosomatic Disorders
involved in the transition from childhood
and dependence toward adulthood and
independence, and even changes in or
restructuring of relationships with fam-
ily and friends. It is a time of transitions
and adaptations.
According to Hendren (1990, p. 249),
the typical adolescent stressors are puber-
tal growth and hormonal changes, height-
ened sexuality, change from dependence
to independence, changed relationship
between parents and adolescents, newly
developed cognitive abilities, cultural and
social expectations, gender role, peer pres-
sure, parental psychopathology, school
changes, family moves, parental marital
discord and divorce, encounters with
legal authorities, sexual mistreatment,
and physical illness and hospitalization.
Adolescence is thus a period that involves
important transitions, increasing respon-
sibilities, and changes in the roles the
individual plays in society.
All of these changes require adapta-
tions and thus bring with them a certain
amount of stress, which adolescents
have to learn to deal with. The young
person’s coping skills, the family’s func-
tioning, and the sociocultural environ-
ment influence reactions to these nor-
mal developmental changes (Hendren,
1990). Environmental stressors, such as
divorce or school changes, may increase
the risk of developing stress-related ill-
nesses. Stress is known to produce anxi-
ety, and anxiety may contribute to the
worsening of the conditions of psychoso-
matic illnesses. Indeed, anxiety is an
important component in the following
illnesses: insomnia, asthma, tensional
headache, dermatitis, digestive disorders,
chronic pain, eating disorders, and car-
diovascular disorders.
A high prevalence of psychosomatic
symptoms has been documented among
adolescents, with chronic headaches and
stomachaches as some of the most com-
mon symptoms related to stress. Because
of the high prevalence of these symp-
toms, it has been argued that some psy-
chosomatic symptoms may even repre-
sent a normal and temporary adolescent
reaction to changes in the body. However,
it has also been argued that these symp-
toms are indeed specifically related to
stressful life experiences and psychologi-
cal distress. It is extremely important for
families to learn to recognize symptoms
of stress in adolescents, in order to seek
professional help if needed. Although a
certain amount of stress seems to be
usual in adolescence, psychosomatic
symptoms are potential markers of psy-
chosocial and emotional distress, which
need to be attended to, particularly
because a significant proportion of these
symptoms can persist into adulthood.
In our society, there is a general belief
that stress is always bad, since it is the
cause of many illnesses, and that it
should be avoided. However, evidence
now suggests that under the right condi-
tions, stress can promote emotional
strength rather than disorders. Thus, a
certain amount of stress can be adaptive.
Moreover, learning more adaptive ways
of coping with stress can limit the recur-
rence or improve the course of many
physical illnesses. One key to helping
adolescents who are suffering from psy-
chosomatic illness is not to try to remove
all stress from their lives but to help
them learn to maintain a balance
between being challenged and being over-
loaded by stress.
Susanna M. Lara Roth
See also Chronic Illnesses in Adolescence;
Counseling; Disorders, Psychological

and Social; High School Equivalency
Degree; Self; Self-Consciousness
References and further reading
American Psychiatric Association. 1994.
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), 4th ed.
Washington, DC: American Psychiatric
Association.
Dubovsky, Steven L. 1997. Mind-Body
Deceptions: The Psychosomatics of
Everyday Life. New York: Norton.
Hendren, Robert L. 1990. “Stress in
Adolescence.” Pp. 247–265 in
Childhood Stress. Edited by L. E.
Arnold. New York: Wiley.
Kaplan, Harold I., Benjamin J. Sadock, and
Jack A. Grebb. 1994. Kaplan and
Sadock’s Synopsis of Psychiatry:
Behavioral Sciences, Clinical
Psychiatry, 7th ed. Baltimore: Williams
and Wilkins.
Krishkowy, Barry, et al. 1995. “Symptom
Clusters among Young Adolescents.”
Adolescence 30, no. 118: 351–362.
Oltmanns, Thomas F., and Robert E.
Emery. 1998. Abnormal Psychology,
2nd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice-Hall.
Petrie, Keith J., and John A. Weinman, eds.
1997. Perceptions of Health and Illness.
Amsterdam: Hardwood Academic
Publishers.
Pitts, Marian, and Keith Phillips. 1998.
The Psychology of Health: An Introduc-
tion, 2nd ed. London: Routledge.
Psychotherapy
There are many different theories and
forms of psychotherapy and adolescents
decide to become involved in psy-
chotherapy for many different reasons.
Most basically, however, psychotherapy
(also commonly referred to as therapy or
counseling) is a process through which a
trained psychotherapist or counselor
seeks to help a person learn and change
in ways that contribute to psychological
growth and well-being. The person who
has sought psychotherapy is commonly
referred to as a client.
The goals of psychotherapy should be
decided upon by the client and therapist
Psychotherapy 551
prior to the start of psychotherapy.
Although the goals of therapy may change
over time, it is important that the process
begin with an agreed-upon goal. Many
adolescents find psychotherapy helpful
for coping with the many challenges and
transitions that accompany the teenage
years. Adolescents may find therapy help-
ful in learning how to deal better with
everyday concerns or in resolving more
serious conflicts. One of the most com-
mon reasons for seeking therapy is dissat-
isfaction with some aspect of one’s life,
such as family conflict, feelings of sad-
ness, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, loneli-
ness, dissatisfaction with school or occu-
pational achievement, difficulties in
making friends, issues concerning sexual-
ity, and problem behaviors, such as lying
or stealing. Adolescents sometimes enter
therapy because they want assistance in
coping with a difficult or traumatic life
event, such as the death of a family mem-
ber, an incident of physical or sexual
abuse, or the aftermath of an accident or
physical disaster. Therapy may also be
sought for help in adjusting to changes,
such as changing schools, parental divorce
or remarriage, starting college, or the
breakup with a romantic partner. In these
circumstances, therapy may focus on
enhancing coping skills to deal with the
stresses of these transitions. Adolescents
may also decide to enter psychotherapy
because they are looking for guidance in
future planning or because they want to
learn more about themselves and ways
that might enhance their success at
school, at work, or in social relationships.
Therapy can be practiced in many
forms. Therapists often meet individu-
ally with clients or with groups of
clients. Group therapy is a therapeutic
format in which a small number of indi-
viduals, often with common concerns,
552 Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is a process through which a trained psychotherapist seeks to help a person
learn and change in ways that contribute to psychological well-being. (Richard T.
Nowitz/Corbis)
meet together with a therapist. Many
adolescents find group therapy helpful
because they can share feelings and learn
from other teenagers, as well as the ther-
apist. Family therapy occurs when all
family members meet together with the
therapist to change problematic family
relationships. Oftentimes, family ther-
apy is initiated because one family mem-
ber is experiencing a specific problem.
Family therapy can help adolescents and
other family members learn to commu-
nicate and understand one another bet-
ter. Individuals often participate simulta-
neously in several modalities of therapy,
such as individual and group, or individ-
ual and family.
Trained psychotherapists generally
have one of several graduate degrees and
are licensed by the state in which they
are practicing. Clinical social workers
and mental health counselors are trained
at the master’s level; psychologists are
trained at the doctoral level, receiving
either a Ph.D. or Psy.D. degree; and psy-
chiatrists are trained physicians with an
M.D., and a residency in the specializa-
tion of psychiatry. Psychiatrists are
licensed to prescribe medications, as well
as to provide psychotherapy. Some ado-
lescents who are prescribed medications
to help with depression or anxiety may
meet with a psychiatrist, as well as with
a psychologist.

The process of psychotherapy usually
relies upon a verbal interaction between a
therapist and client. The nature of the
verbal interaction and the extent to
which the verbal interaction is supple-
mented by other activities will depend
upon the theoretical orientation of the
therapist. Psychodynamic therapists, for
example, may focus on using the verbal
interchange as a way to increase client
understanding of the self and one’s his-
tory. The psychodynamic therapist
believes that this understanding or
insight will enable the individual to
change in desirable ways. A behavioral
therapist is not interested in client under-
standing or insight, but instead focuses
on change in specific behaviors. In behav-
ior therapy, a verbal interchange may
focus on identifying the conditions that
maintain negative behaviors, so that the
antecedents and consequences of those
negative behaviors can be changed. The
behavioral therapist and client might
establish a contract, which the client
agrees to follow and through which a sys-
tem of rewards is expected to modify
undesirable behavior. The cognitive ther-
apist focuses on changing the way in
which the client thinks, believing that
human behavior and feelings are caused
most directly by what we think. From a
cognitive perspective, the causes of
depression include negative thoughts
about the self (“I am worthless”), about
others (“No one likes me”), and about the
future (“This situation is hopeless and
will not change”). The cognitive therapist
might supplement verbal dialogue, with
role playing or doing therapeutic home-
work, such as practicing new skills
learned in the therapy session. A family
systems therapist may focus on how the
family interacts as a whole, may focus on
Psychotherapy 553
interactions among family subsystems
(children vs. parents), and may be inter-
ested in how social systems beyond the
family, such as the neighborhood, school,
or workplace, impact the family.
Adolescents often enter therapy
because an adult in their lives, such as
parent or guardian, or a school official,
has decided that they would benefit from
it. Sometimes adolescents decide on their
own that they would benefit from coun-
seling and approach a parent, guardian, or
school counselor for assistance in obtain-
ing therapy. A therapist or counselor
needs permission from a parent or
guardian in order to provide therapy to
persons under the age of eighteen. Thera-
pists often provide progress reports to
parents, so they will have a broad under-
standing of the goals and progress of ther-
apy. The specifics of what the youth says
during therapy, however, are confiden-
tial, and are thus not generally shared
with others. There are limits to confiden-
tiality, however. The therapist must
report to appropriate authorities indica-
tions that the client is being physically or
sexually abused, or indications that the
client intends to cause harm to oneself or
another person.
Maureen E. Kenny
See also Anxiety; Counseling; Depression;
Disorders, Psychological and Social;
High School Equivalency Degree; Inter-
vention Programs for Adolescents; Pro-
grams for Adolescents; Self
References and further reading
Patterson, Lewis E., and Elizabeth Reynold
Welfel. 2000. The Counseling Process,
5th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Prout, H. Thompson, and Douglas T.
Brown. 1998. Counseling and
Psychotherapy with Children and
Adolescents, 3rd ed. New York:
Wiley.
554 Puberty: Hormone Changes
Puberty: Hormone Changes
Adolescence is the period of the life span
that includes roughly the second decade
of life. It is characterized by physical,
hormonal, psychological, and emotional
changes. Puberty is the term used to
describe the physical and hormonal
changes that occur during adolescence. It
is a process that takes years to complete
and consists of many different changes.
Puberty is characterized by more rapid
physical changes than at any time since
infancy. These changes are brought on by
complicated interactions among genes,
hormones, the brain, and the environment
where the adolescent lives. This entry will
focus on hormones and the role they play
in the physical changes of puberty. Hor-
mones as a group are one of the factors
responsible for increases in height and
weight and changes in body size and body
proportions at puberty. Changes in hor-
mones, along with physical growth, are
thought to be related to changes in moods
and behavior at puberty.
There are many hormones that con-
tribute to the physical changes at
puberty, but there are three main types of
hormones that change at puberty:
gonadotropins, gonadal hormones, and
adrenal hormones.
The term gonadotropins refers to two
hormones, luteinizing hormone (LH) and
follicle stimulating hormone (FSH).
Gonadotropins are produced by the pitu-
itary gland at the base of the brain. They
stimulate the production of two other
hormones, estrogen and testosterone. In
early puberty, the gonadotropins rise dur-
ing sleep, but as puberty advances they
are present during the day as well.
The second group of hormones that
rise at puberty consists of the gonadal
hormones, estrogen and testosterone. As
gonadotropins rise, so do the gonadal hor-
mones, estrogen and testosterone.
Gonadal hormones are produced by the
gonads. The term gonads refers to the
testicles in boys and the ovaries in girls.
During puberty, estrogen is produced
mainly by the ovaries in girls and is sev-
eral times higher in girls than in boys.
Estrogen is responsible for growth and
the development of secondary sexual
characteristics, that is, breasts and other
organs that humans need to reproduce.
Testosterone is produced mainly by the
testicles in boys and is several times
higher in boys than in girls. Testosterone
is responsible for the development of
sperm and other organs involved in
reproduction, like the penis and testicles.
Estrogen and testosterone begin to rise at
approximately age eight to nine in girls
and ten to eleven in boys.
The adrenal hormones that change at
puberty are dehydroepiandrosterone
(DHEA), dehydroepiandrosterone sul-
phate (DHEAS), and androstenedione.
Adrenal androgens are produced by the
adrenal glands, which sit on top of the
kidneys. The adrenal androgens begin to
rise at approximately age seven to eight
in girls and boys. Adrenal androgens con-
tribute to the development of a prepuber-
tal growth spurt and pubic and underarm
hair in boys and girls.
Boys and girls can vary widely in the
age at which they begin to have an
increase in all three groups of hormones.
Shortly after these hormones begin to
rise, adolescents begin to show physical
changes. Girls will begin to develop
breasts. Boys will begin to develop a larger
penis and testicles. Both boys and girls
will develop pubic and underarm hair.
Girls begin to show physical changes
eighteen to twenty-four months before

boys. At around ages twelve to thirteen in
girls and fourteen to fifteen in boys,
height will increase very rapidly. This
rapid increase in height is referred to as
the growth spurt. The growth spurt lasts
about two years. Adolescents will con-
tinue to grow after the growth spurt, but
at a slower rate. Growth hormone, along
with other growth factors, contributes to
the rapid rise in height at puberty. In early
puberty, growth hormone is secreted
mainly at night. For girls, menarche, the
beginning of the menstrual period, is a
late event of puberty that usually occurs
after the growth spurt. Cyclical (monthly)
changes in some of the hormones occur
during the menstrual cycle.
Girls and boys vary in when they will
exhibit the hormonal and physical
growth changes of puberty, although the
majority of boys and girls begin to show
changes at about the same age. Those
who experience changes in hormones
and, in turn, physical changes earlier
than their same-age friends are called
early maturers and those who begin later
are called late maturers. The timing of
hormone changes can be affected by
many factors, which include genetic
influences, stress, socioeconomic status,
nutrition, diet, exercise, and chronic ill-
ness. In some cases, both early and late
maturers can have problems coping with
their time of maturation. These problems
include changes in moods (from sadness
to anger to happiness, and so on), disobe-
dience, and more serious problems, like
aggression and delinquency. Much more
research needs to be done on how the
timing of the physical changes of puberty
will affect adolescents’ physical and
mental health later on in life.
Elizabeth J. Susman
Puberty: Physical Changes 555
See also Acne; Aggression; Appearance,
Cultural Factors in; Body Fat, Changes
in; Body Hair; Delinquency, Trends in;
Emotions; Gender Differences; High
School Equivalency Degree; Menarche;
Menstruation; Pregnancy, Interventions
to Prevent; Sex Differences; Sexual
Behavior; Sports, Exercise, and Weight
Control; Transition to Young Adult-
hood
References and further reading
Bourgignon, J., and T. M. Plant, eds. 2000.
The Onset of Puberty in Perspective.
Proceedings of the 5th International
Conference on the Control of the Onset
of Puberty. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
Griffen, J. E., and S. R. Ojeda. 1996.
Textbook of Endocrine Physiology. New
York: Oxford University Press.
Herman-Giddens, M. E, E. J. Slora, R. C.
Wasserman, C. J. Bourdony, M. V.
Bhapkar, G. G. Koch, and C. Hasemeier.
1997. “Secondary Sexual Characteristics
and Menses in Young Girls Seen in
Office Practice: A Study from the
Pediatric Research in Office Settings
Network.” Pediatrics 99: 505–512.
Puberty: Physical Changes
The physical changes of puberty occur
some time after the hormonal changes
have begun. This time interval is not
accurately known, but it is assumed to be
about six months to one year after the
hormonal changes. There is a wide range
of ages of both onset and completion of
various physical sexual stages of develop-
ment. These changes typically span the
second decade of life, involving early ado-
lescence (around ages ten to fourteen or
fifteen), middle adolescence (ages fifteen
to seventeen), and late adolescence (ages
eighteen to twenty). Boys who do not
experience testicular enlargement by
thirteen and a half years, or who have no
pubic hair development by age fifteen
years, or who take more than five years
556 Puberty: Physical Changes
to complete development are considered
to have delayed pubertal development.
Boys who show development prior to age
nine years are considered to have preco-
cious puberty. Girls who do not have
breast development by age thirteen, who
have no pubic hair by age fourteen, and
fail to menstruate by age sixteen are con-
sidered to have delayed puberty. Appear-
ance of these changes in girls younger
than eight years has been considered
abnormal. Some recent studies have
reported that the onset of changes in girls
was in fact more variable and that
changes occurring earlier than eight years
were not uncommon especially among
black girls. This phenomenon has not
been noted for boys.
Between about six and ten years of age,
but before the onset of true puberty, all
children experience hormonal changes
called adrenarche. These hormones may
cause some physical sexual change in a
small proportion of children. The most
common of these changes is the appear-
ance of an adult type of armpit odor, but
some children also experience the
appearance of axillary or pubic hair.
These changes are normal in the vast
majority of children.
The primary physical sexual changes
of true normal puberty are changes in
development of the gonads (testes or
ovaries). All other physical sexual
changes are called secondary sexual char-
acteristics—they are secondary to the
hormones secreted by the gonads.
In general, although there is a wide
range of time of onset and rate of
progress, there is an orderly sequence of
the physical changes of puberty. For boys,
the earliest visible change is enlargement
of the testes. Testicular size greater than
2.5 cm is considered to represent puber-
tal development. Average adult testis size
is approximately 5 cm. The scrotum also
shows development early in puberty. It
becomes thinner, and increases in blood
supply can easily be seen in its walls.
Pubic hair appears next, either on the
scrotum or around the base of the penis,
and gradually spreads laterally. The penis
enlarges next, first in length and later in
width. Deepening of the voice occurs by
mid-puberty. Axillary and facial hair
appear late in puberty. The adolescent
growth spurt in boys is also a rather late
event in puberty, as is the increase in
maximum muscle strength. Mature
sperm appear early in boys, at about
twelve and a half years on average. A sig-
nificant proportion of boys will experi-
ence some breast development during
middle puberty, which is benign and usu-
ally regresses without treatment.
Breast development is usually the ear-
liest indication of pubertal physical
development among girls. Breast devel-
opment may take place on one side only
for a while. It is not uncommon for girls
to complain about soreness of the nipple.
This is caused by the thin-skinned nipple
rubbing against clothing and will disap-
pear as development proceeds and the
skin of the nipple thickens. Pubic hair
appears before or at the same time as
breast development in a significant num-
ber of girls. A significant increase in body
fat occurs in middle puberty, causing the
more rounded body configuration seen in
most young women. Peak growth spurt is
a middle pubertal event. Axillary hair
and the first menstrual period are late
events in puberty. Most girls will grow an
average of two more inches after they
experience menarche.
There are very obvious changes in
behavior during puberty, but there is lit-
tle data to suggest that these changes are
related to the changes in hormones that
The physical changes of puberty typically begin earlier for girls than for boys. (Shirley
Zeiberg)
558 Puberty: Psychological and Social Changes
cause the physical changes of puberty.
The bodily changes of adolescence
involve, then, a period during which the
person reaches an adult level of maturity.
One aspect of that new level of maturity
is that the person becomes capable of
reproduction: of becoming pregnant, or
being able to impregnate. But puberty is
not synonymous with all maturation
changes. Puberty is the process that is
complete when the person is able to
reproduce and it is only one event within
the pubescent phase. For instance,
puberty is not synonymous with menar-
che (the first menstrual cycle) in females
or with the first ejaculation (the release of
semen) in males. The initial menstrual
cycles of females, for instance, typically
are not accompanied by ovulation. Simi-
larly, for males there is a gap between the
first ejaculation, which usually occurs
between eleven and sixteen years of age,
and the capability to fertilize. Neverthe-
less, these most striking physical changes
give a powerful message and play a sig-
nificant role in the transformation to
which we give the name of puberty.
Jordan W. Finkelstein
See also Acne; Appearance, Cultural Fac-
tors in; Appearance Management;
Attractiveness, Physical; Body Build;
Body Hair; Body Image; Gender Differ-
ences; High School Equivalency Degree;
Menarche; Menstrual Cycle; Nutrition;
Pregnancy, Interventions to Prevent;
Self-Consciousness; Sex Differences;
Sexual Behavior; Sports, Exercise, and
Weight Control
References and further reading
Berkow, Robert B., ed. 1997. The Merck
Manual of Medical Information: Home
Edition. Whitehouse Station, NJ:
Merck Research Laboratories, pp.
1254–1257.
Clayman, Charles B., ed. 1994. The
American Medical Association Family
Medical Guide, 3rd ed. New York:
Random House.
Katchadourian, H. 1977. The Biology of
Adolescence. San Francisco: Freeman.
Paikoff, Roberta, and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn.
1991. “Do Parent-Child Relationships
Change during Puberty? Psychological
Bulletin 110: 47–66.
Puberty: Psychological
and Social Changes
Pubertal maturation is characterized by
increased production of steroid hor-
mones (estrogens in females and andro-
gens in males). These hormones lead to
the development of secondary sexual
characteristics, such as the growth spurt,
the development of breasts in girls, and
the formation of masculine hair patterns
in boys.
Gradual physical alterations heighten
young people’s awareness of their bodies
and increase their self-consciousness.
Their concept of self, now focused prima-
rily on physical self, becomes more psy-
chological. Gradually, young adolescents
reach a higher level of self-understanding
and come to see themselves as distinct
from others and as carrying rather stable
personality characteristics. This process of
forming a coherent personal identity is at
times characterized by crisis, which must
be resolved if healthy development is to
occur. Research has shown that adoles-
cents’ ability to successfully resolve their
pubertal identity crisis can shape their
emotional outlook and impact their self-
esteem and life choices. Some children
tend to experience prolonged identity con-
fusion and might later exhibit temporary
pathological symptoms. However, most of
these children successfully overcome the
negative symptoms through the course of
their normal development.
 Puberty: Psychological and Social Changes 559

The search for a new identity and the desire to establish interpersonal intimacy are important
components of adolescents’ psychological and social development during puberty. (Skjold
Photographs)

While trying to reach a feeling of com- are important components of children’s

fort with their new body image and iden-
tity, adolescents also develop a need for
more autonomy and begin to seek more
contacts and support outside the family.
They turn increasingly to peers, and
through peer relations they look for
friendships that offer loyalty and inti-
macy. Loyalty among friends becomes a
necessary component of mutual under-
standing that develops during puberty,
while peer relations provide a way to sat-
isfy a longing for more intimate relation-
ships with the members of the opposite
or the same sex.
The search for a new identity and the
desire to establish interpersonal intimacy
psychological and social development
during the pubertal stage. However, what
course one’s pubertal psychological and
social functioning will take depends to a
great degree on the timing of physical
maturation, that is, whether adolescents
reach puberty early (before the rest of
their peers), late (after their peers), or “on
time” (when most of the rest of their
peers reach puberty). In addition, the
influence of puberty on psychological and
social functioning depends on the context
within which the maturation takes place.
All girls and boys go through puberty, but
society does not regard their early, on-
time, or late maturation in the same way.
560 Puberty: Psychological and Social Changes
This differential treatment often increases
children’s vulnerability to health risks
(such as eating disorders) and/or problem
behaviors (such as drinking).
Sexual Differences and
Pubertal Development
The timing of pubertal development is dif-
ferent for boys and girls. The onset of
puberty falls between the ages of 8 to 13
years for girls, and between the ages of 9.5
and 13.5 years for boys. Puberty is consid-
ered to be early if the first physical
changes occur around the age of eight in
girls and nine in boys, and it is considered
to be delayed if no physical signs of change
appear prior to age thirteen in girls and
fourteen in boys. Since puberty is the time
when children are absorbed in social com-
parisons and do not want to be different
from their peers, being an early- or late-
maturing person has important implica-
tions for self-esteem and self-concept in
young adolescents.
Early-maturing girls usually weigh
more and are taller than most of their
classmates. Poor body image and nega-
tive self-evaluations are common in
these girls. Since being thin is a norm for
female popularity among peers, the
desire for popularity prompts the girls to
try to control their physical transforma-
tion by dieting. During the course of this
preoccupation with physical appearance,
some of the girls have been found to
develop eating problems.
Being an early maturer has more posi-
tive consequences for boys than for girls.
During the process of their physical
changes, boys experience not only a
growth spurt but also a gain in muscle
mass. These changes are favorable factors
for gaining popularity among the peers of
early-maturing boys. However, given the
value placed on physical strength, sports,
and macho behavior among boys, this
norm can also put late-maturing boys at
a disadvantage, since it prompts the boys
to develop negative self-evaluations and
lower self-esteem.
In addition to the impact of timing on
young adolescents’ psychological and
social behavior, the context within which
the onset and development of puberty
occur is equally important. Many parents
may be uncomfortable about discussing
puberty issues with their children.
Fathers, in particular, report feeling
uneasy about raising the subject of puber-
tal maturation with their children, espe-
cially their daughters. If they are unable
to overcome their uneasiness, such an
omission leaves children isolated in their
efforts to understand the reasons for
pubertal changes in their body shape.
In their search for identity, for a self-
definition that would be both personally
satisfying and socially effective, children
turn to social cues. The media are a
prominent source of such cues. Through
media such as television, teen magazines,
and movies, young adolescents learn of
and come to accept cultural preference
for thinness in girls and muscularity in
boys. The emphasis on specific body
images puts pressure on girls to maintain
a prepubertal figure and asks of boys to
affirm themselves through engagement
in sports.
The possible negative effects that
pubertal physical changes and their tim-
ing can have on young adolescents’ psy-
chological and social adjustment can be
illustrated among those adolescents
whose involvement in athletic or profes-
sional training requires a particular body
shape. An example of this requirement in
boys would be participation in sports such
as football, which promotes aggressive-
ness and the expectation of rigorous build-
 Puberty: Psychological and Social Changes
ing up of muscle mass. If a child is a late
maturer, meaning that he is not physi-
cally mature enough to be able to build up
his muscles as well as are early or on-time
maturers, the physical expectations
imposed on the child may negatively
affect his psychological development. As
for girls, professions that call for vigorous
physical exertion and/or particular thin-
ness regardless of one’s age may not only
delay onset of menarche but also affect
the girls’ successful identity development.
In one study conducted by psychologists
Jeanne Brooks-Gunn and E. O. Reiter, bal-
lerinas from two different settings were
studied. One setting was a highly compet-
itive and physically strenuous ballet
school and the second setting was a regu-
lar school. Brooks-Gunn and Reiter found
that the different pressures of the settings
for having a thin body figure were related
to body image. Late-maturing ballerinas
had better body image than did on-time
ballerinas. However, ballerinas had more
problems with body image and eating
than did girls in the regular school setting.
Pubertal changes can also alter young
adolescents’ interactions with their par-
ents. Indications of increased conflicts
have been found between mothers and
their pubertal sons. Mothers and sons
tend to interrupt each other during con-
versations more during the initial puber-
tal period. However, conflict decreases by
the time sons reach the height of their
pubertal maturation.
Timing of physical maturity has a cer-
tain value not only for adolescents them-
selves but also for adults who interact
with them, specifically parents. At the
beginning of puberty, children who are
early maturers are taller than most other
children in their age group. They are
often expected to perform more demand-
ing jobs or to show more socially adult
561
behavior. Furthermore, parents may give
girls and boys who are physically more
mature than their peers more freedom to
go out. This treatment may make it more
likely that these young adolescents will
start dating earlier than expected.
Interactions between puberty, psycho-
logical and social functioning, and the
context in which children are embedded
may increase children’s vulnerability to
problem behaviors and health risks. Both
male and female early maturers are more
likely to engage in adult behaviors (such
as smoking, drinking, and sexual activ-
ity) at an earlier age than are on-time and
late maturers. However, it has been
shown that these problem behaviors
depend somewhat on the characteristics
of the children’s peers. Although early-
maturing girls are generally likely to start
drinking or dating at an earlier age, they
are more likely to act that way if their
friends are older. Early-maturing girls
with older friends expect fewer sanctions
from their peers and tend to break more
norms than is the case with early-matur-
ing girls who do not have older friends.
Societal preference for thinness can put
young adolescents also at a health risk.
Current ideals of slimness, as portrayed
by the entertainment and fashion indus-
tries, inspire dieting at the time of
puberty. Adolescents are affected by this
societal value to such a degree that diet-
ing and poor self-image increase as the
body is developing. Thus, in some cases,
adolescents can develop eating disorders,
such as anorexia nervosa (avoidance or
loathing of food, often accompanied with
psychological problems) or bulimia
(uncontrolled binge eating and purging
behavior). While girls are prone to
anorexia nervosa, boys seem to be more
vulnerable to physical anorexia (a type of
anorexia that can be found in runners, for
562 Puberty: Psychological and Social Changes
example). In either case, eating problems
in young adolescents are prevalent, and,
as some clinical studies show, both boys
and girls can exhibit eating problems as
early as eight years old.
Eating problems in young adolescents
are sometimes accompanied by depres-
sion. Early-maturing girls and late-
maturing boys who are dissatisfied with
their body image might find it hard to
feel happy. This unhappiness is likely to
increase depressive tendencies in the
children. Depressed males and females
are found to be dissatisfied with their
body weight and shape even when their
peers do not rate them as less attractive.
With all the psychological and social
changes taking place during children’s
transition to adolescence, and with all
the risks associated with it, what is it
that parents and children can do to help
each other combat the risks? First, it
should be understood that although par-
ent-child relationships undergo impor-
tant changes during children’s transi-
tion through adolescence, parents still
continue to hold an important role in
their children’s lives during this period.
Parents are involved in their children’s
lives by directly communicating their
knowledge and values to them, and by
indirectly providing emotional support
for their teenagers’ attempts to form
friendships outside their home.
Adolescents turn to their parents for
guidance when the actions that they are
taking may have implications for their
academic goals and future plans. Adoles-
cents value their peers’ input over their
parents only when it comes to issues of
popularity and status in different teenage
cliques. However, acceptance of particu-
lar peer values does not necessarily imply
that adolescents will suddenly refuse to
rely on their parents’ guidance alto-
gether. In their search for autonomy
through expansion of peer relations and,
at the same time, motivated by a desire
to remain connected to their families,
adolescents look for ways to establish
peerlike relationships with their parents.
The authority of adults in the parent-
child relationship remains, but adoles-
cents now seek to be respected and seen
by their parents as their equals (which is
exactly what they find in their peer rela-
tionships). At times when parents and
their teenage children are able to meet
halfway in this manner, mutuality of
respect and communication between par-
ents and their adolescent children tend to
emerge.
Second, as noted earlier, pubertal mat-
uration is a rather stressful developmen-
tal period during which one’s success in
resolving the identity crisis may shape
one’s emotional outlook, self-esteem,
and acceptance of oneself and one’s
actions. Parents should help children
understand that puberty is a develop-
mental stage that everyone goes through,
that they themselves went through, and
that it does not last forever. In addition,
for many girls the onset of menstruation
is a cause for embarrassment and dis-
comfort. Parents need to make an effort
to explain to their pubertal daughters
what the menstrual cycle is and what
sorts of feelings the cycle usually brings
up in females. Daughters should also be
informed on how to conduct their men-
strual hygiene.
Third, puberty is also a time when par-
ents need to be aware that their own
behavior can elicit much greater varia-
tions of both negative and positive behav-
iors from their pubertal children. For
example, factors such as family stressors
(e.g., marital conflict or parental divorce)
tend to be consequential for girls’ puber-
 Puberty: Psychological and Social Changes
tal development, much more than for
boys’. A high level of family conflict is
associated with early menarche (the first
menstrual period) in girls. This is the
case even when biological factors such as
girls’ weight and nutrition are controlled
for. Furthermore, some studies point out
that many early-maturing girls tend to
have absent biological fathers, and that
the longer the period of father absence,
the earlier is the onset of menarche in
these girls. At the same time, however,
stressful family context does not always
necessarily result in early maturation.
Requirements of particular environ-
mental/social contexts may delay puber-
tal maturation as well. For example, the
delay may be either environmentally
imposed or personally desired and
attained, as is the case with delayed
menarche in ballerinas (mentioned ear-
lier in this article) or in girls who engage
in excessive exercise and dieting. For this
reason, parents of adolescents should pay
more attention to their diet-conscious
girls and late-maturing boys. Family
meals should be modified in order to
ensure that the adolescents get enough
calories while eating more healthy foods.
Parent-child discussions regarding the
child’s physical appearance should be
structured in a way that meets the child’s
need for emotional understanding and
affirmation.
Parents should also consider the possi-
ble effects that their own dieting or
emphasis on muscular build and athletic
involvement can have on the pubertal
maturation of their children. For exam-
ple, parents who actively foster weight
control are likely to communicate to
their pubertal children their own percep-
tions, beliefs, and attitudes regarding
physical appearance and body shape. In
addition, both parents and children need
563
to be aware that in families with more
than one child of pubertal or prepubertal
age it is a common occurrence that sib-
lings may behave similarly. Specifically,
younger siblings are often found to imi-
tate some of the behaviors of their older
siblings. Thus, early-maturing girls and
boys who engage in dieting, excessive
exercise, drinking, or sexual activity may
put their younger siblings (in particular,
the younger siblings who are close in age
to them) at a greater risk of developing
similar problem behaviors themselves.
In the end, it is equally important to
propose that adolescents should explore
different ways in which to communicate
to their older siblings and parents any
concerns that they might have regarding
their maturational state and identity
dilemmas and insecurities, as well as pos-
sible social pressures. By helping parents
understand better what their adolescents’
concerns are, adolescents will enable par-
ents to communicate with them more
successfully and, thereby, know how to
be supportive in a way that meets the
developmental needs of their adolescent
children.
Aida Bilalbegović
See also Appearance, Cultural Factors in;
Attractiveness, Physical; Body Image;
Conformity; Dating; Decision Making;
Emotions; Ethnocentrism; Family Rela-
tions; Freedom; Gender Differences;
Identity; Parental Monitoring; Peer
Groups; Peer Pressure; Peer Status; Per-
sonality; Rites of Passage; Self; Self-
Consciousness; Sex Differences
References and further reading
Aquilino, William S. 1997. “From
Adolescent to Young Adult: A
Prospective Study of Parent-Child
Relations during the Transition to
Adulthood.” Journal of Marriage and
the Family 59, no. 3: 670–686.
Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne, and E. O. Reiter.
1990. “The Role of Pubertal Process.”
564 Puberty, Timing of
Pp. 16–53 in At the Threshold: The
Developing Adolescent. Edited by S.
Shirley Feldman and Glen R. Elliott.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press.
Graber, Julia A., Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, and
Anne C. Petersen, eds. 1996. Transitions
through Adolescence: Interpersonal
Domains and Context. Mahwah, NJ:
Erlbaum.
O’Koon, Jeffrey. 1997. “Attachment to
Parents and Peers in Late Adolescence
and Their Relationship with Self-
Image.” Adolescence 32, no. 126:
471–482.
Simmons, R. G., and D. A. Blyth. 1987.
Moving into Adolescence: The Impact
of Pubertal Change and School
Context. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.
Puberty, Timing of
The term timing of puberty refers to the
time at which pubertal maturation
begins. Timing of puberty usually is
referred to as “early,” “on-time,” or “late”
with respect to a defined norm, such as
the peer group, the grade in school, or
available norms used by the healthcare
profession. The adolescent’s own percep-
tion of timing of puberty, or that of the
parents, may be different from that
defined by healthcare providers. Timing of
puberty is known to have physical and
psychological significance.
The issues around timing of puberty
actually encompass both physical
changes and psychosocial changes in ado-
lescence, since one can influence the
other. This entry will focus on two pri-
mary aspects of timing of puberty. First,
it describes what is meant by early and
late puberty in adolescent boys and girls,
which is sometimes referred to as off-
time pubertal development. Second, it
discusses the potential physical and
psychological significance of off-time
puberty with respect to healthy adoles-
cent development.
Off-time puberty usually refers to the
early or late development of physical
changes that occur during puberty. These
changes primarily include breast or geni-
tal development and pubic hair develop-
ment as well as the first menstrual period
(menarche). Clinicians use charts and
tables that describe the average time of
the beginning of pubertal development to
evaluate the progression of these physical
characteristics. There is an average age of
onset of puberty, but the normal age
range for development of these character-
istics is wide. For example, some charts
say that menarche is on time if it occurs
anywhere from age ten to age sixteen.
Based on these ages, early timing would
be younger than age ten and later timing
would be over age sixteen. (Recent evi-
dence on timing of puberty is discussed
in the next paragraph.) For boys, testicu-
lar development usually is the first
observable change in puberty, and nor-
mally testes begin to increase in size any-
where from age nine to age thirteen and
beyond. Based on the developmental
norms, if testicular development begins
before nine or so, that may be called early
timing, and if after thirteen, it may be
called late. However, clinicians do not
look at just one developmental change to
determine early or late development.
They look at everything that should
change at puberty. If there is evidence of
some change, like a growth spurt or new
presence of body odor, this may indicate
that breast or genital development will
occur soon. As a clinician, one cannot
pay attention just to one change; one has
to look at all of the changes together to
make a decision about the timing of
puberty. Moreover, many of the old
charts that describe age of onset of
puberty were based on only information
from Caucasian adolescents. Now there

is more information on minority adoles-
cent development norms as well.
There has been some recent research in
1997 showing that girls may be entering
puberty earlier than before. Marcia
Herman-Giddens and her group collected
physical examination information on
more than 17,000 girls in the United
States aged three to twelve. They found
that on average, girls are physically devel-
oping at a younger age than the norms that
have been used. African American girls
also develop earlier than Caucasian girls.
This includes breast and pubic hair devel-
opment and menarche. For example, about
48.3 percent of African American girls had
begun physical development by age eight
compared to about 14.7 percent of Cau-
casian girls (Herman-Giddens et al., 1997,
p. 505). New guidelines reported by Paul
Kaplowitz and colleagues suggest that
early development needing a medical eval-
uation would be in an African American
girl with either breast or pubic hair devel-
opment before age six and in a Caucasian
girl before age seven. (This information is
not yet available for boys.) If a girl shows
development at a young age, it may still be
important to see a pediatric healthcare
provider. The physician will look at all the
signs of growth and development together,
in order to determine that the early devel-
opment is not worrisome. For example,
early (or precocious) development can be
caused by something going wrong in the
body. In that case, the evaluation and any
necessary follow-up or treatment for the
problem would be important in order to
prevent future health problems. One could
then know if development was truly too
early. Early puberty can also occur in over-
weight or obese girls. Sometimes a pedi-
atric physician who specializes in growth
and hormone problems of children and
adolescents, that is, a pediatric endocrinol-
Puberty, Timing of 565
ogist, may do the evaluation. Pediatric
endocrinologists also evaluate those who
are developing late.
Importance of Off-Time
Pubertal Development
Off-time pubertal development may be
important from both a physical and a psy-
chological viewpoint. Physically, we have
already touched upon the importance of a
pediatric healthcare provider evaluating
early or late pubertal development. In this
case, early or late puberty is important
from a medical viewpoint. We also do not
yet know what influence early or late
pubertal timing has on brain development
and, in turn, behavior and thinking. Some
scientists are now beginning to evaluate
the influence that puberty and its timing
may have on brain development. At this
point it is too early to speculate, but soon
we will have more information on brain
development and pubertal timing. Off-
time puberty also may be important psy-
chologically, and this aspect has been
studied by a number of scientists. Some of
these studies have looked at the relation
of off-time puberty to moods or behavior
problems. The definition of “off-time”
has often varied. Sometimes it has been
based on the same norms that the medical
profession might use, such as the charts
and tables mentioned above.
When it is based on the physical
changes of puberty, those changes may be
measured by an actual physical exam or
by parent or adolescent report of develop-
ment. Other times the scientists have
defined timing with respect to the way
the peer group (others in the study) has
developed. Still other studies have actu-
ally asked adolescents a question like,
“Compared to your friends, is your devel-
opment at puberty earlier, later, or at
about the same time?” For some studies,
566 Puberty, Timing of
this last question may be more important,
because how adolescents perceive their
development may have more influence on
certain moods or behaviors than what
charts say about timing of development.
An adolescent may be on time for devel-
opment based on norms used by health-
care providers, but they may feel early or
late compared to how other friends are
developing, which in turn makes them
feel out of place.
There is some inconsistency in the
conclusion of studies about timing of
puberty. One group of studies shows that
girls and boys who are off time in their
pubertal development, that is, early or
late, have a more difficult time adjusting
at adolescence. They may be under more
stress and may have more mood and
behavior problems. Being off time, they
may not have the same social support
from peers, since they are now different
from their peer group.
A second group of studies supports the
idea that early timing results in adjust-
ment problems for girls. Early developers
are assumed to be under stress more than
on-time developers. They also may have
missed the opportunity to complete nor-
mal psychological and social develop-
mental tasks of middle childhood. That
is, they missed time in childhood to
develop and gain experience. These ear-
lier maturers look more adult and there-
fore others expect adult behaviors. How-
ever, often an adolescent’s thinking
ability and emotional control is not fully
developed. Because early maturers look
older than they are, they may be tempted
to hang out with older adolescents and
participate in more risky behaviors.
Some of the studies show that early or
late pubertal timing may be different for
girls and boys. In general, early puberty
seems more difficult for girls than for
boys, whereas late puberty seems more
difficult for boys. The early-maturing girls
tend to engage in more adult behaviors,
which they may not be ready for, and they
may be less happy with their body
changes. For boys, early maturation
means an advantage in some things. Early-
maturing boys may have an advantage in
social development and in sports and lead-
ership. On the other hand, late-maturing
boys may be less accepted by peers and
therefore have more social difficulties. In
contrast, there is some evidence that late-
maturing girls may have an advantage
when it comes to academics.
Understanding differences in these
studies can be somewhat confusing.
There are no hard and fast rules about the
psychological effects of off-time pubertal
development. Adjusting to these changes
can be very individual and may depend
upon physiological differences, coping
abilities, support, past experiences, and
factors we don’t even know about yet,
like genetic background.
Lorah D. Dorn
George P. Chrousos
See also Body Image; Conformity; Gender
Differences; Menarche; Nutrition; Self-
Consciousness; Sex Differences
References and further reading
Dorn, Lorah D., Stacie F. Hitt, and
Deborah Rotenstein. 1999.
“Psychological and Cognitive
Differences in Children with Premature
vs. on-Time Adrenarche.” Archives of
Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine
153: 137–145.
Graber, Julia A., Peter M. Lewinsohn, John
R. Seeley, and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn.
1997. “Is Psychopathology Associated
with the Timing of Pubertal
Development?” Journal of the
American Academy of Child and
Adolescent Psychiatry 36: 1768–1776.
Hayward, Christopher, Joel D. Killen,
Darrell M. Wilson, Lawrence D.

Hammer, Iris F. Litt, Helena C.
Kraemer, Farish Haydel, Ann Varaday,
and C. Barr Taylor. 1997. “Psychiatric
Risk Associated with Early Puberty in
Adolescent Girls.” Journal of the
American Academy of Child and
Adolescent Psychiatry 36: 255–262.
Herman-Giddens, Marcia E., Eric J. Slora,
Richard C. Wasserman, Carlos J.
Bourdony, Manju V. Bhapkar, Gary G.
Koch, and Cynthia Hasemeier. 1997.
“Secondary Sexual Characteristics and
Menses in Young Girls Seen in Office
Practice: A Study from the Pediatric
Research in Office Settings Network.”
Pediatrics 99: 505–512.
Kaplowitz, Paul B., Sharon E. Oberfield,
and the Drug and Therapeutics and
Puberty, Timing of 567
Executive Committee of the Lawson
Wilkins Pediatric Endocrine Society.
“Reexamination of the Age Limit for
Defining When Puberty Is Precocious in
Girls in the United States: Implications
for Evaluation and Treatment.”
Pediatrics 104: 936–941.
Nottelmann, Editha D., Elizabeth J.
Susman, Gale E. Inoff-Germain, Gordon
B. Cutler Jr., D. Lynne Loriaux, and
George P. Chrousos. 1987.
“Developmental Processes in American
Early Adolescents: Relationships
between Adolescent Adjustment
Problems and Chronological Age,
Pubertal Stage, and Puberty-Related
Serum Hormone Levels.” Journal of
Pediatrics 110: 473–480.
 R
Racial Discrimination
Those who compile statistics for the U.S.
Bureau of the Census predict that in the
next few decades, the number of ethnic
minorities in the United States will
approach 50 percent (U.S. Bureau of the
Census, 1994). Living in a multicultural
society means that individuals from all
cultures may come in contact with adults
and peers from other ethnic groups who
knowingly or unknowingly hold stereo-
typic prejudices. These prejudices may
result in acts of racial discrimination. An
act of racial discrimination is an action
that denies equal treatment to persons
based on their race. Experiences with
racism and discrimination are often a
common experience for members of eth-
nic minority groups. These encounters
can lead to stress, anxiety, and increased
health problems. Teaching youth strate-
gies to deal with encounters with racial
discrimination, strengthening their self-
esteem, and providing information about
diverse ethnic cultures all help to allevi-
ate feelings of distress that could put
them at risk for developmental problems.
• An Asian student feels pressured to
do well by teachers, often being told
he is a “model” minority. He does
not agree that it is fair to burden all
Asians with such high academic
expectations.
569
• A white student gets into an argu-
ment because she is often told she
has unfair advantages due to “white
privilege.” She does not feel the
stereotype applies because she grew
up in a poor rural neighborhood
with few resources.
• A black teen walks into a store and
is hassled by the store clerk. He
leaves frustrated that he is unable
to browse like all the other cus-
tomers.
• A Hispanic teen is upset after being
told to “go back to his country”
because he is speaking Spanish. He
was born and raised in the United
States and does not feel he should
be made to feel bad because he is
proud of his cultural heritage and
chooses to speak Spanish among his
friends.
A recent research study of a multiethnic
sample of adolescents showed that
teenagers often experience scenarios like
these and are highly distressed by them
(Fisher, Wallace, and Fenton, 2000).
Although many American youth report
experiences of discrimination, they often
experience them in different forms. For
example, teenagers of African descent have
long family histories of harsh oppression
rooted in legally sanctioned slavery and
segregation. Historical and contemporary
570 Racial Discrimination
Teaching youth strategies to deal with racial discrimination and providing information about
diverse ethnic cultures may help alleviate feelings of distress associated with such
discrimination. (Skjold Photographs)
histories of teenagers of Hispanic, Native
American, and East and South Asian her-
itage are marked by military conquest,
displacement, and economic exploitation.
Some youth of European descent share
family histories of discriminatory immi-
gration laws and experiences with oppres-
sion in their homelands.
Old prejudices and historical forms of
ethnic and racial discrimination are giving
way to new, more subtle forms of ethnic
stereotypes (Essed, 1991). The work of
bodies like the Federal Glass Ceiling Com-
mission and U.S. Sentencing Commis-
sion, as well as several recent studies, indi-
cate that discrimination in jobs, housing,
education, juvenile justice, and social serv-
ices continues to be a risk factor for minor-
ity youth. The effects of these experiences
with discrimination can be great. For ado-
lescents belonging to visible minorities in
particular, negative self-evaluations may
emerge from continuous experiences with
discriminatory exclusion from opportuni-
ties and racially prejudiced attitudes
(Spencer, 1999; Steele, 1997).
Research with African American, Mex-
ican American, and Chinese American
families suggests that parents who social-
ize their children to be proud of their
racial/ethnic heritage help them to
develop coping styles to deal with dis-
criminatory practices and negative eth-
nic stereotypes (Thornton, et al., 1990).

The term that has come to be applied
to this helpful kind of socializing is
social construction. Social construction
involves helping people restructure their
experience with racism. A young person
is apt to see a racial incident as his own
fault; instead, parents should help their
child place the blame for the problem on
the perpetrator. It is also important to
teach youth how to assert themselves
during racist encounters. This is a diffi-
cult task, as most people prefer to ignore
or avoid threatening encounters. How-
ever, addressing the racist incident
directly and in an appropriate manner
can be empowering. Teenagers socialized
to be aware of and respond proactively to
racism have been found to have a greater
sense of personal efficacy and self-esteem
(Phinney and Chavira, 1995).
For many ethnic minority members,
values within their communities may
come into conflict with the values of
mainstream society. This conflict may
add to the stress experienced due to hos-
tile and discriminatory experiences. There
are strengths in the ability to understand
and work within mainstream culture.
Therefore, it is important for parents to
strengthen their children’s identification
with both “American” culture and their
family’s cultural heritage.
Teaching tolerance and diversity is an
effective tool in decreasing stereotypic
views and prejudicial attitudes. There-
fore, it is also important to help broaden
an adolescent’s knowledge of various cul-
tures. Participating in social events, read-
ing, and studying diverse cultures are just
a few of the methods helpful to gaining
cross-cultural appreciation.
Scyatta A. Wallace
Celia B. Fisher
Rape 571
See also African American Adolescents,
Identity in; African American Male
Adolescents; Asian American Adoles-
cents: Comparisons and Contrasts;
Asian American Adolescents: Issues
Influencing Identity; Chicana/o Adoles-
cents; Ethnic Identity; Latina/o Adoles-
cents; Native American Adolescents;
Peer Groups; Political Development
References and further reading
Essed, P. 1991. Understanding Everyday
Racism: An Interdisciplinary Theory.
Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Federal Glass Ceiling Commission. 1995.
Good for Business: Making Full Use of
the Nation’s Human Capital. The
Environmental Scan. Washington DC:
U.S. Government Printing Office.
Fisher, C. B. S. A. Wallace, and R. E.
Fenton. 2000. “Discrimination Distress
during Adolescence.” Journal of Youth
and Adolescence 29: 679–695.
Phinney, J. S., and V. Chavira. 1995.
“Parental Ethnic Socialization and
Adolescent Coping with Problems
Related to Ethnicity.” Journal of
Research on Adolescence 5: 31–53.
Ridley, C. 1995. Overcoming
Unintentional Racism in Counseling
and Therapy. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Spencer, M. B. 1999. “Social and Cultural
Influences on School Adjustment: The
Application of an Identity Focused
Cultural Ecological Perspective.”
Educational Psychologist 34: 43–57.
Steele, C. M. 1997. “A Threat in the Air:
How Stereotypes Shape Intellectual
Identity and Performance.” American
Psychologist 52: 613–629.
Thornton, M. C., L. M. Chatters, R. J.
Taylor, and W. R. Allen. 1990.
“Sociodemographic and Environmental
Correlates of Racial Socialization by
African American Parents.” Child
Development 61: 401–409.
U.S. Sentencing Commission. 1995.
Special Report to the Congress: Cocaine
and Federal Sentencing Policy.
Washington, DC: U.S. Sentencing
Commission.
Rape
Rape, or forced sexual intercourse, can
happen in different situations, including
dating situations, incest, rape in marriage,
572 Rape
While both men and women are victims of rape, women tend to be at a much greater risk.
(Richard T. Nowitz/Corbis)
and rape by a stranger. Rape is a very com-
mon crime and has intense physical,
mental, and emotional consequences for
the victims and their loved ones. While
both men and women are victims of rape,
women tend to be at a much greater risk.
A recent national survey found that
700,000 women were victims of rape,
attempted rape, or sexual assault in 1997
(National Crime Center and Crime Vic-
tims Research and Treatment Center,
1997). Statistics often underestimate the
prevalence of rape because many inci-
dents go unreported. Unfortunately, the
topic of rape is very relevant to teenagers
because they represent a high-risk group.
According to the Justice Department, one
in two rape victims is under age eighteen;
one in six is under age twelve (U.S.
Department of Justice, 1992). Although
there is a common misperception that
rape is most often perpetrated by a
stranger, in fact, the most common form
of rape is date or acquaintance rape.
Because teens are at high risk, they
need information about self-protection
and defense and about the best ways to
cope with the aftermath of rape.
Although there are no guarantees against
rape, there are steps a person can take to
reduce her/his risk. Drinking or taking
drugs increases the chances of being
raped considerably; abstaining from
drugs and alcohol or drinking only in
moderation is a simple preventive skill.
Another preventive skill is learning to
trust one’s own instincts. Women are
often taught to be “nice” no matter what;

this makes it difficult for many women
to trust their instincts and get away
when they feel uncomfortable in a social
setting. Lastly, there are many self-
defense programs available that teach
people how to fight off attackers. Many
people find these programs very helpful
and empowering. Although there are
ways to reduce one’s vulnerability to
rape, rape is never the victim’s fault, ever.
Self-defense and rape prevention strate-
gies can reduce risk, but they are not a
guarantee against rape. If a person has
experienced rape, the first step she
should take once she is safe is to visit an
emergency room as soon as possible. Vis-
iting a doctor after being raped, however,
can be very difficult for many reasons.
Victims often experience shame and this
makes reporting rape difficult. In addi-
tion, the examination process can feel
like a second violation of privacy. Vic-
tims are often unaware that they have
the right to assert their needs in the hos-
pital setting and insist on a doctor they
feel safe with or to refuse any exam that
makes them feel uncomfortable. This
information could be given to teenagers
at home or in school settings.
Attending to the physical injuries of
rape is only the first step in the process
of recovery. Rape leads to profound and
far-reaching psychological trauma. Some
rape victims may develop symptoms of
post-traumatic stress disorder. This is a
term used to describe a set of symptoms
associated with trauma. Symptoms
include flashbacks (in which a person
may have vivid and intrusive memories
of the event that seem frighteningly
real), nightmares, intrusive thoughts,
disassociation, memory loss, and hyper-
vigilance. The aftermath of trauma may
also include a spectrum of troubling,
negative emotions including anger,
Rape 573
depression, despair, anxiety, shame, or
fear. Often, the pain of rape is intensified
by feelings of guilt or shame about what
has happened. The survivor may blame
herself for being in the wrong place at
the wrong time, for wearing clothes that
were “too provocative,” or for being
involved with drinking, drug use, or
other reckless behaviors. One of the
more devastating consequences of rape is
the feeling of isolation and secrecy. Vic-
tims of rape often feel that they cannot
talk about what happened to them. Sur-
vivors may fear that no one will under-
stand, or that they will be blamed, or
they may not want to burden other peo-
ple with their pain. Keeping all the pain
and confusion about rape to oneself leads
to profound feelings of isolation. Profes-
sional psychological counseling is rec-
ommended to aid survivors in breaking
the isolation and addressing the emo-
tional damage of rape.
There are multiple methods of therapy
for survivors of rape. Individual counsel-
ing usually focuses on re-creating safety
and a sense of control in the victim’s life.
Some survivors find groups a powerful
healing tool. Support groups can help
with feelings of isolation, guilt, shame,
and depression. As survivors share their
stories with others, they often find that
offering support to other group members
helps them feel more accepting of them-
selves and less alone. Groups also help
survivors feel empowered to take action
on their own behalf and on behalf of
other survivors.
In addition to psychological healing,
there are also legal aspects of rape. Some
women decide to press charges, while
others do not. In 1996, less than one in
every three rapes was reported to law
enforcement officials (U.S. Department
of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics,
574 Rebellion
1997). It is important that the decision to
report rape be left up to the survivor.
Legal procedures can be very painful
processes, and the law often makes it dif-
ficult for women to win their cases, even
when they are equipped with a profes-
sional legal team. Too often a victim’s
truthfulness and lifestyle comes under
attack, making the experience feel like a
second violation. Despite this, there are
many reasons to pursue legal action.
Rape survivors should be informed that it
is easier to win their case if they start
proceedings sooner because there is
likely to be more evidence available.
Lauren Rogers-Sirin
See also Abortion; Adoption: Issues and
Concerns; Aggression; Coping; Coun-
seling; Dating; Decision Making; High
School Equivalency Degree; Physical
Abuse; Services for Adolescents; Sexual
Abuse; Sexually Transmitted Diseases;
Violence
References and further reading
Herman, Judith. 1992. Trauma and
Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence—
From Domestic Abuse to Political
Terror. New York: Basic Books.
Koss, Mary P., Lisa A. Goodman, Angela
Browne, Louise F. Fitzgerald,
Gwendolyn Puryear Keita, and Nancy
Felipe Russo. 1994. No Safe Haven:
Male Violence against Women at
Home, at Work, and in the Community.
Washington, DC: American
Psychological Society.
Levy, Barrie, ed. 1991. Dating Violence:
Young Women in Danger. Seattle: Seal
Press.
National Crime Center and Crime Victims
Research and Treatment Center. 1997.
Rape in America: A Report to the
Nation.
Pierce-Baker, Charlotte. 1998. Surviving
the Silence: Black Women’s Stories of
Rape. New York: Norton.
Pirog-Good, Maureen, and Jan E. Stets,
eds. 1989. Violence in Dating
Relationships: Emerging Social Issues.
New York: Praeger.
U.S. Department of Justice. 1992. Child
Rape Victims. Washington, DC: Bureau
of Justice Statistics.
———. 1997. The Sourcebook of Criminal
Justice Statistics, 1997. Washington,
DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Wiehe, Vernon, and Anne Richards. 1995.
Intimate Betrayal: Understanding and
Responding to the Trauma of
Acquaintance Rape. Thousand Oaks,
CA: Sage Publications.
Rebellion
Development during adolescence in-
volves extensive physical and psycholog-
ical changes that provide youths with
new perspectives of themselves and the
world around them. Because of these new
perspectives, many adolescents feel com-
pelled to seek out and push the limits of
discipline. However, the rebellious
behavior of adolescents can be inter-
preted not as a disrespectful rejection of
parental or social values, but as a drive to
independently examine the world on
their own terms.
Prior to adolescence, children are less
able to manage the complexities of daily
life and rely on their parents and other
authority figures for structure and guid-
ance. As children move through adoles-
cence they develop independent thinking
(or cognitive) skills. They are increas-
ingly able to balance multiple concepts,
solve complex problems, and think
abstractly. They begin to recognize and
use their own skills and perspectives to
guide themselves. These burgeoning abil-
ities to look at and deal with the world
are an important step in the development
of autonomy. Growth in autonomy is a
normal part of development, as adoles-
cents gradually learn to think and behave
independently. The development of
autonomy is not always a smooth

process and often involves mild conflicts
with authority figures, as adolescents
learn to manage themselves within the
“real world.”
Adolescent development of autonomy
can be a mixed blessing for parents. Not
having to constantly manage their ado-
lescent child’s life can be a positive and
almost liberating thing for parents. How-
ever, although their adolescent children
may have increased capacities for inde-
pendence, they still have a great deal of
development ahead of them and so still
require parental guidance and structure.
When parents continue to enforce rules
and regulations, their adolescent children
may begin objecting to what they see as
burdensome restrictions.
Along with their cognitive skills, ado-
lescents are developing their sense of self,
an identity of their own. This is no easy
task! Even though they are now begin-
ning to recognize themselves as individu-
als, they do not yet have the independent
experience and knowledge to help shape
their own identities. Nevertheless, ado-
lescents may rebel against their parents
in order to experiment with new ideas
and values. Parents should not despair;
most adolescents continue to respect and
adopt their parents’ values, even while
they sometimes act in defiance of them.
It is not uncommon for adolescents to
feel constrained and frustrated by their
parents’ efforts to maintain rules and reg-
ulations. This can lead to conflicts
between parents who want to keep their
children safe and adolescents who want
to experience the world on their own
terms. The passion with which adoles-
cents pursue freedom to explore and dis-
cover can translate into emotional and
sometimes impassioned defiance of
parental restrictions.
Rebellion 575
Conflicts and disagreements with par-
ents may actually serve to teach adoles-
cents valuable skills of independent
thinking and social problem solving. We
may think of the family as the “minor
league” of social interaction. It is place
where social skills are developed and
practiced within a supportive and accept-
ing context. Imagine if adolescents had to
learn how to argue a point to an adult in
the outside world without any practice!
Although parents usually do have a bet-
ter perspective on a situation than their
adolescent children, it is important that
adolescents feel as though they have a
voice in the family that is listened to and
valued.
Adolescents are generally more prone
to getting themselves into trouble
because they face more new situations
and challenges than older, more experi-
enced adults do. They have less practice,
fewer skills, and less confidence than
adults and so are more likely to make
mistakes. These mistakes can range from
excessive driving speed to not wearing a
condom during sex. The mistake itself is
not usually an angry rejection of adult
authority but the result of an uniformed
step over an unfamiliar line. It is coun-
terproductive to assume that adolescents
are troublemakers, since most try to per-
form well and behave within acceptable
standards.
Communication between parents and
their adolescents is a crucial ingredient
to ensuring that adolescents are informed
and supported throughout their journey
toward adulthood. Adolescents may
sometimes feel as though they do not
need help or support and may object to
parental interference in their affairs.
However, adolescents actually do need to
have support and structure in their lives
576 Religion, Spirituality, and Belief Systems
even as they may rebel against it. It is
very important that parents remain a
consistently loving and supportive
resource for their adolescents.
As difficult and frustrating as it may
be, parents should understand that ado-
lescents do still require rules and restric-
tions. Simply removing boundaries can
leave adolescents exposed to potentially
dangerous personal and social complexi-
ties that they may not be ready to handle
on their own. With gradual and careful
widening of parental restraints, the mis-
takes that adolescents will inevitably
make will remain learning opportunities
rather than inescapable pitfalls.
George T. Ladd
See also Conflict and Stress; Conformity;
Emotions; Ethnocentrism; Family Rela-
tions; Freedom; Identity; Juvenile
Crime; Parent-Adolescent Relations;
Peer Groups; Peer Pressure; Transitions
of Adolescence; Youth Outlook
References and further reading
Dacey, John S., and Alex J. Packer. 1992.
The Nurturing Parent. New York:
Fireside.
Kett, Joseph F. 1977. Rites of Passage:
Adolescence in America, 1790 to the
Present. New York: Basic Books.
Larson, Reed W., Maryse H. Richards,
Giovanni Moneta, Grayson Holmbeck,
and Elena Duckett. 1996. “Changes in
Adolescents’ Daily Interactions with
Their Families from Ages 10 to 18:
Disengagement and Transformation.”
Developmental Psychology, 32, no. 4:
744–754.
Paikoff, Roberta, and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn.
1991. “Do Parent-Child Relationships
Change during Puberty?” Psychological
Bulletin 110: 47–66.
Turner, Rebecca A., Charles E. Irwin,
Jeanne M. Tschann, and Susan G.
Millstein. 1993. “Autonomy,
Relatedness, and the Initiation of
Health Risk Behaviors in Early
Adolescence.” Health Psychology 12,
no. 3: 200–208.
Youniss, James, and Jacqueline Smollar.
1985. Adolescent Relations with
Mothers, Fathers, and Friends. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press.
Religion, Spirituality,
and Belief Systems
Background
Many modern ideas about religious
development during adolescence can be
traced to the early-twentieth-century
work of G. Stanley Hall, considered to be
the founder of developmental psychol-
ogy. Adolescence, according to Hall, is
the critical period for religious develop-
ment. He viewed religious “conversion”
as central to the experience of adoles-
cence, the culmination of physical, cog-
nitive, and spiritual development that
takes place during adolescence. Conver-
sion was not only the giving of one’s life
to Christ but a transformation of the ado-
lescent’s understanding of the world,
involving moving from a belief system
that is internally motivated to one that is
externally motivated, actively seeking
new ideas instead of passively accepting
them, and rationally deciding how to
direct the life course instead of unques-
tioningly following adult authority.
The place of religion in the study of
human development, however, shifted
soon after Hall. Religion is no longer cen-
tral to the study of contemporary adoles-
cent development, and as such, is seldom
an item of investigation. Nevertheless,
although organized religion is not neces-
sarily a part of every American adoles-
cent’s experience, youths are still charged
with forming a set of beliefs about them-
selves, the world around them, and what-
ever higher powers they may or may not
believe in. Hall’s broader definition of the
 Religion, Spirituality, and Belief Systems 577

Spirituality is defined as a personal relationship with things above and beyond the self, while
religion comprises the organizational aspects of a “search for the sacred.” (Skjold
Photographs)

conversion of the adolescent’s entire Muslim or Jewish, or by institutions, such

belief system, a spiritual coming-of-age
similar to the physical, cognitive, and
social coming-of-age already well docu-
mented in adolescence, remains a useful
paradigm for understanding religious
development during adolescence.
Definitions
Recent summaries of the literature have
noted the need for an integrative theory
and a consensus on definitions and con-
cepts. In their absence, spirituality is
defined as a personal relationship with
things above and beyond the self. Spiritu-
ality requires a personal search or quest
and cannot be imparted by labels, such as
as Evangelicalism or Islam. Religion com-
prises the organizational aspects of a
“search for the sacred”; it is possible to
use such labels as Protestant, Wiccan, or
Catholic to name a religious belief sys-
tem. According to these conventions,
someone can be spiritual (feeling a strong
connection to the supernatural) but not
religious, religious (following doctrines
and practices of a belief system social con-
text) but not spiritual, both religious and
spiritual, or neither religious nor spiritual.
To echo Hall’s integrative perspective, the
term belief system is defined as a per-
son’s individual relationship with the
supernatural and overarching principles of
578 Religion, Spirituality, and Belief Systems
existence, without the assumption that a
belief system is necessarily either reli-
gious or spiritual.
Given this background and set of defi-
nitions, the purpose of this article is to
provide basic data on the social context
of religion in America; describe the con-
tributions of cognitive, social construc-
tion, and motivational perspectives on
religious development and applications
toward resiliency and coping; organize
existing research in a new way, accord-
ing to the developmental paths it exam-
ines; and suggest directions for future
research.
Demographics and
Contextual Considerations
Popular sources agree that the religious
landscape of America is changing, but no
consensus exists as to how. Although
Evangelical Christian sources decry the
decline of family values and the plight of
today’s young people, these claims are
not supported by survey data. Nation-
wide, Christian church attendance has
remained roughly the same across the
past few decades, with membership in
more established, liturgically focused
denominations (e.g., Episcopal and
Catholic) decreasing, and membership in
new, evangelical denominations (e.g.,
Assembly of God, Church of Christ)
increasing. Church attendance of adoles-
cents has declined only slightly over the
years, and their religious interest has not
changed.
Concerns with adolescents “falling
away” from religion are borne out by lon-
gitudinal data, which confirm that over
the life course the transition to adoles-
cence predicts a drop in church atten-
dance. Other studies find conversion to a
religious identity from a nonreligious
background to be relatively rare, while
apostasy, or falling away from religion, is
far more common; however, most youth
continue in the religious identity in
which they were raised. Although these
findings can be synthesized into a larger
contextual picture of belief system devel-
opment, most research only includes
Protestant and Catholic participants,
complicating access to the unique per-
spectives of other traditions.
A further challenge is understanding
the multiple contexts within which
youth experience spirituality and reli-
gion. The interaction between the inter-
personal and intrapersonal contexts of
belief systems would be particularly
salient, for example, to a hypothetical
Christian adolescent who attended a
parochial school until eighth grade and
then went to a public high school. Sur-
rounded by people who do not necessar-
ily share her beliefs and an institution
that is not supportive of religious behav-
ior, the youth’s expression of religion
would have to change if it were to fit a
new secular context. She would have to
decide whether religion meant deeply
held spiritual beliefs or daily corporate
prayer in class and constant interaction
with those at least nominally of the same
faith.
Rite-of-passage rituals are also impor-
tant to understand in context. Cultural
literature has praised religion as a source
of resiliency in the face of adolescent
anomie. For example, ceremonies such as
bar mitzvah or confirmation are intended
to provide a meaningful religious transi-
tion to adulthood. However, they are tra-
ditionally celebrated at age thirteen, yet
in the context of American society, ado-
lescents do not receive adult privileges
until age sixteen and are not considered
adults until they are eighteen or twenty-
one. Many adolescents find that the only
 Religion, Spirituality, and Belief Systems
meaningful change in status they experi-
ence through these rite-of-passage rituals
is limited to religious institutions. This
example illustrates that adolescent belief
system development can only be ade-
quately understood if experiences at the
individual, family, church/organiza-
tional, and cultural levels are considered
in combination.
Cognitive Stage Theories
Several modern theories, such as those
proposed by David Elkind and James
Fowler, frame religious development in
terms of cognitive stages. Fowler’s first
stage, primal faith, begins with a child’s
relationship to caregivers. As children
become increasingly capable of concrete
operational thought, they can perceive
God as separate from their parents, as
well as imagine and comprehend symbols
and images of the sacred. Formal opera-
tional thought marks the breakthrough
into Elkind’s abstract, undifferentiated
religious reasoning stage and Fowler’s
synthetic-conventional faith stage. The
adolescent’s belief system is synthesized
from childhood religious teaching, per-
sonal experiences, and a more adultlike
understanding of the way the world
works. The development of relativistic
reasoning in late adolescence or young
adulthood allows for a broader interpreta-
tion of beliefs beyond social contexts.
Relativistic reasoning is possibly the
developmental precursor to Lawrence
Kohlberg’s postconventional stage of
moral development, as well as C. Daniel
Batson’s “quest” approach to religion.
Although cognitive stage theories
might prove capable of predicting an
individual’s understanding of religion,
separate from a social context it cannot
predict the beliefs that a person will actu-
ally have. In addition, these theories have
579
been criticized on the grounds that the
majority of people do not reach the high-
est stages. One of the more dangerous
extensions of the cognitive viewpoint has
been explored in studies that show a neg-
ative correlation between “cognitive
complexity” and religious orthodoxy and
fundamentalism. Closely related is the
construct of “quest” religion, in which
doubting and questioning are the essence
of mature faith. The danger lies in the
logical conclusion that fervently held
religious beliefs are a sign of a weak con-
flicted mind. However, according to
recent findings, religious adolescents are
more involved in community service,
more flexible and open-minded, less sus-
ceptible to internalized racism, and have
greater ego strength than nonreligious
adolescents. Finally, stage theories of
religious development make the precari-
ous assumption that everyone goes
through roughly the same experiences in
the same order. An alternative perspec-
tive, the social construction viewpoint,
holds that context has profound effects
on belief system development
The Social Construction Viewpoint
The theory of the social construction of
religion focuses on how well observable
social factors predict adolescent religious
commitment and participation. Using
large samples and modern statistical tech-
niques, investigators have shown that
family religiosity, group identity of the
adolescent’s religious organization, reli-
gious education, devotional behavior at
home, and a generally supportive family
environment predict adolescent church
attendance and mature beliefs. Because
this research has been conducted with
populations that are homogenous with
respect to religious background, the gen-
eralizability of these findings is limited.
580 Religion, Spirituality, and Belief Systems
Joseph Erickson’s data (1992) are par-
ticularly interesting because they can be
interpreted to show that religious partic-
ipation does not necessarily follow
directly from religious belief and com-
mitment. His model tested various pre-
dictive factors for adolescent religious
belief and commitment, which, in turn,
would directly predict adolescent reli-
gious worship behavior. The model more
or less worked, with devotional behavior
at home and parents’ religiosity emerging
as the strongest predictors of adolescent
religiosity; peer influence and church
attendance were also significant. The
genius of Erickson’s study, however, lies
in the difference between the expected
and the observed models. Belief and com-
mitment were strongly correlated with
worship behavior, but other factors
directly predicted worship behavior and
did not have as strong of a correlation
with belief and commitment. Motivation
for religious participation might have
been the invisible mediator that caused
the striking difference between the
observed and expected models. Accord-
ing to Erickson’s findings, it makes sense
to study religion both in terms of the
observable aspects of what adolescents
are doing and the unobservable aspects of
why they are doing it.
Motivational Theories
Motivational theories of religious com-
mitment, first proposed by Gordon All-
port (1950) and developed by Richard
Gorsuch (1988), address the question of
why people are involved in religion.
Since the seminal work of Allport, moti-
vations are usually classified as intrinsic,
in which a person’s “master motive” is
religion and the religion is an integral
part of the individual’s identity, or extrin-
sic, in which a person is involved in reli-
gion as a means to an end. Empirical
studies report that people of intrinsic ori-
entation consistently fare best when
evaluated for positive views of human
nature, internal locus of control, proso-
cial behavior, lack of depression, psycho-
logical health, lower levels of prejudice,
and lower levels of homophobia. Based
on these findings, it would be logical to
investigate religious motivation develop-
ment with regard to resiliency, but, to
date, this has not been done.
Resiliency and Coping Applications
Research on religion as a source of
resiliency in adolescence has focused on
specific cultural contexts, such as Angela
Brega and Lerita Coleman’s recent study
on the resilience of African American
youth against internalized racism. Com-
bining social construction and motiva-
tional perspectives, these researchers
found that participants who attended
church and were internally motivated to
attend church scored lower on internal-
ized racism.
This study suggests the possibility of
investigating religion in and of itself as a
potential source of resiliency and as a
predictor of positive coping behavior in
adolescence. Clinical case histories relate
situations in which a client’s religion had
to be affirmed and used to make progress
in therapy, and a client had to reconsider
religious values as a necessary part of the
belief system in order to work through
negative experiences with religion. These
cases indicate that religion can be a
source of resiliency as well as a source of
risk during adolescence, depending on
the individual and the social context.
Future investigations should not assume
that every adolescent goes through iden-
 Religion, Spirituality, and Belief Systems
tical experiences with religion, but con-
sider the possibility of individualized
paths to belief system development.
The Path of Continuity
Various trajectories of belief system
development have been investigated. One
line of research has been concerned with
the continuity of religious identity or
how well children who are raised in a par-
ticular faith tradition internalize the spir-
itual values and participate in the religion
as adults. Family religiosity, religious
education, and a supportive family envi-
ronment have been found to predict reli-
gious identity continuity during adoles-
cence. Such youths also have higher
levels of ego strength, hope, will, purpose,
fidelity, love, and care than nonreligious
adolescents, which suggests that they
also have a greater degree of resiliency.
Brega and Coleman demonstrate the
importance of motivation for continuing
religious participation, especially intrin-
sic religious motivation, which is so
clearly correlated with positive outcomes
in adulthood. Investigating religious
motivation could reveal differences in
belief systems and resiliency of adoles-
cents who are internally motivated to
participate in religion versus adolescents
who participate for social reasons (e.g.,
compelled by parents) or who are spiri-
tual but do not participate in religion.
Further research should also focus on
the continuity of nonreligious identity. If
adolescents do not experience religion in
the home, receive education about reli-
gion, participate in devotional behavior
at home, or internalize what they learn
about religion, they are not likely to be
religious adults. Research that examines
similarities between adolescents who
simply grew up in a nonreligious home
581
and others who report having been
“raised Jewish” or “raised Catholic” but
are otherwise not religious is needed.
This could reveal important differences
in how the experience of religion in mul-
tiple contexts affects the belief system of
adolescents.
The Path of Apostasy
Apostasy, giving up a religious identity,
has been a concern of organized religions
for many years. Representing one school
of thought on apostasy, the influential
Puritan sermons of Cotton Mather at the
beginning of the eighteenth century
viewed adolescents as doomed to fall
away from salvation without immediate
and heavy-handed adult intervention.
Taking the opposite and more empirically
valid perspective, G. Stanley Hall 200
years later viewed apostasy as unlikely as
long as ministers and rabbis working
with youth provided the education and
empathetic guidance necessary to help
adolescents find God on their own terms.
Investigators report that the correlates of
apostasy are a poor relationship with par-
ents, an intellectual approach to life, and
perception of religious adults as hypocrit-
ical. Research should explore these “bad
example” findings further, because they
could have direct implications for the
practices of religious leaders and parents.
Research on apostasy should also distin-
guish among adolescents who were once
religious but actively rejected it, those
who came from a home that was only
culturally or nominally religious and saw
no point in continuing this into adult-
hood, and those who are simply experi-
menting with new adult choices without
forsaking their beliefs.
Future research also needs to investi-
gate motivational differences in apostasy,
582 Religion, Spirituality, and Belief Systems
given the correlation between resiliency
and motivational variables. The research
of Kenneth Pargament and his colleagues
has recently found religion-positive pat-
terns of coping with life stressors more
adaptive and prevalent than religion-neg-
ative patterns of coping. They also iden-
tified a pattern of coping that involved
doubting, questioning, and even blaming
God, as well as reassessing long-held
beliefs. This underscores the need for
research that investigates not whether
but for whom religious and spiritual
methods of coping are adaptive.
The Path of Conversion
Conversion is the path of an adolescent
who was not raised religious but experi-
ences a spiritual awakening on the way
to young adulthood. Converts are the
most celebrated stories of Christian
youth ministers, yet they do not occur in
large enough numbers to constitute a
meaningful longitudinal research sam-
ple. Further complicating research is the
social construction of conversion itself,
which might lead converts under the
microscope of retrospective research to
embellish the details of how horrible
things were before they found God. Brian
Zinnbauer and Pargament found no sig-
nificant differences between sudden and
gradual types of conversion. As fascinat-
ing as these stories are to religion
researchers, dramatic and sudden reli-
gious conversion (as exemplified in the
biblical story of Saul on the road to Dam-
ascus) does not emerge as a common phe-
nomenon in the life course.
Pehr Granqvist’s 1998 study is part of a
new trend of framing the question of reli-
gious development in terms of attach-
ment style. The predictions were that the
relationship of young adults to God
would either correspond with their
attachment to their parents or compen-
sate for its absence, and therefore be dif-
ferent from their attachment to parents.
Participant religiosity and spirituality
turned out to be correlated with secure
attachment and religious parents, sup-
porting the findings about the resiliency
of adolescents with continuous religious
identity. Participant religious changes
also turned out to be correlated with
insecure attachment and nonreligious
parents, which supports a separate path
of conversion to the same destination of
religious identity. The last two studies
indicate that traumatic life events or a
general need to connect with something
greater than the self predict conversion.
Future research needs to investigate the
distinction between conversion to a spir-
itual belief and conversion to a religious
identity.
Conclusions
Belief system development is the product
of the interaction between the adolescent
and the environment. Prior research has
made it clear that features of self-develop-
ment and identity exploration in adoles-
cence, among them extreme thinking,
unique patterns of judgment, and the
desire to revise childhood attachments
into more adult relationships, characterize
belief system development during adoles-
cence. Additionally, the direct interplay
between individual belief systems and the
cultural context must be acknowledged,
although the unique developmental path
of the individual necessarily mediates this
relationship. With this caveat, more finely
differentiated predictions can be made
within and across developmental paths
about what affects and is affected by belief
system development. Without it, one
could conclude that religious involvement
and the importance of religion globally
 Religion, Spirituality, and Belief Systems
affect certain outcome variables, which
might be true for some adolescents but
not for others.
G. Stanley Hall is often thought to have
believed that conversion is a universal
feature of adolescence; critics have
ignored his broad and integrative view of
the concept of conversion as comprising
all the changes an adolescent’s belief sys-
tem undergoes during the transition to
adulthood. This integrative view accom-
modates findings that not every adoles-
cent follows the same path toward belief
system development, and that some do
not develop a belief system that includes
the supernatural. It is the task of future
empirical work to validate a working
model of differential developmental paths
of belief system development and to dis-
cern which trajectories lead to resiliency
and mental health. Certainly, adoles-
cents’ relationships with the higher pow-
ers of the universe are as diverse as ado-
lescents themselves, and researchers
must direct their energies toward learning
from that diversity.
Geoffrey L. Ream
See also Cognitive Development; Cults;
Decision Making; Gender Differences
and Intellectual and Moral Develop-
ment; Identity; Moral Development;
Self; Youth Culture
References and further reading
Allport, Gordon W. 1950. The Individual
and His Religion: A Psychological
Interpretation. New York: Macmillan.
Batson, C. Daniel, Patricia Schoenrade,
and W. Larry Ventis. 1993. Religion and
the Individual: A Social-Psychological
Perspective. New York: Oxford
University Press.
Bireley, Marlene, and Judy Genshaft, eds.
1997. Understanding the Gifted
Adolescent: Educational,
Developmental, and Multicultural
Issues. New York: Teachers College
Press.
583
Bjarnson, Thoroddur. 1998. “Parents,
Religion, and Perceived Social
Coherence: A Durkheimian Framework
of Adolescent Anomie.” Journal for the
Scientific Study of Religion 37, no. 4:
742–754.
Brega, Angela G., and Lerita M. Coleman.
1999. “Effects of Religiosity and Racial
Socialization on Subjective
Stigmatization in African-American
Adolescents.” Journal of Adolescence
22: 223–242.
Donelson, Elaine. 1999. “Psychology of
Religion and Adolescents in the United
States: Past to Present.” Journal of
Adolescence 22: 187–204.
Elkind, David. 1971. “The Development of
Religious Understanding in Children
and Adolescents.” Pp. 655–685 in
Research on Religious Development.
Edited by M. P. Strommen.
Erickson, Joseph A. 1992. “Adolescent
Religious Development and
Commitment: A Structural Equation
Model of the Role of the Family, Peer
Group, and Educational Influences.”
Journal for the Scientific Study of
Religion 31, no. 2: 131–152.
Fowler, James W. 1981. Stages of Faith:
The Psychology of Human Develop-
ment and the Quest for Meaning. San
Francisco: Harper and Row.
Gorsuch, Richard L. 1988. “Psychology of
Religion.” Annual Review of
Psychology 39: 201–221.
Granqvist, Pehr. 1998. “Religiousness and
Perceived Childhood Attachment: On
the Question of Compensation or
Correspondence.” Journal for the
Scientific Study of Religion 37, no. 2:
350–367.
Hall, G. Stanley. 1904. Adolescence: Its
Psychology and Its Relations to
Physiology, Anthropology, Sociology,
Sex, Crime, Religion, and Education.
New York: D. Appleton.
Hood, Ralph W., Jr., Bernard Spilka, Bruce
Hunsberger, and Richard Gorsuch. 1996.
The Psychology of Religion: An
Empirical Approach. New York:
Guilford Press.
Kohlberg, Lawrence. 1981. The Philosophy
of Moral Development: Moral Stages
and the Idea of Justice. San Francisco:
Harper and Row.
Lerner, Richard M. 1998. “Adolescent
Development: Challenges and
Opportunities for Research, Programs,
584 Responsibility for Developmental Tasks
and Policies.” Annual Reviews of
Psychology 49: 413–446.
Lovinger, Sophie L., Lisa Miller, and
Robert J. Lovinger. 1999. “Some
Clinical Applications of Religious
Development in Adolescence.” Journal
of Adolescence 22: 269–277.
Markstrom, Carol A. 1999. “Religious
Involvement and Adolescent
Psychosocial Development.” Journal of
Adolescence 22: 205–221.
Ozorak, Elizabeth Weiss. 1989. “Social and
Cognitive Influences on the
Development of Religious Beliefs and
Commitment in Adolescence.” Journal
for the Scientific Study of Religion 24,
no. 4: 448–463.
Pargament, Kenneth I., Bruce W. Smith,
Harold G. Koenig, and Lisa Perez. 1998.
“Patterns of Positive and Negative
Religious Coping with Major Life
Stressors.” Journal for the Scientific
Study of Religion 37, no. 4: 710–724.
Silverman, Wendy K., and Thomas M.
Ollendick, eds. 1999. Developmental
Issues in the Clinical Treatment of
Children. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Streib, Heinz. 1999. “Off-Road Religion? A
Narrative Approach to Fundamentalist
and Occult Orientations of
Adolescents.” Journal of Adolescence
22: 255–267.
Wulff, David M. 1991. Psychology of
Religion: Classic and Contemporary
Views. New York: Wiley.
Youniss, James, Jeffrey A. McLellan, and
Miranda Yates. 1999. “Religion,
Community Service, and Identity in
American Youth.” Journal of
Adolescence 22: 243–253.
Zinnbauer, Brian J., and Kenneth I.
Pargament. 1998. “Spiritual Conversion:
A Study of Religious Change among
College Students.” Journal for the
Scientific Study of Religion 37, no. 1:
161–180.
Responsibility for
Developmental Tasks
Adolescents reach a point in their lives
when it is not possible to proceed in the
same way they did as children. It is the
responsibility of each adolescent to
achieve the developmental tasks of ado-
lescence, with support and guidance from
parents, teachers, mentors, and the com-
munity. The nature of these developmen-
tal tasks depends on our culture’s defini-
tion of normal development at different
points throughout the life span. Accord-
ing to Robert Havinghurst, adolescents
must conquer eight developmental tasks:
achieving emotional independence from
parents and other adults, achieving new
and more mature relations with peers of
both sexes, achieving a masculine or fem-
inine gender role, accepting one’s
physique and using the body effectively,
preparing for an economic career, prepar-
ing for marriage and family life, and
developing an ideology, which involves
acquiring a set of values and an ethical
system as a guide to behavior. Most
essentially, adolescents must develop
autonomy, identity, social roles, gender
roles, and morals and values to achieve a
sense of self that will promote the transi-
tion from the childhood they must leave
behind to the adulthood they must enter.
Autonomy
Autonomy signifies being independent
and responsible for one’s actions. Some
parents label the increased independence
that typifies adolescence as rebellious.
However, in many instances this new
independence represents the adolescent’s
pursuit of autonomy, rather than a reflec-
tion of the adolescent’s feeling toward
parents. Adolescents’ quest for autonomy
and a sense of responsibility can create
confusion and concern for many parents.
Therefore, it is important for parents to
assess the appropriate times to relinquish
control in the areas in which the adoles-
cent can make reasonable and respon-
sible decisions. Moreover, it is important
 Responsibility for Developmental Tasks 585

The responsibility of achieving the developmental tasks of adolescence can occur with
support and guidance from parents, teachers, mentors, and the community. (Skjold
Photographs)

for parents to give guidance when the
adolescent’s knowledge and skills are
more limited and for the adolescent to
receive and accept the guidance. This
combination will gradually lead to the
development of mature decision making
and will support the adolescent’s struggle
to master the developmental task of
achieving emotional independence from
parents and other adults.
Identity
Due to Erik Erikson’s theory of psychoso-
cial stages of development, identity is a
key concept in adolescent development.
Identity versus identity confusion is Erik-
son’s fifth developmental stage, which
individuals experience during adoles-
cence. Throughout this stage, adolescents
are struggling to find out who they are,
what they are about, and what their pur-
pose in life is. Before adolescence, children
identified with their parents. Adolescents
attempt to move beyond the identity
organizations they once had by integrating
elements of their earlier identity into a
new whole, one that includes their own
interests, values, and choices. This is a
time for adolescents to explore different
roles, form knowledge systems, identify
goals, and develop self-regulatory skills.
Adolescents who are able to cope with
the conflicting identities emerge with a
new sense of self that is satisfying and
586 Responsibility for Developmental Tasks
acceptable. However, adolescents who do
not successfully resolve this identity con-
fusion may withdraw, thereby isolating
themselves from their family and peers, or
may immerse themselves in their peer
world, which can result in the loss of iden-
tity in the crowd. Moreover, if the process
of making self-defining choices is not
attempted in adolescence, the transition
to adulthood will be problematic.
Social Roles
Peer relations are an essential component
of adolescent development. Peer rela-
tions are considered necessary for normal
social development. When adolescents
interact with peers, they participate in
new activities that allow them to explore
different norms and values. Thus, adoles-
cents have the opportunity to recon-
struct their identity with peers by relin-
quishing some of the norms and values
that were previously developed.
It is extremely important for most ado-
lescents to be popular. Research in the
field has discovered that popular adoles-
cents listen carefully, maintain open lines
of communication with peers, are gener-
ally happy, and are self-confident but not
conceited. Friendships within adoles-
cence involve sharing intimate conversa-
tions, sharing private information, listen-
ing, and comforting; however, it is the
decision of each individual what and how
much information is shared with others.
It is the adolescent’s responsibility to
achieve the developmental task of devel-
oping new and more mature relations
with peers of both sexes, to facilitate the
attainment of emotional independence
from parents and other adults.
Gender Roles
Gender refers to the sociocultural dimen-
sion of being either male or female. A gen-
der role is a set of expectations that speci-
fies how an individual should think, act,
and feel as a male or female. Society has
expectations pertaining to the ways girls
and boys should behave and creates social
pressures, which tend to force individuals
to conform to these expectations. More-
over, during adolescence many physical
and social changes are occurring in
females and males that cause them to
come to terms with new definitions of
their gender roles. It is important to
understand that there are many influences
contributing to the way adolescents per-
ceive their gender role, including parents,
teachers, peers, and the media. Through
these influences, several gender role
stereotypes have been formed based on
what is believed or expected of males or
females. However, these differences have
often been exaggerated. In the process of
developing one’s sense of gender identity,
it is important to accept one’s physical
characteristics and to use one’s body effec-
tively with the purpose of achieving a gen-
der role that feels comfortable.
Morals and Values
Moral development involves rules and
values about what people should do in
their interactions with others. Most ado-
lescents indicate that experiencing suc-
cess in school and at work, providing bet-
ter opportunities for their children, and
maintaining strong relationships with
family and friends are most important.
These would be considered examples of
morals and values. Adolescent morals and
values begin to develop at an early age,
usually shaped by attitudes and beliefs
that have been communicated by parents.
Most adolescents actually internalize and
apply these morals and values that have
been established by their parents. How-
ever, adolescents also begin to discover

the ways in which their views differ from
their families by experimenting with dif-
ferent perspectives to search for their own
identity. Through this process, adoles-
cents will be able to develop a sense of
who they are and develop effective strate-
gies for their school, work, families, and
friendships. Moreover, this process will
contribute to the fulfillment of the final
adolescent developmental tasks of prepar-
ing for an economic career, preparing for
marriage and family life, and developing
an ideology.
Deborah M. Trosten-Martinez
See also Autonomy; Decision Making;
Developmental Challenges; Transition
to Young Adulthood
References and further reading
Brandtstädter, Jochen, and Richard M.
Lerner. 1999. “Introduction:
Development, Action, and
Intentionality.” Pp. ix–xx in Action and
Self-Development: Theory and Research
Through the Life Span. Edited by Jochen
Brandtstädter and Richard M. Lerner.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Cobb, Nancy J. 1998. Adolescence:
Continuity, Change, and Diversity, 3rd
ed. Menlo Park, CA: Mayfield
Publishing.
Erikson, Erik H. 1963. Childhood and
Society, 2nd ed. New York: Norton.
Havinghurst, Robert J. 1972.
Developmental Tasks and Education.
New York: David McKay.
Head, John. 1997. Working with
Adolescents: Constructing Identity.
New York: Falmer Press.
Pugh, Mary Jo V., and Daniel Hart. 1999.
“Identity Development and Peer Group
Participation.” Pp. 55–70 in New
Directions for Child and Adolescent
Development: The Role of Peer Groups
in Adolescent Social Identity: Exploring
the Importance of Stability and
Change, no. 84. Edited by Jeffrey A.
McLellan and Mary Jo V. Pugh. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Santrock, John W. 1996. Adolescence: An
Introduction, 6th ed. Dubuque, IA:
Brown and Benchmark.
Rights of Adolescents 587
Rights of Adolescents
Why should today’s teenagers be entitled
to rights? Indeed, what is the real mean-
ing of rights applied to persons who have
not reached the age of majority? In this
chapter we discuss the concept of chil-
dren’s rights and the implications this
has for children as citizens. It is impor-
tant to point out that in the language of
rights, children are defined as persons
under age eighteen. As child develop-
ment researchers, we highlight our
approach to working with children, one
that requires a fundamental readjust-
ment in the nature of the adult-child
relationship. In redefining the status of
the child in civil society, we show how
this idea has become universal in scope
and revolutionary in content.
A decade ago the General Assembly of
the United Nations voted to establish a
body of international law that would
define, and hold governments responsi-
ble for, the rights of children (Van Bueren,
1995). This document, known as the
Convention on the Rights of the Child
(CRC), consists of forty-one articles that
define a series of human rights as they
relate specifically to the lives of children.
Accompanying this delineation of rights
is a series of articles that define the obli-
gations states have to implement those
rights. Although no sanctions are men-
tioned if a nation fails to support these
rights, there is a strong moral authority
that accompanies acceptance of the
CRC. Looking back on the ten years
since the CRC was introduced, it is both
heartening and surprising that nearly all
the countries in the world have ratified
the CRC. In record time it has become
the most widely endorsed treaty ever
introduced by the UN. Only two coun-
tries have not fully ratified it: the United
States and Somalia (UNICEF, 1995).
588 Rights of Adolescents
The articles of the CRC are divided into
four broad categories: the right to survive,
to be protected and feel secure, to have
one’s life chances promoted, and to par-
ticipate in decisions and activities that
have a direct bearing on one’s own well-
being. Many of these are considered posi-
tive as opposed to negative rights in the
sense that they represent children’s enti-
tlement to opportunities and resources
within in their own society, rather than
the protection of individual liberties or
the freedom from domination and oppres-
sion. The CRC is one of the few human
right documents to balance positive and
negative entitlements.
To take the CRC seriously, one must
understand and accept the fact that it
reflects a major revision in the history of
childhood (Bardy, 1994). In the evolution
of international treaties it completes the
process that had its origins in the Decla-
ration on Human Rights. By recognizing
the developmental capabilities of chil-
dren, the document brings the circum-
stances of children into the same human
rights framework as women, racial and
ethnic minorities, and indigenous peo-
ples. Children are elevated to the status
of full-fledged citizens. It is ironic that as
the world’s oldest democracy, the United
States has not joined the global commu-
nity in ratifying the CRC. America’s chil-
dren, looked upon as the most modern-
ized and independent in the world, still
do not have a government that recog-
nizes them as citizens (Wilcox and
Neimark, 1991). As one colleague
responded, “the problem is that children
have too many rights.” Our response to
this cynical comment is: were the rights
of ethnic minorities or women the issue,
would not that idea seem objectionable?
Are children a sufficiently different lot of
humanity?
In our work with street children in
Brazil and South Africa, and profoundly
deprived infants in Romanian orphan-
ages, it became painfully obvious that
simply being a signatory to the CRC does
little to protect children or promote their
well-being (Carlson and Earls, 1997; Earls
and Carlson, 1999). The existence of a law
does not guarantee its acceptance. Yet the
presence of a law does change things. It
becomes a standard against which injus-
tices and insecurity can be measured. It is
this legal and ethical standard that has
compelled us to treat children with a
higher level of respect and dignity.
It is worth emphasizing that the child
rights movement had its origins in the
context of international human rights, not
at a local or grassroots level. This means
that implementation is subject to the
acceptance of the child rights agenda
within local milieus that differ in history,
educational and economic development,
and tradition. In the United States, the
sources of resistance to adopting the CRC
relate to a host of issues such as parental
versus children’s rights in instances of
custody, adoption, medical care, and the
treatment of serious juvenile offenders as
adults. Children have little impact on
school policy and are deemed incompe-
tent in decisions regarding their own med-
ical treatment and participation in
research. At the same time the conditions
for child survivorship and the protection
of children from exploitation and abuse
are relatively well developed in the United
States. This amounts to an inconsistency
in the recognition and support for a uni-
versally established child rights agenda.
Our work has been focused mainly on
participatory rights, which are of particu-
lar importance during the teen years.
Specifically, these rights are indexed in
Articles 12 to 15 of the CRC (see sidebar)

and refer to the child’s right to voice opin-
ions, to form groups, and to deliberate in
matters that bear on their own best inter-
ests. We first began to understand the
importance of this matter while working
with street children in Brazil. There we
learned that a national organization of
street boys and girls had successfully lob-
bied for a “Bill of Rights” for children in
the new Constitution of Brazil of 1989
(Rizzini et al., 1994). Despite their depri-
vation, these adolescents viewed them-
selves as citizens and from this vantage
maintained a sense of personal dignity
that was obvious in our discourse with
them.
We returned to the United States with
this lesson and began working with small
groups of adolescents as research collabo-
rators. The effort began by introducing
them to the CRC as a framework for gain-
ing the perspective of youth and for bring-
ing attention to those particular rights
that they viewed as important to their
well-being. We introduced them to
research methods in social science and
had daily intensive dialogue sessions over
an eight-week period in the summer.
Favorable results using this approach
were obtained in two very different set-
tings. In Chicago, the work has been con-
ducted within the context of a large
study examining the impact of neighbor-
hood organization on children’s behav-
ioral and social adjustment. The aim was
to gain a wider perspective on the meas-
ures used in the survey and to develop
new insights into ways that children
interpreted the local worlds we were
investigating from the perspectives of
adult academics. The teens involved in
this project decided to focus their atten-
tion on the issue of standard of living as
defined in Article 27 of the CRC. They
viewed this standard as a function of the
Rights of Adolescents 589
U.N. Convention on the Rights of the
Child (CRC): Selected Articles
Participatory Rights
Article 12: The Child’s Opinion
The child’s right to express an opinion,
and to have that opinion taken into
account, in any matter or procedure
affecting the child.
Article 13: Freedom of Expression
The child’s right to obtain and make
known information, and to express his
or her views, unless this would violate
the rights of others.
Article 14: Freedom of Thought,
Conscience and Religion
The child’s right to freedom of
thought, conscience and religion,
subject to appropriate parental
guidance and national law.
Article 15: Freedom of Association
The right of children to meet with
others and join or set up associations,
unless the fact of doing so violates the
rights of others.
Standard of Living
Article 27: Standard of Living
The right of children to benefit from
an adequate standard of living, the
primary responsibility of parents to
provide this, and the State’s duty to
ensure that this responsibility is first
fulfillable and then fulfilled.
level of adult commitment toward chil-
dren in their communities (parents,
teachers, and police officers). They
designed a questionnaire to scientifically
measure the quality of relationships with
these authority figures and went on to
administer it to a sample of their peers.
The insights and findings derived from
their work have informed subsequent
590 Rights of Adolescents in Research
stages in the larger study (see newsletters
at http://phdcn.harvard.edu, click on
Young Citizens Program).
The second venue was an ethnically
diverse high school in Cambridge, Mass-
achusetts. Again using participatory
rights as a starting point and extensive
dialogue sessions as a way of sharing per-
spectives to gain a consensus, a represen-
tative group of students decided to pro-
duce a video to explore the theme of
internal or self-segregation at their
school. The range of opinions that sur-
faced in their own discourse and the
complexity of this issue led them to cre-
ate a research questionnaire that is being
used to survey their entire student body
and the school’s faculty. The purpose of
this study is to broaden the discussion of
this important issue as it relates to aca-
demic success, emotional well-being, and
quality of the school environment.
These exercises represent a new orien-
tation to young people and to our
research. Once the rights approach is
understood and adopted, it becomes non-
negotiable. It is no more possible to
retreat from the posture that children are
rights holders than it is to deny citizen-
ship to ethnic minorities and women.
The child rights movement is mobilized,
the history of childhood has been revised,
and the future of children’s well-being
should be more promising as a result.
Felton Earls
Maya Carlson
See also Political Development; Rights of
Adolescents in Research; Transition to
Young Adulthood
References and further reading
Bardy, Margitta. 1994. “The Manuscript of
the 100-Year Project: Toward a
Revision.” Pp. 299–317 in Social
Theory, Practice and Politics. Edited by
Jan Qvortttup, Margitta Bardy, and Hans
Winterberger. Aldeshot, UK: Avebury
Press.
Carlson, Maya, and Felton Earls. 1997.
“Psychological and
Neuroendocrinological Sequelae of Early
Social Deprivation in Institutionalized
Children in Romania.” Annals of the
New York Academy of Science 807:
419–428.
Earls, Felton, and Maya Carlson. 1999.
“Children at the Margins of Society:
Research and Practice.” Homeless and
Working Youth around the World:
Exploring Developmental Issues. Edited
by Marcela Raffaelli and Reed Larson.
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Rizzini, Irene, Irma Rizzini, Monica
Munoz-Vargas, and Lidia Galeano. 1994.
“Brazil: A New Concept of Childhood.”
Pp. 55–99 in Urban Children in
Distress: Global Predicaments and
Innovative Strategies. Edited by
Cristina Szanton Blanc. Langhorne, PA:
Gordon and Breach Science Publishers.
UNICEF. 1995. State of the World’s
Children. New York: Oxford University
Press.
Van Bueren, Geraldine. 1995. The
International Law on the Rights of the
Child. Dordrecht, Germany: Martinus
Nijhoff.
Wilcox, Brian, and Hans Neimark. 1991.
“The Rights of the Child: Progress
towards Human Dignity. American
Psychologist 46: 49–55.
Rights of Adolescents in Research
Research on adolescent development is
important, because it provides knowledge
about factors that contribute to psycho-
logical adjustment or place teenagers at
risk for problem behaviors. Such knowl-
edge helps parents, practitioners, and pol-
icymakers determine the best ways to
promote healthy psychological develop-
ment. To provide knowledge about such
adolescent problems as delinquency,
school failure, drug abuse, and other
health-compromising behaviors, scien-
tists may ask teenagers to answer survey
questions, observe their behaviors, give

them specific tasks to complete, or col-
lect blood or other physical samples to
determine if there is a biological basis for
some problems. All such research poses
both potential risks and benefits for those
who participate. For example, in addition
to contributing to society’s understanding
of and strategies for ameliorating prob-
lems of youth, these methodologies can
increase distress by focusing teenagers’
attention on emotionally charged issues,
introduce them to forms of risk taking of
which they may have been ignorant, or
inflict knowledge about a medical condi-
tion for which they or their families may
not be prepared. Consequently, the Office
for Protection from Research Risks has
developed federal guidelines to insure
that scientists protect the rights and wel-
fare of individuals who participate in
their research.
Formal ethical standards for the pro-
tection of research participants did not
exist before World War II. Public outcry,
in response to the Nazi medical research
atrocities conducted on concentration
camp prisoners during World War II, led
to the establishment in 1946 of the first
international set of regulations for bio-
medical research, called the Nuremberg
Code. This code laid the foundation for
current federal guidelines (e.g., Depart-
ment of Health and Human Services
[DHHS], 1991) and regulations put forth
by professional organizations that have
as their members individuals who con-
duct research with minors (e.g., Society
for Research in Child Development
[SRCD], 1993; American Psychological
Association [APA], 1992).
Current regulations for the ethical con-
duct of research are based upon three prin-
ciples. The first, beneficence, requires that
when designing a research study, investi-
gators make every effort to maximize the
Rights of Adolescents in Research 591
benefits and minimize the risks of the
research to participants. The second prin-
ciple, justice, requires investigators to
ensure that the benefits of research are
available to persons from diverse back-
grounds. The third principle, respect,
draws attention to the scientist’s duty to
protect the autonomy and privacy rights
of participants. This last principle requires
that individuals understand their rights in
research, are capable of protecting them-
selves if their rights are violated, and vol-
unteer without coercion or pressure to
conform.
A hallmark of the principle of respect
is the researcher’s obligation to obtain
informed consent from all research par-
ticipants and their guardians. Informed
consent means that before an individual
agrees to participate in a study, the inves-
tigator must explain the purpose of the
research, what participants will be asked
to do, the potential risks and benefits of
participating in the study, how partici-
pant privacy will be protected, and par-
ticipants’ right to refuse to participate or
to withdraw from the study at any time.
Children and young adolescents are
thought to be incapable of giving in-
formed consent for three reasons. One is
that their intellectual skills are not fully
developed and, therefore, they cannot fully
understand the information needed to
make an informed decision. This assump-
tion, however, has been a source of debate
when adolescents aged fourteen years and
older are involved. Another assumption is
that even if they possess mature intellec-
tual skills, teenagers lack experiences that
are necessary to understand the true
nature of their participation. Finally,
actual and perceived power differences
between teenagers and adults may make
adolescents particularly vulnerable to
coercion. For example, teenagers may
592 Rights of Adolescents in Research
perceive themselves as powerless to
refuse a researcher’s request to participate
in a study or fail to question an unethical
action by a researcher because they are
taught not to question those in authority.
To ensure that teenagers’ best interests
are protected and that they are not vul-
nerable to rights violations, federal and
professional guidelines require that in
most situations scientists obtain the
informed consent of a legal guardian
before an adolescent can participate in
research. Federal guidelines also recog-
nize, however, that there are times when
guardian permission may not be in the
youths’ best interest (e.g., when child
abuse or neglect is being studied) or
parental permission cannot be obtained
(e.g., when problems confronted by
teenage runaways are the focus of study).
Under these circumstances, guardian per-
mission may be waived if the investiga-
tor appoints an independent advocate to
protect the teenagers’ rights. Guardian
permission may also be waived when
adolescents agree to participate in
research about their reasons for and reac-
tions to medical and mental health treat-
ment (e.g., venereal diseases and abor-
tions) that they are allowed by state law
to obtain without parental permission.
Out of respect for teenagers as develop-
ing persons, federal regulations and pro-
fessional codes also require that in addi-
tion to guardian consent, adolescents
must provide their informed assent
before they can participate in research.
Researchers must provide teenagers with
information about the study at a level
that they can understand. In addition,
when a minor refuses to participate, this
decision must be respected even if the
legal guardian has given permission.
When teenagers are asked to partici-
pate in a research study, it is important
that both they and their parents know
their rights in research. These rights
include the following:
1. The right to be fully informed
about the research. Potential
research participants and their par-
ents should be given all information
that might influence their decision
to participate. Such information
includes who the researchers are
and which institutions they are
affiliated with, why the project is
being conducted, what the teenager
will be asked to do, how long the
study will take, when and where it
will occur, and the risks and bene-
fits of participation.
2. The right to participate or not in
the research. Research participa-
tion is always voluntary. Participa-
tion in research cannot be required
(e.g., for course credit), and
teenagers should not be pressured
by investigators, teachers, or others
to participate.
3. The right to ask questions. At any
point in the research, adolescents
and their parents should feel free to
ask questions, and the researcher
must answer these questions as
honestly as possible.
4. The right to withdraw from the
study or not complete all aspects
of the research. Once a study
begins, teenagers can always tell
the investigator that they do not
wish to continue. In addition, the
investigator should make it clear to
teenage participants that they do
not have to answer specific ques-
tions or engage in specific behav-
iors that make them uncomfort-
able. There should be no penalties
for not fully completing a study.

5. The right to privacy and confiden-
tiality. Under most circumstances
anything a teenager does or says
when participating in a research
study should remain confidential.
Researchers cannot share the
names of individuals who partici-
pate in a study, nor can they tell
others what the teenager did or
said. To protect confidentiality,
investigators usually give partici-
pants a code number and keep the
information they collect on indi-
viduals in secure files; when they
publish the results of the study
they only report how groups of
individuals responded, not how an
individual teenager responded.
However, researchers are ethically
obligated to disclose information if
they learn that a teenager is being
abused or is in danger of harming
himself or someone else.
6. The right to be protected from
harm. Teenagers should not experi-
ence any physical, social, or mental
discomfort when participating in a
research project. If something
unforeseen does happen during the
study, the researcher must address
the problem as soon as possible.
7. The right to know the results of the
study. When the study is completed,
the researcher should share her find-
ings with participants. This infor-
mation can be distributed to
teenagers and their parents in a
written summary. It often takes
many months for an investigator to
analyze and interpret research find-
ings, and during that time, teenage
participants may have moved,
changed classes, or graduated from
the school at which a study was
conducted. Consequently, investiga-
Rights of Adolescents in Research 593
tors often ask that teenagers and
parents who would like a summary
of the results provide their addresses
when consenting to the research.
8. The right to understand and use
these rights. These rights should be
explained to teenagers and parents
in an easily understandable way. If
English is not a parent’s first lan-
guage, then the investigator should
have available consent forms in a
language the parent can under-
stand. Finally, teenagers should be
allowed to exercise these rights
without any penalties.
Parents can play a key role in insuring
that teenagers make an informed deci-
sion to participate in research. To help a
teenager understand and exercise his or
her research rights, the following steps
are recommended:
• Ensure that the teenager under-
stands what will be expected of him
or her for participation in the
research. After explaining the pur-
pose and procedure, ask the teenager
to tell you in his or her own words
what he or she will be doing.
• Encourage the teenager to ask
questions throughout the study
and to expect answers from the
investigator.
• Discuss with the teenager his or
her desire to participate or not in
the study before you make your
decision. This will allow the indi-
vidual to make a decision without
feeling pressured by your choice.
• Be sensitive to the fact that the
teen may feel pressure from peers
or teachers to participate. Encour-
age him or her to make an inde-
pendent decision about whether he
594 Rights of Adolescents in Research
or she would like to be in the
study, rather than give in to pres-
sure to be part of a group.
• Tell the teenager that the
researcher does not have authority
over him or her. Emphasize that
even if he or she agrees to partici-
pate, he or she does not have to
complete any part of the study and
can withdraw from the study at
any time.
• Explain to the teenager that
answers will not be shared with
other people, including yourself.
Because of this, the individual can
feel comfortable answering ques-
tions honestly.
• Encourage the teenager to tell the
researcher if some aspect of the
study bothers or upsets him or her.
Explain that it is the researcher’s
responsibility to help alleviate any
anxiety or discomfort.
In today’s complicated world, research
on teenage development is an essential
tool for helping parents, teachers, practi-
tioners, and policymakers solve the prac-
tical problems of adolescence. Adoles-
cent research is a partnership among
investigators, teenage participants, and
parents, in which partners respect and
learn from each other.
Jean-Marie Bruzzese
Celia B. Fisher
See also Rights of Adolescents
References and further reading
American Psychological Association.
1992. “Ethical Principles of
Psychologists and Code of Conduct.”
American Psychologist 47: 1597–1611.
Belter, Ronald W., and Thomas Grisso.
1984. “Children’s Recognition of Rights
Violations in Counseling.” Professional
Psychology and Practice 15: 899–910.
Bersoff, Donald N. 1983. “Children as
Participants in Psychoeducational
Assessment.” Pp. 149–178 in Children’s
Competence to Consent. Edited by Gary
B. Melton, Gerald P. Koocher, and
Michael J. Saks. New York: Plenum
Press.
Department of Health and Human
Services. 1991. “Protection of Human
Subjects.” Code of Federal Regulations.
Title 45 Public Welfare, Part 46.
Washington, DC: DHHS.
Fisher, Celia B. 1993. “Integrating Science
and Ethics in Research with High Risk
Children and Youth.” Social Policy
Report. Society for Research in Child
Development 7, no. 4: 1–27.
Fisher, Celia B., Michi Hatashita-Wong,
and Lori Isman Greene. 1999. “Ethical
and Legal Issues in Clinical Child
Psychology.” Pp. 470–486 in
Developmental Issues in the Clinical
Treatment of Children and Adolescents.
Edited by Wendy K. Silverman and
Thomas H. Ollendick. Boston: Allyn
and Bacon.
Fisher, Celia B., Kimberly Hoagwood, and
Peter Jensen. 1996. “Casebook on
Ethics: Issues in Research with Children
and Adolescents with Mental
Disorders.” Pp. 135–238 in Ethical
Issues in Research with Children and
Adolescents with Mental Disorders.
Edited by Kimberly Hoagwood, Peter
Jensen, and Celia B. Fisher. Mahwah,
NJ: Erlbaum.
Freedman, Benjamin. 1975. “A Moral
Theory of Informed Consent.” Hastings
Center Report 5, no 4: 32–39.
Gaylin, Willard, and Ruth Macklin. 1982.
Who Speaks for the Child: The
Problems of Proxy Consent. New York:
Plenum Press.
Grisso, Thomas, and Linda Vierling. 1978.
“Minors’ Consent to Treatment: A
Developmental Perspective.”
Professional Psychology 9: 412–427.
Holder, Angela R. 1981. “Can Teenagers
Participate in Research without
Parental Consent?” Irb: Review of
Human Subjects Research 3: 5–7.
Keith-Spiegel, Patricia. 1983. “Children
and Consent to Participate in
Research.” Pp. 179–211 in Children’s
Competence to Consent. Edited by Gary
B. Melton, Gerald P. Koocher, and
Michael J. Saks. New York: Plenum
Press.

Koocher, Gerald P., and Patricia C. Keith-
Spiegel. 1990. Children, Ethics, and the
Law. Lincoln: University of Nebraska
Press.
Rau, Jean-Marie B. 1997. The Ability of
Minors to Define and Recognize Their
Rights in Research. Dissertation #97-30,
105. Fordham University, NY.
Rogers, Audrey Smith, Lawrence
D’Angelo, and Donna Futterman. 1994.
“Guidelines for Adolescent
Participation in Research: Current
Realities and Possible Resolutions.” Irb:
Review of Human Subjects Research
16: 1–6.
Society for Research in Child
Development. 1993. “Ethical Standards
for Research with Children.” Pp.
337–339 in Directory of Members. Ann
Arbor, MI: SRCD.
Thompson, Ross A. 1990. “Vulnerability
in Research: A Developmental
Perspective on Research Risk.” Child
Development 61: 1–16.
———. 1992. “Developmental Changes in
Research Risks and Benefits: A
Changing Calculus of Consensus.” Pp.
31–64 in Social Research on Children
and Adolescents. Edited by Barbara
Stanley and Joan E. Sieber. Newbury
Park, CA: Sage.
Weithorn, Lois A. 1983. “Children’s
Capacities to Decide about Participation
in Research.” Irb: Review of Human
Subjects Research 5: 1–5.
Weithorn, Lois A., and Susan B. Campbell.
1982. “The Competency of Children
and Adolescents to Make Informed
Consent Treatment Decisions.” Child
Development 53: 1589–1598.
Risk Behaviors
Far too many youth across America are
dying—from violence, drug and alcohol
use and abuse, unsafe sex, poor nutrition,
and persistent and pervasive poverty.
And among those who are not dying,
their life chances are being squandered.
They experience school failure, under-
achievement, and dropout; crime; teen-
age pregnancy and parenting; lack of job
preparedness; and challenges to their
health such as lack of immunizations,
Risk Behaviors 595
inadequate screening for disabilities,
poor prenatal care, and insufficient infant
and childhood medical services. They
often experience feelings of despair and
hopelessness as they watch their parents
struggle with poverty and see themselves
as having little opportunity to do bet-
ter—to have a life marked by societal
respect, achievement, and opportunity.
There are numerous indications of the
severity and breadth of the problems fac-
ing the youth, families, and communities
of this nation. For instance, the quality of
life that the United States offers its chil-
dren and youth is poor in comparison to
that provided by other modern industrial-
ized countries. Indeed, as reported by the
Children’s Defense Fund, although Amer-
ica leads other such nations in productiv-
ity related to military and defense expen-
ditures, health technology, and the
number of individuals who attain sub-
stantial personal wealth, it falls far behind
other nations in indicators of child health
and welfare. In fact, the poverty rate for
children in the United States is highest
among the major eighteen industrialized
countries. Although the total number of
American children living in poverty
decreased by 1 percentage point between
1985 and 1996, one out of every five of
this nation’s youth remains poor.
Risk behaviors in late childhood and
adolescence fall into four major categories:
1. Drug and alcohol use and abuse
2. Unsafe sex, teenage pregnancy, and
teenage parenting
3. School underachievement, school
failure, and dropout
4. Delinquency, crime, and violence
Participation in any one of these behav-
iors could diminish a youth’s life
chances—or, indeed, possibly eliminate
596 Risk Behaviors
the young person’s chances of even hav-
ing a life. Unfortunately, such risks to
the life chances of American children and
adolescents are occurring at historically
unprecedented levels.
There are approximately 39.4 million
American youth between the ages of ten
and nineteen years. Researcher Joy G.
Dryfoos has estimated that about 50 per-
cent of these adolescents engage in two
or more of the above-noted categories of
risk behaviors. She further estimates that
10 percent of the nation’s youth engage
in all of the four categories of risk behav-
iors. Dryfoos’s work suggests that risk
behaviors are highly interrelated among
adolescents.
Drug and Alcohol Use and Abuse
Adolescents drink alcohol and use a wide
variety of illegal/illicit drugs and other
unhealthy substances (e.g., inhalants
such as glues, aerosols, butane, and sol-
vents). They also extensively use ciga-
rettes and other tobacco products. Recent
national trends in the use of all these sub-
stances have shown some declines. For
instance, according to the University of
Michigan’s Monitoring the Future Study,
which has been tracking this behavior
among high school students since the
1970s, smoking rates among eighth,
tenth, and twelfth graders, involving
youth between thirteen and eighteen
years of age, decreased slightly between
1997 and 1998. Similarly, youth in these
grades showed some decline in using
illicit drugs during the 12-month period
prior to the survey. Nevertheless, the use
of such substances is still widespread.
The magnitude of this problem is well
illustrated by the following examples:
• The proportion of students who
indicated that they smoked at all
during the thirty days prior to a
national study had decreased by 1.9
percent over the previous two years
among eighth graders (to 19.1 per-
cent), by 2.8 percent among tenth
graders (to 27.6 percent), and by 1.4
percent among twelfth graders (to
35.1 percent). However, in a
nationally representative sample of
students in grades 9 to 12, the
study found that 70.2 percent of all
students had tried cigarette smok-
ing, 36.4 percent had smoked on
one or more days in the thirty days
prior to the survey, and 9.5 percent
of students had used smokeless
tobacco on one or more days prior
to the survey.
• An estimated 3 million underage
smokers purchase 947 million
packs of cigarettes and 26 million
cans of smokeless tobacco each
year.
• According to a national survey of
students in grades 9 to 12, 79.1 per-
cent reported having initiated alco-
hol use. In addition, 50.8 percent
reported having had at least one
drink on one or more days in the
thirty days prior to the survey, and
33 percent of high school seniors
reported being drunk at least once
in that thirty-day period.
• Marijuana continues to be the
most widely used illicit drug, with
22 percent of all eighth graders in
1998 saying that they had used
marijuana and 49 percent of all
twelfth graders reporting that they
had done so.
• According to a nationwide survey
conducted by the Centers for Dis-
ease Control and Prevention, 8.2
percent of students had used some
form of cocaine, 3.3 percent had

used cocaine on one or more days
in the thirty days prior to the sur-
vey, 17 percent had used other
illegal drugs (e.g., LSD or heroin),
and 16 percent had used
inhalants.
Unsafe Sex, Teenage Pregnancy,
and Teenage Parenting
Adolescents have always engaged in sex.
Indeed, historical records indicate that
sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and
pregnancy have always been problems
among this age group. What is different
today, however, is the extent of adoles-
cents’ involvement in sex and the
increasingly younger ages at which this
involvement occurs.
Consider the following examples:
• More teenagers today are initiating
sexual intercourse before age thir-
teen than in the past. For example,
10.8 percent of ninth graders report
having had sexual intercourse
before age thirteen compared to 4.7
percent of twelfth graders. And
among girls younger than fifteen,
the incidence of pregnancy rose 4.1
percent between 1980 and 1988—a
rate higher than for any other ado-
lescent age group.
• In 1997, 61.9 percent of high
school seniors reported having had
sexual intercourse and 21 percent
of high school seniors reported hav-
ing had four or more sexual part-
ners. Seven percent of ninth
graders reported similar activities.
Among sexually active female ado-
lescents overall, 27 percent of
those fifteen to seventeen years
old, and 16 percent of those eight-
een to nineteen years old, said that
they use no method of contracep-
Risk Behaviors 597
tion. The proportions of Latino,
African American, and European
American adolescent females not
using contraception are 35 percent,
23 percent, and 19 percent, respec-
tively.
• Each year, 1 million adolescents
nationwide become pregnant;
about half have babies. This
amounts to about one baby born
every minute.
• In 1991, 38 percent of the pregnan-
cies experienced by fifteen- to
nineteen-year-olds ended in abor-
tion.
• Among the married adolescents
who give birth, 46 percent go on
welfare within four years, com-
pared to 73 percent of unmarried
adolescents.
• Youth between fifteen and nine-
teen years of age account for 25
percent of STD cases each year.
Moreover, 6.4 percent of adolescent
runaways, who number between
750,000 and 1 million each year in
America, register positive on
serum tests for the AIDS virus.
These runaway youth often engage
in unsafe sex, prostitution, and
intravenous drug use.
• Among all young women ages fif-
teen through nineteen, 15 percent
of births occurred out of wedlock
in 1960, compared to 76 percent in
1996.
• By age nineteen, 15 percent of
African American males have
fathered a child; the corresponding
rates for Latinos and European
Americans are 11 percent and 7
percent, respectively.
• Thirty-nine percent of the fathers
of children born to fifteen-year-old
mothers, and 47 percent of the
598 Risk Behaviors
fathers of children born to sixteen-
year-old mothers, are older than
twenty years of age.
• About 20 percent of adolescent
girls in grades 8 through 11 are
subjected to sexual harassment,
and 75 percent of girls under the
age of fourteen who have had sex-
ual relations are victims of rape. In
short, sex is often forced on adoles-
cent girls.
• About $25 billion in federal money
is spent annually to provide social,
health, and welfare services to fam-
ilies begun by teenagers.
School Underachievement,
School Failure, and Dropout
About 25 percent of the approximately 48
million children and adolescents enrolled
in America’s 82,000 public elementary
and secondary schools are at risk for
school failure. Indeed, each year about
700,000 youth drop out of school, and
about 25 percent of all eighteen- and nine-
teen-year-olds have not graduated from
high school. The costs to society—and to
the youth themselves—are enormous.
Remaining in school is the single most
important action that adolescents can
take to improve their future economic
prospects. For example, in 1992, a high
school graduate earned almost $6,000 per
year more than a high school dropout. In
the same year, college graduates earned
an average income of $32,629, compared
to only $18,737 earned by high school
graduates. Completion of a professional
degree added $40,000 to the average
annual income of college graduates.
Despite these advantages, however,
youth continue to drop out of school.
Moreover, even among those who remain
in school, many do not achieve at the lev-
els expected of them.
There are numerous indicators of the
seriousness of the problems of under-
achievement, school failure, and dropout
among today’s youth. Some examples
follow:
• Although U.S. eighth graders
scored above the international
average in both mathematics and
science, they were outperformed in
science by students in nine other
countries and in mathematics by
students in twenty other countries.
U.S. twelfth graders scored below
the international average in both
mathematics and science assess-
ments.
• About 4.5 million ten- to fourteen-
year-olds are one or more years
behind in their modal grade level.
• In 1996, about five out of every
hundred young adults enrolled in
high school dropped out. In 1997,
9.5 percent of Hispanics were
dropouts, compared with 3.6 per-
cent of European American stu-
dents and 5 percent of African
American students.
• Over the last decade, between
300,000 and 500,000 tenth-,
eleventh-, and twelfth-grade stu-
dents dropped out.
• At any point in time, about 18 per-
cent of dropouts eighteen to
twenty-four years old, and 30 per-
cent of dropouts twenty-four to
twenty-nine years old, are under
the supervision of the criminal jus-
tice system. Among African Amer-
icans, the corresponding percent-
ages are about 50 and 75 percent.
• In 1997, youth living in families
with incomes in the lowest 20 per-
cent of all family incomes were
nearly seven times as likely as

their peers from families in the top
20 percent of the income distribu-
tion to drop out of high school.
• Each added year of secondary edu-
cation reduces the probability of
public welfare dependency in
adulthood by 35 percent.
Delinquency, Crime, and Violence
Of all the problems confronting contem-
porary youth, no set of issues has
attracted as much public concern and
public fear as youth delinquency and vio-
lent crimes. People point not only to the
increased number of youth gangs in
urban centers as well as rural communi-
ties but also to their territorial battles,
drug trafficking, shootings, and random
street violence. Also observable today is
the increasingly younger ages of the gang
members themselves.
The magnitude of such problems as
delinquency, crime, and violence among
youth is daunting. To illustrate:
• In 1996, 79 out of every 1,000 stu-
dents (ages twelve to eighteen)
were implicated in thefts at school.
Theft accounted for about 62 per-
cent of all crime against students
at school that year.
• Although the Violent Crime Index
arrest rate among juveniles dropped
23 percent between 1994 and 1997,
the 1997 rate was still about 30
percent greater than the average
rate in the years between 1980 and
1988.
• Nationwide, juveniles commit
about one in four of all violent
crimes. In 1997, according to vic-
tims’ reports, 70,000 serious vio-
lent crimes involved one or more
juvenile offenders between the ages
of twelve and seventeen.
Risk Behaviors 599
• In 1997, about 2,100 murder vic-
tims were younger than eighteen
years of age—a level 27 percent
below that of the peak year of
1993, when 2,900 juveniles were
murdered. During the same year,
the number of juveniles murdered
in the United States exceeded, by
more than 300, that in a typical
year during the 1980s. About 6
juveniles are murdered daily.
• In 1997, 84 percent of murdered
juveniles aged thirteen or older
were killed with a firearm. No
other age group in that year exhib-
ited a higher proportion of firearm
homicides.
• The National Center for Health
Statistics lists homicide as the
third leading cause of death for
children aged five to fourteen and
the second leading cause of death
for youth aged fifteen to twenty-
four.
• At any point in time, about 20 per-
cent of all African American youth
are involved with the criminal jus-
tice system.
• In 1997, 26 percent of juvenile
arrests were arrests of females.
Between 1993 and 1997, arrests of
juvenile females increased more (or
decreased less) than male arrests in
most offense categories.
• Even with the large increase in
female rates, the 1997 Violent
Crime Index arrest rate for juvenile
males was five times the arrest rate
for juvenile females.
• African Americans experience rates
of rape, aggravated assault, and
armed robbery that are approxi-
mately 25 percent higher than
those for European Americans,
rates of motor vehicle theft that
600 Risk Perception
are about 70 percent higher, rates
of robbery victimization that are
about 150 percent higher, and rates
of homicide that are between 600
and 700 percent higher.
• In a nationally representative sam-
ple of ten- to sixteen-year-olds, 25
percent experienced an assault or
abuse in the previous year. Approx-
imately 20 percent of the docu-
mented child abuse and neglect
cases in 1992 involved young ado-
lescents between the ages of ten
and thirteen years.
• The suicide rate among adolescents
aged fifteen to nineteen has nearly
doubled from 5.9 per 100,000 in
1970 to 9.7 per 100,000 in 1996.
And among youth aged fifteen to
twenty-four, the suicide rate has
increased from 12.9 per 100,000 in
1992 to 14.9 per 100,000 in 1994.
• In 1993, the cost of providing
emergency transportation, medical
care, hospital stays, rehabilitation,
and related treatment for American
firearm victims aged ten through
nineteen was $407 million.
• An estimate of the current value of
preventing a single youth from
leaving school and turning to drugs
and crime as a way of life is
$1.7–$2.3 million.
All told, about 50 percent of America’s
youth are at risk for engaging in un-
healthy, unproductive, even life-threaten-
ing behaviors—a crisis the country needs
to address promptly and thoroughly.
Richard M. Lerner
Daniel F. Perkins
See also Accidents; Aggression; Alcohol
Use, Risk Factors in; Bumps in the
Road to Adulthood; Eating Problems;
Juvenile Crime; Peer Pressure; Rebel-
lion; Self-Injury; Sexual Behavior Prob-
lems; Sexually Transmitted Diseases;
Substance Use and Abuse; Teenage Par-
enting: Consequences; Youth Gangs
References and further reading
Carnegie Council on Adolescent
Development. 1995. Great Transitions:
Preparing Adolescents for a New
Century. New York: Carnegie
Corporation.
Children’s Defense Fund. 1996. The State
of America’s Children. Washington,
DC: Children’s Defense Fund.
Dryfoos, Joy G. 1990. Adolescents at Risk:
Prevalence and Prevention. New York:
Oxford University Press.
Johnston, Lloyd D., Jerald G. Bachman,
and Patrick M. O’Malley. 1999. The
Monitoring of the Future Study.
Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services.
Lerner, Richard M. 1995. America’s Youth
in Crisis: Challenges and Options for
Programs and Policies. Thousand Oaks,
CA: Sage.
Lerner, Richard M., and Nancy L.
Galambos. 1998. “Adolescent
Development: Challenges and
Opportunities for Research, Programs,
and Policies.” Pp. 413–446 in Annual
Review of Psychology, Vol. 49. Edited
by J. T. Spence. Palo Alto, CA: Annual
Reviews.
National Center of Education Statistics.
1997. Digest of Education Statistics,
1997. Washington, DC: National Center
of Education Statistics.
U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services. 1996, 1998. Trends in the
Well-Being of America’s Children and
Youth. Washington, DC: Child Trends.
Risk Perception
Speculation about adolescents’ compe-
tence in recognizing and assessing risk has
existed since the time of Aristotle. Ado-
lescents are frequently portrayed as
believing they are invulnerable to harm, a
portrayal that implies a compromised
ability to judge risks. Yet at the same time,

others view adolescents as being able to
make informed and competent decisions,
and having capabilities equivalent to
those of adults. Perceptions of adolescents
as incompetent to judge risks provide the
basis for many legal limitations on adoles-
cents’ rights, while selected policies that
allow adolescents to take part in research
or to undergo certain types of medical
treatments without parental permission
reflect a belief in adolescents’ competence
to judge risks. Resolving these contradic-
tory views of adolescents’ capabilities to
judge risks thus has important and far-
reaching implications.
Most research on risk perception has
focused on adults rather than adoles-
cents. What we have learned from these
studies is that risk assessment is inher-
ently subjective, and prone to significant
bias. Even experts demonstrate biases
under certain conditions. Some of the
most pervasive biases occur when people
are asked to estimate their own risk sta-
tus. Adults overestimate the probability
that good things will happen to them,
and underestimate their own vulnerabil-
ity to many negative events. They also
view their personal risk status as more
favorable than the risk status of others.
For example, people view themselves as
better than average drivers, more likely
to live past eighty years of age than oth-
ers, less likely to die as a result of various
factors, and less likely to be harmed by
the products they use.
Given the bias in adults’ perceptions of
risk, it should not surprise us to find that
adolescents demonstrate bias as well.
Like adults, adolescents are inaccurate in
their assessments of risk, overestimating
some risks while underestimating others.
They, too, view their personal risks as
being less than those of their peers. Ado-
lescents also rely on cognitive shortcuts
Risk Perception 601
when assessing risks, a practice that
makes them susceptible to bias. However,
studies do not show adolescents to be
unable to judge risks. Even young adoles-
cents appear to have the ability to con-
sider risks and benefits associated with
the consequences of engaging in risky
behaviors and events like medical proce-
dures. There is also little evidence to sup-
port the notion that adolescents, by virtue
of their developmental status, are less
likely than adults to perceive themselves
as vulnerable to harm. Only three studies
have directly compared adolescents’ risk
judgments with those of adults—an
important comparison because it allows
us to identify whether adolescents’ risk
judgments are quantitatively different
from those of legal adults. Findings from
these studies show that adolescents actu-
ally appear to be less likely than adults to
see themselves as invulnerable, and only a
small minority of adolescents evidenced
such perceptions. When asked to judge
how risky various situations are, adoles-
cents also judge risks as higher than do
adults, and younger adolescents perceive
risks as higher than older adolescents.
Does this mean that adolescents are
better able to judge risks than adults?
Not necessarily. For one thing, they are
less accurate than adults. Most people
think that risks are higher than they
actually are, but adults’ judgments are
closer to reality. There are also other
things that we do not know about how
adolescents assess risks that are relevant
to their abilities in this regard. For exam-
ple, do risk assessments that take place
in research settings bear resemblance to
those that occur spontaneously in adoles-
cents? What effects does emotion have
on adolescents’ risk judgments?
There are, of course, many other factors
that influence perceptions of risk. One of
602 Risk Perception
the most important is experience. People
who engage in risky behaviors see the
risks as lower than do people who do not
engage in the behaviors. This probably
occurs because most individuals who take
risks do not suffer negative consequences,
and thus do not perceive their behavior as
dangerous. Judgments of lower risk among
people with behavioral experience suggest
that some of the age-linked variation in
risk judgments may be attributable to
experiential differences, since older people
generally have more experience. Percep-
tions of control are also important. When
people believe that risks are controllable,
they tend to downplay them.
Perceptions of risk are viewed as
important because of the role they are
thought to play in people’s behavior.
Conventional wisdom holds that people
avoid things they think are harmful, but
longitudinal studies of adolescents have
not been conducted to confirm this. If we
think of risk judgments as reflecting gen-
eralized feelings of vulnerability or anxi-
ety, it would make sense that these feel-
ings would inhibit individuals from
engaging in behaviors. But it is also pos-
sible, and likely, that other factors moti-
vate adolescents to engage in risky
behaviors, and that risk judgments play
only a small role.
The actual risks posed by many of the
behaviors we want to protect adolescents
from are serious but small. Few adults
would suggest providing adolescents
with information about the actual statis-
tical risk. On the other hand, continuing
to emphasize the likelihood of negative
outcomes could be counterproductive if
young people already feel a sense of vul-
nerability; it could also backfire as ado-
lescents become aware of the reality that
most experiences with risky behaviors do
not lead to negative outcomes. Given
these considerations, perhaps a more
appropriate goal for educating youth
about health risks is to find ways to
make small probabilities real to adoles-
cents, without raising anxiety to unpro-
ductive levels. Efforts to decrease public
and scientific perceptions of “the invul-
nerable adolescent” may also be war-
ranted. Such perceptions can perpetuate
negative views about young people that
can have far-reaching implications for
adolescent-related programs, policies,
and legal statutes.
Susan Millstein
See also Accidents; Cognitive Develop-
ment; Conduct Problems; Conformity;
Decision Making; Delinquency, Mental
Health, and Substance Abuse Prob-
lems; Ethnocentrism; Peer Pressure;
Personal Fable; Thinking; Youth Cul-
ture
References and further reading
Cohn, Lawrence, Susan Macfarlane,
Claudia Yanez, and Walter Imai. 1995.
“Risk-Perception: Differences between
Adolescents and Adults.” Health
Psychology 14, no. 3: 217–222.
Gochman, David, and Jean-Francois
Saucier. 1982. “Perceived Vulnerability
in Children and Adolescents.” Health
Education Quarterly 9, nos. 2 and 3:
46–58, 142–154.
Halpern-Felsher, Bonnie L., Susan G.
Millstein, Jonathan M. Ellen, Nancy E.
Adler, Jeanne Tschann, and Michael C.
Biehl. In press. “The Role of Behavioral
Experience in Judging Risks.” Health
Psychology 20: 120–126.
Jacobs-Quadrel, Marilyn, Baruch Fischhoff,
and Wendy Davis. 1993. “Adolescent
(In)vulnerability.” American
Psychologist 48, no. 2: 102–116.
Millstein, Susan G. 1993. “Perceptual,
Attributional, and Affective Processes in
Perceptions of Vulnerability throughout
the Life Span.” Pp. 55–65 in Adolescent
Risk Taking. Edited by Nancy Bell and
Robert Bell. Newbury Park, CA: Sage
Publications.
Urberg, Kathryn, and Rochelle Robbins.
1984. “Perceived Vulnerability in

Adolescents to the Health Con-
sequences of Cigarette Smoking.”
Preventive Medicine 13: 367–376.
Rites of Passage
In its traditional sense, a rite of passage
can most easily be thought of as walking
across a one-way bridge: It represents a
journey from one way of being, through a
transformational period of change and
growth, into a new way of being. This
process can be described as one way
because people who cross are usually not
allowed or encouraged to return. These
rites of passage, also called coming-of-age
ceremonies or initiations, usually occur
at puberty and serve at least three impor-
tant purposes: (1) marking and facilitat-
ing the transition of children into adult-
hood, (2) transmitting and maintaining
cultural values, traditions, and beliefs
from one generation to the next, and (3)
influencing the development of adoles-
cents’ selves within a given cultural con-
text. Rites of passage are an example of
structured cultural practices that vary
from one culture to another. Despite this
variation, rites of passage have been iden-
tified in many cultures around the world
and tend to be ceremonial, ritualized, and
festive occasions.
The most successful and significant
rites of passage tend to be found in highly
religious, seasonally based, stable, and
preindustrial societies, where significant
importance is given to individual devel-
opment and the individual’s role within
the larger society. Researchers generally
agree that most rites of passage have
some characteristics in common, includ-
ing a generalized three-phase structure:
(1) rites of separation, (2) rites of transi-
tion, and (3) rites of incorporation. The
first phase involves the physical or sym-
Rites of Passage 603
bolic separation from an individual’s old
habits, responsibilities, support group,
and identity. The separation process may
involve fear, uncertainty, crisis, and a
feeling of instability.
The rite-of-transition phase represents
a time of change and development within
a new support group. During this phase,
participants are taught about the knowl-
edge, history, and religion of the culture
as well as their new responsibilities as
adults. In addition, the transitional phase
may involve learning humility, respect
for elders, and gaining an appreciation for
the growth and change that they are going
to experience. It is not uncommon for the
transitional stage to include one or more
forms of physical mutilation, ranging
from cutting of the hair to tattooing, cir-
cumcision (for boys), excision (for girls),
ritual scarring, piercing or cutting of the
ears, or other ritualized practices. These
physical rites serve to mark the partici-
pant in a permanent manner, in such a
way that they are now the same as other
adults. The final stage of incorporation
represents a return to the community,
physically and symbolically, of a trans-
formed individual who is now widely
accepted and respected as an adult. The
incorporation phase brings celebration,
new habits, roles, responsibilities, sup-
port groups, and peers, as well as a grow-
ing sense of stability and comfort in the
role of adulthood.
In addition to a three-phase structure,
successful rites of passage are (1) recog-
nized and valued by the culture as a crit-
ically important part of becoming an
adult, (2) usually public in nature so
that the entire community participates
or is at least aware of the events, and (3)
usually finish with some sort of signifi-
cant closure, such that the participant
and the community feel certain that the
604 Rites of Passage
Rites of passage represent culturally specific
transitions from youth to adulthood. (Ted
Spiegel/Corbis)
participant has been fully transformed
into an adult.
The following is a generic example of a
rite of passage compiled from several dif-
ferent tribes in Australia. Boys are
expected to live with their mothers and
the other children until the rite of sepa-
ration. This expectation clearly separates
the men from the boys. At a certain time,
chosen by the elders, boys are violently
separated from their mothers by the men
of the tribe. Following the separation,
boys are often secluded and may be
painted white or black, thus symbolizing
their death as boys. Often, the partici-
pants are considered to be dead by the
tribe for the remainder of the rite of pas-
sage. During this time, the boys endure a
period of physical and mental weakening
in seclusion. This experience will deepen
the sense of permanent separation from
childhood and may also be intended to
inspire humility, spiritual awakening,
and respect for elders. Following this, the
boys are symbolically resurrected and
begin the rites of transition, during
which they are taught the laws of the
tribe, adult rituals, dances, ceremonies,
myths, and other secret knowledge.
Before the boys are returned to the com-
munity (rites of incorporation) they com-
plete a traditional religious ceremony,
which often involves some form of phys-
ical mutilation, such as circumcision or
ritual scarring, that will identify them to
all others as a full adult member.
Traditional rites of passage such as
these are not widely used in the western-
ized world. Culturally specific rites of
passage, such as the Jewish bar mitzvah
or the Christian confirmation, are still in
use, but even these traditional cere-
monies no longer have the ability to
serve as effective rites of passage for all,
or even the majority, of adolescents in
any given country. As cultures become
increasingly large and diverse in beliefs,
traditions, and values, it also becomes
increasingly difficult to have a single
effective rite of passage from adolescence
into adulthood. Other reasons for this dif-
ficulty include industrialization and for-
malized education, both of which may
postpone the achievement of social
adulthood until the early twenties. Some
researchers have argued that graduation
from high school represents a rite of pas-
sage for adolescents in the United States.
While graduation is important and val-
ued, high school graduates do not experi-
ence separation, training in being an

adult, or a return to society as a fully
accepted adult member. Indeed, high
school graduation is not even an attain-
able goal for all members of society.
Although eighteen–year-olds are consid-
ered legally adult, they continue to expe-
rience numerous restrictions on what
they are allowed to do, and many adults
do not view an eighteen-year-old as an
adult.
Other researchers have found that ado-
lescents in cultures lacking traditional
rites of passage will develop their own.
Examples include smoking, sexual exper-
imentation, gang initiation ceremonies,
and the use of drugs or alcohol. Although
these experiences may demonstrate a
desire to be seen as an adult or to belong
to a specific group, they do not provide
for a successful, culturally sanctioned
rite of passage, which helps the individ-
ual achieve adulthood in the eyes of the
larger community.
The lack of universal rites of passage
within westernized cultures has been
identified as a potential cause of cultural
problems ranging from teen violence to
the breakdown of marriage. Although it
may be true that westernized cultures
often lack widely accepted rites of pas-
sage, it is more likely that the long-term
and broad-ranging effects of the indus-
trial revolution and formalized education
(which helped to make rites of passage
obsolete) are largely responsible for the
ongoing cultural changes we are experi-
encing. Westernized cultures have, more-
over, developed alternative mediums for
the formation of adults, such as an
extended period of education, intern-
ships, and job training. Current attempts
to develop culturally sanctioned rites of
passage within smaller communities do
exist, and it will be some time before we
know whether they have been effective.
Rites of Passage 605
The reasons for the existence of rites of
passage are not well understood. Re-
searchers have attempted to identify pat-
terns and theoretical associations be-
tween different cultures that have rites of
passage. Unfortunately, such attempts
have been largely unsuccessful at pin-
pointing precise biological, ecological,
financial, or geographic reasons for their
existence. What is clear, however, is that
rites of passage provide a culturally sup-
ported medium for the education and
training of children and their transition
into adulthood, thus maintaining social
structure, customs, and values within a
given culture over many generations.
Benjamin D. Locke
See also College; Dating; Employment:
Positive and Negative Consequences;
Identity; Menarche; Puberty: Hormone
Changes; Puberty: Physical Changes;
Religion, Spirituality, and Belief Sys-
tems; Self; Sexual Behavior; Transition
to Young Adulthood; Transitions of
Adolescence; Why Is There an Adoles-
cence?; Youth Gangs
References and further reading
Alves, Julio. 1993. “Transgressions and
Transformations: Initiation Rites among
Urban Portuguese Boys.” American
Anthropologist 95, no. 4: 894–928.
Dunham, Richard M., Jeannie S. Kidwell,
and Stephen M. Wilson. 1986. “Rites of
Passage at Adolescence: A Ritual
Process Paradigm.” Journal of
Adolescent Research 1, no. 2: 139–154.
Gennep, Arnold Van. 1960. The Rites of
Passage. Translated by Monika B.
Vizedom and Gabrielle L. Caffee.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
(Original work published in 1908.)
Kett, Joseph F. 1977. Rites of Passage:
Adolescence in America, 1790 to the
Present. New York: Basic Books.
MacDonald, Kevin. 1991. “Rites of
Passage.” Pp. 944–945 in Encyclopedia
of Adolescence, Vol 2. Edited by
Richard M. Lerner, Anne C. Petersen,
and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn. New York:
Garland.
606 Runaways
Shweder, Richard A., Jacqueline Goodnow,
Giyoo Hatano, Robert A. LeVine, Hazel
Markus, and Peggy Miller. 1998. “The
Cultural Psychology of Development:
One Mind, Many Mentalities.” Chap.
15 in Handbook of Child Psychology.
Vol. 1, Theoretical Models of Human
Development. New York: Wiley.
Zeagans, Susan, and Leonard Zeagans.
1979. “Bar Mitzvah: A Rite for a
Transitional Age.” The Psychoanalytic
Review 66, no. 1: 117–132.
Runaways
The National Statistical Survey on Run-
away Youth, completed by the National
Opinion Research Corporation, is the
most comprehensive study ever com-
pleted on runaway behavior. The results
revealed that 5.7 percent of households
with teenagers had at least one runaway
incident the year of the study. Extrapola-
tions to the general population of the
United States suggest over 1 million run-
away episodes per year. According to
some figures, 71 percent of runaways are
between the ages of ten and seventeen
years (National Opinion Research Corpo-
ration, 1976, p. 14; Adams, 1997). Based
on an analysis of a variety of studies, the
estimate is that one in three adolescents
consider running away at some time,
that one in five actually run away, and
that girls are more likely to run away
than boys (Adams, 1997).
About half of teens who run away do
not run far and stay with friends, rela-
tives, or neighbors. The majority of run-
aways are gone for brief periods of time,
most commonly overnight. For those
who stay away longer, more than 80 per-
cent return or reconnect with the family
in one month.
There are clear patterns in adolescents’
psychological and social circumstances
that predict running away. Adolescents
with a psychological profile that includes
a combination of low self-esteem, signs
of depression, a sense of loss of control,
impulsiveness, and a history of poor
interpersonal relationships are likely to
run away. Often the home environment
is filled with conflict, weak involvement
by parents, poor communication, and
perhaps physical or sexual abuse. Often
parents are ineffective in supervising
their children. Parents of runaway ado-
lescent boys seem to be unable to control
their sons, whereas parents of runaway
adolescent girls are overcontrolling and
punitive with their daughters.
The list of potential negative conse-
quences are staggering. The risks include
alcohol and substance abuse, coercive
sexual behavior, physical injury, sexually
transmitted diseases, confrontation with
the law, unwanted pregnancy, general
health and nutrition problems, and loss
of educational training opportunities,
among many other problems.
The two greatest threats to the runaway
adolescent are abusing drugs and contract-
ing a sexually transmitted disease (Adams,
1997). Runaways are very likely to sell
drugs to support their habit, and the
potential for addiction is extremely high.
To get along, many runaways become sex
workers. Prostitution in North America is
filled with young teenage boys and girls,
doing “tricks” for drugs or money. The
threat of contracting HIV is large and
looming for these street kids.
For the unfortunate number of young
runaway women who become pregnant,
their future is often dismal. Early preg-
nancy can often have negative health
consequences for the mother, and it also
places the fetus and baby at risk for
numerous medical problems. Looking
further into these young women’s lives,

If adolescents who run away from home live on the streets they may have a life filled with
insecurity, fear, depression, alienation, and risks to survival. (Steve Raymer/Corbis)
the young children of a runaway adoles-
cent woman are at great risk of becoming
socially maladjusted, prone to temper
tantrums and impulsivity, and having a
variety of forms of learning disabilities.
There are a variety of things that par-
ents and families can do to avoid serious
runaway behavior. The formula is sim-
ple. Talk to teenagers, listen to their
problems and issues, and don’t make
light of what they consider serious. Pro-
vide guidance without telling them what
they have to do. Simple indirect sugges-
tions, encouragement to face their
teenage issues, and reassurance that the
teen can deal with problems are the tools
of good parenting. Allow teenagers to
express views that are different from the
parents; recognize that the adolescent
Runaways 607
and parent can differ on some points and
still love and respect each other.
Promote positive peer relationships
and healthy teen activities. Get teenagers
involved in groups where the adolescent
has a chance of making friends. Don’t
devalue or degrade your teenager’s
friends. Encourage involvement in school
activities, sports, support groups, volun-
teer activities, and the like.
If a teenager runs away from home, she
is likely to return. Often she returns
angry, afraid, depressed, and uncertain
about the family’s response to coming
back home. The most frequent reaction,
unfortunately, is for families to express
anger and frustration as the youth
returns. The teenager needs instead to be
welcomed, recognized, and told she is
608 Runaways
loved and needed. Most often families
fail to talk about the issues that precipi-
tated the runaway episode. Instead, fami-
lies often settle into either a form of cold
war where people don’t speak to each
other or a series of small confrontations
that keep the emotions hot and frustrat-
ing. Neither withdrawal nor rejection
will help the runaway readjust. Instead, a
series of open and frank discussions
should be held about the issues that the
teenager sees in her life and family. The
goal should be to identify the issues and
work together to find an acceptable com-
promise. This means, of course, that both
the adolescent and the family need to
make changes.
Often it is best for all concerned to
enter into family therapy. A family ther-
apist uses a systemic approach to healing
and recovery. When the whole family
participates, including siblings, the
underlying family issues are likely to be
exposed and addressed in a therapeutic
discourse. Considerable success has been
observed using systemic or multisys-
temic approaches to healing and recovery
among adolescent populations.
It seems that there are two major forms
of runaways (see pp. 418–419 in Gullotta,
Adams, and Markstrom for a full discus-
sion). One form involves runaways who
have a home where they have a chance to
return. These families want the runaway
back home, safe and sound, loved and
involved with the family. The other form
includes throwaways, children and
teenagers who are told to go and not to
return. Often this form of runaway
behavior is an action taken out of neces-
sity, as a way to survive. The former form
of runaway behavior is likely to be
resolved over time by making readjust-
ments in the dynamics of the family. The
latter form is more complex, and those
teenagers who recover often do so out-
side of the family. Throwaways are left to
the streets and/or social services that will
embrace them. To this date, they remain
a major challenge to the social and men-
tal health agencies in cities around the
world. When life on the street gives a
young person more than he could have at
home, we all know the circumstances at
home are destructive. Children of the
streets live a life of insecurity, fear,
depression, alienation, and bare survival.
The problems of runaways are
extremely hard to address. Most of these
teenagers are angry, hurt, and often
rejected by family and society. Runaway
shelters provide a temporary fix. In some
states, the social and legal system allow a
formal declaration of independence and
assistance is provided. The use of resi-
dential foster homes has brought mixed
results. Communities continue to strug-
gle with finding a satisfactory solution to
this social problem.
Gerald R. Adams
See also Family Relations; Homeless
Youth; Parent-Adolescent Relations;
Programs for Adolescents; Rebellion;
School Dropouts
References and further reading
Adams, G. R. 1997. “Runaway Youth.” Pp.
826–828 in Primary Pediatric Care, 3rd
ed. Edited by R. A. Hoekelman et al. St.
Louis: Mosby.
Adams, G. R., and G. Munro. 1979.
“Portrait of North American Runaways:
A Critical Review.” Journal of Youth
and Adolescence 8: 359–371.
Gullotta, T. P., G. R. Adams, and C.
Markstrom. 2000. The Adolescent
Experience. New York: Academic Press.
National Opinion Research Corporation.
1976. National Statistical Survey on
Runaway Youth. Princeton, NJ:
NORC.
Young, R. L., et al. 1983. “Runaways: A
Review of Negative Consequences.”
Family Relations 32: 275–289.
 S
Sadness
Sadness is an emotion that people of all
ages and cultures experience once in a
while. Sadness involves emotional dis-
comfort, lethargy, and lack of pleasure or
interest in enjoyable activities. Negative
events can cause a person to feel sad (e.g.,
death, the loss of a friend, or something
hoped for that does not happen). In other
cases, the reasons for sadness may be less
obvious. During adolescence, teens often
experience frequent and intense periods of
sadness, which may include feelings of
hopelessness and loneliness, and negative
feelings about one’s self. These feelings
are often an emotional reaction to the
many changes that teens experience phys-
ically, psychologically, and socially.
When, however, sad feelings persist for
more than two weeks and involve other
symptoms, this may be a sign of an illness
known as depression.
Approximately 10–15 percent of teens
experience brief, occasional depressive
symptoms. However, 3 percent of teens
experience a more chronic mood disorder
known as dysthymia, and 5 percent
develop major depressive disorder. Symp-
toms of depression include changes in
energy level and sleep patterns and
changes in weight that are not caused by
dieting. Other symptoms are excessive
crying, lowered self-esteem, feelings of
guilt or self-blame, constant stomachaches
609
or headaches, and loss of interest in
friends. Depressed adolescents are often
extremely self-critical and perceive all
events negatively. Adolescents with
depression may perceive their selves as
worthless and their future as hopeless.
This negative pattern of thinking can place
depressed teens at risk for committing sui-
cide. Suicide is currently the third leading
cause of death among teenagers (Centers
for Disease Control, 2000).
Abrupt changes in mood are common
during adolescence and can involve
intense feelings of sadness that occur sud-
denly. These feelings can cause adoles-
cents to withdraw from social activities
and desire to be left alone. During puberty,
endocrine glands such as the pituitary,
thyroid, and adrenal glands secrete hor-
mones into the body. Once activated,
these glands cause the body’s metabolism
to increase and rapid growth to occur.
Increased spurts of growth coupled with
changing levels of hormones can intensify
an adolescent’s emotional experiences. For
example, girls between the ages of twelve
and eighteen years produce 60 percent
higher levels of the hormone prolactin
than boys do, which is released in tears
when individuals cry. Crying is a normal
process that relaxes muscles, lowers blood
pressure, and releases emotional tension.
Girls report crying four times more often
than boys do during adolescence.
As in all periods of life, sadness is an emotion experienced by many adolescents. (Skjold
Photographs)

The pituitary glands activate the devel-
opment of secondary sex characteristics
such as female breasts and male facial
hair, which can be noticeable to others
and make teens feel self-conscious about
their bodies. Teens may also feel frus-
trated and not understand the source of
heightened sexual impulses that can
emerge as the pituitary gland releases
hormones. For girls, puberty involves the
beginning of menstruation, which is
often accompanied by increased body fat
and weight gain. Adolescent girls often
report lower body satisfaction and nega-
tive feelings about their selves as their
bodies become different from current
images of thinness idealized in the
media. Regardless of the actual weight
gained, girls who see their body image
negatively are more likely to experience
depressed feelings. Girls who get their
period at a younger age than peers may
feel unable to talk to their friends who
have not yet experienced this marker of
maturity. These girls may be less pre-
pared and experience greater self-con-
sciousness as they deal with these
changes separate from peers.
During adolescence, teens often try to
define their personal values and show
who they are as individuals distinct from
their parents. As teens seek independence
from their families, they also have a
strong need to identify with peers and
belong to a social group. Friends often
help each other by sharing similar per-
sonal experiences, providing emotional
support, and accepting each other socially.
Being accepted into a social group, how-
ever, can involve conforming (going along)
with behaviors that an adolescent feels
uncomfortable with. Peers may pressure
adolescents to participate in delinquent
acts, experiment with drugs and alcohol,
or engage in sexual acts that they are not
Sadness 611
ready for. Adolescents who don’t conform
to their friends’ standards may be
ridiculed, ostracized, or rejected.
Adolescents who do not share the val-
ues of their peers may face social rejec-
tion as they reveal an identity that is dif-
ferent from the majority of teens.
Adolescents who feel that they don’t
belong to a social group may feel helpless
and lonely. Minority groups such as gay
and lesbian adolescents are at especially
high risk for experiencing social isolation
and sadness. Gay and lesbian adolescents
may feel separate from their peers and
receive little or no social support from
friends or family when they reveal their
sexual orientation. Similarly, other
minority groups face prejudice from oth-
ers, experience discrimination, and are
exposed to negative stereotypes of their
group depicted in the media. Some teens
may even face life-threatening aggression
from others who see them as different.
The experience of not being accepted by
peers for who one is as a person can con-
tribute to sad, depressed feelings.
Everyone gets the blues now and then,
but generally these feelings pass. When
sad feelings don’t seem to go away, they
may be symptoms of clinical depression.
Depression can affect an adolescent’s
ability to concentrate in school, remem-
ber things, or make decisions. Often
depressive symptoms can keep an adoles-
cent feeling despair, helplessness, and
hopelessness about the future. Suicide
may seem like the only solution that will
solve one’s problems.
Rates of teen suicide have risen dra-
matically in the past decade, with 9.5 per
100,000 adolescents aged fifteen to nine-
teen committing suicide in 1999 (Centers
for Disease Control, 2000). The rate of
suicide is six times higher during adoles-
cence than childhood. Boys are four
612 School Dropouts
times more likely to commit suicide, but
adolescent girls are twice as likely to
attempt suicide. Many adolescents use
alcohol or drugs to ease sadness and to
forget about their problems. Unfortu-
nately, alcohol and drug use often leads
to more serious problems, such as motor
vehicle accidents, school failure, involve-
ment in crime, unwanted pregnancy, and
health problems. For thousands of teens,
early substance abuse can lead to alcohol
dependency, which serves to further
complicate and increase problems.
As common as occasional sadness may
be, individuals who work with teens
need to be aware that sadness can lead to
more serious problems.
Angela Howell
See also Coping; Counseling; Depression;
Emotional Abuse; Emotions; Fears;
Loneliness; Peer Victimization in
School; Personality; Youth Outlook
References and further reading
Arbetter, Sandra. 1995. “Am I Normal?
Those Teen Years.” Current Health 2,
no. 21: 6–7.
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. 2000. “Profile of the
Nation’s Health.” In CDC Factbook
2000/2001. Washington, DC:
Department of Health and Human
Services.
Frey, William H. 1985. Crying: The
Mystery of Tears. New York: Harper and
Row.
Garrison, Carol Z., et al. 1997. “Incidence
of Major Depressive Disorder and
Dysthymia in Young Adolescents.”
Journal of the Academy of Child and
Adolescent Psychiatry 36: 458–465.
Gullota, Thomas P., Gerald R. Adams, and
Carol A. Markstrom. 2000. The
Adolescent Experience, 4th ed. San
Diego: Academic Press.
Gullota, Thomas P., Gerald R. Adams, and
Richard Montemayor, eds. 1995.
Substance Misuse in Adolescence.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Kist, Jay. 1997. “Dealing with Depres-
sion.” Current Health 23, no. 5: 25–28.
Peterson, Anne C., Nancy Leffert, and
Barbara Graham. 1995. “Adolescent
Development and the Emergence of
Sexuality.” Suicide and Life-
Threatening Behaviors 25: 4–17.
Powers, Mick J. 1999. “Sadness and Its
Disorders.” Pp. 497–519 in Handbook of
Cognition and Emotion. Edited by Tim
Dalgleish and Mick J. Power.
Chichester, UK: Wiley.
Rierdan, Jill, and Elissa Koff. 1997.
“Weight, Weight-Related Aspects of
Body Image, and Depression in Early
Adolescent Girls.” Adolescence 32, no.
127: 615–625.
Rutter, Michael. 1991. “Age Changes in
Depressive Disorders: Some
Developmental Considerations.” Pp.
273–300 in The Development of
Emotion Regulation and Dysregulation.
Edited by Judy Garber and Kenneth
Dodge. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Smucker, Mervin R., Edward W.
Craighead, Linda Wilcoxen, and Barbara
J. Green. 1986. “Normative and
Reliability Data for the Children’s
Depression Inventory.” Journal of
Abnormal Child Psychology 14, no. 1:
25–39.
School Dropouts
A student who withdraws from school
before completing the graduation require-
ments as defined by the school is com-
monly identified as a school dropout. The
exact definition of a dropout varies widely
across states and school districts, and
even among schools within the same dis-
trict. For example, some schools may not
include students who drop out over the
summer, while others do include them in
the dropout total. On average, 6 percent of
students in the United States drop out of
school each year (U.S. Department of
Education, 2000). In October 1999, some
3.8 million sixteen- to twenty-four-year-
olds were not enrolled in a high school
program and had not completed high

school (U.S. Department of Education,
2001). Major factors that contribute to a
student’s dropping out of school are
poverty, location of residence and school,
the student’s behavior in school, and the
student’s academic performance. School
dropouts are more likely to develop men-
tal and physical problems and to require
social services during their lifetimes.
Thus, dropping out of school is a compli-
cated social problem, which has multiple
causes and a number of negative conse-
quences for the individual and for society
in general.
The U.S. Student Dropout Rate
There are three different methods of cal-
culating the dropout rate. The event
dropout rate indicates the proportion of
students who drop out in a single year
without completing school. In October
1997, 5 percent of students who were in
high school the previous October
dropped out of high school sometime
during the year (U.S. Department of Edu-
cation, 2000). The status dropout rate
indicates the proportion of all individuals
in the population who have not com-
pleted their respective school and were
not enrolled at a given point in time. In
1993, the national status dropout rate for
sixteen- to twenty-four-year-olds was 11
percent. The status dropout rate is much
higher than the event dropout rate, since
it reflects the number of students in a
given age range who have dropped out of
school over a number of years, rather
than the rate for a single year. The third
dropout calculation method is the cohort
dropout rate, which reflects the percent-
age of dropouts in a single age group or
specific grade level over a given period of
time. The cohort rate for sophomores in
1990 and 1992 was 5.6 percent (U.S.
Department of Education, 2001).
School Dropouts 613
Nationwide, all dropout rates have
declined during the last few decades. The
event dropout rate for ages fifteen
through twenty-four in grades 10 through
12 has fallen from 6.1 percent in 1972 to
4.5 percent in 1993. Similarly, the status
dropout rate for sixteen- to twenty-four-
year-olds declined from 14.6 percent in
1972 to 11 percent in 1992 and 1993. The
cohort dropout rate for students who
were sophomores in 1980 and dropped
out between grades 10 and 12 was 11.4
percent, while the cohort rate for a com-
parable group of 1990 sophomores was
6.2 percent. All the indicators of the
dropout rate declined over the last two
decades, but they still mean that a large
segment of the population is not com-
pleting high school. For example, in
October 1997, some 3.6 million teenagers
were not enrolled in a high school pro-
gram and had not completed high school
(U.S. Department of Education, 2001).
Gender and Racial Differences
in Dropout Rates
Although the dropout rates are about the
same for males and females, the rates are
not the same for students from different
ethnic groups or different income levels.
In general, rates are higher for minority
students and students from disadvan-
taged backgrounds. For example, Latino
teenagers in the United States have
higher status dropout rates than either
whites or blacks. In 1997, 25.3 percent of
Latino young adults were status drop-
outs, compared to 13.4 percent of blacks
and 7.6 percent of whites. Hispanic stu-
dents were also more likely than white
and black students to leave school before
completing a high school program: in
1997, 9.5 percent of Hispanics were event
dropouts, compared with 3.6 percent of
white and 5 percent of black students.
614 School Dropouts
Event dropout rates were not signifi-
cantly different between white and black
students, but rates for American Indians
and Alaska Natives are quite high, while
those for Asian American students are
quite low (U.S. Department of Education,
2001).
Family Characteristics That
Contribute to School Dropout
Parents play a critical role in keeping
teenagers in school. Family characteris-
tics that influence dropping out of school
include such factors as a stressful home
environment, low socioeconomic status,
minority membership, siblings who did
not graduate from high school, single-par-
ent households, poor education of par-
ents, and primary language other than
English. In 1997, teenagers living in fami-
lies with incomes in the lowest 20 per-
cent of all family incomes were nearly
seven times as likely as their peers from
families in the top 20 percent of the
income distribution to drop out of high
school (U.S. Department of Education,
2001). Students whose parents did not
complete high school had a substantially
higher dropout rate than did those whose
parents had graduated. Similarly, students
whose parents or siblings were dropouts
are themselves more likely to drop out
than their peers who come from families
without any dropouts. In addition, those
who marry and have children before grad-
uating from high school are more likely
to drop out of school than their peers who
stay single and have no children while at
school. Finally, the national data indicate
that the dropout rate is greater in cities
than in other suburban and rural loca-
tions, and is highest in the West and
South of the United States.
Although risk factors associated with
socioeconomic status, family structure,
and ethnicity are correlated with drop-
ping out, this does not mean that these
factors create school dropouts. Risk fac-
tors have an impact on whether a student
drops out of school, but most dropouts
come from backgrounds that are not usu-
ally thought of in connection with risk of
school failure. Similarly, the majority of
students with any particular risk factor
do not drop out. In other words, each
individual student creates her school
experience in a unique way, and students
may drop out or stay in school for differ-
ent reasons. Thus, most dropouts cannot
simply be predicted from their family
background. For example, an analysis of
the dropouts from the 1980 sophomore
class yielded rather surprising results:
Sixty-six percent were white, 86 percent
spoke English at home, 68 percent came
from two-parent families, and 71 percent
had never repeated a grade (U.S. Depart-
ment of Education, 1989).
Individual Characteristics That
Contribute to School Dropouts
School dropouts are more likely to fall
into the general pattern of academic
underachievement and social and emo-
tional problems. They generally perform
below their grade level and have problems
in school, both with their peers and with
the school personnel. Many researchers
have found that students with poor grades,
who have repeated a grade, who are below
average for their grade, or who are fre-
quently absent are more likely to become
dropouts than other students. More specif-
ically, truancy, tardiness, suspension, and
other disciplinary infractions along with a
poor attendance record during the first few
months of tenth grade are important indi-
cators of a possible dropout.
Researchers studying why students
leave their school before graduating

found a number of personality character-
istics that are common among dropouts.
First, many school dropouts indicate that
they are not interested in school and do
not believe that the school personnel are
there for them when they need them.
Dropouts point out that they did not feel
as though they belonged to their school
and say they were not identified with any
part of the school environment. They
also expressed that they did not share
their decision to drop out with any of the
school personnel because they did not
believe that anybody in school would
have helped them. In some cases, even
though students wanted to contact some-
body in school, they did not know whom
to contact. It was also found that school
dropouts are more likely to be transfer
students who have experienced more
than one school system. Finally, many
school dropouts described problems in
their family such as divorce, death, sepa-
ration, and child abuse.
Consequences of Dropping
Out of School
After leaving school, dropouts show even
higher rates of high-risk behaviors, such
as premature sexual activity, early preg-
nancy, delinquency, crime, violence, alco-
hol and drug abuse, and suicide. They also
experience more isolation from their fam-
ilies and friends. School dropouts have
more difficulty getting jobs than do grad-
uates. For example, the unemployment
rate for high school dropouts was about
25 percent by the early 1990s, while
unemployment for high school graduates
stayed around l4 percent. High school
dropouts are three times more likely to
slip into poverty than their peers who
have finished high school (Brown, 1998).
The issue of school dropouts must be
considered as a social and economical
School Dropouts 615
problem in addition to a personal problem.
In addition to individual efforts, dropout
prevention requires the efforts of fellow
students, parents, teachers, administra-
tors, community-based organizations, and
business, as well as governmental agen-
cies. This is particularly critical to
respond to multiple contextual and per-
sonal contributors of school dropout as
well as the diverse individual needs of stu-
dents at risk for school dropout.
Selcuk Sirin
See also Academic Achievement; Decision
Making; Family-School Involvement;
High School Equivalency Degree; School
Engagement; School, Functions of
References and further reading
Brown, Duane. 1998. Dropping Out or
Hanging In: What You Should Know
before Dropping Out of School. NTC
Publishing Group.
Dorn, Sherman. 1996. Creating the
Dropout: An Institutional and Social
History of School Failure. Westport, CT:
Praeger.
Dryfoos, Joy G. 1999. Safe Passage:
Making It through Adolescence in a
Risky Society. New York: Oxford
University Press.
Fine, Michelle. 1991. Framing Dropouts:
Notes on the Politics of an Urban High
School. Albany: State University of
New York Press.
U.S. Department of Education, National
Center for Education Statistics. 1989.
“Dropout Rates in the United States:
1988.” ED 313–947. Washington, DC:
U.S. Department of Education.
———. 2000. “Dropout Rates in the
United States: 1998.” NCES 2000–022.
Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Education.
———. http://nces.ed.gov/ The dropout
rates reported in this entry were the
most recent data available as of January
2000. One can get the latest dropout
rates as well as other related statistics
from this home page.
———. 2001. “Dropout Rates in the
United States: 1999.” NCES 2001–022.
616 School Engagement
Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Education.
West, Linda L., ed. 1991. Effective
Strategies for Dropout Prevention of At-
Risk Youth. Gaithersburg, MA: Aspen.
School Engagement
Any discussion of school engagement
involves two ideas. The first is the idea
that certain behaviors indicate whether a
student is engaged in school. These
behaviors include attending school, com-
ing to school prepared, completing school
assignments, and participating in class.
Other behaviors associated with school
engagement are initiating dialogues in the
classroom, seeking help when needed,
and participating in activities such as
sports and clubs.
The other idea behind school engage-
ment is school identification. The degree
of school identification depends on
whether students feel as though they
belong in school and whether they value
what school has to offer in the way of an
education. Although both school engage-
ment behaviors and school identification
are important in determining whether a
student stays in school and achieves, in
some instances it is the school behavior
that is most important, and in other cases
it is the school identification that is key.
Many students become engaged in
school early on. Due to the positive expe-
riences they have in school and the sup-
port they receive from parents and
friends, they come to view school as a
valuable place to be, a place that can offer
them opportunities in the future if they
do well in school. Research indicates that
students who are engaged in school are
more likely to be academically successful
than their peers who are not engaged in
school. It also indicates that self-esteem
(whether one views who one is in a posi-
tive or negative manner) and future edu-
cation expectations (how optimistic and
realistic one is about one’s future) influ-
ence school engagement as well as aca-
demic performance.
Although many students are engaged in
school early on, as some students progress
through school, they begin to disengage
from school. For example, as students
make the transition between elementary
school and middle school, and between
middle school and high school, many of
them experience frustration and a drop in
their self-esteem, which causes them to
disengage from school. One reason for
this change is that each time students
make a transition, they have to become
familiar with a new environment. Some-
times those environments are not
designed to be developmentally appropri-
ate for students. Let’s take the example of
middle school. Students in middle school
are generally between the ages of eleven
and thirteen. Students at this age tend to
worry about friendships and romantic
relationships with peers, relationships
with adults, and gender expectations (e.g.,
Is it okay for a girl to play sports? Is it
okay for a boy to be in a cooking class?),
and they are concerned about becoming
competent in the areas that are important
to them (e.g., sports, academic subjects,
music, etc.). Unfortunately, many middle
schools are not designed to support stu-
dents in these areas. Students are often
moved from class to class with multiple
teachers throughout the day. As a result,
teachers don’t have enough time to pro-
vide students with the one-on-one atten-
tion they may desire.
For a variety of reasons, including a
lack of money and choosing other priori-
ties, many schools no longer offer activi-
 School Engagement 617

Students who are engaged in school are likely to be more academically successful than youth
who are not engaged in school. (Shirley Zeiberg)

ties such as art, music, and sports. Stu-
dents then have fewer opportunities to
express themselves and to learn about
who they are and what they want to
become. As for gender expectations,
because students and adults have less and
less time to meet and talk, many students
struggle with relationships with members
of the opposite sex. Girls are often pres-
sured to dress a certain way and behave in
ways that get the attention of boys. Boys
can be pressured to hide their feelings and
emotions and instead to act brave or
strong all the time. Feeling a desire to be
liked, yet at the same time struggling to
create an identity for themselves, stu-
dents can often find themselves feeling
alone and alienated from their peers.
Although transitions can be challenging
for many students, for others school can
become a place where they feel alienated
and alone for another reason. Students of
color (including African American, Asian
American, Latino/a, and Native Ameri-
can students) often feel that school is not
a place where they are welcomed. They
may be treated poorly by European Amer-
ican students who do not understand or
respect their language or cultural prac-
tices. In addition, in many schools,
618 School, Functions of
teachers do not teach about a variety of
cultural groups and practices, instead
choosing to focus on the history and
accomplishments of European Ameri-
cans. This, too, can make students of
color feel that they do not belong and that
school does not have anything of value to
offer them and their futures. As a result
they may disengage from school and have
low academic performance.
There are many programs in schools
that are designed to help students stay
engaged. Many schools offer school tutor-
ing and mentoring programs. In these
programs students can receive help with
academic work, as well as connect with
an adult and build a trusting relationship
that might provide them support when
things get difficult. Community agencies
also offer programs after school and on
the weekends to build student self-
esteem and confidence. Many of these
programs also help students think about
their futures and begin making plans.
With that kind of help, often students
begin to see school as valuable again (or
for the first time), become engaged, and
start to do better in school.
Lisa R. Jackson
See also Academic Achievement; Acade-
mic Self-Evaluation; Cognitive Devel-
opment; College; Family-School
Involvement; Learning Styles and
Accommodations; Motivation, Intrin-
sic; School Dropouts; School, Functions
of; Teachers
References and further reading
Davidson, Ann Locke. 1996. Making and
Molding Identity in Schools: Student
Narratives on Race, Gender, and
Academic Engagement. New York:
State University of New York Press.
Fine, Michelle. 1986. “Why Urban
Adolescents Drop Into and Out of
Public High School.” Teachers College
Record 87: 393–409.
Finn, Jeremy. 1993. School Engagement
and Students at Risk. Washington, DC:
U.S. Department of Education,
National Center for Education
Statistics.
Israelashvili, Moshe. 1997. “School
Adjustment, School Membership and
Adolescents’ Future Expectations.”
Journal of Adolescence 20: 525–535.
Mickelson, Roslyn Arlin. 1990. “The
Attitude-Achievement Paradox among
Black Adolescents.” Sociology of
Education 63: 44–61.
Skinner, Ellen, James Welborn, and James
Connell. 1990. “What It Takes to Do
Well in School and Whether I’ve Got It:
A Process Model of Perceived Self-
Control and Children’s Engagement and
Achievement in School.” Journal of
Educational Psychology 82, no. 1: 22–32.
School, Functions of
Schools perform many functions.
Schools have been viewed as training
institutions, as agents of cultural trans-
mission designed to perpetuate and
improve a given way of life, and as a
means to inculcate both knowledge and
values. In addition, schools have been
regarded traditionally as fulfilling a
maintenance-actualization role, that is,
as representing a way in which the ado-
lescent can be happy and yet challenged.
In other words, schools are a place to
develop optimal personal and interper-
sonal attributes, and in that way the abil-
ity to contribute to society.
Schools also provide a context for social
interactions and relationship develop-
ment. They can facilitate the adolescent’s
emancipation from parents through giv-
ing youth an opportunity to earn their
own social status. Students may earn sta-
tus concurrently with school attendance

Schools can be viewed as training institutions, as agents of cultural transmission, and as a
means to gain knowledge and values. (Skjold Photographs)
by demonstrating a mastery of the cur-
riculum, by attaining high class standing,
and by nonacademic interactions with
the peer group in school activities such as
organized athletics or clubs. Students
may also prepare to earn social status in
the future through the training and edu-
cation attained in school. In addition, the
school serves a custodial role in society,
in that a system of compulsory education,
such as that found in the United States,
highly structures the time and activity of
students.
However, the structure provided by
schools is not necessarily beneficial for
all youth. For example, Native American
youth do not perform as well in academ-
ics as do their European American peers.
A study comparing Native American and
School, Functions of 619
European American youth found that the
Native Americans tended to perceive
that the structure of the school created
barriers to their success; this perception
was associated with lessened school per-
formance.
Teachers are obviously a critical part of
the school context, and their behaviors,
attitudes, and expectations—apart from
their skills as instructors per se—can
influence youth behavior and develop-
ment. For instance, in a longitudinal
study of sixth- to eighth-grade students,
Kathryn Wentzel found that perceptions
by the adolescents that their teachers
cared about them were associated with
enhanced motivation to achieve positive
social as well as academic outcomes.
Teachers who cared were described as
620 School, Functions of
having attributes akin to those associated
with authoritative parents. That is, they
showed democratic interaction styles,
developed expectations for their students
that were based on the individual charac-
teristics of the adolescents, and provided
constructive feedback.
Schools exist in relation to the other
key contexts of adolescent develop-
ment—the family, peers, and the com-
munity. All of these contexts strengthen
or detract from the ability of schools to
function as society intends.
Support from the family context can
enhance school performance. For instance,
for African American, European Ameri-
can, and Latino students, such social sup-
port is associated with students’ grades,
scores on a standardized achievement test,
and teacher ratings. In addition, students’
self-esteem is enhanced by the support
they receive. Similarly, middle school girls
who have the ability and motivation to do
well in mathematics show positive atti-
tudes toward the subject when their moth-
ers are also positive about it.
In turn, among the offspring of African
American teenage mothers, family sup-
port is among the key factors reducing
the likelihood of dropping out of high
school. The decrease in the chances of
discontinuing school is related to high
maternal educational aspirations for the
child in early life, number of years the
father was present, being prepared for
school, and not repeating an elementary
school grade.
The culture transmitted through social-
ization by the family, as well as by peers,
influences school performance. Positive
family climate and peer group norms sup-
porting positive behaviors for youth have
been found to be associated with school
achievement. Social support from parents
has also been found to be related to youth
feeling open to, excited by, and involved
in school-related activities; furthermore,
a family climate that challenged the
young person to succeed was related to an
adolescent focusing on important goals.
Youth who lived in families where both
support and challenge were present had
the best school experiences.
Other research has found that mathe-
matics scores of Asian American students
are higher than those of European Ameri-
can students, but lower than those of Chi-
nese and Japanese students. Factors asso-
ciated with the achievement of Asian and
Asian American students include having
parents and peers who hold high stan-
dards, believe that one succeeds through
effort, have positive attitudes about
achievement, study diligently, and are
less apt to distract youth from studying.
Moreover, the psychological adjustment
of Asian American and European Ameri-
can students is not different, suggesting
that the higher performances and family
and peer influences on the former group
do not interfere with positive psychologi-
cal functioning.
Parents and peers can have negative as
well as positive effects on school perfor-
mance. Low parental academic achieve-
ment and ineffective child-rearing prac-
tices are linked to antisocial behavior and
to decreases in engagement with course
work among adolescent boys. In turn,
African American students’ awareness of
the discrimination toward people of their
race that exists in America was found by
Ronald Taylor and his colleagues to be
associated with their perceptions that aca-
demic achievement was not important.
However, when ethnic identity was high,
students showed both school engagement
and school achievement.
Taylor’s study also found that in addi-
tion to family and peer influences, the

neighborhood or community context of
the school has an influence on the aca-
demic performance of youth. For instance,
African American youth attending neigh-
borhood schools report feeling “stuck” in
a setting where they perceive that they
have little access to community culture
and to the wider society. On the other
hand, when African American youth from
the same neighborhood attend a citywide
school, they perceive that they possess
such access.
In addition, African American males
are more likely to graduate from high
school if they live in neighborhoods hav-
ing a high percentage of residents work-
ing in white-collar occupations, or in
middle-class neighborhoods more gener-
ally. However, the same does not hold
true for females. Other research also has
found that African American males from
higher-income neighborhoods are more
likely to stay in school.
Similarly, other research supports the
link between the type of occupations
present in a community and a high school
dropout rate. A higher percentage of serv-
ice occupations in a community was
associated with increased dropout rates;
in turn, a higher percentage of manage-
rial/professional occupations was associ-
ated both with a lowered dropout rate and
a greater likelihood that high school grad-
uates would continue their education.
In sum, differences in the families and
peer groups of youth are related to differ-
ential outcomes of school experiences. In
addition, individual differences (diver-
sity) among adolescents in their psycho-
logical and behavioral characteristics
may moderate the potential influences of
the school on youth development.
Richard M. Lerner
Jacqueline V. Lerner
School, Functions of 621
See also Academic Achievement; Career
Development; Cognitive Development;
College; Gifted and Talented Youth;
Higher Education; Learning Disabili-
ties; School Engagement; Schools, Full-
Service; Vocational Development
References and further reading
Chen, Chaunsheng, and Harold W.
Stevenson. 1995. “Motivation and
Mathematics Achievement: A
Comparative Study of Asian American,
Caucasian American, and East Asian
High School Students.” Child
Development 66: 1215–1234.
Dryfoos, Joy G. 1994. “Full Service
Schools: A Revolution in Health and
Social Services for Children, Youth, and
Families.” San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
———. 1995. “Full Service Schools:
Revolution or Fad?” Journal of Research
on Adolescence 5, no. 2: 147–172.
Ensminger, Margaret E., Rebecca P.
Lamkin, and Nora Jacobson. 1996.
“School Leaving: A Longitudinal
Perspective Including Neighborhood
Effects.” Child Development 67:
2400–2416.
Lerner, Richard M. 1994. “Schools and
Adolescents.” Visions 2010: Families
and Adolescents 2, no. 1: 14–15, 42–43.
Minneapolis: National Council on
Family Relations.
———. In press. “Adolescence:
Development, Diversity, Context, and
Application.” Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice-Hall.
Rathunde, Kevin. 1996. “Family Context
and Talented Adolescents’ Optimal
Experience in School-Related
Activities.” Journal of Research on
Adolescence 6, no. 4: 605–628.
Taylor, Ronald D., Robin Casten, Susanne
M. Flickinger, Debra Roberts, and Cecil
D. Fulmore. 1994. “Explaining the
School Performance of African-
American Adolescents.” Journal of
Research on Adolescence 4: 21–44.
Wentzel, Kathryn R. 1997. “Student
Motivation in Middle School: The Role
of Perceived Pedagogical Caring.”
Journal of Educational Psychology 89,
no. 3: 411–419.
Wood, Peter B., and W. Charles Clay. 1996.
“Perceived Structural Barriers and
Academic Performance among
American Indian High School
Students.” Youth and Society 28, no. 1:
40–61.
622 School Transitions
School Transitions
A transition refers to a passage from one
state, stage, or place to another. The term
school transition refers to a change in
school settings in particular. Normative
school transitions are changes that most
students in a community experience at
particular points in time. For example,
adolescents may experience as many as
three school transitions: (1) from elemen-
tary to middle or junior high school, (2)
from junior high school to senior high
school, and (3) from senior high school to
college, military service, or work. The
change from elementary school to mid-
dle or junior high school has received the
most attention from educators, psycholo-
gists, and policymakers. The change from
high school to whichever path a student
chooses to pursue (e.g., college, military
service, or work) is also an important
one, but for different reasons. The transi-
tion to high school, on the other hand,
has received far less attention. Students
generally enter high school from a
kindergarten through eighth grade (K–8)
school or from a middle or junior high
school. There is some evidence to sug-
gest that students who enter high school
from a middle or junior high school
appear to have more difficulty making
the transition in comparison to those
who come from a K–8 school.
The terms elementary school, middle
school, and junior high school are used
very freely, but the schools themselves
may look quite different from place to
place. The term elementary school may
refer to a school that consists of kinder-
garten through fifth-grade classes, kinder-
garten through sixth-grade classes, or
kindergarten through eighth-grade classes.
The terms middle school and junior high
school are often used interchangeably;
they can refer to schools that offer fifth
through eighth grade, sixth through
eighth, or seventh and eighth grade only.
The term middle school will be used here,
but encompasses any one of these three
types of school settings.
The change from elementary school to
middle school can be difficult for many
students who are also trying to manage
several other changes (physical/biological,
social, emotional, cognitive) associated
with puberty and early adolescence. For
example, the typical eleven- or twelve-
year-old begins to experience any combi-
nation of the following: bodily changes,
increased self-awareness and self-con-
sciousness, increased importance of peer
relationships, attraction to the opposite
sex, dating-type behavior, more critical
and complex thinking skills, and an
increased need for a trusting and support-
ive adult figure. Handling several changes
at once requires a great deal of energy and
effort, and for some adolescents this expe-
rience can be overwhelming.
Psychologists have done research that
indicates that during the transition to
middle school many students experience
declines in motivation, in positive atti-
tudes toward school, and in self-assur-
ance or confidence in their abilities.
Declines in these areas, in turn, tend to
result in a drop in grades. Although some
students recover after the first year fol-
lowing a transition, many others have
trouble bouncing back. Evidence from
the research of both psychologists and
educators suggests that the typical mid-
dle school environment does not fit with
the needs and capabilities of most young
adolescents. Early adolescent develop-
ment is characterized by increases in
desire for autonomy, peer orientation,
self-focus, self-consciousness, impor-
tance of identity issues, concern over
heterosexual relationships, capacity for

abstract cognitive activity, and desire for
opportunities to demonstrate higher-
order thinking skills and problem-solving
skills. The clash between the characteris-
tics of the middle school setting and the
characteristics of the early adolescent
constitute what is referred to as a devel-
opmental mismatch.
School size, departmentalization, and
instructional style have been identified
as three problematic characteristics of
middle schools. Very often students go
from smaller, neighborhood elementary
schools to larger middle schools drawing
students from several different elemen-
tary schools. At a time when adolescents
are becoming capable of and require
greater intimacy and closeness with
peers and adult role models, the sudden
change from a smaller, neighborhood
school to a larger middle school can fos-
ter alienation, isolation, anonymity, and
difficulties in communication and inti-
macy. Some schools have emphasized
the role of homerooms and/or an advi-
sory system in order to offset the isolat-
ing effects of a large school, as well as to
foster the development of relationships
with peers and teachers.
Departmentalization poses a second
problem. Whereas students in elemen-
tary school tend to spend the better part
of their day with the same teacher and
the same group of students, departmen-
talization forces students to change from
classroom to classroom, and from teacher
to teacher, thereby imposing a series of
disruptions throughout the day and pro-
viding fewer opportunities for students to
develop closer relationships with others.
When students are able to move more as
groups, rather than as individuals, this
interference with the young adolescent’s
growing ability and need for closer com-
munication and contact can be lessened.
School Transitions 623
The instructional style of the typical
middle school causes problems by con-
flicting with three characteristics of the
developing adolescent: increased need for
autonomy, higher cognitive ability, and
more self-consciousness.
Researchers have discovered that most
middle school teachers, instead of allow-
ing more autonomy, tend to exert more
control over student behavior, maintain
stricter rules and discipline, and allow
less student input in decision making
than do most elementary school teachers.
This approach often prevents the develop-
ment of positive student-teacher relation-
ships, which also prevents the develop-
ment of relationships with much-needed
supportive adult role models. Student
reactions to seemingly unfair and puni-
tive control over the environment can
range from acting-out to losing interest
altogether. Wherever possible it is impor-
tant that the structure and process of gen-
eral classroom and school management
respond to and foster adolescents’ grow-
ing capacity for autonomy, responsibility,
and critical thinking.
As for cognitive ability, adolescents
generally become more capable of logical
and abstract thinking; they can formulate
and test hypotheses or ideas mentally, use
more effective strategies for studying and
remembering class material, and plan,
monitor, and evaluate the steps they take
in solving a problem. Upon entrance to
middle school many students encounter
increased work demands and stricter
grading policies, but not necessarily a
demand for higher-order thinking and
problem-solving skills. Rather, they tend
to find less cognitively challenging work
than they experienced in the last year or
so of elementary school.
Lastly, middle school classes tend to
involve occasions of public comparison
624 School Transitions
regarding achievement, where achieve-
ment is based on a competitive, rather
than a collaborative, model of task com-
pletion and academic success. Researchers
have shown that such experiences for the
early adolescent can result in still sharper
increases in self-consciousness as well as a
decrease in motivation in all but the high-
est-performing students.
While the transition from elementary
school to middle school is characterized
by the degree to which schools match, or
fail to match, developing adolescents’
needs and capabilities, the transition
from high school to a self-chosen path, on
the other hand, is the first change that
concretely represents movement toward
adulthood and taking responsibility for
oneself. Adolescents generally pursue one
of four paths: a four-year college, military
service, a community college, or full-
time employment. Although different
paths may involve different questions or
concerns pertaining to the future, there
are certain experiences common to all
groups to varying degrees: termination of
relationships with friends, a general sense
of loss, confusion and anxiety (despite the
openly expressed attitude of “I can’t wait
to get out”), and concern over the possi-
bility that peers who provided a source of
support all along may no longer be able to
do so due to differing pursuits.
For students going on to a four-year col-
lege or university, the pertinent issues
include the following: learning to take
care of oneself; dealing with “loss” of fam-
ily, friends, boyfriends, girlfriends, and the
like; fears regarding academic pressure
and success; financial worries; making
new friends; and the general process of
separation, or what is called individua-
tion. One can support these students in
many ways, for example, by encouraging
them to talk about their hopes, anxieties,
and sadness; by recognizing the impor-
tance of saying good-bye to friends, some
of whom they may have known nearly all
of their lives; by exploring with them the
different ways of saying good-bye; by clar-
ifying that the sadness and difficulty asso-
ciated with leaving is not to be equated
with childishness; and by discussing the
impact of extracurricular activities, a
social life, and possible part-time employ-
ment on academic demands and success
during college.
Students who choose military service
encounter many of the same issues
encountered by students pursuing a four-
year college; however, the nature and
purpose of military service introduces
additional concerns and questions. Mili-
tary service carries very real possibilities
of war, heroism, and death, for oneself
and others. Students may need to explore
how their personal ideals and values
intersect with the requirements of mili-
tary service. For females, there is the
additional reality of entering into a male-
dominated field and how to manage pos-
sible experiences of feeling unwelcome.
The need for saying good-bye and for
talking about fears, hopes, and anxieties
can be more difficult for this group of stu-
dents, depending upon their perception of
the life-risking purposes and potentials
accompanying military service.
Students who attend community col-
leges tend to fall into one of two groups:
those who intend to transfer to a four-
year college and those who are seeking
solely an Associate degree. Although
some students attend community col-
leges for financial reasons, the greater
proportion of students attend community
colleges because their high school grades
together with their SAT scores have pre-
vented acceptance to a four-year college.
For these students, the emphasis is less

on saying good-bye and more on dealing
with possible feelings of being left
behind. Students may feel some tension
or ambiguity around living at home while
also trying to gain the adult indepen-
dence that many of their peers will gain
by virtue of distance from their parents.
A counselor can play a key role in helping
students to articulate their struggles, rec-
ognize the importance of academic per-
formance if the goal is to transfer to a
four-year college, and consider the impact
of commuting, a social life, and a possible
part-time job on academic success.
Students making the transition from
high school to full-time employment
potentially struggle at two levels: They
may not receive the same kind of struc-
tured support as college- and military-
bound students, whose pursuits more
strongly depend on and are mediated by
ongoing contact with school staff and
counselors, and they tend to be in the
minority relative to their college and mil-
itary-bound peers and thus may find it
especially difficult identifying peers they
feel understand and support them in
their experiences of transition. For this
group the choice or need to pursue full-
time employment entails more than the
personal loss of high school friendships
and familiar support systems. Work-
bound students lose a way of life that per-
mits continued exploration of educa-
tional and career possibilities, social
contact with and support from peers, and
the attainment of skills and experiences
that bring further career and economic
advancement.
Although high school graduates are
more likely to find employment than
those who drop out of school, they have
fewer work opportunities than were
available to this population several
decades ago. When they are able to find
School Transitions 625
work, jobs attained by high school gradu-
ates tend to be low-paying, unskilled
positions with little or no possibility for
long-term training or vocational counsel-
ing. These students may also struggle
with the tension between assuming adult
roles and responsibilities yet remaining
financially dependent. In the United
States, more adolescents are employed
during high school than in any other
developed country; most work in order to
earn personal spending money. However,
work-bound high school graduates, par-
ticularly low-income students, very often
work to meet living expenses as well,
whether family-related or personal. That
is, the financial demands of food, rent,
bills, transportation, and so on can be
quite overwhelming and stressful.
Regardless of the nature and direction
of change involved in the transitions high
school seniors make, it is critical that
school staff and/or counselors provide
students with information regarding all
possible career and educational avenues;
help students to process the impending
transition, particularly with regard to ter-
mination and separation; wherever possi-
ble invite past graduates to come talk to
students about various issues, questions,
concerns, and hopes; and create opportu-
nities for peer and adult support.
Imma De Stefanis
See also Academic Achievement; Acade-
mic Self-Evaluation; College; Family-
School Involvement; Higher Education;
Homework; Learning Styles and Accom-
modations; Middle Schools; Peer Groups;
Private Schools; School Engagement;
School, Functions of; Schools, Full-
Service; Schools, Single-Sex; Teachers;
Tracking in American High Schools
References and further reading
Eccles, Jacquelynne, Carol Midgley, Allan
Wigfield, and Christy M. Buchanan.
626 Schools, Full-Service

1993. “Development during School and Middle School.” Journal of

Adolescence: The Impact of Stage Early Adolescence 14, no. 2: 107–138.
Environment Fit on Young Adolescents’
Experiences in Schools and in
Families.” American Psychologist 48,
no. 2: 90–101.
Goodnough, Gary E., and Vivian Ripley.
1997. “Structured Groups for High
Schools, Full-Service
School Seniors Making the Transition to Among contemporary youth, risk behav-
College and to Military Service.” The iors—such as drug use, unsafe sex, delin-
School Counselor 44: 230–234. quency, and school failure—occur
McCormick, John F. 1995. “‘But, Nobody
Told Me about . . . ’: A Program for together. A key tactic has been taken to
Enhancing Decision Making by College- prevent the occurrence of these interre-
Bound Students.” The School Counselor lated risks: the creation of “full-service”
42: 246–248.
Wigfield, Carol, and Jacquelynne Eccles. schools. Most youth experts agree that
1994. “Children’s Competence Beliefs, schools by themselves are unable to deal
Achievement Values, and General Self- adequately with the multiple problems
Esteem: Change across Elementary
facing many of their adolescent students.

Full-service schools are involved in community-wide, multiagency, collaborative efforts that

work to prevent adolescent risk. (Shirley Zeiberg)

The problem is that schools are not part
of community-wide, multiagency, collab-
orative (partnership) efforts that work to
prevent and ameliorate adolescent risk.
The leading spokesperson for the cre-
ation of full-service schools that are
involved with the community in this
manner is Joy G. Dryfoos.
The call for the creation of full-service
schools constitutes an appeal to reorgan-
ize and reform the structure and function
of these schools. Research, although still
in its initial stages, suggests that such
revisions have positive influences on
youth. For instance, when middle schools
undertook reforms that included building
school-community partnerships; enabling
teachers of different subject areas (e.g.,
math, science, social studies, and lan-
guage arts) to work together on interdisci-
plinary teams; and bringing community
volunteers into the school to help the stu-
dents discuss connections between social
studies and art, students’ awareness of art
increased, they developed attitudes and
preferences of particular styles of art, and
their movement from concrete to abstract
thinking was enhanced. Thus, changing a
school’s organization, in the direction of
the reforms described by Dryfoos, can be
beneficial to youth.
Richard M. Lerner
See also Academic Achievement; Cogni-
tive Development; Health Promotion;
Learning Disabilities; Learning Styles
and Accommodations; Mentoring and
Youth Development; School, Functions
of; Teachers
References and further reading
Dryfoos, Joy G. 1994. Full-Service Schools:
A Revolution in Health and Social
Services for Children, Youth, and
Families. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
———. 1995. “Full-Service Schools:
Revolution or Fad?” Journal of Research
on Adolescence 5, no. 2: 147–172.
Schools, Single-Sex 627
Epstein, Joyce L., and Susan L. Dauber.
1995. “Effects on Students of an
Interdisciplinary Program Linking Social
Studies, Arts, and Family Volunteers in
the Middle Grades.” Journal of Early
Adolescence 15, no. 1: 114–144.
Lerner, Richard M. In press. Adolescence:
Development, Diversity, Context, and
Application. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice-Hall.
Schools, Single-Sex
Most experts on adolescent development
agree that the junior and senior high
school years provide teenagers with many
challenges and opportunities in prepara-
tion for future life in wider society, or in
the “real world.” The debate over single-
sex (SS) schools versus coeducational (CE)
schools is a long-standing one with some
new wrinkles, but little resolution.
Increasing interest in SS schools in the
public sector stems largely from the posi-
tive effects it is said to have on the educa-
tion and socialization of young people,
particulary females, as documented by
nearly thirty years of research. Although
SS schools have traditionally been private
(i.e., tuition-based) schools, most of which
have been religiously affiliated (usually
Roman Catholic or Orthodox Jewish), it is
this movement into the public sector that
raises the question again: What are the
benefits of single-sex education?
Public education in the United States
remained all-male until about the mid–
nineteenth century when early women’s
rights advocates fought their traditional
training in household management, argu-
ing that to be thoroughly taught meant
being taught with men in the same
classes. By 1900, all but 2 percent of the
nation’s public schools were coeduca-
tional, and gender equity had seemingly
been achieved. Today, advocates of SS edu-
cation argue that CE settings do not assure
628 Schools, Single-Sex
gender equity, and may even perpetuate
gender-based stereotypical attitudes and
behaviors. Equity in an educational con-
text generally refers to the concepts of
equal treatment and equal opportunity for
all students, regardless of sex.
Supporters of SS education believe that
even though males and females may
occupy the same classroom space, they
do not mature at the same rate physi-
cally, cognitively, socially, or emotion-
ally, and so their educational needs and
experiences differ as well. Although
research studies have supported the gen-
eral benefits of a SS education for both
males and females, the overwhelming
majority of studies have focused on the
advantages for females in particular.
The central argument in support of SS
schools in general is based on a belief in
male-female differences in the rate and
style of development in several areas. An
SS environment can be more sensitive to
varying emotional, cognitive, and social
needs. Very often CE schools are por-
trayed as dominated by a culture of “rat-
ing” and social maneuvering to which SS
schools are immune. The main tension
between advocates of CE schools and SS
schools revolves around this issue: CE
advocates believe that the CE environ-
ment mirrors a gender-stratified society,
while advocates of SS education maintain
that social and sexual pressures can
detract from social, emotional, and aca-
demic development. Research has shown
that males and females who attend SS
schools tend to have higher academic
achievement and educational aspirations,
as well as fewer stereotypical attitudes
about gender and course subject or career
(Lee and Bryk, 1986; Riordan, 1990).
Regarding the benefits of SS education
for boys, the research is sparse. Advocates
of SS schools believe there are several
social and emotional benefits to the devel-
oping male adolescent: Since males
mature at a slower rate than girls, all-male
schools can better accommodate their
social/emotional needs and development;
SS schools yield improved behavior and a
healthy sense of structure and discipline
among male adolescents, who otherwise
tend toward restlessness and unruliness;
and the greater number of male faculty
provides more role models than is possi-
ble in CE schools, where the majority of
teachers tend to be female. This last argu-
ment has been pivotal in the recent initia-
tives to open public SS schools in low-
income areas serving minority males, for
whom a positive role model may be lack-
ing. Additional goals here include lower-
ing high school dropout rates and delin-
quent/criminal behavior.
In terms of academic gains, boys in SS
schools tend to take more math and sci-
ence and to have higher general academic
achievement than their counterparts in
CE schools. Those who oppose SS
schools for boys primarily claim that,
without the presence of girls, boys’
schools run the risk of fostering sexist
attitudes and behaviors toward females.
The central argument in favor of girls’
schools is related to the issue of gender
equity. In 1992, the American Associa-
tion of University Women released a
report summarizing the findings of 1, 331
studies of girls in schools and demon-
strated that there is ample evidence to
show that in CE environments males
tend to dominate over females. This
report showed a pattern of unequal sup-
port and attention when both sexes are in
the same classroom, at all levels, from
preschool to college. For example, males
are permitted to call out answers, are
called upon more often, are asked higher-
level questions, are assisted more often

by the teacher in arriving at the “right”
answer, and are more often given specific
and affirming feedback. An SS school can
be one antidote for gender inequities,
which also lead to other difficulties,
including lowered self-esteem, learned
helplessness, lowered expectations about
one’s own ability to succeed, lowered
motivation, and a lowered sense of con-
trol over one’s life.
Nearly thirty years of research shows
that girls who attend SS schools show
improved motivation and performance,
do more homework, take more math and
science classes, hold less stereotypical
sex role attitudes, have a stronger self-
concept, more often pursue leadership
positions and athletic activities, hold
higher educational and career aspirations,
and benefit from a greater number of
female role models in positions of author-
ity (e.g., administrators) than are found in
CE schools (Lee and Bryk, 1986; Riordan,
1990; Sadker, Sadker, and Klein, 1991).
Although the arguments favoring SS
schools for girls can appear more com-
pelling and numerous than those for
boys, it is important to remember that
the research on all-girls’ schools far
exceeds the work on all-boys’ schools.
More research is needed in the areas of
male SS schools, public SS schools for
both males and females, and the possibil-
ity that individual student differences
(e.g., in needs, preferences, styles, tem-
perament, and so on) may be just as
important in assessing the best fit
between students and school type.
Imma De Stefanis
See also Academic Achievement; Acade-
mic Self-Evaluation; Dating; Family-
School Involvement; Gender Differ-
ences; Middle Schools; Peer Groups;
Private Schools; School Engagement;
Self 629
School, Functions of; Services for Ado-
lescents; Sports and Adolescents
References and further reading
American Association of University
Women. 1992. How Schools
Shortchange Girls: The AAUW Report.
Washington, DC: American Association
of University Women Educational
Foundation.
Carelli, Anne O. 1988. Sex Equity in
Education. Springfield, MA: Charles C.
Thomas.
Lasser, Carol. 1987. Educating Men and
Women Together: Coeducation in a
Changing World. Urbana: University of
Illinois Press.
Lee, Valerie E., and Anthony S. Bryk. 1986.
“Effects of Single-Sex Secondary Schools
on Student Achievement and
Attitudes.” Journal of Educational
Psychology 78, no. 5: 331–339.
Riordan, Cornelius. 1990. Girls and Boys
in School: Together or Separate? New
York: Teachers College Press.
Sadker, Myra P., David M. Sadker, and
Susan Klein. 1991. “The Issue of Gender
in Elementary and Secondary
Education.” Review of Research in
Education 17: 269–334.
Self
Although there is little agreement about
how to define the term self, both in
everyday conversation and in social and
behavioral science research, the self is
presumed to be complex and to include
both the subjective experiences and
objective characteristics that distinguish
a person as a unique individual apart
from others. Across academic disciplines,
scholars and researchers not only define
self differently but also highlight differ-
ent dimensions of the self-system; how-
ever, the contributions of each discipline
provide valuable insights into the broader
picture of how self is central to the
human experience. How we both experi-
ence and understand our own selves is
influenced by our capacity for cognition
and self-consciousness, the current
630 Self
Physical, social, and cognitive aspects of a
young person’s sense of self develop during
adolescence. (Shirley Zeiberg)
beliefs of our culture about how persons
fit into the larger world, and internaliza-
tion of the everyday interactions we have
in the social world. Adolescence as a
stage of development has special implica-
tions for changes in self-experience and
self-understanding, because both the ado-
lescents’ physical selves and social selves
are changing dramatically at the same
time as new cognitive abilities to reflect
about the self in the social world are
increasing.
Dimensions of Self
Although the self is one of the central
dimensions of humans studied by cul-
tural anthropologists, sociologists, psy-
chologists, and philosophers, there is lit-
tle agreement about what the self really
is. There is, however, some general agree-
ment that it is possible to distinguish at
least two parts of the self that need to be
accounted for in any discussion of self.
The first is called the subject, the I, or
the knower—the awareness that an indi-
vidual has of herself as a separate being in
everyday life. The second part is given
names that are counterparts to each of
these, being called the object, the me, or
the known—the capacity of an individual
to consciously think about herself and
the characteristics that distinguish her
from others.
For some psychologists and cognitive
scientists, the most interesting part of
the self is the subjective self-conscious-
ness, self-awareness, and self-under-
standing that the mind creates as the
individual lives his life. From this per-
spective, everything the individual
thinks and does is always interpreted
with regard to how it has meaning for his
own self, and the primary focus of all self
activity is in the brain.
For social psychologists and sociolo-
gists, the self is presumed to come prima-
rily from the social world and is struc-
tured in the form of a self-concept that
includes all the labels, characteristics,
and descriptions that the individual
applies to herself. The conceptions the
individual has of herself are multiple and
occur at a number of different levels. For
example, while some of the individual’s
self-conceptions are known to others as
part of the public self, other things the
individual thinks and feels about herself
may only be known to herself and there-
fore reside in the private self. One part of
the private self might be the ideal self or
the person she wishes she could really be.
However, when there is a big gap between
the person the individual wishes she were
and the person she believes herself to be,
then problems of self-esteem or self-

worth may emerge. While self-esteem
refers to a general sense of personal worth
or value, self-efficacy is the part of the
self-concept that specifically reflects an
individual’s belief about her competence
or ability to meet social expectation and
demands.
A different psychological orientation to
the study of self focuses on the structure
and strength of the individual’s character,
motivations, and other dimensions of
personality. For psychologists who take
this approach, the ego is presumed to be
the most central part of the self, as it is
what allows each individual to navigate
the social demands of life, constantly bal-
ancing what is socially expected and
what is personally desirable. Although
much of this ego is presumed to be at a
conscious level, self or ego psychology
also assumes that at least some portions
of the ego work at a subconscious level.
An additional element of self that
emerges from the ego as it negotiates the
individual’s interactions in the world is
identity or the way the individual
chooses to identify himself as a member
of the social world.
Across both psychology and sociology,
an increasing number of researchers are
beginning to examine the personal narra-
tives, or self-stories, that people tell
about themselves and their lives. These
scholars believe that when people think
about themselves across time, they think
of themselves as the main character of a
story and connect events in their experi-
ences in such a way as to make sense of
their own experience in life. From this
perspective, our personal stories or narra-
tives are tools for organizing how to
think about who we are, how we became
the persons that we are, and why we are
making choices about the person we are
still to become. Since different stories
Self 631
can be constructed out of the same expe-
riences (e.g., how parents’ divorce either
ruined life or provided opportunity for
growth), this means that individuals are
able to reinterpret self-experience by
changing the stories they choose to tell
(e.g., changing the events to include, or
the interpretation of, the motivations
behind actions).
Humanistic psychologists have a spe-
cial interest in both the subjective expe-
rience, or phenomonology, of self, and
the degree to which human self-control
and free will are possible. From this per-
spective, all persons have a unique poten-
tial, and if they can have their basic
needs met and make appropriate choices
that allow for growth, they can self-actu-
alize or reach the highest potential that is
possible for them. As with the narrative
perspective, the idea is that, since choice
resides within the individual, self is not
something that just develops or is fully
determined by the social world; rather, it
can be discovered, chosen, and actively
created by the individual.
Influences on Self-Experience
and Self-Understanding
Regardless of the definition of self used or
the dimension of self examined, there are
key influences on how the self of any per-
son develops and key forces that limit
the type of self that any one person can
have. These influences and forces include
the nature of cognitive functioning, the
beliefs and norms of the broader culture
the individual resides in, and interactions
of the individual in the social world.
Without the functioning of the brain,
no self-conscious thought can exist. For
example, few people imagine that a rock
has a sense of self or a self-concept. Even
an ant, which is part of the animal king-
dom, is not presumed to have the mental
632 Self
capacity to have a sense of self; as we
move up the animal chain, however, to
species with more complex mental abili-
ties like chimpanzees and dolphins, the
questions about the nature of self these
animals can have are much less clear.
Similarly, when humans are first born,
their mental capacities are limited and
so, therefore, are their abilities to recog-
nize that they are separate persons with
their own individual characteristics and
identity. As cognitive abilities increase,
so does the potential for persons to con-
struct complex self-concepts and per-
sonal stories. The importance of the
mind in shaping the experience of the
self is also reflected in the incomplete or
confusing sense of self for persons who
are diagnosed with cognitive disorders
such as autism or schizophrenia.
How the brain makes sense of the self
experience in the world is, however, also
shaped and constrained by the world-
view or the cultural beliefs about the self
and the world that the person is raised in.
For example, while most Western cul-
tures, including the United States, place
a high priority on individuality and the
rights of each person as a separate human
being, many Eastern cultures put a much
higher emphasis on the individual as an
interdependent member of a broader col-
lective. Similarly, not all cultures share
beliefs about the degree to which human
action is controlled by the self versus
other forces including spirits and God. In
either case, because people mentally
internalize the usually unquestioned
beliefs of the culture they are raised in,
both the everyday experience of self-con-
sciousness and the more reflective self-
understanding of persons in each culture
will be different as they filter their expe-
rience of reality through a different cog-
nitive lens.
Although both the mind and culture
may set the limits and potentials for the
development of the self, the self of any
one individual must develop through
actual interactions with the social world.
From birth, as parents and other care-
givers begin to interact with newborns,
an awareness of the distinction between
self and others begins to develop in the
mind. As children learn to use language,
they recognize that they have their own
names and that certain labels and words
are applied to them and describe who
they are presumed to be. Soon, children
also are able to describe themselves in
terms of the language of the culture,
using the appropriate labels to describe
their physical characteristics (e.g., tall),
the social roles they have to perform (e.g.,
sister, student), and even the personality
characteristics that are typically ascribed
to them by others (e.g., shy, funny). Over
time, as they compare themselves to oth-
ers, reflect on their relative successes and
failures in adjustment, and see the pat-
tern of how others respond to them
through what is called the looking-glass
self, a more stable sense of self begins to
form.
Adolescence and Self
Both the changes of puberty and the
social transitions into more mature
social roles (e.g., getting a license, start-
ing high school) change the everyday sub-
jective experience of adolescents and
force them to more consciously reflect
on who they are and how they fit into the
social world. How these changes are
experienced by the self are, however,
complicated by new cognitive abilities,
which allow the adolescent to think
about themselves in more complicated
ways. For example, as they move through
adolescence, individuals are able to think

more abstractly, to imagine the future
more completely, and to see ideas from
multiple perspectives. Although these
cognitive changes increase the capacity
for self-understanding and self-aware-
ness, they also have some negative con-
sequences for self as well.
Because adolescents do not yet have
the perspective on self that will come
with experience, these cognitive develop-
ments, along with the other changes that
come after puberty, can lead to a height-
ened sensitivity to self-experience and a
preoccupation with what others think
about them. Adolescent egocentrism is
the term for this adolescent self-focus,
and it includes two different dimensions
of experience, the imaginary audience
and the personal fable. The imaginary
audience refers to the heightened self-
consciousness, with the belief that every-
one is watching, that emerges out of the
interaction between these cognitive,
physical, and social changes. The per-
sonal fable refers to the false sense of
invincibility and self-importance that
comes with this personal preoccupation.
These two elements are of special con-
cern, because they mean that, as adoles-
cents turn to new reference groups (e.g.,
peers) to define who they are as persons,
they are more likely to be influenced by
peer conformity or to take risks in social
situations (e.g., drug use, drinking and
driving) without acknowledging the real-
ity of the negative consequences that can
follow. These factors also contribute to
the concerns with body image and other
mental health problems that increase
across the adolescent years.
All these changes in the experience of
the adolescent also provide a new drive
to make sense of how the self fits into the
world as a soon-to-be adult. With new
social expectations for choices (e.g.,
Self 633
whether to get a part-time job, what elec-
tives to take in school) and a new orien-
tation toward the future, adolescents are
confronted with the challenge of choos-
ing an identity, a coherent sense of self
that defines who one is and wants to be
in the future. Although some adolescents
may experience this challenge to define
one’s self as a crisis and may explore a
range of possible selves they could be,
most adolescents are able to successfully
achieve a sense of identity that provides
continuity, stability, and unity to their
sense of self in the world.
Phame Camarena
See also Autonomy; Conformity; Ethno-
centrism; Identity; Peer Groups; Peer
Pressure; Personality; Self-Conscious-
ness; Self-Esteem; Temperament
References and further reading
Baumeister, Roy F. 1986. Identity: Cultural
Change and the Struggle for Self. New
York: Oxford University Press.
Brinthaupt, Thomas, and Richard Lipka,
eds. 1992. The Self: Definitional and
Methodological Issues. Albany: State
University of New York Press.
Brown, Jonathon W. 1998. The Self.
Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Damon, William, and Daniel Hart. 1988.
Self Understanding in Childhood and
Adolescence. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Kihlstrom, John F., and Stanley B. Klein.
1997. “Self-Knowledge and Self-
Awareness.” Pp. 5–17 in The Self across
Psychology: Self-Recognition, Self-
Awareness, and the Self-Concept.
Edited by Joan Gay Snodgrass and
Robert L. Thommpson. New York: New
York Academy of Sciences.
Lester, Marilyn. 1984. “Self: Sociological
Portraits.” Pp. 19–68 in The Existential
Self in Society. Edited by Joseph A.
Kotarba and Andrea Fontana. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press.
Levin, Jerome D. 1992. Theories of the
Self. Washington, DC: Hemisphere
Publishing.
Scheibe, Karl E. 1995. Self Studies.
Westport, CT: Praeger.
634 Self-Consciousness
Turner, John C., and Rina S. Onorato.
1999. “Social Identity, Personality, and
the Self-Concept: A Self-Categorization
Perspective.” Pp. 11–46 in The
Psychology of the Social Self. Edited by
Tom R. Tyler, Roderick M. Kramer, and
Oliver P. John. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence
Elbaum Associates.
Self-Consciousness
Self-consciousness involves thinking and
feeling critically about oneself and may
also involve a sense that one is being
scrutinized by others. Self-consciousness
is related to identity development, which
is one of the major developmental tasks
of adolescence and young adulthood.
Feelings of self-consciousness are com-
mon in adolescents, and yet many ado-
lescents do not realize that their peers
have similar feelings. Self-consciousness
often keeps teenagers trapped with their
own feelings of insecurity, fearing that if
they share these feelings they will be met
with ridicule from others. Understanding
that these feelings are normal and com-
mon is an important step in helping
teenagers feel somewhat more comfort-
able with themselves.
Self-consciousness is not specific to ado-
lescents; many if not most people have
feelings of self-consciousness at one time
or another. However, adolescence seems to
be a period of heightened self-conscious-
ness. There have been some interesting
theories suggested to explain this phenom-
enon. Some psychologists suggest that
adolescents are in a period of egocentrism.
Egocentrism is defined as self-absorption.
This self-absorption leads to a view of the
world that tends to be self-focused and to
exclude other people’s point of view. Ado-
lescent self-absorption can make teens
highly critical of others, in that they do not
necessarily consider the perspective of
another when making a judgment. Instead,
teens make judgments based solely on
their own point of view and assume that
others share their point of view.
There are two components of adoles-
cent egocentrism. The first component,
which refers most directly to self-con-
sciousness, is called the imaginary audi-
ence. The imaginary audience is the ado-
lescent’s perception that he or she is the
focus of the attention of others. The imag-
inary audience is used to explain the ado-
lescent perception that everybody is look-
ing at them, for better or worse. In other
words, adolescents often feel as though
people are staring at them, noticing every
blemish and shortcoming. For example, in
a room full of people many teenagers are
certain that everyone else has noticed
their bad hair day or the pimple on their
forehead. The imaginary audience also
suggests that teenagers often feel as if they
are “on stage.” This helps to explain why
teens often seem to wonder, both to them-
selves and out loud, why everybody is
staring at them, even when in fact nobody
is paying any attention to them at all.
The second component of adolescent
egocentrism is known as the personal
fable. The personal fable suggests that at
the same time that teenagers are certain
that everyone is watching them, they also
believe themselves to be unique and
unlike anyone else. Teens often believe
that nobody else can possibly understand
their experience, because it is completely
unique. This personal fable has a number
of practical implications. Feeling that one
is unique and that one’s experience is
unlike that of anyone else can create a
sense of isolation and distance. Teens
may find it hard to believe that parents
and other adults can understand them or
empathize with them, since they see
themselves and their experience as so dif-

Self-consciousness involves thinking and
feeling critically about oneself. (Skjold
Photographs)
ferent and distinct. For example, a
teenager experiencing family problems
may believe that she must keep these
problems to herself because no one else
could possibly have similar problems or
feelings. This, in fact, may be related to
and help explain the isolation that many
teens feel in their own self-consciousness.
Beyond feelings of uniqueness, the per-
sonal fable may create a sense of invul-
nerability and invincibility for the adoles-
cent. Invulnerability and invincibility
refer to feelings of being immune to or
safe from problems that plague others.
Feelings of invulnerability and invincibil-
ity can seriously distort adolescent think-
Self-Esteem 635
ing and thus hamper judgment and deci-
sion making. It is not uncommon for ado-
lescents to engage in risky behavior and
report that they did so because they did
not believe that anything bad could hap-
pen to them. For example, teenagers who
drink and drive rarely believe that they
will hurt themselves or others. Similarly,
despite book knowledge to the contrary,
teens engaging in unprotected sex do not
believe that they will become pregnant,
make someone pregnant, or contract
AIDS or other sexually transmitted dis-
eases. Feelings of invulnerability and
invincibility are certainly interesting
given the elevated level of self-conscious-
ness among adolescents. On one hand,
teens are highly critical of themselves
and others, always sure that they are
being watched. On the other hand, they
seem to have difficulty accepting the very
real risks to their safety that do exist.
Deborah N. Margolis
See also Anxiety; Body Image; Confor-
mity; Ethnocentrism; Fears; Identity;
Self; Self-Esteem; Shyness
References and further reading
Elkind, David. 1998. All Grown Up and
No Place to Go, revised ed. Cambridge,
MA: Perseus.
Kastner, Laura, and Jennifer Wyatt. 1997.
The Seven Year Stretch. New York:
Houghton Mifflin.
Ryan, R., and R. Kuczkowski. 1994. “The
Imaginary Audience, Self-
Consciousness, and Public
Individuation in Adolescence.” Journal
of Personality 62: 219–238.
Rycek, K. E., S. L. Stuhr, J. McDermott, J.
Benker, and M. D. Swartz. 1998.
“Adolescent Egocentrism and Cognitive
Functioning during Late Adolescence.”
Adolescence 33: 746–750.
Self-Esteem
Self-esteem refers to an individual’s self-
evaluation. Self-acceptance, respect for
636 Self-Esteem
Adolescents with high self-esteem are often
motivated to succeed. (Laura Dwight)
one’s own worth as a person, and liking
oneself are all aspects of self-esteem. Self-
esteem can be simply assessed by
answering the question, “How much do I
like the kind of person I am?” Research
indicates that self-esteem is important to
mental health and achievement. Adoles-
cents with high self-esteem are often
motivated to succeed and do well in
school. They typically have positive
ways of solving life’s problems and effec-
tive ways of coping, which reduce the
harmful effects of stress. Low self-
esteem, on the other hand, has been asso-
ciated with a variety of emotional and
behavioral disorders, including anxiety,
depression, eating disorders, and delin-
quency. Since the developmental stress-
ors of adolescence pose risks to self-
esteem and emotional well-being, an
understanding of the development of self-
esteem, especially during adolescence, is
crucial to anyone who works with young
people.
Obviously self-esteem is important,
and scholars have paid a good deal of
attention to how it develops. Some psy-
chological theorists suggest that support,
caring, and nurturance from parents and
other caretakers during infancy and child-
hood contribute to a view of oneself as
worthy of care. This does not mean that
self-esteem is determined only by experi-
ences early in life. Ongoing experiences at
school and in the neighborhood and com-
munity also affect self-esteem. Adoles-
cents who feel that they are liked by their
close friends, classmates, teachers, and
parents are also likely to feel good about
themselves. Whether or not they are suc-
cessful in areas they judge to be impor-
tant also affects their self-esteem. For
example, if athletics and academic
achievement are important to a person,
doing well in those areas will be impor-
tant to maintaining positive self-esteem.
Self-esteem may fluctuate at different
ages. For example, between the ages of
eleven and thirteen, some adolescents
experience a drop in self-esteem. The
increased freedom experienced by teens
after age thirteen is believed to contribute
to a gradual increase in self-esteem dur-
ing the high school and college years. Not
all teens, however, experience loss of self-
esteem in early adolescence. In fact,
across the transitions to middle school
and to college, some teens experience
gains in self-esteem, while others report
little change.
Social, biological, and cognitive factors
have been used to explain the changes in

self-esteem that sometimes occur during
early adolescence. Socially, early adoles-
cents are often making the transition
from the security of an elementary school
classroom, where they are well known by
teachers and close friends, to the more
impersonal and larger environment of the
middle school, where they have to deal
with many teachers who expect them to
complete more difficult work with less
teacher support. More competition
among classmates, stricter grading, and
decreased teacher attention can threaten
self-esteem. Biologically, some early ado-
lescents are entering puberty and may be
stressed by coping simultaneously with
changes at school. Teenagers who are
physically mature may experience high
social and academic expectations by
adults and peers who assume these teens
are older than they really are. Teenagers
may also become more focused on their
physical appearance and attractiveness to
members of the opposite sex, which can
also contribute to negative self-evalua-
tion. Early puberty and a preoccupation
with physical appearance make some
early adolescent girls especially vulnera-
ble to a decline in self-esteem.
Cognitively, thinking processes move
from being more concrete to more
abstract during the adolescent years.
Whereas a child is likely to describe the
self in physical terms (e.g., tall, brown-
eyed) or simple feelings (e.g., happy), ado-
lescents are more likely to describe the
self using abstract concepts, such as
wishes, motivations, and complex emo-
tions. Since these abstract characteristics
are more difficult to assess in direct ways,
some adolescents develop unrealistic self-
concepts and self-evaluations. Abstract
reasoning skills also enable the adoles-
cent to become more introspective or
inward looking. They often become more
Self-Esteem 637
self-conscious and concerned about what
others think. When they imagine that
peers and important adults are thinking
about them negatively, self-esteem can
suffer. Adolescents also describe them-
selves in a greater number of social roles.
The self may interact differently with
mother, father, close friend, teacher,
coach, classmate, and romantic partner,
and adolescents may evaluate themselves
differently in each of these relationships.
This can be confusing to the younger ado-
lescent, who is not able to figure out who
is the “real me.” The more advanced cog-
nitive skills of older adolescents enable
them to realize that it is common to
behave and interact differently with dif-
ferent people and enable them to develop
views of the ideal self or the self that one
would like to be. Although these ideals
can contribute to negative self-evalua-
tions, they can also be a source of moti-
vation and incentive to work hard.
Although teenagers do not have control
over many factors that impact self-
esteem (such as family conflict, societal
prejudices, and job opportunities avail-
able for young people), there are a number
of strategies that adolescents can employ
to maintain or enhance self-esteem. Ado-
lescents should become actively involved
in activities that match their interests
and skills. Teens can learn how to iden-
tify caring adults in their schools, neigh-
borhoods, and communities who can pro-
vide support, guidance, and assistance as
needed. The support of these adults may
be enlisted in developing and carrying out
plans for improvements in the schools,
neighborhoods, and communities. Recog-
nizing that one has done something posi-
tive to enhance one’s community or
improve one’s future often provides a
boost to self-esteem. Because the opin-
ions of others often impact self-esteem,
638 Self-Injury
teens should critically evaluate the
sources and accuracy of information that
are being incorporated into the evalua-
tion of self. Sometimes one discovers that
negative self-evaluations are based upon
inaccurate views of the self. It is impor-
tant that teens and the adults who care
about them recognize that there are
many strategies that can help teens cope
with the challenges of adolescence in
ways that contribute to enhanced self-
esteem.
Maureen E. Kenny
See also Academic Achievement; Acade-
mic Self-Evaluation; Attractiveness,
Physical; Developmental Assets; Ethno-
centrism; Identity; Mentoring and
Youth Development; Self
References and further reading
Hart, Daniel. 1988. “The Adolescent Self-
Concept in Social Context.” Pp. 71–90
in Self, Ego, and Identity. Edited by
Daniel Lapsley and F. Clark Power. New
York: Springer-Verlag.
Harter, Susan. 1999. The Construction of
the Self: A Developmental Perspective.
New York: Guilford Press.
Markus, Hazel, and Paula Nurius. 1986.
“Possible Selves.” American
Psychologist 41: 954–969.
Self-Injury
Self-injury can be defined as deliberate
attempts to harm or damage oneself
without suicidal intent. A number of
terms have been used to describe the
habit of self-injury, including self-mutila-
tion, self-abuse, and deliberate self-harm,
and it can include such behaviors as cut-
ting, burning, scratching, hair pulling,
interfering with the healing of wounds,
head banging, swallowing sharp objects,
and bone breaking. Self-injurious behav-
iors occur on a broad continuum, and it is
important to understand the behaviors in
the individual’s context. For example,
tattoos and body piercings by U.S. teens,
while altering the skin or damaging it,
are not considered self-injurious because
of the acceptance of these behaviors in
Western culture. Although self-injury
can occur in a variety of populations and
across the life span, self-injury has
become an increasingly serious problem
for adolescents, who use self-injury as a
means of coping with extreme psycho-
logical distress.
The reasons why adolescents engage in
self-injurious behaviors are complex, and
researchers have only begun to identify
the characteristics of those who self-
injure and the causes of their behavior.
Often superficial to moderate self-injury
occurs in the context of psychiatric con-
ditions or disorders. More severe and
stereotypic (i.e., repetitive and rhythmic)
self-injury is associated with develop-
mental disorders (e.g., mental retarda-
tion) and psychotic disorders. Superficial
or moderate self-injurious behaviors typi-
cally begin in early adolescence, involve
methods with a low level of lethality, and
can occur once or may continue over
many years with repetitive episodes. Self-
injury can begin as experimentation, but
may become a habitual way of coping
with stress. Skin cutting is the most
prevalent type of self-injurious behavior,
but most individuals engage in multiple
methods. The damage is rarely life threat-
ening, and the wounds are often made on
hidden parts of the body. However, self-
injury can be dangerous, resulting in per-
manent scarring or infections; it can even
lead to death by accidentally cutting a
vein. Often adolescents who self-injure
feel a sense of shame or social stigma,
which may result in hiding these behav-
iors and wounds from others. For this rea-

son, research on determining the rate of
self-injury among teenagers has been dif-
ficult. Researchers have estimated that
approximately 2 million Americans
engage in superficial or moderate self-
injury each year (Favazza and Conterio,
1988). Although most evidence suggests
that more girls than boys engage in self-
injurious behaviors, boys are still at risk
Self-injury usually occurs in a trance-
like state called dissociation. Adoles-
cents who self-injure often cannot resist
the impulses to commit these acts, and
they seek out the physical pain as a
calming effect to counter the distress
they are feeling. Self-injury, however,
may have several intentions, including
to release tension, to return to reality, to
establish control, to gain a sense of secu-
rity and uniqueness, to influence others,
to counter negative perceptions of the
self, to vent anger, or to enhance or
repress sexual feelings. Self-injury is
sometimes viewed as an attempt at self-
help that provides fast, but temporary,
relief from overwhelming psychological
distress. Self-injury can also be a means
of being in control, of channeling anger,
of keeping in touch with reality, and of
avoiding a severe depression. Biological
factors have been implicated in perpetu-
ating self-injury. For example, hormones
(e.g., endorphins) are released when the
body is injured that fight anxiety and
depression.
Adolescents who self-injure often feel
powerless, have difficulty trusting others
with emotions, feel isolated or alienated,
feel afraid, and have low self-esteem.
Self-injury is also associated with a num-
ber of clinical symptoms and disorders,
including depression, drug and alcohol
abuse, negative body image, frequent
problems with eating and eating disor-
ders, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Self-Injury 639
Self-injury has been viewed as a method
of relieving the adolescent of emotional
pain brought on by overwhelming psy-
chological distress, such as depression,
anxiety, or extreme anger.
In addition, self-injury in adolescents
has also been associated with disrupted
family situations, such as family conflict
and parental alcoholism and depression.
Self-injury may also occur in adolescents
who experience a loss or disruption of an
important interpersonal relationship. Self-
injurious behaviors can occur as a gener-
alized reaction to stress in relationships,
as a means to reduce the adolescents’ own
feelings of frustration, anger, or anxiety,
while at the same time communicating
their feelings to others. Adolescents
engaging in self-injurious behaviors often
have difficulty verbally expressing their
feelings and gain a sense of relief from
overwhelming feelings after committing
these acts. Some adolescents may also be
exbihitionistic about their self-injurious
behaviors in order to gain the attention of
important people in their lives.
Histories of trauma have also been
associated with self-injurious behaviors
in adolescents. For example, childhood
physical and sexual abuse, as well as
parental neglect and parental separation,
are strongly associated with adolescent
self-injury. Other evidence suggests a
relationship between self-injury and body
alienation, which may be related to
chronic childhood illnesses. Adolescents
who have had childhood illnesses, such
as diabetes, asthma, epilepsy, and cardiac
illnesses, and ongoing or invasive med-
ical treatments, have been found to be
more likely to self-injure than those who
have not had childhood illnesses or major
surgical procedures.
Often, self-injurious behaviors are mis-
taken for suicidal gestures. It is true that
640 Services for Adolescents
some adolescents who self-injure also
become suicidal. The two phenomena
are, however, distinct in important ways,
such as intent, method, lethality, and
number of acts. Still, both behaviors are
self-directed, result in concrete physical
harm, are often the result of frustrated
psychological needs, and reflect lifelong
coping patterns. Both are of grave concern
to friends, parents, teachers, counselors,
and other mental health professionals.
Most adolescents seek treatment for
other problems, such as depression, and
not for self-injurious behaviors. However,
not everyone who engages in self-injuri-
ous behaviors has a severe psychological
problem. Some warning signs to be aware
of include increased depression, feeling
overwhelmed with relationship or sexual
issues, having been abused, or hurting
oneself to manage one’s emotions. Indi-
viduals who self-injure may seek treat-
ment from community mental health
centers, local clinics, hospitals, and other
specialized treatment programs.
Laura A. Gallagher
See also Depression; Physical Abuse; Risk
Behaviors; Self-Consciousness; Suicide
References and further reading
Favazza, Armando R. 1996. Bodies under
Siege: Self-Mutilation and Body
Modification in Culture and Pyschiatry,
2nd ed. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins
University Press.
———. 1989. “Why Patients Mutilate
Themselves.” Hospital and Community
Psychiatry 40, no. 2: 137–145.
Favazza, Armando R., and Karen Conterio.
1988. “The Plight of Chronic Self-
Mutilators.” Community Mental
Health Journal 24, no. 1: 22–30.
Levenkron, Steven. 1998. Cutting:
Understanding and Overcoming Self-
Mutilation. New York: Norton.
Strong, Marilee. 1998. A Bright Red
Scream: Self-Mutilation and the
Language of Pain. New York: Viking.
Suyemoto, Karen L., and Marian L.
McDonald. 1995. “Self-Cutting in
Female Adolescents” Psychotherapy 32,
no. 1: 162–171.
Walsh, Barent W., and Paul M. Rosen.
1988. Self-Mutilation: Theory, Research,
and Practice. New York: Guilford Press.
Winchel, Ronald M., and Michael Stanley.
1991. “Self-Injurious Behavior: A
Review of the Behavior and Biology of
Self-Mutilation.” American Journal of
Psychiatry 148, no. 3: 306–317.
Services for Adolescents
This entry summarizes state-of-the-art
knowledge about services for adolescent
behavioral, emotional, and mental health
problems discussed in other chapters.
Adolescence is a time of high morbidity
and mortality related to problems includ-
ing violent behavior, substance use,
unwed pregnancy, depression, suicide,
anxiety, school failure, and peer difficul-
ties. Each of these problems is associated
with a youth’s community and family
environment and mental health. How-
ever, existing interventions are scarce and
fragmented. Treatment, when provided,
usually attempts to intervene only with
the individual, often focuses on attitudes
rather than the actual problem, and
ignores the environment. Nevertheless,
on the positive side, there is increasing
recognition of the need for effective
action. Recently, prompted by the dramat-
ically increasing rates of adolescent prob-
lems, governmental and public health sec-
tors have jointly called for mobilization
and coordination of comprehensive efforts
to develop new interventions.
The Services Needs of Adolescents
Adolescence is a very unusual period
physiologically and historically. Except
for the infancy/toddler age, it is charac-

Youth services provide sources of support and guidance for young people. (Urban Archives,
Philadelphia)
terized by the steepest growth curve in a
human’s life. Unlike a baby, the adoles-
cent is conscious of these changes and
must confront them to establish a sense
of identity. Also, today, for the first time
in history, adolescents are more at risk
for permanent injury and death from
problems that are not primarily biomed-
ical. The initiation of risky behavior is
occurring at progressively younger ages,
and the proportion of adolescents who
come from disadvantaged groups (who
are at higher risk for behavior problems)
is increasing. Adolescence is a time to
develop the skills and knowledge that
will lead to a productive, satisfying,
healthy adulthood. Yet many adolescent
Services for Adolescents 641
risk behaviors threaten future develop-
ment. These include unwed pregnancy,
unprotected sexual activity, violent
behavior, and substance use. Further, risk
behaviors seldom occur alone. Adoles-
cents engaging in one risk behavior are
likely to engage in many such behaviors
and have other associated mental health
problems. Many of these behaviors
increase in frequency and intensity dur-
ing adolescence, and many mild risk
behaviors (such as experimentation with
tobacco use or occasional alcohol use)
serve as gateways for more risky involve-
ment in later adolescence or adulthood.
Need for services may be conceptual-
ized in terms of diagnoses, symptoms, or
642 Services for Adolescents
functioning. Many adolescents have clus-
ters of symptoms severe enough to be
distressing or disabling. Research has
estimated that between one-quarter and
one-fifth of adolescents need services
because they have mental health prob-
lems that meet diagnostic criteria. The
rates for need of services by those who
have distressing or disabling symptoms
yet who do not meet diagnostic criteria
would be much higher.
Where Adolescents Can Find Services
Adolescents are minors, and they are
often reluctant or unable to seek services
on their own. For example, youths may
not be able to obtain services without a
guardian’s permission, may not have the
money or insurance to pay for services,
may not have transportation to get to
services, or may not believe that services
can help them. Youths tend to be directed
to services by their parents, teachers,
physicians, social workers, juvenile jus-
tice authorities, and other adults. Large
proportions of these “gateway” individu-
als come from four types of public-serv-
ice sectors: primary health, child welfare,
juvenile justice, and education. Providers
from these sectors or informal sectors
(e.g., clergy, family, friends, or self-help
groups) often have the first contact with
the youth and identify the problem. Even
when they cannot offer direct services for
behavioral or emotional problems, their
actions in referral, consultation, and liai-
son help youth access services.
The primary health and education sec-
tors would appear to be universal sources
of gateway services. In fact, few youths
actually receive services in specialty
mental health settings (e.g., mental
health clinics, community mental health
centers, or psychiatric outpatient depart-
ments); most receive such care through
the education or primary health gateway
sectors. Unfortunately, the financial
capacity of the educational system to pro-
vide services is limited. Primary health
providers, such as family doctors and city
health clinics, are the second most likely
gateway providers to be consulted; how-
ever, youths frequently do not discuss
their emotional or behavioral problems
with their healthcare providers.
In order to provide services, these gate-
way providers must recognize that a
youth needs services. Yet research shows
large discrepancies between need for
services and provider identification of
need. The clustering of several mental
health problems, functional impair-
ments, and risk factors all influence iden-
tification of need for services. Gateway
providers, including teachers, may be
more likely to recognize behavior that
disrupts classes or disturbs others, and
fail to pay attention to problems such as
depression or anxiety. However, even
when a provider knows a youth needs
services, services and treatments specifi-
cally designed for adolescents are often
unavailable.
Risk Factors
Services for problems need to focus on
factors that cause or maintain those prob-
lems, or factors that might protect a
youth from such problems. A number of
risk factors might predispose youths to
need services. These risk factors include
biological or genetic contributions, the
youth’s environment (both social and
physical), individual personality factors,
and behavioral factors (or lifestyles). In
addition, a number of protective factors
can also fall into any of the above cate-
gories. For instance, a supportive family

environment and other external support
systems may protect highly stressed
youth.
We know that risks and protectors
work together in complex ways. The eco-
logical and bio-psycho-social perspec-
tives focus on interactions among multi-
ple systems as they determine physical
and mental health and social function-
ing. Research within the field of develop-
mental psychopathology has examined
the complex interplay between personal
and environmental risk and protective
factors in determining behavioral and
mental health outcomes. The difficulty
lies in distinguishing the relative influ-
ence of biological, psychological, social,
communal, and economic factors so that
services can efficiently target the most
important factors.
Individual Risk Factors. Individual dif-
ferences may be present from birth. For
example, physiology contributes to many
behavior and mental health problems.
Many youths with such problems also
have problems with attention, memory,
and social-cognitive processing. These
problems may have their roots in hor-
monal or neurotransmitter problems, or
may be related to environmental con-
taminants such as lead poisoning. Several
studies show an association between
genetics and other mental health prob-
lems, specifically depression, suicidal
tendencies, and substance abuse.
Peer Risk Factors. Peers provide the
motivation, rationalization, attitudes,
opportunities, and reinforcement for
many adolescent behavior problems,
including violence, unprotected sex, and
substance use. In fact, peers may even
punish prosocial behaviors.
Services for Adolescents 643
Family Risk Factors. Many behavior or
mental health problems may have roots
in early childhood through physical
abuse, as well as observation of similar
behaviors in families and in the commu-
nity. Intervention studies support this
association by showing that when par-
ents adopt more positive, consistent, and
less physical styles of discipline, their
children’s antisocial behavior declines.
School Risk Factors. Youths who have
mental health or behavioral problems
often also have school problems. This sug-
gests that school environment and stu-
dent attitudes toward education are
important risk factors. When school is val-
ued and considered a viable option, misbe-
havior is reduced. Alternatively, some
assert that school problems and other
behavioral or mental health problems are
both symptoms of deeper root problems.
Community Risk Factors. Aspects of
the community or neighborhood may
make a youth more likely to need ser-
vices. Community problems include the
presence of gangs, underemployment,
economic deprivation, the availability
and use of illicit drugs, and access to
lethal weapons. In the United States,
many risk factors are associated with
minority status and low socioeconomic
status. For example, minority communi-
ties have high rates of violent behavior,
unprotected sex, substance use, suicide,
and the like. Nevertheless, much of the
racial variation in such behaviors may be
due to community differences. Increased
levels of such problems are also associ-
ated with community mobility, social
disorganization, breakdowns of formal
and informal social controls, and tolerant
attitudes toward such behaviors.
644 Services for Adolescents
Prevention Programs
Although we know about the types of risk
factors, we do not understand why, given
similar risk factors, some youths never
develop problems, some engage in spo-
radic experimentation with problem
behaviors and then desist, and some
develop serious problems. Obviously there
must be some protectors at work. Preven-
tion programs help youths resist the devel-
opment of serious problems by mitigating
risks and enhancing potential protectors.
The literature on prevention programs
remains woefully underdeveloped. It con-
sists largely of calls for action. Knowl-
edge about prevention is fragmented,
with little good outcome research. Pre-
vention focuses on reducing access to
means for problem behaviors such as
substance use or violence, controlling
media, enhancing prosocial skills, inter-
vening with peers and families, reducing
risk factors, and intervening at multisys-
temic community levels.
Prevention by Reducing Access to Risks.
Some preventive interventions to reduce
substance abuse have focused on carding
teens who try to purchase cigarettes,
enforcing age minimums for alcohol pur-
chase, and prosecuting illicit drug dealers
and users. Similarly, some preventive
interventions for violence have focused
on firearm reduction by enforcing cur-
rent laws and reducing the availability of
firearms.
Prevention through the Mass Media.
Volunteer groups and legislators have
called on the media to deglamorize
unprotected sex, substance use, and vio-
lence. For example, legislators have
demanded more accurate portrayal of
violence and its consequences by the
entertainment industry.
Prevention through Developing Life
Skills. Life skills training teaches com-
munication approaches, conflict resolu-
tion, anger management, and social
skills. Such programs assume that many
behavior problems are learned, and so
they can be changed and prevented.
Thus, these programs usually target
youths from dysfunctional families or
communities with high rates of prob-
lems. They may address factors indi-
rectly associated with a problem, such as
low academic achievement or drug use
for gang prevention, and may include a
combination of life skills training, men-
toring, self-esteem development, peer
tutoring, and education. These programs
may begin as early as preschool in order
to prevent later behavioral problems.
Clearly, many youths lack such skills
as problem solving, communication, and
anger control. However, we know that
these skills can be learned, particularly if
the training is implemented at an early
age. Therefore, preschool or elementary
school social skills training would be an
appropriate preventive intervention.
Effective prevention would also involve
changing youths’ future outlook through
goal setting and/or job training. Many
youths involved in problem behavior
have no future goals, and cannot visual-
ize themselves respectably and gainfully
employed. Therefore, changing the indi-
vidual youth’s perception of her future,
and preparation for that future, would be
helpful. Note that it is financially easier
to influence the perception of one’s
future than it is to influence actual
opportunities. However, it is also possi-
ble to better prepare youths to take
advantage of existing opportunities.
School-based life skill programs have
one distinct advantage: Because school
attendance is mandatory, the programs

can involve virtually all youths in a com-
munity. Unfortunately, data suggest that
such interventions have limited behav-
ioral success within the school setting,
and no studies show that reducing prob-
lem behavior in primary school general-
izes to later behavior in the community.
It is especially difficult to transfer proso-
cial behaviors to youths’ everyday envi-
ronments if those environments are dis-
advantaged or nonsupportive.
Prevention through Peers. Peer counsel-
ing and peer mediation are used to
decrease violence, delinquency, and anti-
social behaviors, as well as to increase
the likelihood of using protection during
sexual behavior, and so on. The rationale
behind such peer programs is that adoles-
cents may listen to the advice of their
peers more than to that of adults. Unfor-
tunately, no conclusive data show that
peer programs are effective. In fact, some
have concluded that peer counseling may
even have negative effects on delin-
quency and associated risk factors, such
as academic failure, rebelliousness, and
lack of commitment to school. However,
youth-led programs that document per-
sonal experiences or provide activities to
fill idle time (such as basketball tourna-
ments, game room activities, and danc-
ing) give some evidence of effectiveness.
Prevention through the Family. Attempts
to alter high-risk family systems are
another common approach to the preven-
tion of behavioral and mental health prob-
lems in adolescence. Such programs gen-
erally target at-risk families with younger
children. Parent training programs teach
child and family management skills, and
address both family conflict and early
antisocial behavior. Marital and family
therapy approaches focus on changing the
Services for Adolescents 645
dysfunctional patterns of family interac-
tions, and addressing risk factors such as
poor family management, family conflict,
and early antisocial behavior. Studies of
these interventions have demonstrated a
significant reduction in children’s antiso-
cial behavior and possible long-term pre-
ventive effects on delinquency. However,
such programs are least successful with
the most high risk families (e.g., those
with multiple problems, including high
conflict, unemployment, poverty, illness,
and low stability).
Prevention through Community Inter-
vention. The personal interventions of
skills training, goal setting, influencing
perception, and efforts to develop self-
esteem are all likely to fail unless inter-
vention includes consideration of youths’
environments. Youths’ environments
include families, school, peers, and neigh-
borhoods. The acceptability and modeling
of problem behaviors must be reduced at
all levels. This is not easy, as issues of
censorship, the profit-making motive of
the media, societal welfare, and individ-
ual freedom must be balanced.
Community interventions are based on
the presumption that resource inequity,
high tolerance of problem behaviors, and a
sense of powerlessness and lack of control
compound youths’ problems. Community
prevention, therefore, focuses on decreas-
ing cultural acceptance of the problem
behaviors (such as violence, unwed preg-
nancy, or substance use), decreasing racial
and gender discrimination, and supporting
more positive role models. Community
interventions include resource enhance-
ment such as mobilizing community
members and coordinating better financ-
ing for mental health, drug abuse, and
social service programs. They also include
services such as providing role models,
646 Services for Adolescents
family interventions, neighborhood proj-
ects, education, and job training. Often
they include criminal justice involvement
through improving police images and
increasing police-resident interaction. The
youths’ environment must have increased
positive opportunities for activities that
will reduce the likelihood of engaging in
problem behavior and decrease the oppor-
tunities for problem behavior to flourish.
Many adolescent problem behaviors occur
during idle moments when groups of
youths are unsupervised. Programs trying
to increase constructive idle time include
midnight basketball leagues and other
clubs, sports activities, or choir activities
sponsored by churches and community
centers.
Neighborhood environments can be
enhanced through positive adult role
models and desirable future opportuni-
ties. Many gender- and ethnic-specific
mentor and role-model programs have
already been instituted. These programs
must also provide the educational, finan-
cial, and social support youths need to
emulate the models. In many areas where
risk behaviors are highest, the most com-
mon employment opportunities are
through an underground illicit economy
that allows the growth of gangs, unpro-
tected sex, substance use, and violent
behaviors. Real possibilities for gainful
employment and for adequate, effective,
and appropriate education would be effec-
tive services. Unfortunately, although
community approaches with an evalua-
tion component have produced evidence
of attitudinal changes, they have been
unable to document changes in behavior.
Services Available to Adolescents Who
Already Have Serious Problems
Because we have addressed programs tar-
geting at-risk youths and communities in
the prevention section, the following dis-
cussion concentrates on adolescents who
already have serious behavioral or mental
health problems. Treatment approaches
have the same major problems as preven-
tion approaches. In addition, in many
areas, services for teens, such as drug
abuse treatment, are unavailable. Even
when services for a problem are avail-
able, communities are often not
involved, and services are both uncoordi-
nated and underfunded.
Therapeutic Approaches. Treatments
for youths are based on three different
psychological perspectives: (1) psychoso-
cial, (2) humanistic/nondirective, and (3)
behavioral. (Note that we are excluding a
discussion of psychopharmacological
treatment in this chapter, as that is a sep-
arate medical issue.) Under each of those
three categories, a whole range of specific
approaches can be listed. For example,
the psychosocial approach includes psy-
chodynamic, psychoanalytic, and inter-
personal approaches. The behavioral
approach includes social learning and
cognitive behavioral approaches. All
three psychological perspectives share
the concept that problems are due to a
shortcoming within the individual, and
treatment can be either short or long
term. Additionally, a number of short-
term treatments, largely deriving from
the behavioral perspective, focus prima-
rily on solving problems. These include
task-centered or solution-focused thera-
pies, psychoeducation, and bibliotherapy.
All three psychological perspectives
assume that, if interventions target the
deficiency in an individual, effective and
healthy behavior will follow. Some
reviewers of evaluated interventions con-
clude that no approach is clearly supe-
rior. Others argue that the results of

repeated evaluation studies tend to sup-
port the effectiveness of behavioral
approaches.
Unfortunately, many therapeutic inter-
ventions are crippled by the problematic
nature of the families of disturbed
youths. For instance, youths may be cop-
ing with an incarcerated parent, a drug-
using parent, and/or an unstable and vio-
lence-filled home. Further, youths may
lack adequate food and shelter, supervi-
sion, and schooling. Youths themselves
may have addiction problems that limit
their ability to take advantage of other
therapies. Also, many problem behaviors
revolve around alcohol and drugs, which
both make users more apt to engage in
problem behaviors by lowering their
inhibitions and create a need to continue
to engage in other problem behaviors to
obtain alcohol and drugs.
Residential or Inpatient Treatments.
Residential or inpatient treatments pro-
vide youths with individual intervention
while removing them from society.
Unfortunately, services are not always
available and are expensive, and positive
results may not transfer to youths’
homes upon release. Further, many pro-
grams are designed to address a single
issue, and are thus unprepared to cope
with a youth who is, for example, both a
substance abuser and suicidal. Also,
youths with extreme behavioral prob-
lems may tax the resources of residential
placements and put other residents at
risk. Therefore, many programs are
unwilling to accept youths with violent
antisocial behavior problems. Many such
youths are shuffled from one program to
another and finally end up in jails.
Criminal Justice Treatment. Tradition-
ally, youths engaging in delinquent, vio-
Services for Adolescents 647
lent, or substance abuse behaviors were
removed from society and placed in juve-
nile detention centers or jails. Mainstream
criminology views clinical services as
ineffective and prefers punishment. How-
ever, the criminal justice approach alone
has never been proven effective. Crowded
and poorly supervised residential, inpa-
tient, or juvenile detention facilities
expose healthier youths to more disturbed
youths. Sometimes the justice system also
provides psychological treatment, and
that approach has produced a substantial
reduction in recidivism. Such services
include more intensive treatment of
higher risk cases, services targeted at
reducing the offenders’ need to commit
criminal behavior, and services tailored to
the abilities and learning style of the
offenders. For youths whose major service
option appears to be jail, diversion pro-
grams are popular. Examples of diversion
programs include wilderness experiences
and boot camps. Wilderness camping pro-
grams attempt to remove youths from
their normal surroundings and challenge
them to cooperate for survival. Unfortu-
nately, neither program consistently
shows long-term positive effects.
Systems Approaches
A number of therapeutic approaches take
a more systemic approach by looking at
youths’ environments. This addresses
what we know about the many interacting
causes and protectors of risk behaviors.
Originally systems theory approaches
focused on the family system. But it has
become clear that individuals interact
with multiple systems, including their
families, their peers, their communities,
and their schools. Therefore, a spate of
systems-based interventions, ranging from
family therapy to group therapy, has incor-
porated the theoretical approaches of the
648 Services for Adolescents
individual therapies. They deal with the
youth’s problem as it interacts with the
family, the school, peers, neighborhoods,
communities, and so on.
Recently, some treatment approaches
for adolescents have broadened their
approach to attempt to deal with multi-
ple and interactive causalities. For exam-
ple, multisystemic treatments (MST)
combine cognitive intrapersonal strate-
gies with family, peer, and school inter-
ventions. The approach involves collabo-
rative work with the school, parents,
teachers, and peers. Research shows
behavioral improvements lasting up to
one year, and reduced recidivism at a
four-year follow-up.
Clearly, adolescent behavioral and
mental health problems are manifesta-
tions of complex economic, environmen-
tal, political, cultural, educational, and
behavioral factors. Services must echo
that complexity through the coordina-
tion of services (including public health,
healthcare, mental health, criminal jus-
tice, social service, education, and the
media) and foci of responses. Further, pre-
vention programs must be developmen-
tally and culturally appropriate and com-
prehensive, they must target risk groups,
and they must include assessment.
Literature, research, and experience
quite clearly point to the necessity of
increasing multifaceted interventions
targeting multiple risk factors. Improve-
ment of access to care would be easier to
achieve if there were coordination of care
across services and service sectors. Then
multifaceted and multilevel services
could take into account adolescents’
internal factors, developmental stages,
social networks, and cultural back-
grounds.
Arlene Rubin Stiffman
See also Counseling; High School
Equivalency Degree; Intervention Pro-
grams for Adolescents; Programs for
Adolescents
References and further reading
Bandura, Albert. 1986. Social Foundations
of Thought and Action: A Social
Cognitive Theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
Prentice-Hall.
Bronfenbrenner, Urie. 1980. “Ecology of
Childhood.” School Psychology Review
9, no. 4: 294–297.
Burns, Barbara, Carl A. Taube, and John E.
Taube. 1990. Use of Mental Health
Sector Services by Adolescents: 1975,
1980, 1986. Paper prepared under
contract for the Carnegie Council on
Adolescent Development and the
Carnegie Corporation of New York, for
the Office of Technology Assessment,
U.S. Congress, Washington, DC.
Springfield, VA: National Technical
Information Service (NTIS No. PB
91–154 344/AS).
DiClemente, Ralph J., William Hansen,
and Lynn Ponton, eds. 1996. Handbook
of Adolescent Health Risk Behavior.
New York: Plenum Publishing.
Henggeler, Scott W., Sonja K. Schoenwald,
Charles M. Borduin, Melisa D.
Rowland, and Phillippe B. Cunningham.
1998. Multisystemic Treatment of
Antisocial Behavior in Children and
Adolescents. New York: Guilford
Press.
Hurrelmann, Klaus, and Stephen F.
Hamilton, eds. 1996. Social Problems
and Social Contexts in Adolescence:
Perspectives across Boundaries. New
York: Aldine de Gruyter.
Jessor, Richard, and Shirley L. Jessor. 1977.
Problem Behavior and Psycho-Social
Development: A Longitudinal Study of
Youth. New York: Academic Press.
McWhirter, J. Jeffries, Benedict T.
McWhirter, Anna M. McWhirter, and
Ellen Hawley McWhirter. 1993. At-Risk
Youth: A Comprehensive Response.
Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks-Cole.
Rolf, Jon E., Ann S. Masten, Dante
Cicchetti, Keith H. Nuechterlein, and
Sheldon Weintraub, eds. 1990. Risk and
Protective Factors in the Development
of Psychopathology. Cambridge, UK:
Cambridge University Press.
U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services. 1990. Healthy People 2000:

National Health Promotion and
Disease Prevention Objectives.
Washington, DC: U.S. Government
Printing Office.
Sex Differences
Adolescence is the stage during which
sex differences become much more
marked, and it is crucial that those who
work with adolescents understand the
nature of those differences and be pre-
pared to help young people understand
them. At the same time, they need to be
aware of the controversies that remain
over whether those differences are caused
by nature or nurture.
There are many ways in which females
and males are different. Some of these
differences can be seen before birth,
while others develop later in life. Some
differences are biological, while others
are influenced by society and experience.
This section will address sex differences
in physical development and growth, as
well as differences in ability. The empha-
sis of this section is on sex differences, or
those differences between males and
females that are thought to be influenced
primarily by biology and genetics (i.e.,
nature). Gender differences, on the other
hand, are differences between males and
females that are primarily shaped by soci-
ety, culture, and the environment (i.e.,
nurture).
The distinction between sex differ-
ences and gender differences is not
always clear. Even experts in these areas
of research do not always agree on where
to draw the line between nature and nur-
ture. How much are differences between
people due to the fact that they are genet-
ically female or male, and how much are
they due to the way society raises girls
and boys? For example, it is often found
Sex Differences 649
that males perform better than females
on tasks that involve mentally moving
and turning objects in their minds (spa-
tial tasks), a finding that will be dis-
cussed later. Some experts interpret this
difference as biological in nature, which
would explain why males tend to be
drawn toward working with tools and
physical sports more than women are.
However, other experts believe that this
difference is due to the opportunities and
experiences that males have through
childhood and adolescence, such as play-
ing sports or working with tools, which
increase their ability for spatial tasks. In
reality, it is likely that nature and nur-
ture both contribute to the development
of sex differences, with some differences
being influenced more by nature than
nurture and vice versa.
Basic Differences
The most basic sex difference between
females and males is their genetic
makeup. At conception, genes from the
mother and father are combined. It takes
a pair of chromosomes to create a human
being, and each parent contributes one
chromosome to the pair. The mother
always contributes an X chromosome,
and the father always contributes a Y
chromosome. Two X chromosomes (XX)
create a female offspring, while one X and
one Y chromosome (XY) create a male.
One of the most obvious differences
between females and males is the appear-
ance and function of their sexual organs.
Although this difference is obvious in
children and adults, it is impossible to
tell the difference between females and
males by looking at the genitals of
fetuses. In fact, all fetuses look more like
females than males until the sex organs
develop. The fetus needs to receive cer-
tain hormones at important stages of
650 Sex Differences
During adolescence sex differences in various behaviors may become much more prominent.
(Wartenberg/Picture Press/Corbis)
development in order to become male. If
these hormones are not present, it will
not develop male genitals, and will
appear externally female, even though it
is genetically male. The reverse can also
occur, in which the baby is genetically
female, though it appears externally
male. This is known as having undiffer-
entiated or ambiguous genitalia.
Differences in Physical Development
Females and males differ in how they
grow and develop physically. Girls and
boys have different biologically deter-
mined schedules for development, and
this difference is most pronounced at
adolescence. Sex differences in growth
and development are first seen before
birth, when the skeletal development of
female fetuses can be as much as three
weeks ahead of that of male fetuses at the
same stage of pregnancy. Female develop-
ment is more advanced than that of
males at birth, and this difference contin-
ues through puberty. At puberty, females’
skeletal structures are up to two years
more advanced than males. This female
“advantage” is also seen during puberty.
Females begin and end puberty, on aver-
age, earlier than males. They tend to
develop the first signs of puberty earlier,
and reach their maximum height earlier,
as well.
Growth spurts are characteristic of
adolescence, and a common way of meas-
uring physical growth. Females have
their growth spurts about six months ear-
lier than males, on average. Girls experi-

ence their growth spurts around the ages
of four and a half, six and a half, eight and
a half, and ten years. Boys are close
behind at just over four and a half years,
and at seven, nine, and ten and a half
years. Although females grow faster,
males are generally larger. From birth to
three years old, boys are about two
pounds heavier and one to two inches
taller than girls are. Using height spurts
as a sign of puberty, females tend to reach
puberty (ten and a half years) and end
puberty (fourteen years) earlier than
males, who begin puberty around twelve
and a half years and tend to end around
eighteen years.
Puberty is also characterized by sexual
development, both primary and second-
ary. Primary sex characteristics are those
that are directly related to sexual func-
tioning and reproduction. This includes,
in both sexes, the ability to reproduce. In
females the development of primary sex
characteristics at puberty involves begin-
ning of ovulation and menstruation
(menarche). In males it means the ability
to produce sperm. There are also second-
ary sex characteristics that develop dur-
ing puberty. Before puberty, girls and
boys look physically similar. Except for
the genitals, and gender-stereotyped
clothing and hair, it can be difficult to
tell a girl from a boy. After puberty it is
usually easy to tell women from men
physically. Both sexes develop more body
hair than they had before puberty, but
males develop more of it, and in different
places. Females develop breasts and their
hips widen. Males’ shoulders broaden,
and their voices deepen significantly.
Differences in physical size other than
height also become evident at puberty.
Males begin to develop more muscle
mass and become leaner, losing fat.
Males also become larger overall than
Sex Differences 651
females. On the other hand, females gain
fat at puberty but are, as a group, smaller
than males once they reach adulthood.
These differences may have evolutionary
roots. For example, if males are designed
to hunt and fight, they need to have more
muscle mass and less fat. In contrast, one
major role of females throughout evolu-
tion and across most species is to bear
offspring. Pregnancy requires a lot of
energy and nourishment, and some peo-
ple think that the increase in female
body fat at puberty is the body’s way of
preparing itself for childbearing. In mod-
ern culture, females generally do not
reproduce when their bodies are first
ready to. However, the female body does
not know that, and will prepare itself for
that basic task, regardless of cultural
body ideas for women.
Differences in Ability
There are also sex differences in ability,
but this area of research is much more
controversial and speculative than differ-
ences in development. Sometimes the
controversy arises regarding whether
there are actual sex differences in certain
abilities. When actual sex differences are
found, debate centers around whether the
differences are caused by sex (i.e., they
are natural or genetic), or whether they
are influenced by society (i.e., being
raised as a girl or boy). Although experts
do not always agree on the causes of
these differences (again the debate on
nature versus nurture), there are distinct
sex differences in some types of ability.
First, there are sex differences in phys-
ical ability. Generally, females are better
at activities that require agility, such as
dancing and gymnastics, and fine motor
skills, such as manipulating small
objects with their fingers. Males tend to
be better at activities that require power
652 Sex Differences
and force, such as weight lifting. These
differences are due, in large part, to biol-
ogy. After adolescence, males have much
more muscle mass than females, which
helps them excel at activities requiring
power. In childhood, these sex differ-
ences are not as great as they become at
puberty, but even then males still
slightly outperform females on tests such
as grip strength, jumping, running, and
throwing distance and velocity. It is easy
to assume that these differences are
purely biological. Sex differences in very
young children may indicate that there
are biological roots to these differences,
since sex differences in children are less
influenced by society. At infancy, male
infants are more active than female
infants, suggesting a biological predispo-
sition for activity. However, society
helps shape the activities females and
males will participate in, and subse-
quently become good at.
Second, sex differences are found in
abilities that are more mental than phys-
ical. One of these abilities is called spa-
tial ability. Spatial ability is measured
with puzzles that require a person to
rotate a shape or object in the mind.
Males have been found to perform better
than females on these tasks in certain sit-
uations. Some experts would argue that
the reason that males perform better is
because they have more experience than
females with games that promote spatial
ability (throwing, building, and the like).
Others would say that the differences are
due to differences in the brain. Lateral-
ization refers to which side of the brain is
dominant. The left side of the brain is
thought to deal primarily with verbal
tasks, while the right side is thought to
deal with mathematical and spatial
tasks. However, there is little evidence of
sex differences in brain lateralization
between females and males. Differences
in lateralization between adult males and
females could be due to environment and
socialization.
Although males, as a group, outper-
form females, as a group, in spatial orien-
tation tasks, females tend to be better
than males at orientation toward others.
This term refers to how people acknowl-
edge and interact with other people. Psy-
chologists have studied this behavior by
measuring length of eye contact with
others, responses to people in distress,
recognizing faces, and the amount of
attention people pay to pictures of faces.
Females outperform males on all of these
behaviors. By childhood, some of these
differences may be due to learning, but
differences are seen in infancy.
In sum, while sex differences in several
areas are evident, it is clear that real dif-
ferences between males and females are
the result of both biology and socializa-
tion. Researchers continue to make
progress in answering questions about
both the biological and environmental
differences between the sexes.
Matthew Jans
See also Body Build; Gay, Lesbian, Bisex-
ual, and Sexual-Minority Youth; Gender
Differences; Gender Differences and
Intellectual and Moral Development;
Puberty: Hormone Changes; Puberty:
Physical Changes; Puberty, Timing of;
Services for Adolescents
References and further reading
Bancroft, John, and June Machover
Reinisch, eds. 1990. Adolescence and
Puberty. New York: Oxford University
Press.
Geary, David C. 1998. Male, Female: The
Evolution of Human Sex Differences.
Washington, DC: American
Psychological Association.
Hoyenga, Katharine B. 1993. Gender-
Related Differences: Origins and
Outcomes. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Jacklin, Carol Nagy. 1992. The Psychology
of Gender. New York: New York
University Press.
Reinisch, June Machover, Leonard A.
Rosenblum, and Stephanie A. Sanders,
eds. 1987. Masculinity/Femininity:
Basic Perspectives. New York: Oxford
University Press.
Sex Education
During the adolescent years, sexual
development speeds up, and sexuality
become a central focus for adolescents.
Adolescents grapple with the physical,
behavioral, and physiological aspects of
their sexuality. It is not unusual for the
adolescent to experience a certain
amount of confusion and anxiety as a
result of this increase in sexual drive and
development. Specialists in child devel-
opment agree that educating the young
adolescent about sexual issues is a proac-
tive way of reducing not only anxiety
about sex but also behaviors that may
result in disease or unwanted pregnancy.
Although it may seem reasonable for
adolescents to obtain information from
their parents, they usually do not do so.
Adolescents consistently identify their
peers as their primary source of sex edu-
cation, with parents and schools as lesser
sources. Most adolescents get much of
their information regarding sex from
their peers, who are often misinformed
about this topic. Research that has
focused on the sex education occurring in
the home has found it to be lacking.
However, in some studies there have
been positive outcomes when parents do
talk to their adolescents about sex. For
example, adolescents are less likely to
engage in certain sexual behaviors, and if
they do have sex they are more likely to
use effective contraception and have
Sex Education 653
fewer sexual partners if their parents talk
to them about sexual issues.
Parents usually agree that some sex
education should be done in the schools,
but a significant minority is strongly
opposed to it. In a large opinion study,
most parents reported that they thought
public high schools should include sex
education in their instructional program
(Gallup, 1987). Unfortunately, schools
rarely have teachers who have had spe-
cific training regarding human sexuality.
Healthcare providers are another possible
source of sex education, but many have
had little training in this area. During a
health checkup, most providers spend
only a few minutes talking with teen-
agers about any topic. In many other
Western and some Asian countries, sex
education is a regular part of the curricu-
lum and is taught in every grade accord-
ing to the developmental stages of the
child. Information collected from these
countries suggests that there are no
unwanted effects of using this curricu-
lum (e.g., no increase in promiscuity) and
also suggests that there are fewer prob-
lems related to adolescent sexuality (e.g.,
a lower rate of unwanted pregnancy
among adolescents) (Zabin and Hayward,
1993). Below several potential problems
and possible solutions in regard to sex
education are discussed.
Teaching Adolescents about Sexuality
Peers provide the most information
about sex to teens. Teens are more com-
fortable talking about private issues with
their friends. Unfortunately, peers are
often uninformed or misinformed about
the issues and facts, and base their state-
ments on their own personal experience
or that of a few friends. If there were a
standard curriculum for sex education,
this problem could be eliminated,
654 Sex Education
because all adolescents would be exposed
to similar, accurate information. There
are several reasons why parents are not
typically a source of sex education for
their children. First, it is likely that they
have had no formal exposure to sexuality
issues. In addition, most parents do not
feel comfortable talking to their kids
about sexual issues. The main exception
is that most mothers tell their daughters
about menstruation.
Schools are the source of some sexual
information. Most girls get to see a film
on menstruation, often shown after most
girls have already reached menarche.
Boys are almost never allowed to see this
film, especially at the same time and in
the same room as girls. Some schools
show boys a film about sexual develop-
ment, but never in the same room and at
the same time as girls. The practice of
separating the sexes during instruction
that applies to both of them sends a
rather peculiar but common message in
regard to sexuality. This message sug-
gests that sex is something so private and
mysterious that one sex should not know
anything about the other sex.
In the past, the teacher designated to
be the instructor in sexual matters in
schools did not have particular training
or expertise in this area. Many times the
person was the athletic coach, often by
default. Today, all schools are required to
provide students with information
regarding AIDS. Children are informed
about how AIDS is contracted and how it
is not contracted, but little information
is provided on explicit sexual practices.
Most states have developed a standard
curriculum to address this subject and
have provided training for teachers who
teach this topic. However, many states
do not allow teachers to talk about any
ways to prevent AIDS except by avoiding
having sexual relations. Some school sys-
tems have developed a curriculum that
they require every child to complete. If
parents do not want their adolescent
exposed to the curriculum in the school
setting, they may administer the curricu-
lum at home or have another responsible
and appropriate person (healthcare pro-
vider, religious leader, or the like) super-
vise the curriculum at a location other
than the school. All students must pass a
standard test based on the curriculum,
regardless of where it was taught. Schools
in other developed countries have suc-
cessfully instituted courses in human
sexuality, integrating it into the curricu-
lum in appropriate places.
Perhaps the media represent the largest
source of information about sex in the
United States. Sexually intimate behavior,
often quite sexually explicit, is displayed
by the media with increasing frequency.
Films run in public theaters have been
rated to exclude younger teens from cer-
tain movies. Although there have been
attempts to do this for television, it is not
known how much parents actually con-
trol what their adolescents watch, or how
many younger adolescents still watch
material considered inappropriate. Specifi-
cally pornographic films, videos, and mag-
azines are also available. Part of the prob-
lem relates to the use of sexually
suggestive advertisements whose message
often is use this product and you will be
sexually rewarded. So the teenager is often
faced with mixed messages, hearing on
one hand the message based on Judeo-
Christian belief, which says that sexuality
is a personal and private issue of intimacy
between one man and one woman, and on
the other hand the message of the media
and businesses that advertise using the
media, which suggests that sex is all right
anytime, anyplace, with anyone. Another

part of the problem relates to the apparent
absence of consequences for sexual behav-
iors displayed on-screen. Multiple sexual
partners, no use of contraception or meth-
ods to prevent sexually transmitted dis-
ease, yet no ill effects, and the emotional
side effects of sexual behaviors are rarely
shown. This may give the message to ado-
lescents that there are no unwanted con-
sequences of sexual behaviors.
Sex Education Curriculum—The
Problem of What to Teach
The question of the content of sex educa-
tion programs creates anxiety in parents.
There is little agreement among parents
and teachers about the appropriate content
of sex education curriculum. Anatomy
(body parts), physiology (how the body
works), changes associated with puberty,
pregnancy, childbirth and infant care, sex-
ually transmitted diseases, and family
planning can be thought of as relatively
scientific topics, but some parents feel
that even mentioning some of these topics
is a violation of their and their child’s right
to decide on what is appropriate informa-
tion to give to adolescents. Some parents
also are concerned that if their children get
information, they may become very curi-
ous about the information and want to act
on it—they may become sexually active.
Some parents feel that if their child is not
sexually active, providing them with
information about sex may make them
think that there is something wrong with
them because they may think that every-
one else is sexually active except them.
Many sex educators have felt that they
should only provide scientific informa-
tion and avoid discussing the ethical and
moral issues involved in human sexual-
ity. Many parents feel that the ethical
and moral issues are of major importance
and that only they as parents can know
Sex Education 655
what these issues are for their families. It
seems fairly clear, however, that almost
everyone agrees about the basic ethical
and moral issues of the Judeo-Christian
philosophy. It is difficult to imagine that
parents, teachers, or healthcare providers
would advocate premarital intercourse,
teenage unplanned pregnancy, promiscu-
ity, and the like, or that they would not
consider abstinence advisable for all ado-
lescents. These and other commonly
agreed upon points should be covered in
any sexuality curriculum. Issues related
to gender identity, gender roles, gender
preferences, and abortion are extraordi-
narily complex issues compared with the
topics mentioned previously. Inclusion of
these issues in sexuality curricula will
depend on the availability of experts in
these areas.
When to Teach Children
about Sexual Issues
Sexuality education should ideally begin
at home during infancy and childhood.
Parents have many opportunities to pro-
vide important and appropriate informa-
tion to their children in the preschool
years. If they did so, it would serve to
appropriately prepare a child to experi-
ence a school-based curriculum regarding
sexuality. To a great extent the practice
of using a curriculum designed for each
developmental age group will best suit
most people. It would be inappropriate to
discuss contraception with children in
kindergarten, but an appropriate presen-
tation of pregnancy would be important,
since the mothers of many of this group
will be pregnant.
A different presentation of pregnancy
would be most appropriate for high school
juniors and seniors, since many of them
will become parents within a few years.
The concept that sexuality education
656 Sex Roles
should begin at puberty does not recog-
nize the importance of child development
in sexuality education. It also fails to rec-
ognize that all children are sexually curi-
ous and engage in sexual behaviors
throughout development (e.g., genital
fondling is common during the toddler
and early childhood years, and masturba-
tion typically begins in early adolescence),
and therefore all children need informa-
tion and guidance concerning this impor-
tant aspect of life at all stages of life. Sex-
uality begins in the developing fetus and
continues throughout all stages of life.
Sexuality education should parallel these
changes. Too often sex education is intro-
duced after the adolescent is already sexu-
ally active.
The essential point is that all children
will become sexually educated. There is
an abundance of information from infor-
mal sources such as peers and the media,
and there is no way to shelter an adoles-
cent from information and misinforma-
tion. All sources that adolescents elicit
information from (parents, peers, clergy,
teachers, and medical professionals) need
to provide accurate and responsible infor-
mation. Adolescents should have a
means to discuss their sexual attitudes
and behaviors in an open and honest way.
Jordan W. Finkelstein
See also Abortion; Abstinence; Contracep-
tion; Pregnancy, Interventions to Pre-
vent; Sex Differences; Sexual Behavior;
Sexuality, Emotional Aspects of; Sexu-
ally Transmitted Diseases
References and further reading
Bourgeois, Paulette, and Martin Wolfish.
1994a. Changes in You and Me: A Book
about Puberty, Mostly for Boys. Kansas
City: Andrews and McMeel.
———. 1994b. Changes in You and Me: A
Book about Puberty, Mostly for Girls.
Kansas City: Andrews and McMeel.
Faulkenberry, Ray, M. Vincent, A. James,
and W. Johnson. 1987. “Coital
Behaviors, Attitudes, and Knowledge of
Students Who Experience Early Coitus.”
Adolescence 22: 321–332.
Gallup, Gordon, Jr. 1987. The Gallup Poll:
Public Opinion 1986. Washington, DC:
Scholarly Resources.
Irvine, Janice M. 1994. Sexuality
Education across Cultures. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Koch, Patricia. 1991. “Sex Education.” In
Encyclopedia of Adolescence. Edited by
Richard Lerner, Anne Petersen, and
Jeanne Brooks-Gunn. New York:
Garland.
Measor, Lynda, with Coralie Tiffin. 2000.
Young People’s Views on Sex Education:
Education, Attitudes, and Behavior.
London and New York: Routledge/
Falmer.
Zabin, L., and S. Hayward. 1993.
Adolescent Sexual Behavior and
Childbearing. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Sex Roles
Sex roles are the prevailing societally
defined male and female roles, or gender
roles. All societies define expected role
behaviors for males and females. In the
United States, the traditional male sex
role is an instrumental one, and the tra-
ditional female sex role is an expressive
one. These roles are reversed in some
other cultures, because they are not
entirely biologically determined. Sex
roles are learned in the same manner as
other social behaviors and roles, through
direct training, by parents, for example,
or through peer pressure, observational
learning (e.g., watching models such as
parents or the way males and females
behave in the media), and other socializa-
tion techniques. Because sex roles influ-
ence the view of the self, impact on voca-
tional decision making, shape views of
marriage and parenting, are related to
general psychological adjustment, and

have an influence in a number of other
ways, many consider sex roles to be at
the center of the personality. During ado-
lescence there is a heightened awareness
of sex roles and of the importance of
behaving in accord with them. Hence,
understanding sex roles is an important
component to understanding adolescent
behavior and personality development.
Defining and Measuring Sex Roles
The traditional instrumental masculine
sex role involves traits such as indepen-
dence, aggressiveness, assertiveness,
being a doer, and being successful as a
manipulator of the environment. The tra-
ditional feminine sex role in the United
States involves being nurturing, gentle,
sociable, and nonaggressive. Those who
view themselves as possessing the tradi-
tional masculine traits to a relatively
high degree and the traditional feminine
traits to a relatively low degree are called
masculine. Those with the reverse self-
perspective are called feminine. Some
individuals view themselves as possess-
ing both traditional masculine and tradi-
tional feminine sex role characteristics to
a relatively high degree. These people are
called androgynous. Some view them-
selves as neither very masculine nor very
feminine. These individuals are called
undifferentiated.
Several instruments have been devel-
oped to measure sex roles. In general,
each instrument assesses the degree to
which individuals ascribe traditional
masculine and feminine characteristics
to the self. For example, after reading a
sex role descriptor such as “sensitivity to
others” or “willing to take risks,” the
individual indicates the degree to which
the characteristic accurately describes
her by selecting from alternatives rang-
Sex Roles 657
ing from “Never or Almost Never True of
Me” to “Always or Almost Always True
of Me.” A masculinity and a femininity
score are obtained for each person by
summing their scores on the items com-
posing the masculinity and femininity
scales. These scores are then compared to
the median score (the score that divides
all the subjects’ scores on each scale in
half). Individuals whose scores are below
the median are considered to be low on
the scale; those with scores above the
median are considered “high” on the
scale. People then can be classified into
one of the four sex role groups.
A word of caution about these scales is
in order. Most were developed in the
1970s, and because there have been
important changes in sex-typed behavior
since then, they may not be as accurate
an indicator of sex roles as they once
were. For example, the number of
women in the workforce and the number
of women entering and completing col-
lege today reflects changes in the tradi-
tionally masculine traits of being the pri-
mary wage earner and being more
oriented toward achievement.
Sex Role Development
Sex roles change in several ways. First,
they evolve and change within their cul-
tural context. That is, there are changes
in the traditional sex roles as the culture
changes and evolves. What may be con-
sidered traditionally feminine at one
point in history may become much less
sex-typed later on. Second, individuals’
sex roles change as they grow and
develop.
The traditional sex roles have a histor-
ical basis in biological sex differences. At
one time they probably were an adaptive
means of insuring survival. Many argue,
658 Sex Roles
however, that the historical necessity for
capitalizing on biological sex differ-
ences—for example, the males’ greater
strength as related to hunting success-
fully—has long since passed. They view
the traditional sex roles as overly restric-
tive on both males and females, limiting
their ability to develop as a person and
engage in a variety of rewarding behav-
iors, and call for a blending of the tradi-
tional sex roles—androgyny.
In order for sex role stereotypes to
change, broad changes must occur within
the culture. A significant shift in the per-
centage of women, and especially of
mothers, who are in the workforce is an
example of a cultural change that has
given impetus to altering the traditional
sex roles in the United States. Being a
wage earner outside the home no longer
is as exclusively a part of the masculine
sex role as once was the case. Because
gender is no longer strongly related to
whether or not one works outside the
house, working is no longer a strongly
masculine trait. Similar changes, in
sports opportunities, for example, and
going to college, have resulted in other
traits, such as being athletic and achiev-
ing, becoming less sex-typed.
In some other ways, however, the tra-
ditional sex role stereotypes remain.
Women still are the primary child care-
takers (although changes are occurring),
and many women still plan on leaving
the workforce for some period of time to
remain home with children. And,
women continue to remain the primary
person who runs the household. These
are some ways in which traditionally sex-
typed behaviors, and therefore sex roles,
have not changed.
Sex roles not only change with shifts in
cultural values, they also change during
the person’s development. Evidence
shows that the proportion of androgynous
males increases with age and the propor-
tion of androgynous females decreases
with age, with more females taking on a
more traditional feminine sex role. In
other words, we do not learn a sex role and
then never change. Changes of this kind
reflect other cultural pressures. For exam-
ple, in current society it is more accept-
able for female adolescents to behave in
what once were considered masculine
ways (e.g., being an achieving, striving per-
son) than it is for males to behave in a
more feminine manner. This has resulted
in changes in current sex role stereotypes.
Societal definitions of sex roles change
as the culture evolves and changes. Indi-
viduals’ sex roles change with their
development and particular circum-
stances. These changes occur because sex
roles are not biologically determined but
are learned, just as other social behaviors
are. Because they are learned, they can
and do change.
Sex Roles and Psychological
Adjustment
Those who argue that traditional sex roles
are limiting often suggest that an androg-
ynous sex role is preferable to either the
stereotypical masculine or feminine sex
role. In other words, the view is that an
androgynous sex role is associated with
better psychological adjustment during
the adolescent years. The evidence sup-
porting this view is very clear. Adoles-
cents who are androgynous, who view
themselves as being comfortable when
behaving in either traditionally mascu-
line or traditionally feminine ways, show
advantages in a number of realms. They
are less likely to be depressed, have better
self-esteem and identity development,
feel healthier, cope better in a variety of
situations, practice better health behav-

iors, and generally are more psychologi-
cally well adjusted than adolescents who
are more traditionally sex-typed.
It is also clear that being traditionally
sex-typed is better than being undifferen-
tiated (viewing the self as not possessing
either traditionally defined masculine or
feminine characteristics to a relatively
high degree). Undifferentiated adoles-
cents generally score the lowest on meas-
ures of psychological adjustment, perhaps
because they feel relatively incompetent
or uncomfortable in a wide variety of sit-
uations. These findings underscore the
importance of sex roles within the larger
context of our social institutions and sex
role stereotypes. Being sex-typed as mas-
culine or feminine, then, may be person-
ally limiting and not as beneficial as
being androgynous, but it is better than
being undifferentiated.
Adolescent Development and Sex Roles
Adolescence is a time of important per-
sonality and identity development, espe-
cially in regard to learning how to navi-
gate a number of interpersonal social
roles. In many ways, learning how to
behave as a male or female, that is, learn-
ing culturally defined sex-typed behav-
iors, is important to traversing the transi-
tion into adulthood. This task entails
resolving conflicts between personal
ideals and prevailing social standards,
learning to adjust to feeling different, and
learning to accept having goals that may
differ from existing societal norms. As
these norms change, such adaptations
will become easier and we will see fur-
ther changes in sex role norms.
Jerome B. Dusek
See also Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Sex-
ual-Minority Youth; Gender Differences;
Sexual Abuse 659
Gender Differences and Intellectual and
Moral Development; Maternal Employ-
ment: Historical Changes; Media; Sex
Differences; Sexual Behavior
Reference and further reading
Brovermann, I. K., S. R. Vogel, D. M.
Broverman, F. E. Clarkson, and P. S.
Rosenkrantz. 1994. “Sex-Role
Stereotypes: A Current Appraisal.” Pp.
191–210 in Caring Voices and Women’s
Moral Frames: Gilligan’s View. Edited
by B. Puka. New York: Garland.
Dusek, Jerome B. 1996. Adolescent
Development and Behavior. Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Endo, K., and T. Hashimoto. 1998. “The
Effect of Sex-Role Identity on Self-
Actualization in Adolescence.” Japanese
Journal of Educational Psychology 46:
86–94.
Karniol, R., R. Gabay, Y. Ochion, and Y.
Harari. 1998. “Is Gender or Gender-Role
Orientation a Better Predictor of
Empathy in Adolescence?” Sex Roles
39: 45–59.
Norlander, T., A. Erixon, and T. Archer.
2000. “Psychological Androgyny and
Creativity: Dynamics of Gender-Role
and Personality Trait.” Social Behavior
and Personality 28: 423–435.
Sexual Abuse
Although legal definitions vary from
state to state, sexual abuse involves the
initiation of inappropriate sexual activi-
ties with a child or adolescent by an adult
or someone who is considerably older
than the victim (Finkelhor, 1994). Sexual
abuse can involve physical contact, such
as the abuser touching sexual portions of
the child’s body, having intercourse, or
causing a child to touch the abuser in a
sexual manner. However, there is also
noncontact sexual abuse, such as exhibi-
tionism, voyeurism, or having a child
pose for pornographic pictures.
Prevalence
It is difficult to know precisely how
many children and adolescents have been
660 Sexual Abuse
sexually abused because most cases of
sexual abuse are never reported to
authorities. Based on surveys of adults
who have been asked to recall any expe-
riences of sexual abuse while growing up,
it has been estimated that at least 20 per-
cent of females and 5 percent to 10 per-
cent of males in the United States have
experienced some type of sexual abuse
(Finkelhor, 1994, p. 31). Various surveys
suggest that females are two to four
times as likely as males to be sexually
abused. For both males and females, the
perpetrator of the abuse is likely to be
male and someone who is known to the
victim. Sexual abuse is less likely than
physical abuse or neglect to be perpe-
trated by a parent or parent figure, but
the perpetrator is viewed by the victim as
an authority figure in about half of the
cases.
Sexual abuse can occur at any time
from infancy through adolescence. In one
national survey of adults, 34 percent of
the female and 39 percent of the male
victims reported that the sexual abuse
occurred during adolescence (i.e., from
ages twelve through eighteen) (Finkelhor
et al., 1990, p. 21).
Consequences
What are the consequences of sexual
abuse for those who have been abused?
The consequences of sexual abuse vary
from individual to individual, with some
adolescents coping well with the experi-
ence (i.e., appearing to be very similar to
adolescents who have never been abused)
and other adolescents having serious neg-
ative consequences. Typically, studies of
the consequences of abuse compare vic-
tims of abuse with peers who have never
been abused to determine if the two
groups, on average, differ on some out-
come. Not surprisingly, these studies
show that more problems are found in
the group that experienced sexual abuse
than in the comparison group.
Some of the differences involve how
the victims feel. On average, adolescents
who have been abused are more likely
than their peers to feel fearful, anxious,
angry, or depressed. Some victims even
have suicidal thoughts because of the
psychological pain they are experiencing.
Other adolescents report that memories
of the abuse intrude on their thoughts
during the day or at night in the form of
nightmares.
How adolescents feel as a result of the
sexual abuse may affect how they behave.
Some victims of abuse become more
socially withdrawn and are generally less
trusting of others. Other adolescents who
have been victimized may find it more
difficult to concentrate on schoolwork,
and their school performance may suffer.
Victims of sexual abuse are more likely
than their peers to engage in binge drink-
ing and to use drugs; substance abuse
may be one way that adolescents try to
cope with the experience of sexual abuse,
but it is a coping response that has its
own negative consequences.
Sexual abuse can also affect sexual
behaviors. Children who have been vic-
tims of sexual abuse tend to show an
early interest in sex that is evident in
their play or through excessive masturba-
tion. Adolescents who have been sexu-
ally abused may have sexual intercourse
at an earlier age or have more sexual part-
ners than their peers during the adoles-
cent years. In contrast, some adolescents
or adults may fear having normal sexual
contact or may find it to be less pleasura-
ble than others when they are having
consensual intimate experiences.
Adolescents who have experienced
sexual abuse may act out in various

ways. Sexual abuse is associated with an
increased risk of conduct problems,
aggressive behavior, and delinquency.
However, it is important to point out
that no one is likely to show all of the
symptoms that have been linked to sex-
ual abuse, and as noted earlier, many ado-
lescents who have been abused show
none of these symptoms.
Mitigating Factors
Why do some victims of sexual abuse
fare better than others? It seems likely
that the consequences of sexual abuse
depend on the adolescents’ experience
prior to the abuse, to the nature of the
abuse they experienced, and to what
occurs after the abuse ends. Children
who have had very positive relationships
with their parents and other adults prior
to the abuse experience and who have
experienced success in areas that are
important to them (e.g., school, sports,
peers relationships) are more likely than
children from less fortunate circum-
stances to have the personal resources to
cope effectively with the abuse. The
long-term consequences are likely to be
less severe if the abuse represents a
painful event in an otherwise happy
childhood.
The nature of the abuse is also likely to
vary from individual to individual. More
negative consequences are found when
the sexual abuse is severe (usually
defined as involving penetration) or
involves the use of force. The duration
and frequency of the abuse may also be
important factors. Adolescents who have
experienced physical abuse as well as
sexual abuse are at higher risk for having
problems than adolescents who have
experienced only one type of abuse. The
relationship that the adolescent had with
the perpetrator is another important fac-
Sexual Abuse 661
tor; victims who feel betrayed by some-
one with whom they have had a close
relationship, such as a father, are likely
to be negatively impacted by the abuse,
the betrayal, and the loss of a close rela-
tionship. Although one would expect the
experience of sexual abuse and how it is
processed to be markedly different for
very young children and adolescents, the
effect of experiencing sexual abuse at dif-
ferent ages is not well understood at this
time.
For those victims who disclose the
abuse, what happens after disclosure in
their family and in the legal system can
also influence the long-term impact of
sexual abuse. Victims fare better when
their mothers believe them, are support-
ive, and take steps to protect them fol-
lowing disclosure. Those who disclose
also tend to have fewer problems if the
case is settled quickly either in court or
through a plea bargain, if the victims are
not forced to testify repeatedly, and if
they feel supported by Protective Service
workers, prosecutors, and other officials
dealing with their case. The outcome of
the case, the acquittal or conviction of
the alleged perpetrator, seems to have lit-
tle effect on how victims fare.
The victim’s experiences after the sex-
ual abuse has ended are also important.
Victims of abuse have fewer problems if
they have supportive relationships with
their mothers and fathers. They are less
likely to engage in problem behaviors,
like binge drinking, if their parents mon-
itor whom they are with and what they
are doing when away from home. In gen-
eral, victims of sexual abuse show an
abatement of symptoms if they experi-
ence supportive environments once the
abuse ends. In contrast, adolescents or
adults who are victimized again (e.g.,
another incident of sexual abuse, rape, or
662 Sexual Behavior
domestic violence) exhibit more long-
term problems than their peers. Although
sexual abuse can result in long-term diffi-
culties, one of the most important find-
ings to come out of the research is that
much can be done by families, case work-
ers, and the judicial system to support the
victims and reduce the negative conse-
quences of sexual abuse.
Tom Luster
James Henry
See also Aggression; Coping; Counseling;
Emotional Abuse; Physical Abuse;
Rape; Sexual Behavior Problems
References and further reading
Briere, John N., and Diana M. Elliott.
1994. “Immediate and Long-Term
Impacts of Child Sexual Abuse.” The
Future of Children 4, no. 2: 54–69.
Finkelhor, David. 1994. “Current
Information on the Scope and Nature of
Child Sexual Abuse.” The Future of
Children 4, no. 2: 31–53.
Finkelhor, David, Gerald Hotaling, I. A.
Lewis, and Christine Smith. 1990.
“Sexual Abuse in a National Survey of
Adult Men and Women: Prevalence,
Characteristics, and Risk Factors.”
Child Abuse and Neglect 14: 19–28.
Henry, James. 1997. “System Intervention
Trauma to Child Sexual Abuse Victims
Following Disclosure.” Journal of
Interpersonal Violence 12: 499–512.
Kendall-Tackett, Kathleen A., Linda M.
Williams, and David Finkelhor. 1993.
“Impact of Sexual Abuse on Children: A
Review and Synthesis of Recent
Empirical Studies.” Psychological
Bulletin 113: 164–180.
Luster,Tom, and Stephen A. Small. 1997a.
“Sexual Abuse History and Number of
Sex Partners among Female
Adolescents.” Family Planning
Perspectives 29: 204–211.
———. 1997b. “Sexual Abuse History and
Problems in Adolescence: Exploring the
Effects of Moderating Variables.”
Journal of Marriage and the Family 59:
131–142.
Trickett, Penelope K., and Frank W.
Putnam. 1998. “Developmental
Consequences of Child Sexual Abuse.”
Pp. 39–56 in Violence against Children
in the Family and the Community.
Edited by Penelope K. Trickett and
Cynthia J. Schellenbach. Washington,
DC: American Psychological
Association.
Sexual Behavior
Although one of the most prominent fea-
tures of adolescence is development into
sexual maturity, what is understood
about this development is limited and
not organized by any particular theory. In
fact, much of the research on adolescent
sexual behavior is atheoretical and is a
piecemeal collection of promising vari-
ables and different methods of assessing
outcome, varying from self-report of
coitus to pregnancy rates. The main the-
ories that do exist on adolescent sexual
development are typically a blend of cog-
nitive and self-control models that focus
on the individual.
Unfortunately, the need for develop-
mental research on sexual behavior has
grown as the result of a focus on two
health consequences of sexual activity:
pregnancy and infection with sexually
transmitted diseases (STDs), including
the human immunodeficiency virus
(HIV). In the United States, pregnancy
among adolescents has been a growing
concern of educators, governmental agen-
cies, and service providers since the
1970s and has been the focus of much
research, largely because of the generally
poor outcomes for teenage mothers and
their children. Compared to other adoles-
cents, teenage mothers are less likely to
complete their education, which may
result in inadequate economic opportuni-
ties, are more likely to become dependent
on public assistance, experience more
economic instability (since pregnancy
typically occurs outside of marriage), and

Healthy sexuality requires a focus on positive and negative emotional aspects of sexuality,
such as the qualities of respect and responsibility in relationships with a potential partner.
(Jennie Woodcock; Reflections Photolibrary/Corbis)
commonly experience prenatal complica-
tions and a lack of adequate prenatal care.
Although the research on the ante-
cedents and consequences of teen preg-
nancy has been expanding over the last
twenty-five years, there remains the need
to increase the knowledge base because
of two key limitations of the research to
date. The first limitation is that teen
pregnancy and early motherhood have
been examined extensively among major-
ity groups in the United States, but have
only recently been the focus of attention
among different ethnic minorities. This
has resulted in a dearth of information on
the nature of the process for minority
teens. The second limitation of previous
research on teen pregnancies and adoles-
Sexual Behavior 663
cent sexual behavior is that the research
has typically examined adolescents aged
fifteen to nineteen, which is usually after
the onset of sexual activity has occurred.
Although the HIV infection rate is not
currently of epidemic proportions among
adolescents, numerous authors have sug-
gested that given the increasing preva-
lence of HIV among heterosexual individ-
uals in their twenties, and the long
latency of the virus, it is possible that a
number of these individuals were
infected as adolescents. Estimates for
other STDs are also high, suggesting high
rates of unprotected intercourse. Younger
adolescents may not consider themselves
at risk for STDs and may have less infor-
mation about HIV than older adolescents,
664 Sexual Behavior
who have taken sexuality education
classes. Furthermore, the cognitive skills
required for consistent condom use (the
most effective barrier against disease
transmission) may not have fully evolved
among younger adolescents.
Developmental literature suggests sev-
eral possible trajectories for adolescents’
sexual development. For instance, there
may be a normative pattern in which the
onset of sexual behavior occurs later in
adolescence or in early adulthood. Many
believe that this sequence is optimal
because the older adolescents have more
cognitive, educational, and economic
resources that protect them from the
undesired consequences of sexual activity.
Another possibility is a more risk-filled
developmental trajectory in which the
adolescent engages in sexual activity at an
early age. Younger adolescents are less
cognitively mature, suggesting poor deci-
sion-making skills, are biologically ill pre-
pared for pregnancy, and are less likely to
attain their educational goals; also, their
maturity levels do not make it likely they
will be able to provide good parenting for
children. Early onset of sexual activity has
also been correlated with a greater number
of lifetime sexual partners, which in-
creases the probability of exposure to sex-
ually transmitted diseases such as HIV/
AIDS. Recent research has also shown
that younger adolescents are less likely to
use contraception.
The number of factors that have been
examined with regard to the early onset
of sexual activity is extensive. Individual
factors such as self-esteem, locus of con-
trol, level of knowledge on sexual infor-
mation, attitudes toward sexuality,
pubertal status, and cognitive skills have
been examined. Peer factors, such as
actual peer activity and perceptions
about peer activity, have also been exam-
ined. The influence of familial factors,
such as parent-child communication,
parental monitoring, parental support,
maternal age, and other demographic fac-
tors, have also been researched. Less fre-
quently, contextual factors such as accul-
turation have been explored.
Estimates for the onset of sexual inter-
course among adolescents vary according
to race, ethnicity, location, and historical
period of the data. Although the onset of
sexual intercourse is an important marker
in determining risk of negative conse-
quences for adolescents, some researchers
have suggested that heterosexual sexual
development occurs in a sequence of
behaviors. This sequence involves
increases in intimacy, as couples move
from kissing to fondling and petting
before reaching intercourse. However,
some authors have not found the same
sequence of behaviors before intercourse
for black adolescents. On the other hand,
a later study by Judith S. Brook and col-
leagues did find a similar sequence for
African American and Puerto Rican ado-
lescents. The applicability of this
sequence is not clear for younger adoles-
cents, as their reports state that inter-
course is an unpredictable and a sponta-
neous event. Also, it is often a demanding
task to survey younger adolescents about
these behaviors because of the sensitive
nature of these topics and the difficulty of
obtaining parental permission for inter-
views on these topics.
Age and pubertal status are two factors
that have been the subject of much inves-
tigation regarding the onset of sexual
activity. Udry and colleagues explained in
their study on adolescent female sexuality
that social scientists have often assumed
that “puberty supplies the hormones that
create the motivation for sexual behav-
ior” (1986, p. 217). In a later study, Udry

noted that certain social control variables
might interact with the biological to pre-
dict the onset of sexual activity. Daniel J.
Flannery and colleagues (1993) recom-
mended separating age and physical mat-
uration because the two are distinct social
phenomena that interact with one
another and are frequently entangled in
the studies on adolescent development.
Yet the relationship between age and
pubertal status may be related more
importantly to the subsequent effects on
other psychosocial factors. In other words,
pubertal development at younger ages
may influence how the adolescent is per-
ceived by family and peers.
There have also been studies to exam-
ine whether early pubertal development
is associated with the early initiation of
sexual activity. Brent C. Miller and
Kristin A. Moore reported on the basis of
their 1990 review on the research of the
1980s that substantial evidence showed
that early pubertal development is asso-
ciated with early initiation of sexual
activity. Although the importance of
early pubertal maturation on sexual
activity is clear, social factors must be
considered in relation to hormonal
effects. Although there is much individ-
ual variability in timing, part of early
pubertal development is the correspond-
ing development of secondary sexual
characteristics, which may attract the
attention of parents and peers in the ado-
lescent’s environment. Yet, as noted by
Roberta Paikoff and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn,
the meaning of pubertal events and
familial relationships may vary by eth-
nicity, which may affect how these vari-
ables are related.
Parental monitoring (in other words,
parents supervising their children and
being knowledgeable of their where-
abouts) has been examined as a parenting
Sexual Behavior 665
practice important in relation to delin-
quent behavior, drug use, and early sex-
ual behavior. The influence of parental
monitoring on early sexual behavior, in
particular, may be important by virtue of
the fact that if parents decrease and con-
trol their child’s association with peers of
the opposite sex, they may reduce the
possibility of sexual activity. Jeanne
Brooks-Gunn and Frank Furstenberg
(1989) note that with greater parental
supervision, the onset of intercourse
occurs later. Some researchers have spec-
ulated that parents who use greater mon-
itoring have more access to their child’s
activities while parents who use low
monitoring permit their child to associ-
ate with deviant peers.
Although clearly the consequences of
adolescents’ sexual activity can be devas-
tating or even life threatening, what is
sadly missing from the study of adoles-
cent sexual development is a focus on the
development of healthy sexuality. In one
of the few discussions of healthy sexual-
ity for adolescents, Jeanne Brooks-Gunn
and Roberta Paikoff suggested in their
1993 essay that as adolescents mature,
the most optimal outcome is to develop a
sense of what they call sexual well-being.
They defined sexual well-being as having
positive feelings about one’s body,
accepting feelings of sexual arousal and
desire in sexual behaviors, and if engag-
ing in intercourse, practicing safe sex.
Developmental research, interventions
designed to prevent pregnancies and
STDs, and society as a whole may bene-
fit by shifting the focus of adolescent sex-
uality from purely the prevention of risk
to the promotion of a positive sense of
sexual well-being.
Cami K. McBride
Roberta L. Paikoff
666 Sexual Behavior
See also Contraception; Dating; Gay, Les-
bian, Bisexual, and Sexual-Minority
Youth; Love; Sexual Behavior Problems;
Sexuality, Emotional Aspects of; Sexu-
ally Transmitted Diseases
References and further reading
Brook, Judith S., Elinor B. Balka, Thomas
Abernathy, and Beatrix A. Hamburg.
1994. “Sequence of Sexual Behavior and
Its Relationship to Other Problem
Behaviors in African American and
Puerto Rican Adolescents.” Journal of
Genetic Psychology 155: 107–114.
Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne, and Frank F.
Furstenberg. 1989. “Adolescent Sexual
Behavior.” American Psychologist 44:
249–257.
Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne, and Roberta L.
Paikoff. 1993. “‘Sex Is a Gamble,
Kissing Is a Game’: Adolescent
Sexuality and Health Promotion.” In
Promoting the Health of Adolescents:
New Directions for the Twenty-First
Century. Edited by Susan G. Millstein,
Anne C. Petersen, and Elena O.
Nightingale. New York: Oxford
University Press.
Brown, Larry K., Ralph J. DiClemente, and
Nancy I. Beausoleil. 1992. “Comparison
of Human Immunodeficiency Virus
Related Knowledge, Attitudes,
Intentions, and Behaviors among
Sexually Active and Abstinent Young
Adolescents.” Journal of Adolescent
Health 13: 140–145.
Flannery, Daniel J., David C. Rowe, and
Bill L. Gulley. 1993. “Impact of Pubertal
Status, Timing, and Age on Adolescent
Sexual Experience and Delinquency.”
Journal of Adolescent Research 8: 21–40.
Ford, Kathleen, and Anne Norris. 1993.
“Urban Hispanic Adolescents and
Young Adults: Relationship of
Acculturation to Sexual Behavior.”
Journal of Sex Research 30: 316–323.
Hayes, Cheryl D. 1987. Risking the
Future: Adolescent Sexuality,
Pregnancy, and Childbearing.
Washington, DC: National Academy
Press.
Hovell, Melbourne F., et al. 1994. “A
Behavioral-Ecological Model of
Adolescent Sexual Development: A
Template for AIDS Prevention.” Journal
of Sex Research 31: 267–281.
Katchadourian, Herant. 1991. “Sexuality.”
In At the Threshold: The Developing
Adolescent. Edited by Shirley S.
Feldman and Glen R. Elliott.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press.
Miller, Brent C., and Kristin A. Moore.
1990. “Adolescent Sexual Behavior,
Pregnancy, and Parenting: Research
through the 1980s.” Journal of Marriage
and the Family 52: 1025–1044.
Miller, Kim A., Rex Forehand, and Beth A.
Kotchick. 1999. “Adolescent Sexual
Behavior in Two Ethnic Minority
Samples: The Role of Family Variables.”
Journal of Marriage and the Family 61,
no. 1: 85–98.
Murphy, Debra A., Mary Jane Rotheram-
Borus, and Helen M. Reid. 1998.
“Adolescent Gender Differences in HIV-
Related Sexual Risk Acts, Social-
Cognitive Factors and Behavioral
Skills.” Journal of Adolescence 21, no.
2: 197–208.
Paikoff, Roberta L., and Jeanne Brooks-
Gunn. 1991. “Do Parent-Child
Relationships Change during Puberty?”
Psychological Bulletin 110: 47–66.
Paikoff, Roberta L., Sheila H. Parfenoff,
Stephanie A. Williams, and Anthony
McCormick. 1997. “Parenting, Parent-
Child Relationships, and Sexual
Possibility Situations among Urban
African American Preadolescents:
Preliminary Findings and Implications
for HIV Prevention.” Journal of Family
Psychology 11, no. 1: 11–22.
Parfenoff, Sheila H., and Roberta L.
Paikoff. 1997. “Developmental and
Biological Perspectives on Minority
Adolescent Health.” Pp. 5–27 in Health-
Promoting and Health-Compromising
Behaviors among Minority Adolescents.
Edited by Dawn K. Wilson, James R.
Rodrigue, and Wendell C. Taylor.
Washington, DC: American
Psychological Association.
Romer, Daniel, Maureen Black, Izabel
Ricardon, Susan Feigelman, Linda
Kaljee, Jennifer Galbraith, Rodney
Nesbit, Robert C. Hornik, and Bonita
Stanton. 1994. “Social Influences on the
Sexual Behavior of Youth at Risk for
HIV Exposure.” American Journal of
Public Health 84: 977–985.
Udry, J. Richard. 1988. “Biological
Predispositions and Social Control in
Adolescent Sexual Behavior.”
American Sociological Review 53:
709–722.

Udry, J. Richard, Luther M. Talbert, and
Naomi M. Morris. 1986. “Biosocial
Foundations for Adolescent Female
Sexuality.” Demography 23: 217–227.
Sexual Behavior Problems
Depending on their values, people may
differ on the definition of what consti-
tutes a sexual problem. Most researchers
who study adolescent sexuality would
agree on at least one fact—that a greater
number of adolescents have sexual inter-
course before reaching adulthood now
than at any previous time in this coun-
try’s history. Moreover, whatever values
they may hold, most people would agree
that when adolescents are forced to have
sex they do not want, have unwanted
pregnancies, bear children they are nei-
ther emotionally nor financially capable
of supporting, or contract sexually trans-
mitted diseases, their sexuality is associ-
ated with problems and full of risk for
their future healthy development.
Unfortunately, as statistics from the
U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services (1996) bear out, there are numer-
ous illustrations of the presence of such
sexual problems and risks among con-
temporary adolescents:
• Each year, 1 million adolescents
become pregnant and about half
have babies. Indeed, about every
minute, an American adolescent
has a baby.
• Of adolescents who give birth, 46
percent go on welfare within four
years; of unmarried adolescents
who give birth, 73 percent go on
welfare within four years.
• By age eighteen years, 25 percent of
American females have been preg-
nant at least once.
Sexual Behavior Problems 667
• Over the last three decades the
age of first intercourse has
declined. Higher proportions of
adolescent girls and boys reported
being sexually experienced at each
age between the ages of fifteen
and twenty in 1988 than in the
early 1970s. In 1988, 27 percent of
girls and 33 percent of boys had
intercourse by their fifteenth
birthday.
• Pregnancy rates for girls younger
than fifteen years of age rose 4.1
percent between 1980 and 1988, a
rate higher than for any other
teenage age group.
• In 1993, the proportion of all births
to teenagers that were to unmar-
ried teenagers was 71.8 percent.
This rate represents an increase of
399 percent since 1963.
• By the end of adolescence about 80
percent of males and about 70 per-
cent of females have become sexu-
ally active. These rates represent
significant increases across the last
fifteen years.
• Among sexually active female ado-
lescents, 27 percent of fifteen- to
seventeen-year-olds, and 16 percent
of eighteen- to nineteen-year-olds,
use no method of contraception.
Among Latino, African American,
and European American adoles-
cents, the percentage of females
not using contraception is 35 per-
cent, 23 percent, and 19 percent,
respectively.
• Among sexually active male ado-
lescents in 1991, 21 percent report
using no contraception at their last
intercourse; an additional 56 per-
cent of males used a condom and
23 percent relied on their female
partner to use contraception.
668 Sexuality, Emotional Aspects of
• By age 20, 74 percent of males and
57 percent of females who became
sexually active by age fourteen or
younger have had six or more sex-
ual partners.
• In 1991, thirty-eight of the preg-
nancies among fifteen- to nineteen-
year-olds ended in abortion.
• By age nineteen, 15 percent of
African American males have
fathered a child; the corresponding
rates for Latinos and European
Americans is 11 percent and 7 per-
cent, respectively. Moreover, 74
percent of European American
youth, 76 percent of Latino youth,
and 95 percent of African Ameri-
can youth are unmarried at the
birth of their first child. In addi-
tion, teenage fathers are often
absentee fathers. Among fourteen-
to twenty-one-year-old fathers,
about 40 percent were absentees.
• However, 39 percent of the fathers
of children born to fifteen-year-old
females, and 47 percent of the
fathers of children born to sixteen-
year-old females, are older than
twenty years of age. Between 30
percent and 40 percent of adoles-
cent mothers have been impreg-
nated by males who have not yet
reached their twentieth birthday.
• Women who become mothers as
teenagers are more likely to find
themselves living in poverty later
in their lives than women who
delay childbearing. Although 28
percent of women who gave birth
as teenagers were poor in their
twenties and thirties, only 7 per-
cent of women who gave birth
after adolescence were living in
poverty in their twenties and
thirties.
• About $25 billion in federal money
is spent annually to provide social,
health, and welfare services to fam-
ilies begun by teenagers.
• In 1992, the federal government
spent nearly $34 billion on Aid to
Families with Dependent Children,
Medicaid, and food stamps for fam-
ilies begun by adolescents.
The breadth and variation of these
problems pertinent to contemporary ado-
lescent sexual behavior are staggering.
The magnitude and diversity of the man-
ifestation of these problems is challeng-
ing the educational, healthcare, and social
service systems of America.
Richard M. Lerner
See also Rape; Sexual Abuse; Sexual
Behavior; Sexually Transmitted Dis-
eases
References and further reading
Carnegie Corporation of New York. 1995.
Great Transitions: Preparing
Adolescents for a New Century. New
York: Carnegie Corporation of New
York.
Lerner, Richard M. 1995. America’s Youth
in Crisis: Challenges and Options for
Programs and Policies. Thousand Oaks,
CA: Sage Publications.
———. In press. Adolescence:
Development, Diversity, Context, and
Application. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice-Hall.
U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services. 1996. Trends in the Well Being
of America’s Children and Youth; 1996.
Washington DC: U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services.
Sexuality, Emotional Aspects of
Healthy sexuality requires awareness
about sexuality in many ways, to include
accurate knowledge, recognition of one’s
own and others’ feelings and intentions,

personal decision making, and common
sense about behaviors that are appropri-
ate for the individual adolescent. Some of
these themes have been addressed else-
where in these volumes. Tied to all of
them is the importance of dealing with
what is considered by many to be a taboo
topic in relation to sexuality—emotions.
“Sexuality itself and sexual feelings
and desire are veiled in silence,” said
Leena Ruusuvaara (1997, p. 411). Sex
education classes, parents, books, public
policymakers, even peers, show little
concern about promoting the idea of good
communications, pleasure, and egalitar-
ian sexual relations among teenagers.
The focus from adults is on abstinence
in the hope that adolescents will not
engage in risky sexual behaviors; one care-
less, unthinking act can result in a life-
threatening disease. Therefore, the pri-
mary foci of discussions regarding sex
include abstinence because premarital sex
is “bad,” contraception use if one does
have sexual intercourse, and the use of
condoms for safer sex, given the potential
for various sexually transmitted diseases
(STDs), and especially to protect against
AIDS. Indeed, there is some reluctance to
discuss even these topics, for fear that it
will encourage adolescents to engage in
sexual behavior. Research supports the
opposite. The more knowledgeable one is,
the less likely one is to engage in sexual
behavior until an appropriate age, mean-
ing when one makes decisions responsi-
bly, with safety, respect for self and others,
and care. The same should apply to under-
standing the emotional implications of
engaging in sexual behaviors.
Technical information is essential but
not sufficient. Many adolescents choose
to be sexually active, even if that only
means kissing or having oral sex. Healthy
sexuality requires a focus on positive and
Sexuality, Emotional Aspects of 669
negative emotional aspects of sexuality,
such as the qualities of respect and
responsibility in relationships with a
potential partner. One of the primary
problems for adolescents is the continued
use of double standards that deny both
genders the right to enjoy their sexuality.
This must be understood and challenged.
The double standard refers to the social
assumption that a male “should” demand
sex (oral, anal, or vaginal) and a female
“should” expect this demand and then
“should” place limits on his advances.
This places emotional pressures on both
genders to engage in a sexual dance. If the
adolescent male doesn’t try, there is
something wrong with his manliness and
her attractiveness. Males need to develop
the personal strength to recognize and
disregard these social pressures as well as
to honor female adolescents as whole
individuals, not as sex objects to be used
to prove one’s manhood and to provide
self-pleasure. Female adolescents need to
understand that they have the right to
determine their own expressions of sexu-
ality. They need to place less value on
male sexual advances as standards for
their self-worth.
Many females who choose to be sexual
with a partner do so with the under-
standing that there is affection, love, per-
haps commitment, implied in this behav-
ior. But most adolescent relationships are
very short. While some males, too, engage
in sex only when they feel affection for
their partner, many more males than
females do so for the sexual experience
per se. This can result in devastating neg-
ative emotions. As described by Thomas
Lickona (1994), discovering that one has
been “used” can result in the loss of self-
respect and self-esteem. It can shake
one’s sense of trust in self and others. It
can trigger rage over betrayal by a partner
670 Sexuality, Emotional Aspects of
who may have used the popular phrase,
“If you love me, you’ll . . .” and then
broke off the relationship within days or
weeks. With intercourse may come fear
about pregnancy or AIDS or guilt that
one has dishonored family and/or vio-
lated one’s religious values. Shattered
trust may make it very difficult to estab-
lish later commitments to what could be
genuine quality relationships. In some
instances, it can trigger depression and
thoughts of suicide. Male adolescents
may feel guilt for their manipulativeness
and the destruction they may cause to
young women.
Sexual pleasure can be experienced
through touching, kissing, and petting,
negotiated jointly with respect for both
partners. Focusing on oral, anal, or vagi-
nal sex as “sex” is very limiting and sti-
fles the emergence of a healthy interest
in sexuality. With a more encompassing
view of one’s sexuality, sexual pleasure
could be acknowledged more easily as
healthy, natural, and appropriate as a
topic for discussion within the family,
with peers, and in the classroom.
The emotions associated with sexual-
ity thus are many—some positive, some
negative. In order to address these emo-
tions in a healthy way it is important to
do several things. One is to accept one’s
individual self as a sexual being. Adoles-
cents are not encouraged to think this
way. However, all humans are sexual,
and we are so from the very beginning of
our development. We may express it in
different ways throughout our lives, but
it is an integral part of who we are. Some
people are very passionate, and others
feel little interest in their own sexuality.
For example, while many individuals
may thoroughly enjoy masturbating fre-
quently, others do so with embarrass-
ment and guilt, and still others may feel
no interest in engaging in this behavior.
At some times in our lives and with cer-
tain people we may feel more sexual than
at other times or with other people. For
example, while the sight of one person
may trigger strong feelings of lust,
another person may be perceived as a
great friend with whom one has a com-
fortable, platonic relationship. A very
wide range of possibilities is normal.
When one accepts one’s self as a sexual
being, one can more comfortably develop
one’s own perspective on how one feels
at any given time. That openness to sex-
ual self-awareness allows one a greater
opportunity to think about choices. It
contributes to feeling comfortable about
one’s sexuality and can increase one’s
sense of confidence in making personal
decisions about what behaviors feel good
and right and what behaviors feel wrong
for the individual adolescent.
Another thing that is important is to
become comfortable with one’s changing
body, and for adolescents this is particu-
larly the case regarding pubertal develop-
ment. Subsequent to puberty, one needs
to accept one’s body image as well. The
mainstream culture of the United States
has made it very clear that being thin and
beautiful is a necessity for female popu-
larity and acceptance by one’s peers. And
the need for a male to be macho, a mus-
cle man, captain of some sports team par-
allels these expectations. It is essential
for all adolescents to cut through this
nonsense. These stereotypes leave the
vast majority of adolescents feeling low
self-esteem with body shame, because 95
percent or more of adolescents cannot fit
these images. If one cannot feel comfort-
able with one’s own body, it is extremely
hard to enjoy sharing any aspect of it
with another person. The media, such as
television and magazines, should not be

convincing people that the appearance of
less than 5 percent of the population
should dictate what is to be valued and
desired by all. Adolescents need to feel
proud of their own bodies, enjoy them,
and keep them healthy. This self-comfort
would allow both males and females
greater pleasure in discovering each
other’s sexual being at an appropriate
time.
Yet another helpful factor is develop-
ment of self-efficacy, including personal
power to exercise control over sexual sit-
uations. One needs to be able to antici-
pate how it would feel to engage in par-
ticular sexual behaviors in the future.
Then one should assess the extent to
which one has the capability to affect
what will or will not be done. Adoles-
cents, in particular, must include in this
formula how to handle peer pressure, and
the potential for lack of acceptance, or
even rejection. They must ask them-
selves whether they will be able to mobi-
lize their energy and persevere even in
the face of all the pressures that may be
placed on them by those dictating social
norms for their age group. If they antici-
pate feeling regret or guilt or anger, then
they may choose to avoid the behaviors.
Emotionally, this can provide a positive
sense of self-worth. It may afford them
the confidence to communicate with a
potential sexual partner and negotiate
cooperation about how far to go or it may
make it possible for a couple to practice
safer sex because they have planned for it
together.
Accepting one’s nature as a sexual
being, being comfortable with one’s own
body and its sexual pleasures, and devel-
oping a sense of self-efficacy regarding
sexual choices all are major contributors
to enjoying healthy sexuality. This
understanding of one’s own sexual self
Sexually Transmitted Diseases 671
and respect for others and their right to
make their own choices should enhance
the chances of being able to discuss sex-
ual feelings and behaviors with others
without embarrassment or fear of offend-
ing the other. It should increase as well
the likelihood that young people will pre-
pare for those risky behaviors if they
choose to proceed to oral, anal, or vaginal
sex together.
Sally Archer
See also Dating; Dating Infidelity; Love;
Sexual Behavior
References and further reading
Bakker, A. B., B. P. Buunk, and A. S. R.
Manstead. 1997. “The Moderating Role
of Self-Efficacy Beliefs in the
Relationship between Anticipated
Feelings of Regret and Condom Use.”
Journal of Applied Social Psychology
17, no. 2: 2001–2014.
Bandura, A. 1986. Social Foundations of
Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive
Theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-
Hall.
Coleman, J., and D. Roker, eds. 1998.
Teenage Sexuality: Health, Risk and
Education. Canada: Harwood Academic
Publishers.
Lickona, Thomas 1994. “The Neglected
Heart.” American Educator (Summer):
34–39.
Ruusuvaara, Leena. 1997. “Adolescent
Sexuality: An Educational and
Counseling Challenge.” Pp. 411–413 in
Adolescent Gynecology and
Endocrinology: Basic and Clinical
Aspects. Edited by G. Creatsas, G.
Mastorakos, and G. Chrousos. New
York: Annals of the New York Academy
of Science, Vol. 816.
Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are
a group of infections that are spread by
intimate sexual contact; teenagers are
much more likely than adults to get
STDs, and the consequences of STDs are
more serious in teens than in older
672 Sexually Transmitted Diseases
adults. Nearly thirty different types of
infections can be spread through sexual
contact. An estimated 15.3 million STD
incidences occurred in 1996 in the
United States. A majority of people with
STDs do not feel sick and are not aware
of their own infections. Whether there
are symptoms or not, STDs can lead to
serious health consequences and are
infectious. Many STDs, such as chlamy-
dia, gonorrhea, and trichomoniasis, can
be cured, if treated appropriately. Viral
STDs, such as genital herpes, genital
warts, and HIV infections, are among the
STDs that cannot be cured, although
treatment is available and some form of
treatment is necessary. A person infected
by one type of STD is more likely to
catch another type of STD.
Some prefer the term STI (infection) to
STD (disease), for the reason that most
sexually transmitted infections often do
not have the kind of symptoms associ-
ated with disease. Again, sexually trans-
mitted diseases are very serious, whether
accompanied by any symptoms or not. A
“silent” STD can become symptomatic
at any time and is as contagious as a
symptomatic STD. In addition, a silent
STD in a mother can be transmitted to
her baby during pregnancy or delivery.
Thus, the term STD is commonly used
for all types of sexually transmitted
infections, regardless of whether there
are any symptoms.
Most infectious agents that cause
STDs are spread by body fluid exchange,
such as semen, blood, vaginal or penile
discharge, drainage or blood from blis-
ters, sores, or cuts on mucosal mem-
branes or skin. Some STDs can be trans-
mitted from a mother to her baby, during
pregnancy, in the birth canal, or by breast
milk. Blood transfusion or sharing nee-
dles with an infected person can be a
source of STD transmission. Those activ-
ities that can cause the spread of STDs
are called STD risk factors, and those
who engage in activities that are associ-
ated with STD risk factors are said to be
at risk for STDs. STDs are a group of
infections; not all STDs are transmitted
exactly the same way.
Many teens do not know that STD
screening is often not part of annual
checkups or sports physical examina-
tions. The fact that a person cannot tell
whether his or her partner is infected by
the way that he or she looks puts many
teens at risk for STDs. It is important to
make sure both partners are STD free
before initiating sexual intercourse.
The most important fact to remember
about STD symptoms is, as emphasized
before, that a great majority of STDs are
asymptomatic until a complication sets
in. Another important fact is that many
teens with STD symptoms end up ignor-
ing the symptoms because they tend to
believe, “It cannot happen to me.” Also,
STD symptoms are often missed or mis-
interpreted by the person who has the
infection because the symptoms are
mild, nonspecific, or transient (in that
they may disappear spontaneously, with-
out treatment). Even a physician may not
recognize STD symptoms, if the patient
does not reveal his or her STD risk.
Another complicating factor is that, as
with all types of infections (including the
common cold, chicken pox, and the like),
STDs have an incubation period, a time
between exposure to the infection and
the appearance of a symptom or a posi-
tive test result. Many STDs have a long
incubation period (weeks to months).
Thus, a symptom of an STD may appear
long after the exposure, and after the inci-
dent (or incidents) that caused it has been
forgotten.

A list of STDs that are common in ado-
lescents, along with typical symptoms,
appears below. Some STDs (e.g., syphilis,
HIV/AIDS, herpes) can affect other
organs of the body, as well as sexual/gen-
ital organs. The same syndrome (group of
symptoms) or medical condition may
stem from different types of STDs, and
one STD can cause more than one syn-
drome or medical condition. Common
syndromes and medical conditions that
may originate from STDs are urethritis
syndrome, cervicitis, cystitis (bladder
infection–like symptoms), PID (pelvic
inflammatory disease), TOA (tubo-ovar-
ian abscess), ectopic pregnancy, infertil-
ity, epididymitis, Reiter’s syndrome, DGI
(disseminated gonococcal infection),
GUD (genital ulcer diseases), chronic
pelvic pains, cervical dysplasia (ASCUS),
and AIDS. Cancers associated with STDs
include hepatoma (cancer of the liver),
cervical cancer in women, penile cancer
in men, and Kaposi’s sarcoma. This list is
not comprehensive. (For detailed descrip-
tions and more information, please see
the works listed at the end of this entry.)
A doctor can diagnose certain types of
STDs by taking a history and making a
simple physical examination. For most
STDs, however, specimen collection for a
special test is necessary. For some infec-
tions, a swab specimen is necessary,
which involves a pelvic examination
and/or a specimen collection with a thin
swab. For others, a blood specimen is
needed for the diagnostic test. Some,
including chlamydia and gonorrhea, can
be tested now by use of a urine specimen
and new DNA amplification, such as lig-
ase chain reaction (LCR) or polymerase
chain reaction (PCR). This is convenient
for the patient and the doctors, but avail-
ability of these new tests is limited at the
time of this writing. A doctor will order a
Sexually Transmitted Diseases 673
special test for each type of STD sus-
pected or will carry out a set of screening
tests for certain types of STDs that are
common in the region.
A correct diagnosis must be made
before treatment can begin. Some types
of treatments are available for all STDs,
but as mentioned before, not all STDs
can be cured. A special medication taken
by mouth only once will cure some STDs
such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, and tri-
chomoniasis. If the treatment is longer, it
is important to take all of the medication
as instructed by the doctor. Sex partners
must be treated, whether they have
symptoms or not. Although there is no
cure for viral STDs, treatments are avail-
able to reduce the severity of the symp-
toms, prevent symptoms and later com-
plications from showing up, or reduce
the risk of spreading the infection. Man-
agement of a person with an STD is not
complete until all her sexual partners are
appropriately assessed and treated.
The only sure way not to get STDs is
to abstain from any sexual exposures or
limit sexual exposure to an infection-free
partner. Both partners should be tested
for STDs, including HIV, before initiating
sexual intercourse. Female condoms or
male condoms used correctly and with
spermicidal gels or foam are effective in
preventing STD transmission, but absti-
nence is the only 100 percent effective
prevention measure. At the time of this
writing, FDA-approved vaccines are
available for hepatitis B and hepatitis A.
New vaccines are being tested for a num-
ber of STDs and may be approved for use
in the near future. Hepatitis B vaccine is
recommended to all teenagers who have
not been vaccinated previously, before
they initiate sexual intercourse. Hepati-
tis A vaccine is recommended to individ-
uals with special risk factors.
674 Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Nearly thirty different types of infec-
tions can be transmitted by intimate sex-
ual contact. Following is a selective
overview of some of these infections;
please see consult works listed at the end
of the entry for comprehensive informa-
tion.
Chlamydia or chlamydial infection,
caused by Chlamydia trachomatis, is the
most common curable STD in teenagers
and young adults in the United States. A
variety of serious health problems result
from untreated chlamydial infection,
including PID (pelvic inflammatory dis-
ease). Chlamydial infection is the most
common cause of preventable infertility
in the United States. In males, chlamydia
can cause epididymitis, a painful
swelling of the scrotal sac. Although fre-
quently asymptomatic in women and
men, chlamydial infection can cause ure-
thritis, cervicitis, or cystitis-like symp-
toms. Chlamydia is the most common
cause of burning on urination among
sexually active teenagers, a condition
often misdiagnosed as a urinary tract
infection (UTI), if a history of sexual
intercourse is not revealed. The patient
often misses vaginal or penile discharge
associated with chlamydial infections.
Diagnosis of chlamydia infection is made
with a tissue culture or a variety of DNA
tests of a swab specimen, or by a urine
DNA amplification test. Uncomplicated
chlamydial infection of the lower genital
tract can be treated with a single dose of
medication taken by mouth, or a seven-
day treatment with an oral medication
may be necessary.
Gonorrhea or gonococcal infection
(“drips,” “clap”), caused by Neisseria
gonorrhoeae, is the second most com-
mon bacterial infection among teenagers.
Gonorrhea is the most common cause of
purulent (puslike) discharge from the
genitals. Within a few days of exposure to
an infected person, a thick yellow or
greenish discharge appears. The dis-
charge may disappear in a few days with-
out any treatment. Complications of
untreated gonococcal infections include
PID, epididymitis, arthritis, and dissemi-
nated gonococcal infections (DGI or
blood poisoning). A laboratory test for
gonorrhea can be done with a swab spec-
imen or by a urine test. DGI is diagnosed
with a blood culture or a microscopic
examination of the fluid from the associ-
ated skin rashes. Uncomplicated gono-
coccal infection can be treated by a single
dose of medication given by injection or
taken by mouth.
Trichomoniasis or trichomonas vagini-
tis, caused by a parasite called Tri-
chomonas vaginalis, is one of the most
common causes of vaginitis in women of
all ages. Trichomoniasis can cause vagi-
nal discharge and itching, and is often
confused with vaginal yeast infections. A
microscopic examination of a vaginal
swab specimen can confirm the diagno-
sis. A culture is also available. In males,
diagnosis of trichomoniasis is often diffi-
cult. This infection is curable with spe-
cial antibiotics taken by mouth.
Genital herpes, caused by herpes sim-
plex virus (HSV, type II mostly), is by far
the most common incurable STD in the
United States and the most common
cause of genital ulcer disease. It starts
with a painful blister, often spreading to
many blisters and painful ulcers in the
genital area and accompanied by painful
swelling in groins. One of the unique fea-
tures of this infection is the unpre-
dictable recurrence of the blisters and
ulcers. Each blister is full of virus parti-
cles that are highly contagious. Breakage
of the mucosal surface due to genital her-
pes can become an entry point of other

types of germs, increasing risk of con-
tracting other STDs and HIV. HSV can
cause serious problems, including the
death of a newborn exposed to the infec-
tion during birth. A culture of fluids from
a blister or ulcer or a blood test will pro-
vide the diagnosis. Although HSV cannot
be completely cured, treatment with
antiviral agents helps heal the ulcers, and
used appropriately may control the recur-
rence of genital ulcers.
Genital warts, or condyloma accumi-
nata, caused by human papillomavirus
(HPV), are common in adolescents and
young adults, and the most common
cause of abnormal Pap smears in adoles-
cent girls. Certain types of HPV have
been linked to cancer of the uterine
cervix, anus, and penis. However, most
HPV infections are asymptomatic or
unrecognized. Warts in external genitals
are recognized by typical bumps of vari-
ous sizes and colors in the vagina, vulva,
penis, perineal area (the area between the
anus and genitals), and anus. An HPV
infection of the uterine cervix is often
identified by an abnormal Pap test (dys-
plasia). Type-specific viral DNA tests are
available but are not widely used at this
time. Symptoms are managed with topi-
cal application of medications, biopsy, or
surgical removal of precancerous lesions.
Once a person has been infected, the
HPV cannot be eradicated. The HPV par-
ticles can be swallowed by a newborn
during delivery, causing warts in the
throat of the baby, called pharyngeal
papilloma. Pharyngeal papilloma may be
life threatening, and treatment of pha-
ryngeal papilloma is very difficult.
Pubic lice, or “crabs,” are often trans-
mitted by intimate genital contact and
cause itching in the pubic area. Diagnosis
is made by presence of the lice or their
eggs attached to public hair. Application
Sexually Transmitted Diseases 675
of a specific shampoo or lotion will erad-
icate pubic lice. All bedding materials
and underwear must be washed in hot
water at the same time.
Hepatitis B is caused by Hepatitis B
virus (HBV). Sexual transmission accounts
for 30 to 60 percent of all HBV infections
occurring annually in the United States.
Hepatitis is an infection of the liver. The
symptoms of hepatitis B vary from no
symptoms to flulike symptoms to jaun-
dice. HBV is a cause of chronic hepatitis
and may lead to cancer of the liver and
death. Diagnosis of HBV infection is made
by a blood test. There are at least five dif-
ferent types of viral hepatitis (A to E).
Accurate type-specific diagnosis is impor-
tant for the management of sexual con-
tacts and prevention of further spread. No
specific treatment is available at this time.
Hepatitis B is a vaccine-preventable STD.
If they have not been vaccinated as
infants, teenagers are recommended to
receive HBV vaccination before exposure
occurs. Passive immunization with hepa-
titis B immune globulin (HBIG) within
fourteen days of exposure can prevent
infection in the majority of exposed per-
sons. Thus, it is very important to consult
a physician as soon as possible if exposed
to an infected person.
Syphilis is an ancient STD, caused by a
bacteria called T. pallidum. A painless
ulcer in the genital area associated with
swollen lymph nodes in the groin area is
typical for this disease. The ulcers may
not appear at all or may disappear with-
out any treatment while the bacteria are
being spread to other organs, resulting in
a flulike disease. Other symptoms of
syphilis include rashes on palms, soles,
and other parts of the body. If not treated,
syphilis can progress through different
phases and result in damage to the heart
and brain. Syphilis is diagnosed with
676 Shyness
examination of swabs from the genital
ulcer or a blood test. If it is diagnosed
early, treatment is very effective.
More information on STDs is readily
available. A good place to start on the
Internet is http://www.ASHASTD.org.
There are also two hot lines, the National
STD Hotline, 1-800-227-8922, and,
specifically for HPV, the HPV Hotline, 1-
877-HPV-5868, Monday to Friday 2–7
P.M., EST. Other resources, aside from
those listed below, are local STD clinics,
the public health department, and pri-
vate doctors.
M. Kim Oh
Jeanne S. Merchant
See also Abstinence; Contraception; Gon-
orrhea; High School Equivalency
Degree; HIV/AIDS; Sex Education; Sex-
ual Behavior
References and further reading
American Social Health Association and
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention hot line information Web
site: http://www.ashastd.org
Cates, Willard, Jr. 1999. “Estimates of the
Incidence and Prevalence of Sexually
Transmitted Diseases in the United
States.” American Social Health
Association Panel: Sexually
Transmitted Disease (Suppl.): S2–S7.
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. 2000. Sexually Transmitted
Disease Surveillance, 1999. Atlanta,
GA: U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, Public Health
Services, Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention. CDC’s Web site for this
report and other information, including
diagnostic slides in color, is at
http://www.cdc.gov/nchstp/dstd/
dstdp.html
Eng, T. R., and W. T. Butler, eds. 1997. The
Hidden Epidemic: Confronting Sexually
Transmitted Diseases. Washington, DC:
National Academy Press, Institute of
Medicine.
Holmes, K. K., et al. 1999. Sexually
Transmitted Diseases, 3rd ed. New
York: McGraw-Hill.
“1998 Guidelines for Treatment of
Sexually Transmitted Diseases.” 1998.
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
47, no. RR-1: 1–116.
Shyness
Generally speaking, shyness may be
defined as the experience of discomfort or
inhibited behavior in social situations.
The tendency to be very self-conscious is
particularly characteristic of the shy per-
son. However, shyness is a highly com-
plex phenomenon that varies widely in
its intensity and effects. Shyness may
include physiological symptoms (e.g.,
pounding heart), cognitive symptoms
(e.g., self-consciousness), and behavioral
symptoms (e.g., awkward body language).
Both genetic and environmental factors
contribute to shyness. Adapting to all the
changes of adolescence (e.g., adjusting to a
changing body, beginning to date) can
trigger the development of shyness or
increase shyness in the already shy teen.
Many adolescents experience a period of
shyness when they develop what is called
the imaginary audience—the belief of
adolescents that other people are watch-
ing them and focusing on their appear-
ance and behavior. Although being shy
may present challenges (e.g., greater risk
for loneliness), it is important that those
who have contact with shy adolescents be
aware that shyness also has positive con-
sequences, such as greater empathy. Para-
doxically, helping young people accept as
well as understand their own shyness can
also help them to deal with its challenges.
In considering the causes of lasting
shyness, researchers have found strong
evidence that genetic inheritance con-
tributes to shyness. Shy children often
have at least one shy parent, or they may
have other shy family members. Shyness
 Shyness 677

is considered to be the personality trait

with the strongest genetic component.
Biological factors, which are influenced
by genetic predispositions, contribute to
shyness. During infancy, physiological
differences are evident between shy and
sociable babies. A subset of infants show
extreme nervous system reactivity to
common stimuli such as moving
mobiles. These infants are described as
highly reactive, and physiological studies
indicate that they have an easily excitable
sympathetic nervous system. Infants and
older children who show this high reac-
tivity display a pattern of inhibited behav-
ior when they encounter unfamiliar peo-
ple, objects, or situations. Interestingly,
highly reactive infants show higher-than-
average heart rates, and their higher heart
rates are evident even before birth.
A number of other interesting biologi-
cal factors are linked to shyness, includ-
ing blue eye color, blond hair, pale skin,
Many adolescents experience a period of
and allergies (especially hay fever). shyness when they develop what is called
Women who are exposed to short day the imaginary audience, the belief of
length during pregnancy (especially dur- adolescents that other people are watching
ing the midpoint of pregnancy) are more them and focusing on their appearance and
likely to have shy children. These biolog- behavior. (Skjold Photographs)
ical links are likely the result of complex
physiological processes. For example, the
hormone melatonin is thought to be The early-emerging shyness, which typi-
responsible for the link between shyness cally appears during the first year of life,
and day length during pregnancy. It is is referred to as fearful shyness. Wariness
suggested that during the winter months and emotionality, temperamental charac-
when there are fewer hours of daylight, teristics that both show a strong genetic
the body produces higher levels of mela- component, influence the development
tonin. This melatonin passes through the of this fearful shyness. In contrast, a
placenta to the developing fetal brain, later-developing, self-conscious type of
where it may act to create the more shyness first appears around age four or
highly reactive temperament characteris- five, and coincides with the child’s devel-
tic of the shy. opment of a cognitive sense of self. This
Not all shyness is evident during self-conscious shyness increases in inten-
infancy, and so it is important to make sity around age eight as children engage
the distinction between what is referred in more social comparison, and it reaches
to as early- and later-developing shyness. a peak between the ages of fourteen and
678 Shyness
seventeen, as adolescents deal with the
imaginary audience and identity issues.
For some, early-developing shyness may
continue into a lifelong pattern of shy-
ness. However, others appear to grow out
of their shyness. Similarly, whereas self-
conscious shyness typically decreases
over time, for some, this later-emerging
shyness continues through their adult
years.
Social factors such as poor relation-
ships with parents have been linked to
the development of shyness. Relation-
ships with parents may also influence the
course and intensity of shyness. Whereas
many shy individuals report that they
had poor relationships with peers but
positive relationships with parents dur-
ing childhood, men who exhibit social
phobia are more likely to report that they
had negative childhood relationships
with both peers and parents, especially
with their mothers. Conversely, parent-
ing that is sensitive to the child’s tem-
peramental characteristics and social
needs may lessen the impact of shyness.
Other negative experiences outside of
the family, such as feelings of incompe-
tence in comparison to peers or experi-
ences of peer rejection during childhood
and adolescence, may play key roles in
the development of shyness. Interest-
ingly, it is suggested that the expansion
of technology in our society may both
help and hurt shyness. Whereas the Inter-
net and e-mail may provide a comfort-
able mode of communication for some
shy individuals, a competing concern is
that as people need to engage in fewer
face-to-face interactions due to techno-
logical advances, the development of
social skills may be impaired. Poor social
skills may result in more shyness.
Cultural factors influence both the
prevalence of shyness and attitudes about
shyness. For example, the extent to
which individual boldness and indepen-
dence are valued and encouraged varies
by culture. Within the United States,
shyness is typically highest among Asian
Americans and lowest among Jewish
Americans. Similarly, in studies that
have looked at shyness cross-culturally,
lower reports of shyness are reported in
Israel, whereas higher levels of shyness
are found in Taiwan and Japan.
Shyness is generally viewed as an unde-
sirable personality characteristic in the
United States, especially for males.
Because of their likelihood of higher reac-
tivity, shy children may find themselves
to be the targets of teasing and bullying.
Shy individuals also are more vulnerable
to experiencing loneliness. Lack of a
social support network may contribute to
greater health problems for shy individu-
als in adulthood. Family and work roles
also may be affected by shyness. For
example, some research has found that
shy men marry and have children later,
whereas shy women have been found to
be less likely to work outside of the home.
It also is important to recognize the
positive characteristics that may be
found among shy individuals. Shy indi-
viduals have been described as more sen-
sitive and empathic, and as good listen-
ers. Modesty also may be viewed as a
positive characteristic of the shy individ-
ual. Shy people are usually not perceived
as negatively by others as they think they
are. Furthermore, not all shy individuals
view their shyness negatively. Many
well-known and accomplished individu-
als in all fields of endeavor consider
themselves to be shy, and many do not
view their shyness as a weakness. We all
have a unique constellation of tempera-
mental characteristics that make us who
we are. The diversity of personality

styles—shy, bold, or in between—adds to
the richness of our world.
There is help and hope for shy individ-
uals who feel that their shyness is nega-
tively impacting their lives. Recognizing
which social environments are a good fit
for a person’s temperament can help. For
some people, the thought of trying to
meet other people at a noisy party is
unpleasant. Recognition by these indi-
viduals that they may feel more comfort-
able gradually getting to know people
through a common activity (e.g., a club)
is an important aspect of self-knowledge.
Some strategies that may be helpful to
teenagers who want to overcome their
shyness include identifying situations
most likely to provoke shyness, building
self-esteem through recognizing and
developing areas of interest and talent,
and practicing social skills (e.g., making
eye contact, asking for others’ opinions,
and practicing starting conversations).
Pamela A. Sarigiani
See also Anxiety; Loneliness; Personality;
Self-Consciousness; Social Develop-
ment; Temperament
References and further reading
Carducci, Bernado, and Philip Zimbardo.
1995. “Are You Shy?” Psychology Today
28: 34–40.
Gortmaker, Steven L., Jerome Kagan,
Avshalom Caspi, and Phil A. Silva.
1997. “Daylength during Pregnancy and
Shyness in Children: Results from
Northern and Southern Hemispheres.”
Developmental Psychobiology 31:
107–114.
Henderson, Lynne, and Philip Zimbardo.
1998. “Shyness.” Pp. 497–509 in
Encyclopedia of Mental Health, Vol. 3.
Edited by Howard S. Friedman. San
Diego: Academic Press.
Schmidt, Louis A., and Jay Schulkin, eds.
1999. Extreme Fear, Shyness, and Social
Phobia: Origins, Biological
Mechanisms, and Clinical Outcomes.
New York: Oxford University Press.
Sibling Conflict 679
Simon, Gary. 1999. How I Overcame
Shyness: 100 Celebrities Share Their
Secrets. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Zimbardo, Philip, and Shirley Radl.
1981/1999. The Shy Child: A Parent’s
Guide to Preventing and Overcoming
Shyness from Infancy to Adulthood,
2nd ed. Cambridge, MA: Malor Books.
Sibling Conflict
Disagreements are an inevitable part of
daily interaction in family relationships.
Thus, it comes as no surprise that con-
flict constitutes a normal part of the sib-
ling experience, even as children enter
adolescence. Nevertheless, parents are
often concerned by conflict between
their adolescent siblings.
What Is Conflict?
Social conflict is the discord that tran-
spires when two or more people disagree
with one another. Conflicts between sib-
lings may be marked by oppositional
behaviors such as disagreeing, arguing,
objecting, and may at times include
physical aggression. Not all conflict,
however, includes aggressive behavior,
and many researchers recognize that con-
flict and aggression are not interchange-
able terms. Whereas conflict involves
mutual opposition and disagreement,
aggression is behavior intended to cause
harm to another individual.
Research shows that there are two dis-
tinct forms of sibling conflict. Destructive
conflict is characterized by strong nega-
tive feelings and coercion. This form of
conflict may include physical aggression
and typically leads to unsatisfactory reso-
lutions. Constructive conflict, in contrast,
is less emotionally intense and more
likely to be resolved by means of negotia-
tion and compromise, which facilitates
resolutions that are mutually acceptable.
680 Sibling Conflict
Sibling conflicts, although stressful, can enhance problem-solving skills among youths.
(Shirley Zeiberg)
What Constitutes Average
Sibling Conflict?
Although conflict can be a defining fea-
ture of siblinghood early in life, some
research indicates that sibling relation-
ships actually become less emotionally
intense as children move into adoles-
cence. There is a slight decrease in
warmth, disclosure, and even conflict
between siblings. The lessening of ten-
sions may be related to decreased sibling
contact, as adolescents begin to spend
more time outside the family. Neverthe-
less, siblings, especially those who con-
tinue to spend a great deal of time
together, may still engage in frequent
conflict. This is especially true for sib-
lings who have a particular history of
conflict.
Contrary to popular belief, opposite-sex
siblings engage in more conflict than
same-sex pairs. Similarly, siblings who are
closer in age engage in more conflict than
sibling pairs with wider age gaps. In addi-
tion, the presence of several personality
characteristics are important predictors of
sibling conflict. For example, adolescents
who have more traditional sex role atti-
tudes, who are highly active, less consci-
entious, and less agreeable, generally
engage in more frequent conflict. In addi-
tion, siblings’ personality characteristics

may either mesh or clash. That is, not
only the children’s own personality traits
per se influence conflict, but also their
characteristics relative to one another.
Other family relationships can also
influence sibling conflict. Children whose
parents frequently quarrel with each other
are more likely to engage in frequent sib-
ling conflict. Likewise, children whose
parents use more punitive or inconsistent
discipline strategies, or favor one sibling
over another, are more likely to engage in
sibling conflict.
What Do Siblings Fight About?
Although it is often difficult for siblings
themselves to know what their conflicts
are actually about, it appears that conflict
between siblings reflects the strains of
group living. Thus, the most common
themes of sibling conflict are personal
property disputes, typically resulting
from one sibling’s unauthorized use of
the other’s belongings or space. Birth
order differences do exist, in that older
siblings are more likely to refer to privacy
issues and the younger siblings’ imma-
ture behavior as reasons for sibling con-
flict. Quarrels over duties, chores, and
privileges or rivalry regarding special
treatment by parents are less frequent
themes. Interestingly, fighting or com-
peting for parental love or attention is
one of the least commonly reported
themes of sibling conflict.
Who Starts Sibling Conflicts
and How Do They End?
When asked who starts sibling conflict,
adolescents, as opposed to younger chil-
dren, are likely to assign equal responsi-
bility to both participants. Adolescents
tend to resolve sibling conflicts by using
passive techniques such as withdrawal or
ignoring their siblings, rather than using
Sibling Conflict 681
more active or constructive techniques
such as negotiation or compromise.
Another frequently used conflict resolu-
tion tactic is parental intervention,
which includes parents voluntarily step-
ping in to end the conflict as well as chil-
dren seeking the help of a parent.
Is Physical Aggression a Problem?
Destructive conflict among adolescent
siblings may involve physical aggression
such as kicking, biting, hitting, and slap-
ping. In fact, this form of conflict
between siblings is the most frequent
source of physical harm for youngsters
and the most common type of family vio-
lence, excluding homicide. Interestingly,
girls are as likely as boys to report physi-
cal aggression as part of their sibling con-
flict. There is a growing concern among
researchers that aggression between sib-
lings as a means of settling conflict may
generalize to situations outside the fam-
ily. In cases where sibling conflict does
become intensely physically violent,
families may want to seek counseling or
other types of professional intervention.
Can Sibling Conflict Be Beneficial?
Constructive sibling conflict can actually
serve a number of important functions.
First, siblings’ ability to disagree openly
may create a context where adolescents
can assert themselves. Differences are
articulated, and individual boundaries and
family rules about sharing space are often
clarified as part of sibling conflict. Thus,
sibling conflict may provide a vehicle for
improving relations by highlighting and
resolving differences. Second, conflict
may reflect age-appropriate issues of self-
definition and foster a sense of unique-
ness, ultimately helping adolescents
develop an identity, one of the main tasks
of adolescence. In addition, constructive
682 Sibling Differences
sibling conflicts are believed to enhance
problem-solving skills that may be gener-
alized outside the family to other rela-
tionships and contexts.
Can Siblings Who Frequently
Fight Still Love Each Other?
Although conflict may be seen as nega-
tive by parents, not all conflict is neces-
sarily detrimental to the sibling relation-
ship. In fact, adolescents report that the
majority of sibling conflicts are neither
positive nor negative, nor do they have
negative long-term effects on the rela-
tionship. In addition, conflict is unre-
lated to emotional closeness, ratings of
the siblings’ importance, or relationship
satisfaction. That is, siblings can experi-
ence intense bonds of warmth and affec-
tion as well as equally strong displays of
conflict in the same sibling relationship.
In the face of adversity, siblings who fre-
quently fight may grow closer—adoles-
cents rely on their siblings for advice
about life plans and personal problems
and turn to their siblings for support
when experiencing problems with other
children at school, during family illness,
or after serious accidents. Furthermore,
having a close sibling relationship can act
as a protective factor for children who are
experiencing the stress of parental dishar-
mony and conflict.
Beth Manke
Deborah Corbitt-Shindler
See also Bullying; Conflict and Stress;
Conflict Resolution; Family Relations;
Sibling Differences; Sibling Relation-
ships; Storm and Stress; Teasing
References and further reading
Brody, Gene H., and Zolinda Stoneman.
1996. “Sibling Relationships.” Pp.
189–212 in Sibling Relationships: Their
Causes and Consequences. Edited by
Gene H. Brody. Norwood, NJ: Ablex
Publishing.
McGuire, Shirley, Beth Manke, Afsoon
Eftekhari, and Judy Dunn. 2000.
“Children’s Perceptions of Sibling
Conflict during Middle Childhood:
Issues and Sibling (Dis)similarity.”
Social Development 9: 173–190.
Prochaska, Janice M., and James O.
Prochaska. 1985. “Children’s Views of
the Causes and ‘Cures’ of Sibling
Rivalry.” Child Welfare 114: 427–433.
Raffaelli, Marcela. 1992. “Sibling Conflict
in Early Adolescence.” Journal of
Marriage and the Family 54: 652–663.
———. 1997. “Young Adolescent’s
Conflicts with Siblings and Friends.”
Journal of Youth and Adolescence 26:
539–557.
Reid, William J., and Timothy Donovan.
1990. “Treating Sibling Violence.”
Family Therapy 152: 49–59.
Vandell, Deborah L., and Mark D. Bailey.
1992. “Conflicts between Siblings.” Pp.
242–269 in Conflict in Child and
Adolescent Development (Cambridge
Studies in Social and Emotional
Development). Edited by Carolyn U.
Shantz and William H. Hartup. New
York: Cambridge University Press.
Sibling Differences
Most research that includes information
about more than one child within a fam-
ily tells the same story: Siblings differ
markedly from one another. That is, sib-
ling differences greatly exceed similari-
ties for most characteristics. What little
resemblance there is among siblings is
due to hereditary similarity, not to the
experience of growing up in the same
family. Sibling differences, on the other
hand, emerge for reasons of nurture (envi-
ronment) as well as nature (genetics).
Adolescent Siblings Are
More Different than Similar
The most common method for indexing
sibling resemblance is to calculate the

correlation between sibling pairs for var-
ious traits and behaviors. The extent to
which the sibling correlation is less than
1.0 denotes sibling differences. Collec-
tively, previous research suggests that
siblings growing up in the same family
are not very similar. For example, sibling
correlations for height and weight rarely
exceed .50, meaning that when we com-
bine all of the genetic and environmental
influences, siblings are only about 50 per-
cent similar. The average sibling correla-
tion for IQ is similar to that for height
and weight, whereas siblings resemble
each other even less for personality (.20),
psychopathology (.20), and common dis-
eases (.10) (Dunn and Plomin, 1990, p.
42). In short, we can see that sibling dif-
ferences are as great, if not greater, than
their similarities. One exception to this
pattern of overwhelming sibling differ-
ences pertains to delinquency. Sibling
correlations for delinquency are often as
high as .70, suggesting siblings are very
similar in their delinquent and antisocial
behavior, perhaps because siblings are
often “partners in crime.” Why are ado-
lescent siblings so different from each
other for most traits and behaviors,
despite the fact that most siblings grow
up in the same home and are raised by
the same parents? At the heart of this
question is the debate over the origins of
individual differences—over the relative
influence of nature and nurture.
Genetic Influences—Nature
Biological siblings (those who share the
same mother and father) are first-degree
relatives and thus share half (50 percent)
of their genes. Thus, if genetic factors
(heredity) account for all of the variance
of a trait, and thus are entirely responsible
for sibling differences, we would expect
Sibling Differences 683
the correlation for first-degree relatives to
be .50. For no behavior, however, does
heredity account for all of the variance—
its influence is generally more limited,
whereas environmental factors are key.
Looking across all traits and behaviors, it
appears that genetic differences account
for 30 to 50 percent of the differences
between siblings. Genetic differences
account for a greater proportion of sibling
differences in height and weight (80 per-
cent), as the heritability of these traits is
greater (Dunn and Plomin, 1990, p. 65).
Environmental Influences—Nurture
If heredity is responsible for 30 to 50 per-
cent of sibling differences, what accounts
for the remaining 50 to 70 percent of sib-
ling differences? A simple answer is the
environment. Environmental influences
responsible for sibling differences are
commonly referred to as nonshared envi-
ronmental factors, as they are not shared
by siblings and thus work to make sib-
lings different, not similar. Much of the
current research designed to pinpoint spe-
cific nonshared environmental factors
responsible for sibling differences has
focused on parental differential treat-
ment, or the ways in which parents treat
two children in the same family differ-
ently. At any one point in time, parents
usually behave very differently to two
children in the same family. This is not
surprising, given that siblings (except for
twins) are different ages and thus are
often at different developmental stages.
Interestingly, witnessing differential
behavior to other children in the family
may be more important for well-being
than any similar experiences of direct
interaction with parents. That is, children
who are treated less warmly and/or more
harshly than their siblings (or at least
684 Sibling Relationships
believe they are) experience more depres-
sion, lower self-esteem, lower academic
achievement, and have more difficulties
in their interactions with siblings and
friends.
Although less studied, other salient
sources of nonshared environmental
influence might include adolescents’
interactions with peers, romantic part-
ners, and teachers. For example, having
different experiences (e.g., more conflict,
less disclosure, and the like) with one’s
friends, as compared to a sibling, may be
particularly important for sibling differ-
ences in adolescent well-being. These
extrafamilial sources of nonshared envi-
ronment might become especially impor-
tant as adolescents begin to spend more
time outside of the family, unsupervised
by parents.
Another source of nonshared environ-
mental influence might include siblings’
intentional efforts to differentiate them-
selves from each other. Not only is fam-
ily discourse commonly replete with
comparisons and evaluative judgments
about the different family members, but
children themselves begin to compare
themselves to other siblings in the family
at an early age. This process of social
comparison may lead some adolescents
to choose different activities, clothing,
and behavior in an attempt to develop a
unique identity, separate from that of
their siblings. Finally, we should consider
less systematic sources of nonshared
environmental influence, such as chance
or uncontrollable life events. It may be
that the source of sibling differences lies
to some degree in different experiences of
accidents, chance meetings, and natural
disasters.
Beth Manke
Deborah Corbitt-Shindler
See also Family Relations; Gender Differ-
ences; Sibling Relationships; Tempera-
ment
References and further reading
Dunn, Judy, and Robert Plomin. 1990.
Separate Lives: Why Siblings Are So
Different. New York: Basic Books.
Hetherington, Mavis, David Reiss, and
Robert Plomin. 1994. Separate Social
Worlds of Siblings: The Impact of
Nonshared Environment on
Development. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Sibling Relationships
Siblings are defined as people who share
at least one parent. Siblings are either
biologically related or legally related. The
sibling relationship is usually an individ-
ual’s longest relationship, typically last-
ing from birth or childhood to late adult-
hood or death. Sibling relationships can
range from very close and intimate to dis-
tant and hostile. The sibling relationship
is influenced not only by each sibling but
also by outside forces such as parents and
friends. Overall, the sibling relationship
is a very important relationship through-
out a person’s life.
There are several different types of sib-
lings. In fact, twenty-six different types
of siblings have been counted. The most
common types of siblings are full sib-
lings, half siblings, stepsiblings, and
adopted siblings. Full siblings are siblings
who share the same two biological par-
ents. Half siblings share only one biolog-
ical parent. For example, half siblings
may have the same biological mother,
but have different biological fathers.
Stepsiblings have different biological par-
ents. However, they are related through
the marriage of one of their biological
parents. For example, a child’s mother
may marry a man who has children of his
own. The woman’s children and the
Siblings are defined as people who share at least one parent and are either biologically or
legally related. (Kevin Fleming/Corbis)
686 Sibling Relationships
man’s children are not biologically
related, but they are related through their
parents’ marriage. Lastly, there are adop-
tive siblings. Adoptive siblings are not
related by shared biological parents but
because a parent has adopted the child or
children into his or her family. That is,
the parent has legally made the child a
part of the family. Often, adoptive sib-
lings do not have any biological connec-
tions to other family members. Recently,
between 14 percent and 20 percent of
American families included half siblings
or stepsiblings. The number of half sib-
lings and stepsiblings has grown in recent
years due to the rising number of
divorces and remarriages.
Historically, there have of course
always been siblings. However, over the
last hundred years changes in the family
have occurred. At the turn of the century,
families were larger, and the ranges
between children’s ages were greater than
they are today. Currently, it is much
more common for couples to plan for
children, to space their children, and to
have fewer children than in past years.
Sibling relationships are unique. One
unique feature of the sibling relationship
is that it is not voluntary. That is, indi-
viduals do not choose who they want for
a sibling as they can with friends. More-
over, the status of the relationship never
changes. That is, brothers are always
brothers and sisters are always sisters.
Siblings cannot be disowned or separated
from as can friends or spouses. The per-
manent status of siblings allows for a
continued bond throughout life.
Sibling relationships are also impor-
tant because it is one of the longest rela-
tionships people will have. Sibling rela-
tionships often begin in infancy or early
childhood and last until late adulthood or
death. The sibling relationship often lasts
longer than relationships with parents,
spouses, offspring, relatives, and friends.
The long period of time that the sibling
relationship exists can be an important
aspect of the relationship. That is, sib-
lings typically grow up in the same
household, neighborhood, and commu-
nity, and they typically share relatives
and kin. Siblings often maintain contact
as adults and into old age.
As already mentioned, full sibling and
some half sibling and adoptive sibling
relationships start when the second child
is born, or when the parent begins to talk
about the unborn child to the soon-to-be-
older sibling. In fact, it appears that par-
ents who prepare their children about the
expected child are helping the older sib-
ling adjust to the new child. In turn, older
siblings are more accepting and helpful
when they are prepared for a new sibling.
All sibling relationships, though, may
begin at any time in life.
Because sibling relationships last
throughout different stages of life, there
are some changes in the way siblings
relate. For many siblings, the first few
years of the sibling relationship often
begin with the older sibling helping take
care of the younger sibling and the
younger sibling imitating the older sib-
ling. However, as the younger child
begins to develop language and thinking
skills, the sibling relationship is viewed
by both siblings as more equal. That is, by
middle childhood most siblings equally
share the power in the relationship; one
sibling does not dominate the relation-
ship. Although there are differences
between siblings, such as intelligence,
power, status, age, and achievements, feel-
ings of being equal appear to last through-
out life.
Sibling relationships are also typically
characterized by helping behaviors. In

early childhood, older siblings often help
parents with caring for younger ones.
Although the extent of help varies, many
children help their parents with tasks
related to a younger brother or sister. As
the siblings grow older, siblings are more
likely to help each other in other ways,
such as in chores, sharing possessions,
homework, dating, and family problems.
Most siblings continue to help and sup-
port each other throughout their lifetimes.
Siblings also appear to influence one
another’s behaviors and attitudes. Chil-
dren as young as six months old may imi-
tate their siblings’ behaviors. This kind
of imitation actually helps younger chil-
dren learn about the world and their role
in it. During adolescence, older siblings
seem to influence their younger siblings’
sexual and problem behavior. For exam-
ple, one sibling’s aggressive behavior may
influence the other sibling to be aggres-
sive as well. Siblings also impact each
other’s positive behaviors, such as help-
ing behaviors and doing well in school.
Sibling relationships are far from being
all alike. Some siblings are close and
affectionate, whereas others are distant
and aggressive. One reason that siblings
may be close or not so close is their per-
sonality characteristics. That is, if sib-
lings have similar personalities, they are
likely to share a close relationship. On
the other hand, siblings who have very
different personalities are less likely to
share a close relationship. For example, if
one sibling is outgoing and the other sib-
ling is shy, the siblings are less likely to
be close. This is not always the case,
though. In some cases, siblings who have
different personalities complement each
other, such that an outgoing sibling helps
a shy brother or sister to be more sociable.
The sibling relationship also appears to
be influenced by siblings’ ages and posi-
Sibling Relationships 687
tions within the family. Same-sex sib-
lings are more likely to be close than are
brother-sister relationships. Moreover,
sisters are more likely to confide in each
other than are brothers. In addition, sib-
lings who are close in age (less than three
years apart in age) are more likely to
experience conflict than siblings who are
far apart in age (four or more years age
difference). Very widely spaced siblings
(six or more years age difference) typi-
cally get along together very well.
Sibling relationships also vary by the
age of the siblings. For example, during
adolescence siblings are less likely to be
involved with each other, and the inten-
sity of the relationship lessens. The sib-
ling relationship changes during adoles-
cence partly because teenagers are
spending more time with friends, and
friends are considered more important
than are siblings. Moreover, conflict and
negative feelings between siblings
increase during early adolescence (ages
eleven to thirteen) but lessen as siblings
reach the end of adolescence (ages seven-
teen to nineteen). Although there are
changes in the sibling relationship during
adolescence, many teenagers continue to
feel that a sibling is an important person
in their lives. Even if there has been a
cooling off, by adulthood the intimacy
between siblings is once again estab-
lished, though on adult terms.
The sibling relationship is not only
influenced by each sibling but also by the
family. For example, sometimes the sib-
ling relationship is influenced by the
amount of stress the mother experiences.
When mothers deal with a lot of stress
throughout the day, siblings are more
likely to describe their relationship as
less close and less intimate. Moreover,
how each sibling relates to the parent
influences how the siblings relate to each
688 Single Parenthood and Low Achievement
other. That is, if siblings have a warm
relationship with a parent, then they are
likely to also have a warm relationship
with their sibling. In addition, the close-
ness of the siblings’ family impacts the
closeness of the sibling bond. Lastly, how
the siblings’ parents relate to each other
is often reflected in how siblings relate to
each other. That is, the characteristics of
the mother-father relationship are often
similar to the characteristics of the sib-
ling relationship.
Another influence on sibling relation-
ships is whether the parent treats each
child the same or favors a particular
child. If parents treat their children dif-
ferently, then siblings are more likely to
be jealous or envious of each other. In
addition, even if the parent treats each
child the same, but one sibling thinks the
parent treats the other sibling better than
the parent treats him, then the sibling
relationship will more likely be charac-
terized by jealousy and conflict. Overall,
the sibling relationship is important
throughout development, including in
adolescence.
Leanne J. Jacobson
Patricia L. East
See also Family Composition: Realities
and Myths; Family Relations; Mental
Retardation, Siblings with; Sibling Con-
flict; Sibling Differences; Twins
References and further reading
Brody, Gene H., ed. 1996. Sibling
Relationships: Their Causes and
Consequences. Norwood, NJ: Ablex
Publishing.
Cicirelli, Victor G. 1995. Sibling
Relationships across the Lifespan. New
York: Plenum Press.
Dunn, Judy, and Shirley McGuire. 1992.
“Sibling and Peer Relationships in
Childhood.” Journal of Child
Psychology and Psychiatry 33, no. 1:
67–105.
Single Parenthood and
Low Achievement
Family structure has for a long time been
considered a predictor of school perfor-
mance among children and adolescents.
In particular, children and adolescents
raised in single-parent households consis-
tently score lower on measures of educa-
tional achievement. And as single-parent
families continue to represent a growing
percentage of households, whether due to
higher rates of divorce or children being
raised by parents who choose not to
marry, policymakers are increasingly
interested in outcome measures that
demonstrate what, if any, consequence
results from this demographic shift.
Historically, deviations from the typical
two-parent family structure have been
viewed as impediments to children’s and
adolescents’ academic achievement, the
result of presumed added stress and less
social and/or financial support character-
istic of this type of family composition.
Against this backdrop, it is unsurprising
that those reared without resident biolog-
ical fathers are seven times more likely to
be school dropouts, runaway teens, preg-
nant as teenagers, welfare recipients,
delinquent adolescents, and, subse-
quently, criminals (Lykken, 1997). Thus,
the lower achievement test scores of those
raised by single parents are often ascribed
to some inherent pathology within the
one-parent household structure. Recent
analyses of achievement test scores, how-
ever, contradict this supposition and sug-
gest that these differences are not neces-
sarily due to any intrinsic negative
attribute associated with the single-parent
household structure, per se. Below we
explain the reasoning for this new insight.
Charlotte Paterson and her colleagues
looked at income level and household
composition, among other variables, as
 Single Parenthood and Low Achievement
predictors of elementary school-aged
children’s school performance. Results
showed that although the variables meas-
ured accounted for 25 percent of the vari-
ance in academic achievement, coming
from a singe-parent household was the
least significant predictor of scores.
In his study of the effect of single par-
enthood on school readiness in six- and
seven-year-olds, Henry Ricciuti showed
that school readiness and achievement
for this age group were unrelated to, and
therefore unhindered by, single parent-
hood, which was associated with lower
income and lower maternal educational
attainment. Findings from a number of
other studies report the same outcome
for adolescents. For example, Elizabeth
Peters and Natalie Mullis showed that
performance of fifteen- to sixteen-year-
olds on the Armed Forces Qualification
Test (AFQT) was not affected by growing
up in a female-headed household; and
controlling income eliminated any nega-
tive effects on years of schooling com-
pleted by age twenty-four to twenty-five
(Ricciuti, 1999). In their study of one-year
prospective effects of family, peer, and
neighborhood influence on academic
achievement among African American
adolescents, Nancy Gonzales and her col-
leagues reported that family status vari-
ables, which included income, parent
education level, and the number of
parental figures present in the home, did
not significantly predict school perfor-
mance. In fact, they pointed out that this
finding “contributes to the growing list
of studies that refute the ‘father absence’
explanation of underachievement that
once prevailed in the field” (p. 380). More
noteworthy are their findings that neigh-
borhood risk interacted with maternal
restrictive control and moderated a posi-
tive effect of peer support to significantly
689
affect school performance—highlighting
the need for more ecological models
when examining this issue.
This trend of commensurate academic
performance among adolescents of one-
and two-parent households, when other
background variables are controlled, is
actually not new. Data from the 1988
National Education Longitudinal Study,
conducted by the National Center for
Educational Statistics of the U.S. Depart-
ment of Education, showed that early
adolescents from two-parent households
scored higher on standardized achieve-
ment tests compared with those from
nontraditional family types, including
mother-only and father-only composi-
tions. Although these data seem to favor
the two-parent household, when the
effects of background variables were
adjusted, the differences in scores of ado-
lescents being raised in mother-only and
mother-father family structures were
reduced to one-tenth of a standard devia-
tion (Zill, 1996).
Similarly, in two large-scale meta-
analyses of the literature on educational
achievement and single-parent family
structure, Mavis Hetherington and her
colleagues and S. A. Salzman looked at a
wide range of outcome measures: IQ
scores, aptitude tests, overall achieve-
ment scores, quantitative-verbal IQ dif-
ferences, and school grades. Although the
majority of studies reviewed in both
analyses favored two-parent households,
differences in overall general achieve-
ment were small, and in the case of IQ
scores, differences were not considered
meaningful (Milne, 1996).
Thus, the evidence reviewed supports
the idea that rather than being caused by
some inherent pathological problem
associated with the single-parent house-
hold, differences in school achievement
690 Single Parenthood and Low Achievement
may be attributable to the circumstances
associated with the deficient economic
and educational resources available to
this group. Furthermore, there is a clear
indication that we must look beyond
family structure and include external,
community-related variables as factors in
models that attempt to predict school
performance in adolescents.
The National Assessment of Educa-
tional Progress has reported on the aver-
age differences in American students’
verbal and math test scores since the late
1960s. Recent analyses of differences in
achievement as a function of such factors
as race, family structure, parental educa-
tional attainment, and family income
level have documented the illusory role
of family structure (e.g., Bronfenbrenner
et al., 1996). These findings indicate that
although children and adolescents of sin-
gle-parent households score 16.67 per-
cent lower on verbal test scores (with
similar differences found on tests of
mathematical reasoning), such deficits
were not the result of family structure,
per se. In fact, these differences are
almost entirely due to variations in
income and parental education that hap-
pens to be collinear with single parent-
hood. Thus, when parental educational
attainment and income are controlled
for, the deficit in scores of adolescents
being raised by single mothers is com-
pletely eliminated on tests of verbal and
mathematical ability.
Taken together, these new findings
refute previous notions about the patho-
logical role of single parenthood in chil-
dren’s and adolescents’ school perfor-
mance. Instead, they are congruent with
observations over the past twenty years
that the largest gains in test scores have
been made by the most disadvantaged
groups, the consequence of increases in
educational spending that have been dis-
proportionately targeted to programs serv-
ing disadvantaged families, such as Title 1
and Head Start (Bronfenbrenner et al.,
1996).
In sum, recent research on family
structure demonstrates that controlling
for differences in economic and other sit-
uational factors (particularly maternal
educational attainment) reduces the gap
in test scores associated with single par-
enthood. In those situations where sin-
gle-parent families possess equivalent
incomes to those of two-parent families,
the children’s and adolescents’ test scores
are very similar. In light of this evidence
it seems that rather than focusing on
family composition, future policy should
instead concentrate on assisting single-
parent households in the procurement of
fiscal support, which may serve to allevi-
ate the intergenerational cycle of dispro-
portionate resources leading to poor
achievement.
Paul B. Papierno
Stephen J. Ceci
See also Academic Achievement; High
School Equivalency Degree; Pregnancy,
Interventions to Prevent; Programs for
Adolescents; School Engagement; Sex
Education; Teenage Parenting: Conse-
quences; Welfare
References and further reading
Bronfenbrenner, Urie, Peter McClelland,
Elaine Wethington, Phyllis Moen, and
Stephen J. Ceci. 1996. State of
Americans. New York: Free Press.
Coleman, J., and T. Hoffer. 1987. Public
and Private High Schools: The Impact
of Communities. New York: Wiley.
Gonzalez, Nancy A., Ana Mari Cauce,
Ruth J. Friedman, and Craig A. Mason.
1996. “Family, Peer, and Neighborhood
Influences on Academic Achievement
among African-American Adolescents:

One Year Prospective Effect.” American
Journal of Community Psychology 24,
no. 3: 365–387.
Hetherington, E. Mavis, David L.
Featherman, and Karen A. Camara.
1981. Intellectual Functioning and
Achievement of Children in One-Parent
Households. Washington DC: National
Institute of Education.
Lykken, David T. 1997. “Factory of
Crime.” Psychological Inquiry 8:
261–270.
Milne, Ann M. 1996. Family Structure and
the Achievement of Children.” Pp.
32–65 in Education and the American
Family: A Research Synthesis. Edited by
W. J. Weston. New York: New York
University Press.
Paterson, Charlotte J., Janis B. Kupersmidt,
and Nancy A. Vaden. 1990. “Income
Level, Gender, Ethnicity, and Household
Composition as Predictors of Children’s
School-Based Competence.” Child
Development 61: 485–494.
Peters, Elizabeth H., and Natalie C.
Mullis. 1997. “The Role of Family
Income and Sources of Income in
Adolescent Achievement.” Pp. 340–381
in Consequences of Growing Up Poor.
Edited by Greg J. Duncan and Jeanne
Brooks-Gunn. New York: Sage.
Ricciuti, Henry R. 1999. “Single
Parenthood and School Readiness in
White, Black, and Hispanic 6- and 7-
Year-Olds.” Journal of Family
Psychology 13: 450–465.
Salzman, S. A. 1987. “Meta-Analysis of
Studies Investigating the Effects of
Father Absence on Children’s Cognitive
Performance.” Paper presented at the
annual meeting of the American
Educational Research Association,
Washington, DC (April).
Steinberg, Laurence. 1989. “Communities
of Families and Education.” In
Education and the American Family: A
Research Synthesis. Edited by W. J.
Weston. New York: New York
University Press.
Zill, Norman. 1996. “Family Change and
Student Achievement: What We Have
Learned, What It Means for Schools.”
Pp. 139–174 in Family-School Links:
How Do They Affect Educational
Outcomes? Edited by Alan Booth and
Judith F. Dunn. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Social Development 691
Social Development
Social development refers to the changes
in both social interactions and expecta-
tions that one experiences across the life
span. Understanding the processes in-
volved in social development will aid ado-
lescents in successfully negotiating their
social world. Social and cultural forces as
well as specific life experiences affect our
relationships with others and how we
think of ourselves. In each stage of devel-
opment, we must uphold certain social
roles and values. Some of these roles are
possessed since birth (e.g., being a son),
while others are taken on as one ages (e.g.,
being a teenager). Many roles are thrust
upon us by circumstance or societal
expectations (e.g., being a woman), while
others are chosen by the individual (e.g.,
being a lawyer). Thus, roles may change
throughout the life span as we progress
through infancy, childhood, adolescence,
and adulthood.
Humans are social creatures, and we
are interested in understanding how other
people interact with and achieve success
in the environment. Throughout life
those around us serve as models for our
own behavior as we observe and learn
from their actions. Those individuals who
tend to be most influential as models are
those who are effective in their environ-
ment, those who have nurtured or pro-
tected us, and those individuals we per-
ceive as similar to ourselves. We attempt
to mimic behavior that we believe will
help us reach the goals that are important
to us and “people like us.” Through
observation, modeling, and even direct
instruction we are socialized to conform
to the standards of our communities, but
our social environment is complex and
changes constantly. When describing how
we develop socially, we must account for
692 Social Development
Social development, often involving peers, is a significant feature of adolescence. (Laura
Dwight)
the contribution of differences in culture,
historical period, gender, group member-
ship, and status to social development.
Social pressures interact with personal
traits, including physical health, self-
esteem, perceived attractiveness, and
intelligence, to affect our development.
For example, a person considered attrac-
tive in his cultural context will have a dif-
ferent set of life experiences than one not
considered attractive. In this way judg-
ments about ourselves and others both
shape and are shaped by our social activi-
ties and interactions.
As we are socialized into the world, we
develop a self-concept, which will impact
our future social interaction and develop-
ment. This notion of self-identity
involves knowledge of both our social
roles and our personal values and moral-
ity. Throughout life self-concept is a
powerful contributor to social and per-
sonal development. Our views of our-
selves affect the impressions that other
people will come to have of us as well as
our success in both our professional and
personal lives. For example, even in
young children school achievement has
been shown to rely on both academic
ability and individual inferences about
learning ability. Those children who
believe certain tasks are beyond their
ability often find that to be true, simply
because their own self-doubts prevent
success. Aspects of our self-concepts are
carried with us throughout development,
although the self-concept may change
somewhat over time.

Although there are many socializing
forces in the environment, it is impor-
tant to recognize that we play an active
role in our interactions with the environ-
ment to guide and direct social develop-
ment. Decisions we make and the atti-
tude and approaches we take when
interacting with others will alter the
course of our own socialization, as well
as influencing the social development of
others in the community.
During childhood, social development
begins with the family. Children must
rely on adults not only to provide food
and shelter, but also to provide social and
emotional support. Bonds with parents or
other caretakers form the first meaning-
ful relationships an individual will have.
Parents interpret society and culture for
their children, and begin to convey their
values and attitudes to their children
from the day that they are born. New-
borns do not have some of the skills we
tend to associate with adult social inter-
action, such as language, but they are
still active participants in the social
world. Children tend to be naturally
social, showing almost immediate inter-
est in faces and amazing sensitivity to
emotions. Newborns are likely to look at
faces for longer amounts of time than
other objects of equal complexity, and
may even be observed to mimic the facial
expressions they see. Infants can soon
distinguish people based on age, gender,
and familiarity, and they are sensitive to
the moods of their mothers. As early as
two months of age, children even coordi-
nate their attention and actions with
those of others in their social world.
By eighteen months they exhibit a trait
known as social referencing: They base
decisions about their behavior on the
facial expressions and conveyed attitudes
of the adults around them. For example,
Social Development 693
children of this age will show interest in
a new toy if their mothers smile and
encourage them. However, they will
avoid the same item if their mothers
appear afraid of it. Through observation
and modeling, children learn to interpret
motives, emotions, and actions and
become familiar with norms, roles, and
relationships in society. In this way chil-
dren learn to do the social problem-
solving tasks they will encounter every
day for the rest of their lives. They learn
how to participate in and respond to
social situations, and ultimately they
learn about the expectations they must
meet as members of society.
It has been said that one cannot know
herself without first having a sense of the
other people in the world. Through expe-
rience with the world, infants develop an
awareness of themselves as separate from
the environment and learn that they can
control their own behavior as well as cer-
tain aspects of the external world. This
realization leads young children to com-
pare themselves to others and to begin to
assign labels to members of their social
world. Young children tend to describe
and categorize others in terms of their
external characteristics such as gender,
age, appearance, or observable behavior.
As children grow, they begin to recognize
internal traits such as personality and
attitude as stable aspects of individuals.
One of the earliest categories that chil-
dren use for classification is gender. This
trend is not surprising, given that even
before children are themselves able to
distinguish reliably between the genders,
parents and other adults treat them dif-
ferently based on gender, beginning the
process of sex role socialization. Female
infants are referred to as “pretty,” “good,”
and “sweet,” while terms such as “hand-
some,” “tough,” and “active” are applied
694 Social Development
to males. These differences have even
been seen in research settings where the
same baby posed as both a male and a
female. In fact, most differences in tem-
perament and achievement between the
genders are actually very small. Although
there may be a small difference in the
average performance between the genders
on some measures, the variation within
either gender is almost always far greater
than the variability between the genders,
leading to much overlap in ability. For
example, males may be able to lift heav-
ier objects on average than females, but
the strongest female is much stronger
than the weakest male, even within the
same age and health range.
However that may be, children inter-
nalize the gender-related behaviors and
concepts that are modeled for them both
directly and indirectly, and they become
part of their self-concepts. Thus, by
about age five most children display
some gender role stereotypes and by age
six or seven they have come to think of
gender roles as permanent. Although
gender-role identity is a fundamental
aspect of self-concept, it is not necessar-
ily a rigid personality trait. Many indi-
viduals reevaluate at least some aspect of
their gender roles and gender concepts at
some point in their lives.
Parenting styles and individual tem-
perament interact to shape early social
development. Parenting styles have
tended to be defined in terms of both how
demanding the parents are and how
responsive they are to their children’s
needs and desires. Parents may show
appropriate levels of both (characterized
as (“authoritative”), may be demanding
without being responsive (“authoritar-
ian”), may be responsive but not demand-
ing (“indulgent”), or may be neither
(“neglecting”). Variability in parenting
styles across individuals and cultures
tends to reflect the socialization goals of
the family, and there is not a direct corre-
spondence between parenting styles and
future social development. Children in
authoritarian households can attain the
same levels and kinds of social success as
those in indulgent households, depending
on the cultural context and individual
attitudes.
Studies do show that with humans and
other primates inadequate or inappropri-
ate early social contact can often have life-
long effects on physical and mental health
as well as the ability to form later rela-
tionships. Orphans raised in institutions
may show abnormal levels of emotional
and physical disorders and high death
rates, even when adequate food and med-
ical care are provided. Similar outcomes
may result from hostile family environ-
ments, but individuals may also show
resilience and thrive even in the face of a
negative environment. These resilient
children tend to share certain traits,
which are believed to insulate them from
many of the harmful effects of improper
social contact. These traits include social
competence (feeling effective and success-
ful in their social world), self-confidence,
independence, and a drive to achieve. In
addition, most of these individuals have at
least a few positive social relationships
that provide a sense of security and create
a social support system.
Peer relationships in early childhood
tend to be based on physical proximity.
Our first friends are those people avail-
able to play with, and friendships can be
made or broken very rapidly, while the
family tends to provide the main source
of social support. In adolescence, peers
begin to compete with the family as a
major socializing influence. Friendships
become more long-lasting, and are marked

by loyalty and intimacy as friends “stick
together” and “can tell each other any-
thing.” This kind of friendship takes a
long time to form, and such friends are
difficult to replace.
During adolescence an individual
begins to form an adult identity and to
push for independence from his or her par-
ents. This move toward independence can
strain family relationships, but there is
much variability in the actions and reac-
tions of individuals and their parents.
While individuals separate from their par-
ents, relationships with their peers tend
to intensify, moving toward greater
mutual dependence. In this way adoles-
cents come to rely on their friends for
advice and social support. Gender roles
also begin to be more clearly differenti-
ated during this time, and romantic rela-
tionships may be initiated. While their
relationships change, adolescents also
begin to address future personal and
career goals in anticipation of the transi-
tion to adulthood. At this point, people
may begin to recognize the active role
they play in shaping their own social
world. Decisions can be made about
school, career, family, and friends that
will have lasting consequences, and soci-
ety comes to expect the individual to take
responsibility for his actions at this stage
as well. As cognitive abilities expand, ado-
lescents begin to think more explicitly
about their social roles and values. They
may come to realize there may be dis-
crepancies between the idealized view of
themselves and reality, coming to terms
with their own inconsistencies. During
this period, individuals show marked con-
cern about how others regard them, but
they also show a tendency to filter out
cultural and social information that is
inconsistent with their self-image. Moral
views become particularly important
Social Development 695
parts of the self-concept, as the individual
begins to consider the ramifications of her
actions and to make decisions about the
kind of person she would like to be.
The transition from childhood to
adulthood is marked by rites of passage
in some cultures, and is often believed to
be associated with a time of emotional
upheaval. The conception of adolescence
as a time of mood swings and unpre-
dictable behavior is not necessarily accu-
rate, however. Many non-Western cul-
tures do not hold this preconception and
do not see such patterns of behavior.
Even in the United States antisocial
behavior during adolescence is the excep-
tion and not the norm. Adolescence is
also typically associated with the onset
of puberty, but this conception of devel-
opment is too simplistic. Puberty refers
to the physical changes that occur as one
enters reproductive adulthood, but ado-
lescence is a social construct, describing
the transition to social adulthood. In
most cases both adolescence and puberty
begin in the preteen or early teen years.
However, adolescence may be observed
to begin earlier or later than puberty and
often has a different overall time course.
Typically, adolescence begins later for
boys than for girls, as females tend to
mature both physically and socially ear-
lier than males. In the United States ado-
lescence has no clearly defined beginning
or end. Children who are given increased
independence at an early age may share
characteristics of adolescents before
puberty, while others may remain “chil-
dren” beyond the onset of puberty. In
recent years, some have suggested that
the duration of adolescence may be
lengthening as individuals delay the
“adult” roles associated with marriage
and family in order to further their edu-
cational and professional goals. In some
696 Social Development
cases, however, individuals may pass
almost directly from childhood to adult-
hood due to the demands of the situation.
These factors can vary culturally, but in
any context, situations such as loss of a
parent or teen pregnancy can signifi-
cantly alter the duration of this phase.
In adulthood social relationships and
personal accomplishments are both
emphasized. Commitments move beyond
oneself and one’s partner to include the
family, work, society, and the future.
Throughout adulthood, social intimacy is
a key factor of psychological well-being:
Those people with strong personal rela-
tionships tend to be happier. As with the
earlier stages, adulthood is marked by
transitional periods that are associated
with major life reorganizations. Early and
middle adulthood may be characterized
by a focus on family, as marital relation-
ships and having children take center
stage. Career satisfaction and achieve-
ment may also contribute significantly to
both social roles and self-concept at this
time. Throughout adulthood, goals for
career and family are set and periodically
reevaluated.
In general, women seem much more
conflicted between expectations for
career and family than men. This trend
may be due to relatively recent social
changes to women’s roles, as having a
career has become socially acceptable
and even expected for many women. For
adults, gender role behavior varies with
the situation, but it appears that gender
roles may tend to become more tradi-
tional as individuals encounter major life
stages. Thus, a couple who are dating
may have more balanced or untraditional
gender roles, while married couples tend
to display a shift toward more traditional
gender roles, with the male serving as
the breadwinner and the female oversee-
ing the home. This shift becomes even
more apparent with the birth of children.
However, as with all aspects of social
development, there is wide individual
variation.
Late in adulthood, social interactions
shift somewhat to friends again, as chil-
dren gain independence and individuals
retire from their jobs. With growing life
expectancies, the postretirement years
mark the beginning of new roles and
social obligations to friends, family, and
the community at large, rather than an
end to one’s “usefulness.” However,
older adults are often faced with negative
stereotypes of declines in intellectual and
physical ability. These declines are not
necessary (or normal) aspects of the aging
process, but at each stage negative stereo-
types can lead to self-fulfilling prophe-
cies, as individuals tend to live up (or
down) to expectations held by society
and by themselves.
Individuals tend to have internal social
clocks by which they judge the age-
appropriateness of different activities.
There are expectations about the roles
that must be fulfilled at various stages of
life, and events that are not in accord
with these clocks tend to be more stress-
ful for the individual than those that
occur on schedule. Although societal
pressures do still dictate when certain
events appear to be appropriate, age
clocks may be less rigid now than they
were in the past, as people are more apt
to postpone having children until later in
life, go back to school after already estab-
lishing a career, and marry, divorce, and
remarry throughout the life span.
Our social environment is complex
and affects development throughout life.
Societal expectations and self-concept
both change as one matures. Adolescence
often marks a time when social factors

first consciously enter into decision
processes about how to act within situa-
tions, and most adolescents are strongly
influenced by social pressures introduced
by their families, their peers, and the
greater community. Having a realistic
understanding of the factors involved in
social development will help adolescents
to negotiate their environments confi-
dently and to understand how their
actions affect the social world experi-
enced by themselves and others around
them.
Maya Misra
See also Cliques; Conformity; Dating;
Peer Groups; Peer Victimization in
School; Puberty: Psychological and
Social Changes; Youth Culture
References and further reading
Anthony, E. James, and Bertram J. Cohler,
eds. 1987. The Invulnerable Child. New
York: Guilford Press.
Baltes, Paul B., and Orville G. Brim Jr.,
eds. 1979. Life-Span Development and
Behavior, Vol. 2. New York: Academic
Press.
Baumrind, Diana. 1975. Early
Socialization and the Discipline
Controversy. Morristown, NJ: General
Learning Press.
Cichetti, Dante, and Marjorie Beeghly, eds.
1990. The Self in Transition: Infancy to
Adulthood. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press.
Damon, William. 1983. Social and
Personality Development: From Infancy
through Adolescence. New York:
Norton.
Damon, William, and Daniel Hart. 1988.
Self-Understanding in Childhood and
Adolescence. New York: Cambridge
University Press.
Elder, Glen H., Jr., John Modell, and Ross
D. Parke, eds. 1993. Children in Time
and Place: Developmental and
Historical Insights. New York:
Cambridge University Press.
Erikson, Erik H. 1963. Childhood and
Society, 2nd ed. New York: Norton.
Hetherington, E. Mavis, Richard M.
Lerner, and Marion Perlmutter, eds.
Spina Bifida 697
1988. Child Development in Life-Span
Perspective. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Levinson, Daniel J. 1978. The Seasons of a
Man’s Life. New York: Knopf.
———. 1996. The Seasons of a Woman’s
Life. New York: Random House.
Spina Bifida
Adolescents born with spina bifida, a
serious and widespread congenital birth
defect, face challenges their able-bodied
peers do not. They are likely to experi-
ence pubertal development before their
peers, have difficulty walking, and may
find social interactions difficult. They
also are more likely than able-bodied
peers to remain dependent on their fami-
lies and must be encouraged to accept
increasing responsibility in an age-appro-
priate and ability-appropriate manner.
Although most adolescents with spina
bifida are within the normal range of
intellectual functioning, their unique
learning difficulties are often inade-
quately addressed and may result in dis-
crimination in the workplace as adults.
Given these challenges, it is not surpris-
ing that these adolescents are at increased
risk for attentional problems, anxiety,
withdrawal, and depression. A healthy
parent-child relationship and opportuni-
ties for meaningful and rewarding social
interactions, however, can improve the
self-image and self-confidence of adoles-
cents with spina bifida and protect them
from many of these emotional and behav-
ioral problems.
Major medical advances have greatly
increased the survival and functioning of
those born with spina bifida, but much
work remains to fully understand their
development over the life span. As chil-
dren with spina bifida become adoles-
cents, it becomes increasingly important
to focus not only on medical needs but
698 Spina Bifida
also on psychosocial factors that can
improve their quality of life through child-
hood, adolescence, and into adulthood.
Developing with Spina Bifida
Spina bifida is the second most common
congenital birth defect in the world. It
occurs during the first twenty-eight days
of a pregnancy when the bones of the
spinal column that surround the develop-
ing spinal cord do not close completely.
The degree of impairment in spina bifida
depends on the location and extent of the
spinal lesion, shunt status (i.e., how
effectively the shunt that removes excess
fluid from the brain is working), and the
severity of orthopedic deformities in the
legs, feet, and spinal column. Most chil-
dren require some mechanical aids (e.g.,
wheelchairs, crutches, or braces) to move
around, and the majority incur bladder
and bowel control difficulties.
Prior to the early 1950s, babies born
with spina bifida rarely survived. Major
advances in neurosurgery and urology,
however, have increased the chances of
survival, and today the majority of
infants born with this birth defect will
live into adulthood. As the life span of
children born with spina bifida has
increased, more attention has been given
to the developing adolescent and the
transition into adulthood.
Children with spina bifida tend to begin
puberty earlier than their able-bodied
peers, often starting as early as seven years
of age. This precocious puberty results in
fewer available years for bone growth and
thus shorter and heavier stature overall. In
addition, it may result in earlier breast
development and menarche for girls. Even
though they mature early, adolescents
with spina bifida perceive themselves to
be uninformed about the sexual implica-
tions of spina bifida. The effect of spina
bifida on sexual function depends on the
lesion level and the degree of complete-
ness of the lesion. In males with spina
bifida, erection, intercourse, ejaculation,
fertility, and sensation of orgasm can all
be affected to varying degrees. In females,
fertility, menstruation, and intercourse
are rarely affected, but sensation of
orgasm may be affected by the disability.
Parental Relationships
Adolescents with spina bifida often
remain psychologically dependent on
their parents much longer than their
nondisabled peers do. As a result, a major
goal for the family during this period is to
help the adolescent function more inde-
pendently. The process of transferring
responsibility from the parent to the
child should take place in a progressive
manner with age-appropriate and ability-
appropriate jobs. Parents who treat their
children in an age-appropriate manner,
do not inhibit their activities, and
encourage achievement have a positive
influence on their adolescents’ self-
image, as well as future employment,
community mobility, and social activity.
Dependency on the family is evident in
the passive approach many adolescents
with spina bifida take toward healthcare.
Most adolescents with spina bifida are
aware of the functional implications of
their disability (e.g., symptoms associ-
ated with shunt malfunction, the name
and purpose of medications, and pro-
grams necessary in managing their dis-
ability) but are unaware of diagnostic
information (e.g., lesion level, hydro-
cephalus, diagnosis). To become more
active in healthcare and make informed
decisions, adolescents with spina bifida
must be educated about their disability,
the associated health risks, and implica-
tions for functioning. Earlier exposure to

terminology related to diagnosis and neu-
rological status, as well as more direct
decision making by the adolescent about
treatment, where appropriate, might
improve knowledge and encourage more
responsibility.
Current research suggests that adoles-
cents with spina bifida may be at
increased risk for emotional and behav-
ioral adjustment problems, particularly
attentional problems and internalizing
symptoms such as anxiety, withdrawal,
and depression. The normal challenges of
identity formation are complicated for
the adolescent with spina bifida because
they must integrate the permanence of
the disability into the developing self-
concept. Adolescents with spina bifida
often feel less competent than do able-
bodied peers in academic, athletic, and
social interactions. On the positive side,
they feel equally supported by friends and
parents and more supported by teachers.
The key is for parents to provide sup-
port and at the same time encourage
their adolescent’s physical and emotional
independence. Given the protective
effect of having a healthy parent-child
relationship, a physical disability does
not necessarily result in psychosocial
problems. Rather, the social expectations
of significant others as well as opportuni-
ties for meaningful and rewarding social
interactions are primary determinants of
positive self-image.
Peer Interactions
Social isolation is a major problem for
young adults with spina bifida. Peer rela-
tionships are generally characterized by
extremely limited out-of-school con-
tacts, minimal participation in organized
social activities, and a tendency toward
sedentary activities. Most adolescents
with spina bifida have never dated and
Spina Bifida 699
have only minimal social interactions
with the opposite sex. Activities that
involve age-appropriate tasks that other
students will both benefit from and
appreciate are most helpful in increasing
self-confidence and social interaction in
adolescents with spina bifida.
A study by Jan Lord and colleagues sug-
gests that mere physical proximity to
able-bodied peers does not necessarily
promote increased social interaction and
confidence. The study found that, even
though adolescents in mainstream classes
had the most normal scores for academic
and social skills, those whose program
combined general and special education
classes reported the least loneliness.
Class placement, therefore, should be
carefully considered on an individual
basis, since it appears that for some ado-
lescents part-time placement in special
education classrooms might have social
advantages that decrease loneliness.
Academic and Vocational Functioning
Adolescents with spina bifida, although
below the population average, are within
the normal range of intelligence and can
usually function academically in general
education classrooms. They usually per-
form within the normal range on verbal
tasks, but have unique learning disabili-
ties that involve visual-motor integration
difficulty and fine-motor coordination
problems. These problems typically
result in lower arithmetic achievement
relative to nondisabled adolescents, while
performance in areas such as reading and
spelling keeps pace with age peers.
Expanded education for teachers regard-
ing spina bifida is necessary to address
these specific limitations.
Adolescents with spina bifida are pro-
tected under the Individuals with Disabil-
ities Education Act (PL 101-476), which
700 Sports and Adolescents
requires that goals and objectives related
to employment and postsecondary educa-
tion, independent living, and community
participation be included in Individual
Educational Programs (IEPs) at no later
than sixteen years of age. In a survey of
needs by Suzanne Kennedy and col-
leagues, parents and young people with
spina bifida felt that these needs were not
being adequately addressed. They strongly
suggested that vocational counselors
become more understanding and realistic
and that employers receive updated infor-
mation regarding disabilities. To compete
for employment, young people with spina
bifida need to learn self-advocacy and self-
marketing skills and to be aware of their
employment rights, based on the Rehabil-
itation Act and the Americans with Dis-
abilities Act.
Venette C. Westhoven
Grayson N. Holmbeck
Michelle Abdala
Sandra Alcala
See also Developmental Challenges;
Learning Disabilities; Learning Styles
and Accommodations
References and further reading
Ammerman, Robert T., Vincent R. Kane,
Gregory T. Slomka, Donald H. Reigel,
Michael D. Franzen, and Kenneth D.
Gadow. 1998. “Psychiatric
Symptomatology and Family
Functioning in Children and
Adolescents with Spina Bifida.” Journal
of Clinical Psychology in Medical
Settings 5: 449–465.
Appleton, P. L., P. E. Minchom, N. C. Ellis,
C. E. Elliott, V. Boll, and P. Jones. 1994.
“The Self-Concept of Young People
with Spina Bifida: A Population-Based
Study.” Developmental Medicine and
Child Neurology 36: 198–215.
Erickson, David. 1992. “Knowledge of
Disability in Adolescents with Spina
Bifida.” Canadian Journal of
Rehabilitation 5: 171–175.
Erickson, David, and Laurel Erickson.
1992. “Knowledge of Sexuality in
Adolescents with Spina Bifida.”
Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality
14: 195–199.
Kennedy, Suzanne E., Sherri D. Garcia
Martin, John M. Kelley, Brian Walton,
Claudia K. Vlcek, Ruth S. Hassanein,
and Grace E. Holmes. 1998.
“Identification of Medical and
Nonmedical Needs of Adolescents and
Young Adults with Spina Bifida and
Their Families: A Preliminary Study.”
Children’s Health Care 27: 47–61.
Lord, Jan, Nicole Varzos, Bruce Behrman,
John Wicks, and Dagmar Wicks. 1990.
“Implications of Mainstream
Classrooms for Adolescents with Spina
Bifida.” Developmental Medicine and
Child Neurology 32: 20–29.
Wills, Karen E., Grayson N. Holmbeck,
Katherine Dillon, and David G.
McLone. 1990. “Intelligence and
Achievement in Children with
Myelomeningocele.” Journal of
Pediatric Psychology 15:161–176.
Wolman, Clara, and Deborah E. Basco.
1994. “Factors Influencing Self-Esteem
and Self-Consciousness in Adolescents
with Spina Bifida.” Society of
Adolescent Medicine 15: 543–548.
Completion of this article was supported
in part by Social and Behavioral
Sciences Research Grant No. 12-
FY93–0621, 12-FY 97–0270, and 12-
FY99–0280 from the March of Dimes
Birth Defects Foundation.
Sports and Adolescents
Adolescents and athletics are a natural
mix. Although adolescents may struggle
with many other aspects of their lives,
sports are uniquely equipped to help the
adolescent adapt to the physical, psycho-
logical, and social changes they are experi-
encing. In light of this, athletics becomes
a valuable setting in which to understand
adolescents. While much of the world (the
family and school, for example) is strug-
gling to adapt to the changes of adoles-
cence, athletics by its very nature
embraces those changes and the different
ways in which they evolve. There are ath-
 Sports and Adolescents 701

letic opportunities for early-, on-time, and

late-maturing adolescents, for adolescents
who are tall or not as tall, thin but fast or
heavy but strong, and interested in team
sports or interested in individual sports.
The power of sports to provide a mean-
ingful and positive environment for ado-
lescents cannot be overstated. However,
there is also the potential for sports to
create negative experiences for young
people. Coaches are expected to instill a
range of important values and skills in
the young participants, but agreement
on what those values and skills are is up
for debate. We want our young athletes
to be team oriented and loyal, but not if
it involves cheating or poor sportsman-
ship. We want them to be competitive
but fair, to be satisfied with putting forth
their best efforts but also to win. Because
of the complicated nature of these val-
ues, coaches must be prepared to help
young athletes come to an understand-
When adolescents are good at an activity
ing of what it means to be a good athlete.
that is important to them, such as sports,
Thus, the purpose of the present essay is they are likely to develop positive feelings
threefold. First, it examines the relation- about themselves. (Skjold Photographs)
ship between athletics and the funda-
mental changes of adolescence. Second,
it identifies how young people can bene-
fit or suffer from sport experiences. Effects of Puberty on
Finally, it provides parents and coaches Athletic Experiences
with some ideas about how to help Although it is true that nearly all adoles-
young people deal with the challenges of cents go through puberty, how they go
being an athlete. through it varies considerably. Specifi-
cally, variations arise in terms of the
Biological Change and tempo—how rapidly an individual com-
Athletic Participation pletes puberty—and the timing—at what
In sports, the biological changes of adoles- age an individual begins puberty com-
cence, specifically puberty, need to be pared to his peers. Pubertal tempo and
appreciated in two distinct ways. First, it timing may affect the type of sport an
is important to explore how an adoles- adolescent chooses to participate in, her
cent’s pubertal changes affect her athletic level of success in that sport, and/or her
experiences. In turn, it is also important to willingness to participate at all. We know
attempt to understand how athletics affect that boys and girls who mature early may
puberty. fare differently from those who mature
702 Sports and Adolescents
later. Boys who mature early are likely to
be successful in a variety of team sports,
such as football, baseball, swimming,
track and field, and cycling. In turn, those
boys who mature later are found to be
more successful in such sports as hockey,
distance running, and gymnastics. For
girls, the picture becomes more compli-
cated. We know most about girls who
participate in individual sports such as
figure skating and gymnastics. In these
sports, later maturation is more likely to
lead to success. For female swimmers,
success does not appear to be a function
of maturational timing. However, while
boys are likely to participate in athletics
regardless of their pubertal experiences,
early maturation in girls appears to have
an inhibitory effect on their sport partici-
pation. This may result from their gen-
eral lack of comfort with the physical
changes associated with puberty, for
which neither they nor those around
them may be prepared. In fact, for girls,
athletic contexts may demand a certain
level of comfort with one’s physical self
in order to be able to participate.
Effects of Physical Activity
and Athletics on Puberty
The effect of physical activity on puberty
is more difficult to understand. There is
some evidence to suggest that girls who
train intensely in sports are likely to
experience delayed menarche (first men-
strual period). But it is not clear whether
physical activity is the cause of this
delayed menarche or whether girls who
participate in sports are simply predis-
posed to a later age of menarche anyway.
In addition, we know very little about
the impact of intense training on boys’
development. It can be said that intense
athletic activity appears to have no effect
on growth in height, skeletal maturation,
or the timing of the growth spurt. It does
affect weight in both boys and girls, as
would be expected, by increasing the
level of lean mass (muscle) and decreas-
ing the level of adipose tissue (fat).
Psychological Changes and
Athletic Participation
In addition to the fundamental biological
changes associated with adolescence,
critical changes are occurring psycholog-
ically as well. Of particular importance
in athletics are changes in the thought
processes of young people. In the realm
of sports, motivation becomes a key
issue to understand, since it affects both
an adolescent’s willingness to get in-
volved and stay involved in a sport as
well as the success he experiences in that
sport. Two approaches to understanding
motivation are worth noting. Joan Duda
has focused extensively on the idea of
achievement motivation and the impor-
tance of being task oriented, while Mau-
reen Weiss has focused on issues of com-
petence motivation and the importance
of gaining mastery.
Types of Motivation:
Intrinsic and Extrinsic
What is motivation? For the purposes of
this discussion, there are two types of
motivational style. Extrinsic motivation
involves relying on some type of tangible
reward. Thus, a child who is extrinsically
motivated would seek to be involved in
sport in the hopes of winning trophies,
money, ribbons, or some other form of
reward. In addition, an individual who
participates in sports to avoid feeling
guilty for not having participated would
be extrinsically motivated. In contrast,
intrinsic motivation is generated inter-
nally by the individual, meaning they par-
ticipate “for the fun of it,” or because they

like how they feel about themselves when
they take part in sports. Thus, intrinsi-
cally motivated children, although they
may be excited about winning a trophy or
ribbon, are not driven solely by the need
to be rewarded by such objects.
Achievement Motivation and Sports
The study of sport-related achievement
motivation focuses on attributions and
goal orientations. Specifically, it asks to
what children and adolescents attribute
their successes and failures, and whether
they are oriented toward mastering tasks
(in other words, task oriented) or toward
surpassing others (in other words, ego ori-
ented). At the same time, the relation-
ship between how children think about
their successes and failures (attributional
style) and how task oriented they are is
impacted by changes in the thought pat-
terns that occur during childhood and
adolescence. Thus, a discussion of these
factors is merited in order to appreciate
the complexity of how motivation devel-
ops as well as what is required of adults
in their attempts to enhance rather than
impede the development of motivation.
Ability, Effort, and Task Difficulty. Is
success a matter of luck while failure is a
matter of personal ability? Is failure
based on a lack of effort or lack of ability?
Are sporting experiences something over
which the child feels he or she has some
control with respect to the outcome? As
children grow up, they come to under-
stand that their ability, their effort, and
the difficulty of a task are independent
factors affecting athletic performance.
They also learn to more accurately eval-
uate their own performance and ability
in comparison to that of their peers.
Thus, young children tend to believe that
if they can just try hard enough, they can
Sports and Adolescents 703
be best at a sport. However, adolescents
are more sophisticated thinkers and can
realize that “ability is capacity,” mean-
ing there are some tasks that are simply
too difficult for them regardless of how
much effort they put forth. They may
never be as good as some of their more
athletically competent peers.
Attributions. So if adolescents can tell
they may always be mediocre, why do
those adolescents stay involved in sports?
The answer is attributional style. It is
generally understood that young people
try to find ways to be successful and show
high ability. How positively young people
perceive their competence is affected by
how much success they experience ath-
letically, but that is not the only factor. A
young person who thinks his success
results from personal qualities like ability
and effort is more likely to feel compe-
tent, particularly if he or she believes the
causes of the success are personal and
consistent (like ability). In contrast, a
young person who believes her success is
the result of situational factors (such as
luck or ease of task) is less likely to
develop positive feelings of competence.
Positive feelings can also result from fail-
ure experiences. A child who believes he
failed due to lack of effort is more likely
to think the outcome could be different
the next time “if I just try harder.” Thus,
it is possible for both success and failure
to have either a positive or a negative
effect on a child’s feelings of athletic com-
petence and therefore on her motivation
to achieve. It simply depends on how the
child interprets each event.
Task Orientation versus Ego Orientation.
However, the picture is more complicated
if one is interested in understanding why
adolescents not only get into sports but
704 Sports and Adolescents
stay involved. The issue of personal com-
petence (task mastery) becomes impor-
tant at this point. Adolescents who con-
centrate on mastering a task are likely to
put forth more effort, have more accurate
and positive perceptions of their ability,
and set more appropriate goals for
achievement. In contrast, adolescents
who compare themselves to others may
exhibit one of two distinct patterns: If
they also believe they have high ability,
they are more likely to engage in behav-
iors that are both challenging and calcu-
lated to strengthen their sense of compe-
tence; if they believe they have low
ability, they are more likely to choose
activities that are too easy or too difficult
for their ability level and so have no effect
on their sense of competence.
Practically speaking, a teenager whose
main focus is on self-improvement is
more likely to continue participating in
sports throughout adolescence. On the
other hand, a teenager who is primarily
concerned with outdoing his peers may
not experience problems initially, but it
is almost inevitable that an unsurpass-
able opponent will be encountered at
some point. By age twelve or thirteen,
young adolescents understand that there
is an upper limit to their ability regard-
less of the amount of effort they put
forth, a limit that makes some opponents
unbeatable. Under such circumstances,
additional effort is useful only when an
individual seeks to achieve a skill level
that reflects her greatest potential, irre-
spective of others’ performances. Thus,
teenagers who are most interested in
doing their best are less bothered when
they realize they are not as skilled as oth-
ers and will maintain participation in
sports, whereas those most interested in
beating others are more likely, given the
right circumstances, to drop out of sports.
Competence Motivation and Sports
While understanding achievement moti-
vation provides those in the field with
insights into why young people may
choose to stay in or to drop out of sports,
competence motivation becomes valu-
able for those interested in understanding
how sports contributes to the self-esteem
of young athletes. In general, the basic
premise of this approach is that how a
child judges his level of competence
affects how well the child performs ath-
letically, which affects the child’s self-
esteem. There are many factors that con-
tribute to the process of developing and
building competence and self-esteem.
Multiple Domains of Competence. First,
there are several performance areas or
domains in which adolescents can show
competence. One important domain is
physical competence, which includes
athletic skill. When athletic competence
is combined with the adolescent’s per-
sonal interest in sport, we gain insight
into how self-esteem begins to develop.
For example, a child may view sports as
important and want to perform well ath-
letically. However, if the child is unable
to perform as well as desired, this will
affect both the way the child evaluates
her competence as well as her continuing
interest in sports. Generally then, this
means that when children are good at
something that is also important to them
like sports, they are likely to develop pos-
itive feelings about themselves. In con-
trast, a lack of success is likely to lead to
anxiety and negative feelings.
Optimal Challenges. For those adults
interested in helping young people
improve athletically, it is important to
present them with the optimal chal-
lenge. An optimal challenge is one that is

neither too difficult nor too easy for them
to master: one that is tailored to their
individual ability. Most often the optimal
challenge requires the young person to
work hard and may or may not result in
a successful outcome. It is an optimal
challenge if the young person is able to
realize that with effort, he will eventu-
ally be able to achieve success. A simple
task will not help him feel more compe-
tent, and a difficult one will often result
in frustration; neither will positively
impact self-esteem. An optimal chal-
lenge then, maximizes the potential for
young people to perceive themselves in a
positive way.
Significant Others. Competence and
self-esteem develop over the course of
many experiences and much time. Each is
affected by several forces, one of the most
important being significant others, or
individuals important to the youth. Sig-
nificant others can be parents, coaches,
teachers, relatives, and even peers. The
positive role significant others can play
centers around showing approval for an
adolescent’s attempts to get good at some-
thing, a kind of approval that makes it
more likely that he or she will keep trying
even when struggling. By giving such
approval, adults show young people that
the process of developing better skills is
more important than winning. In addi-
tion, adults are promoting the adoles-
cent’s sense of competence and control.
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation.
Adults are also pivotal in determining
whether children learn to simply like to
play sports or whether they need to be
rewarded for playing. This is important
because children in each of these cate-
gories tend to think about their successes
and failures differently from one another.
Sports and Adolescents 705
Here is how the process works. When
adults give praise to a child’s effort and
persistence at a task (i.e., the process), the
child is more likely to simply enjoy the
sport, to play “for the fun of it.” On the
other hand, when adults only praise chil-
dren when they are successful (i.e., the
product), children are more likely to play
in order to get a reward. Thus, it becomes
critical to reward children not only for
their successes but also for their genuine
attempts to be successful even when
they are not.
This approach to understanding chil-
dren and adolescents in sports is useful
for at least two reasons. First, the concept
of optimal challenges requires adults to
think about young people as individuals;
the typical “one-size-fits-all” approaches
to coaching and teaching are not gener-
ally recommended, nor are they particu-
larly successful. In addition, it requires
those who work with young people to
appreciate their normal growth and
development and to realize that our
strategies for helping them improve must
become more sophisticated over time.
Second, the concept of significant others
encourages us to recognize that, although
adults, in particular, parents, are of great
importance to young athletes, peers take
on great importance during adolescence.
Thus, adolescents begin to look to age-
mates for information regarding perfor-
mance standards, for standards for evalu-
ating their personal achievements, and
for feedback regarding their competence.
Ultimately, regardless of which
approach one uses, the key point is to
facilitate in children and adolescents a
degree of personal interest in sports, so
that they will want to do well for their
own satisfaction, not for outside rewards.
These young people are more likely to
initiate sport participation and maintain
706 Sports and Adolescents
their participation into adulthood. In
addition, they are more likely to feel
good about themselves and to have a
greater sense of control over their lives.
Finally, they are more likely to see value
in achieving their own greatest potential
irrespective of their performance levels
relative to others.
Social Changes and
Athletic Experiences
Parents are keenly aware of the social
changes that emerge during adolescence.
Peers take on greater importance at this
time; indeed, some feel that peers take on
even greater importance than do parents.
However, the adolescent social experi-
ence can be quite different for boys com-
pared to girls. Thus, this section will
explore the different experiences of boys
and girls athletically and the extent to
which parents and peers are influential in
those experiences.
Relationship between Parental Involve-
ment and Sport Participation. Parents
can be influential with their young ath-
letes in several ways. Parenting style—be
it more democratic or more authoritar-
ian—is the primary means by which this
influence occurs. Specifically, parental
pressure and parental support are impor-
tant factors in how young people come to
perceive their sport experiences. In terms
of parental pressure, we know that in
general young people tend to enjoy sports
more if they perceive less pressure to per-
form from their parents. We also know
that parental pressure is often associated
with more negative self-worth, greater
fears of failure, more physical complaints
of illness or injury, feelings of inadequacy,
guilt and anxiety, and unhappiness with
sport involvement and participation. In
contrast, parental support seems to be
important for young athletes’ getting
involved in sports initially as well as in
staying involved. In addition, support
appears to be related to greater enjoyment
of sports, higher self-esteem, more posi-
tive evaluations of performance out-
comes, and the amount of importance the
adolescent attributes to the sport.
Differences between Mothers and
Fathers. These issues cannot be exam-
ined without considering differences
between mothers and fathers in the way
they affect young people’s performances.
In general, mothers’ and fathers’ involve-
ment tends to take on different forms and
have different impacts on young athletes.
Mothers tend to be less invested in their
child’s performance per se, focusing more
on the child’s enjoyment, thereby adjust-
ing their level of support and expectations
to match the child’s enjoyment of the
sport. Fathers, in contrast, tend to be
more interested in their child’s ability and
effort, increasing their involvement when
they believe their child’s effort or ability
is low. This is an important issue. If
fathers (or parents generally) become
overinvolved in their child’s performance,
the child may begin to enjoy the sport less
as she perceives greater parental pressure
to perform. This, then, may lead to less
effort on the part of the child, setting up a
destructive cycle of self-defeating behav-
iors. Note that this is not a criticism of
fathers, since society has generally placed
athletics in men’s domain, and therefore
they are more likely to feel pressure from
society for their children to perform well
athletically.
There may also be parenting issues
that arise differently based on the sex of
child. Some have suggested that when
children are first getting involved in
sport, the influence of the same-sex par-

ent is most important. However, others
suggest that fathers are most influential
in the introduction to and the continued
sports participation of both boys and
girls. In addition, athletic girls tend to get
encouragement from both parents,
whereas boys tend to get more encour-
agement from fathers. Thus, for girls to
be athletic may require both parents’
interest and encouragement, which may
be the result of sports often being consid-
ered a male domain. How to show sup-
port and encouragement will be dis-
cussed in the last section of this entry.
Relationship between Peer Influence
and Sports Participation. Consistently,
adolescents identify sports participation
as an important factor determining the
popularity of their peers. However, this
appears to be true for boys and girls in dif-
ferent ways. Specifically, boys can gain
popularity simply by becoming involved
in sports. Girls, on the other hand, may
have to overcome a variety of obstacles
in order for sports to have a positive
effect on their peer popularity. It’s useful
to spell out these differences experienced
by adolescent male and female athletes.
Sports Participation and Gender Roles of
Adolescents. First, it is useful to recog-
nize that sports are an integral part of the
socialization experiences of boys
throughout childhood and especially ado-
lescence. It is during adolescence that
boys become highly interested in demon-
strating their masculinity to others, as is
the case for girls and femininity. For
boys, sports participation is not only
encouraged, it is often expected. While
girls’ involvement generally requires sup-
port from mothers, fathers, and peers,
boys’ involvement in sport may simply
be the result of a father’s influence and
Sports and Adolescents 707
encouragement. For girls, sports partici-
pation may be viewed as contrary to
what society expects from them. Adoles-
cent girls may feel the need to either
choose a more “feminine” sport, such as
gymnastics or figure skating, or not par-
ticipate at all.
Gender-Related Differences in Sport
Experiences. Differences between boys
and girls are also evident in the ways in
which each experiences and values sport
involvement. Boys’ popularity has been
consistently linked to their sports partic-
ipation. They are also more likely to
spend their free time playing sports.
Girls’ experiences tend to be more
restricted. Girls are expected to play
“feminine” sports by their peers. They
are often more reluctant to play sports,
believing they will not perform well. In
fact, girls who are most likely to play
sports are those who perceive themselves
to be competent in all aspects of their
lives—at school, with their peers, and in
sports. Boys, on the other hand, play
sports regardless of their level of compe-
tence in other aspects of their lives. Boys
tend to focus on winning and like to keep
score. Girls, in contrast, like to play
cooperative games and to not keep score.
Finally, boys value winning in sport, and,
in fact, their continued interest and
enjoyment in sports is likely to be con-
tingent on winning, while girls focus on
personal goals rather than the overall
outcome of their participation.
Effects of Sports Participation
on Adolescent Development
It can be seen that for adults working
with young athletes, understanding how
development affects and is affected by
sports participation is valuable. It is also
useful to recognize the variety of ways in
708 Sports and Adolescents
which sports participation can both ben-
efit adolescents as they develop and hin-
der their development.
Benefits of Participation. Sports partici-
pation in any form (i.e., formal or infor-
mal, team or individual, aerobic or anaer-
obic exercise) can have a variety of
positive impacts on the adolescent’s
overall sense of self.
Maintaining an Active Self. Involve-
ment in sport provides adolescents with
a way to assess their physical capacities.
It allows them to establish behavioral
patterns and values that make physical
activity a priority in their daily lives. It
may also allow the adolescent to develop
physical skills that he can use not only
during adolescence but throughout life to
promote health and well-being.
Exploring One’s Identity. A key compo-
nent of adolescence is developing a sense
of identity; sport participation can be
instrumental in this process. Young ath-
letes can hone their decision-making and
problem-solving skills. This is important,
since many of the situations in which
adolescents have to make decisions are
too simple, as they are in school, where
problems and answers are often con-
trolled and evaluated by adults, or too
complicated, as they are in friendships,
where adolescents are often confronted
with difficult choices and life-altering or
even life-threatening options (e.g., sex,
alcohol, drugs). Sports, in contrast, pro-
vide a setting where neither the questions
nor the answers are too complex or too
simple, and the outcomes can be unpre-
dictable. Finally, sports participation
teaches adolescents to use feedback and
criticism to improve themselves, without
taking the criticisms personally.
Developing Prosocial Skills. Sports can
promote many positive social skills that
will prove useful in adolescent as well as
later in adult contexts. The value of team-
work is undisputed. Recognizing the need
for and learning to work with others in
order to accomplish a common goal will
prove to be invaluable to the adolescent.
Working hard not just for one’s own ben-
efit but for others is an important part of
teamwork as well. In addition, learning to
value others because of their assets and in
spite of their deficits—that is, sportsman-
ship—can be a useful skill developed in
sport contexts. Finally, understanding and
appreciating loyalty to one’s teammates,
to a coach, or to a team can be a useful
skill as well.
Positive Interpersonal Experiences.
Sports participation can provide adoles-
cents with a variety of opportunities to
develop positive relationships with other
adolescents and with adults. Team mem-
bership gives young people opportunities
to establish a healthy peer network with
others who share their goals and ideals
about sports and life. In addition, it lim-
its both the amount of time and the
number of opportunities they have to get
involved in antisocial activities. Sports
participation also provides the potential
for positive interactions with parents,
with opportunities to connect over a
common interest. Finally, young ath-
letes have an additional caring adult in
their lives—the coach—who can serve as
a role model, give guidance and insights
about life obstacles, and broaden the
number of adults who are connected to
the child in a caring manner.
Potential for Negative Effects of Sports
Participation. Clearly, sports can have
many positive effects on young partici-

pants; however, the potential for negative
experiences cannot be overlooked. Nega-
tive influences can be exerted in a variety
of forms, most often by those who have
good intentions but who lack insight into
key aspects of child development. Some
of the ways in which adults can create
negative effects for young athletes
include the following:
• Adults may promote winning as
the most important or the only
goal
• Adults may define success in terms
of winning
• Adults may fail to recognize indi-
vidual best performances regardless
of wins and losses
• Adults may allow teammates to
berate one another, believing that
peer pressure is an effective moti-
vator (e.g., they may allow name-
calling, yelling at, or blaming a
team member for a bad play or a
loss)
• Adults may berate young athletes,
believing that is an effective moti-
vator
• Adults may focus so strongly on
winning that only certain members
of a team get playing time
• Adults may require sports to take
on a higher priority than other
activities, like school
• Adults may allow adolescents to
use sport to act out aggressive or
violent tendencies
• Adults may not appreciate develop-
mental and individual differences
in athletic ability
The next, and last, section is designed
to help parents and other adults advocate
for their young athletes in order to mini-
mize such negative influences and maxi-
Sports and Adolescents 709
mize the positive experiences they are
likely to come across in sports.
Advocating for the Young Athlete
The interested parent needs to juggle sev-
eral concerns. On the one hand, parents
do not want their children to experience
undue or unnecessary hardship physi-
cally or emotionally. On the other hand,
parents need to allow their children to
learn how to negotiate difficult situations
where they may feel that the children are
being unfairly treated. Parents must work
hard to determine the best way to pro-
mote their children’s development with-
out being too involved or too protective,
which limits their learning opportunities.
The following is a brief list of how par-
ents can help children gain positive expe-
riences from sport involvement.
Stay Involved with Your Child’s Activi-
ties. The best way for parents to help
their children in sports is to talk to them
about their experiences. Parents need to
be proactive when it comes to communi-
cating with their children. It is not a good
strategy to assume your child will come
to you if she is having a problem. Chil-
dren may perceive that their parents
want them to perform well athletically
and may not want to talk about problems
they are having. Parents need to ask their
children about their sport experiences, to
ask them whether they are having fun
and whether they feel good about them-
selves in terms of sports, about their suc-
cesses and their failures (or perceived
failures), and to talk to them about their
goals.
Monitor Practices and Competitions.
Parents also need to get involved in both
practices and competitions. Parents need
to observe practices to see how the coach
710 Sports and Adolescents
works with the athletes. Is the coach sup-
portive? Does the coach favor some play-
ers over others? Does the coach model
athletic skills to enhance learning? Does
the coach help all the team members to
set personal goals for success? How do
team members interact, and to what
extent does the coach promote positive
interactions among teammates? If
answers to these questions are consis-
tently negative, parents may need to talk
to the coach or perhaps seek a new team
for their child. If, however, the picture is
less clear, parents may decide that regu-
lar discussions with the child will be
enough to counteract the negative mes-
sages from the coach, team members, or
even other parents.
Help Child Maintain Proper Perspective
on Self and Sports Generally. Parents
need to emphasize to their children that
sports are one of many aspects of life, not
the only thing in life. Young people need
to know that their athletic ability is not
a measure of their worth, particularly in
the eyes of their parents. They need to
know that how they perform in sports is
less important than their willingness to
try, to set realistic goals and work toward
them, and to work hard no matter what.
Finally, children need to know that being
a good athlete is valuable, but not at the
expense of other life domains such as
academics.
Set High Standards for Achievement not
Based on Winning. When adults set high
performance standards, young people are
likely to believe they can achieve such
standards and work to do so. If parents
focus narrowly on winning, adolescents
may easily become discouraged, since
winning is only partially related to how
hard one tries. A child who believes that
winning is everything is more likely to
quit if he perceives that winning is
impossible.
Use Athletics to Accent Life, Not Dom-
inate It. For a variety of reasons, parents
may find themselves and their children
dominated by their children’s involve-
ment in sport. Running children to prac-
tices; driving long distances to games,
meets, or matches; selling candy; buying
tickets and uniforms and equipment—
these are only a few of the multitude of
ways in which families become en-
meshed in their children’s athletic expe-
riences. It is important to set limits to
involvement in a sport. Sports should be
a way for children to expand their lives in
a fun and meaningful way, not limit their
opportunities. Sport should be an activity
that helps bond a child to school, or that
fills some (but not all) of a child’s idle
time, not time already committed to
other activities.
Conclusion
The power of sports to affect our young
people in many positive and meaningful
ways is clear. That power must be
accompanied by a sense of responsibility
on the part of the adults involved—
responsibility to nurture not only ath-
letic prowess but psychological and emo-
tional stability as well as respect and
appreciation for others. Adults are piv-
otal in promoting the “right stuff” to
young athletes, to help them set priori-
ties in life and in sports, to establish
goals and work to meet them, to seek to
reach their own greatest potential and
help others do the same. We must recog-
nize that adolescent athletes are young
people first, who are trying to navigate
the complex experience of growing up.
Involvement in sports should augment
 Sports, Exercise, and Weight Control
the process of growing up; build on ado-
lescents’ emerging physical, cognitive,
and emotional capabilities; recognize
their limitations; and allow them to
learn about the sport, the coach, and the
other young athletes.
Lauren P. Jacobson
See also Body Build; Female Athlete
Triad; Nutrition; Sports, Exercise, and
Weight Control; Steroids
References and further reading
Sanders, Christopher, Tiffany Field,
Miguel Diego, and Michele Kaplan.
2000. “Moderate Involvement in Sports
Is Related to Lower Depression Levels
among Adolescents.” Adolescence 35:
793–797.
Viira, Roomet, and Lennert Raudsepp.
2000. “Achievement Goal Orientation,
Beliefs about Sports Success and Sport
Emotions as Related to Moderate and
Vigorous Physical Activity of
Adolescents.” Psychology and Health
15: 625–633.
Sports, Exercise, and Weight Control
Exercise, sports, and weight control are
essential components of normal growth
and maturation, both physically and men-
tally. Health is an all-encompassing con-
cept that not only includes physical and
mental well-being but also has an impact
upon social interaction and spirituality.
Health further involves the enhanced abil-
ity to engage in life, to successfully navi-
gate challenges that inevitably arise in the
course of living, and to deal with stress.
Two of the most effective ways to achieve
health are through exercise and sport and
through nutrition. Exercise involves many
physical activities, including sports, that
improve both motor skills and general
cardiovascular and respiratory endurance.
711
Exercise prevents future negative health
outcomes such as cardiovascular disease
and hypertension. Good nutrition, in
combination with exercise, prevents simi-
lar negative outcomes. Moreover, short-
term benefits of both healthy eating and
exercise behavior include high energy lev-
els, which allow one to actively engage in
life, weight control, improved mood,
improved ability to cope with stress, and
enhanced happiness with one’s physical
appearance and identity.
Physical activity falls along a contin-
uum of intensity and duration, and its
relationship to fitness depends on the
appropriate level of intensity and dura-
tion. Sports are a subset of physical activ-
ity. They involve more structured and
competitive physical activities that focus
on fine-tuning skill to succeed. Therefore,
physical activity can have two broad out-
comes: skill enhancement and health
improvement. Skill enhancement encom-
passes hand-eye coordination, agility, and
so forth. The health outcomes of physical
activity refer to biological changes. These
are longer-term effects such as improved
cardiovascular functioning, increased
muscle endurance, and changes in fat dis-
tribution. Both components allow the
individual to function better in everyday
activities. Of more long-term importance
is the goal of improving long-term physi-
cal health, which may not be of immedi-
ate concern to the teenager but should be
a familial goal.
The aforementioned benefits of physi-
cal activity are more or less universally
accepted and serve as the foundation of
the goals of many school-based physical
fitness curricula. In sum, physical activ-
ity improves motor skill and endurance,
builds strength, and improves health.
Furthermore, sport as a social activity
promotes the societal values of fairness,
712 Sports, Exercise, and Weight Control
Given the health benefits of physical exercise, it is important for teenagers to be active.
(Skjold Photographs)
being a good sport, and honest winning
and gracious losing. Physical activity and
sport also teach values that can be gener-
alized to everyday life goals. Sport and
exercise teach perseverance, determina-
tion, and tenacity, which spill over into
all facets of the individual’s life. Of par-
ticular importance, especially for teen-
agers, is that the aforementioned benefits
of physical activity and exercise also
serve to enhance self-esteem and self-
confidence. By improving strength, or
skill, by persevering to achieve a personal
goal, one feels more confident and better
about one’s self. Finally, making activity
a lifestyle from youth means that physi-
cal activity will be valued as an adult.
Given these undeniable benefits of phys-
ical activity, the only question that
remains is why young people are entirely
too inactive. A study conducted in 1990
of children aged eleven to sixteen showed
that in a three-day period almost 90 per-
cent of the girls did not raise their heart
rate above 139 beats per minute for a
continuous twenty-minute interval. Boys
were more active, yet 75 percent of them
did not raise their heart rate above 139
beats per minute in the specified period.
These data indicate that youth in general
are very sedentary and and that girls tend
to be even less active than boys (Biddle
and Mutrie, 1991, p. 22).
So, why are teens vying for the position
of the most inactive population next to
those who are disabled? Many issues are
involved in inactivity, but some research
provides insight into why teens engage in
 Sports, Exercise, and Weight Control
physical activity. Knowing the factors
that promote an active lifestyle may illu-
minate the factors that may contribute to
inertia. The Canada Fitness Survey indi-
cates that teenagers are active for the fol-
lowing reasons: fun, to feel better, weight
control, flexibility, challenge, and com-
panionship (Biddle and Mutrie, 1991, p.
251). Documentation also shows that
young people prefer activities that estab-
lish and enhance their sense of self.
Activities that serve this function are
challenging but within the participant’s
skill level. Csikszentmihalyi theorizes,
based on his research, that for an optimal
experience the individual must have the
skill to meet the challenge. If the indi-
vidual does not have the appropriate skill
to adequately meet the challenge, then
her anxiety will be high and the experi-
ence will be evaluated negatively. As an
individual’s skill improves, the individ-
ual needs to be faced with more advanced
challenges, otherwise she will become
bored. Finally, the activity must be
intrinsically rewarding. This means that
the individual engages in an activity
because she wants to, and not for rewards
or recognition from other people. Simply
engaging in the activity and being able to
meet the challenges is rewarding in and
of itself.
These conclusions about the psychol-
ogy of optimal experience are directly
related to the reasons young people give
when they explain why they participate
in sports and other physical activities.
The overarching conclusions derived
from interviews with youth is that they
engage in activities that are fun, that
enhance their skills, and that are opti-
mally challenging, in that they can be
mastered, which gives them a feeling of
personal accomplishment. Additionally,
youth engage in activities that are chosen
713
autonomously, which means that no one
forces the youth to participate; rather, he
decides on his own. Furthermore, these
activities have valued outcomes, produce
a good mood and a good feeling about
oneself, and are supported without quali-
fication by family and friends (Whitehead
and Corbin, 1997, p. 186). Obviously, for
anyone who is trying to find an activity
or sport that she will not quit, or for any
family member trying to promote physi-
cal activity to a young person, these are
important components to take into con-
sideration.
The aforementioned characteristics of
physical activities define the psychologi-
cal components and benefits of sport and
exercise. What are the physiological
aspects of sport and exercise? There are
two main classes of physical activity:
aerobic and anaerobic. Aerobic activities
require an increase in heart rate for a sus-
tained period of time; twenty minutes or
more is recommended for health bene-
fits. Aerobic activity improves the health
of your heart and enhances respiratory
endurance and muscular stamina. In con-
trast, anaerobic activity involves a short,
explosive burst of energy followed by
rest. Anaerobic activity increases muscle
strength and power. The difference
between the two activities can be illus-
trated by comparing someone who runs
long distances with a sprinter who runs
only 100 meters at 100 percent speed or
lifts weights. Aerobic activity increases
metabolism; it burns fat in order to fuel
the body during the sustained activity.
Though anaerobic activity does not burn
fat, it does increase muscle mass. The
more muscle the body has compared to
fat, the higher the metabolism and the
more calories it burns when at rest.
Given the health benefits of physical
activity, it is important for teenagers to
714 Sports, Exercise, and Weight Control
be active so that they can be healthy both
now and in the future.
For the teen who is active, as well as
for the sedentary individual, nutrition
and weight control are important aspects
of health. Nutrition concerns for
teenagers tend to center around the tran-
sition to college, incorporating healthy
eating into a busy schedule, and body
image and physical performance. Often,
teenagers do not seek dietary advice,
which makes them highly susceptible to
dietary fads. Teens who engage in fad
diets restrict necessary nutrients for
proper growth and maturation, such as
iron and calcium. The School Service
Research Review (see at www.ificinfo.
health.org/insight/teentrnd.htm) pub-
lished results indicating that teens do not
eat enough fruit and vegetables. Further-
more, most teens’ diets are deficient in
iron, calcium, vitamin A, and beta-
carotene (International Food Information
Council [IFIC]). Teenagers who adopt
vegetarian diets should seek professional
advice to ensure that their diet consists
of all of the necessary nutrients. The
proper diet, in conjunction with exercise,
helps maintain a proper weight.
Overweight in the teenage years is
associated with negative health outcomes
in late adulthood regardless of overweight
in adulthood. The New England Journal
of Medicine published results from the
Harvard Growth Study that implicated
adolescent obesity in a myriad of deleteri-
ous health outcomes. The study found
that overweight teenage boys were two
times more likely to die by seventy years
of age and five times more likely to be
diagnosed with colon cancer. Overweight
teenage girls were 60 percent more likely
to develop arthritis and two times more
likely to develop heart disease by seventy
years of age (IFIC).
A healthy nutritious diet is essential for
proper growth and development. More-
over, it is particularly important for fami-
lies to be aware of the diet and exercise
behaviors of the teenagers in their house-
holds, because too much or too little can
both have deleterious immediate and
future outcomes. There has been a dra-
matic increase in overweight adolescents
since 1963, and this increase is associated
with a prevalence of inactivity. From
1963 to 1980, the prevalence of over-
weight increased 6 percent in twelve-
year-old boys and increased 5 percent in
girls of the same age. An interesting gen-
der relationship emerged in which the
prevalence of obesity decreased with age
in boys, whereas it continued to increase
up to 20 percent in girls aged fourteen to
sixteen (Page and Fox, 1997, p. 230). In
part, the growing incidence of obesity is
due to the popularity of sedentary pas-
times such as video games, computer
activities, and television. A study found
that in a group of twelve- to seventeen-
year-olds the occurrence of obesity rose
by 2 percent for each additional hour of
television viewed daily (Page and Fox,
1997, p. 231). Therefore, initiatives to pro-
mote exercise and healthy eating are crit-
ical. Simultaneously, there is an opposing
stream of influence that promotes attain-
ment of the unrealistic emaciated body
type, and exercise and dietary restraint
are the most common means used to pur-
sue that unattainable image. Given these
influences, it is essential to get across the
message that healthy exercise and eating
habits, as opposed to exercise fads and
extreme diets, are the key to attaining a
healthy body, and that a healthy body is
the only realistic goal.
Adolescence is a developmental period
when teenagers both acquire and inte-
grate attitudes and habits that will pre-
 Sports, Exercise, and Weight Control
vail throughout their lifetime. Therefore,
the eating and exercise habits that the
teenager forms are likely to last into
adulthood. This means that it is impor-
tant to adopt healthy behaviors at an
early stage in life. Presently, teenagers
engage in sedentary leisure-time activi-
ties and their diets are high in fat and
simple carbohydrates (e.g., sugar). Food is
essential to living and living well. Food
affects mental functioning, emotions,
energy levels, and strength, as well as
general health; without question, food is
a critical issue, not just for teenagers, but
for everyone. The nature of our society
requires that we all have to eat on the
run, and this typically means fast food
and/or eating out of the home. Prepared
foods are typically high in fat, sodium,
and cholesterol, as are the foods that you
receive in any restaurant. Furthermore,
American society values large portions,
which means that people are consuming
more calories than they are expending in
activity. For those who are in the habit of
consuming large portions of high-fat
foods, it is important to exercise some
restraint. A healthy diet consists of
fruits, vegetables, and lean meats, and it
means avoiding the fried foods, rich
creamy dressings, and high-fat sweets.
Ultimately, both eating healthily and eat-
ing junk food are a matter of habit. One
learns to prefer one type of food through
experience, which means that with time
one will no longer crave the McDonald’s
diet plan.
A healthy diet is critical, but self-denial
is not part of a healthy diet. Food is enjoy-
able and is central to social occasions, so
food should not be a source of anxiety or
frustration. When one denies oneself
indulgences, food comes to have a power
over one; one should not be afraid of eat-
ing fat or overwhelmed with concern
715
about calories. Indulgences are okay. The
problem arises if one indulges every day,
three meals a day. The focus should not
be on dieting. Dieting connotes restraint,
eating less, and eliminating certain cate-
gories of food from your diet. Rather, the
focus should be on eating healthily by
eating a variety of foods and exercising.
This combination results in a stable body
weight and increases the metabolism.
When one eats fewer calories than the
body needs to function, the metabolism
slows down to conserve energy, because
the body thinks it is starving. The conse-
quence is that one does not lose weight.
The message is eat, but eat well and
exercise. Furthermore, food restriction
and elimination of any food group ulti-
mately results in nutrient deficiency.
Your body needs a certain amount of
unsaturated fats, carbohydrates, and pro-
teins to function normally. Therefore, it
is not healthy to adopt a fad diet that
eliminates or dramatically restricts con-
sumption of any food group. For the
growing teenager it is particularly impor-
tant to eat diverse types of foods and
healthy quantities in order to promote
normal growth and development. Ulti-
mately, by adopting a well-rounded,
healthy diet and exercising one can main-
tain a stable weight.
Of course it is easy to preach the bene-
fits of adopting a healthy diet and regular
exercise regime, but a number of factors
play a role in the decision to make behav-
ior changes in accordance with a healthy
lifestyle and the desire to control one’s
weight. There are four critical questions
that one must explore before the decision
to make a behavior change can be put
into practice: “Who am I?,” “Who do I
think I am? / Who do I want to be?,”
“How much do I care?,” and “What do I
intend to do?” (Page and Fox, 1997, p.
716 Sports, Exercise, and Weight Control
235). The first question, “Who am I?,”
relates to the physical attributes and
health status of the individual. The
answer is grounded in biological and
physiological factors, such as sex, devel-
opmental stage, weight, body size, and so
forth. The evaluation of these factors
determines what type of behaviors will
be adopted, if any. For example, different
exercises, such as weight training, are
preferable at different developmental
stages. Also, sex influences diet and exer-
cise; premenopausal women need to
maintain a constant source of iron due to
iron lost each month during the men-
strual cycle. The second question, “Who
do I think I am? / Who do I want to be?,”
deals with the psychological components
of self-esteem, body image, and self-per-
ceptions. Decisions to make behavior
changes revolve around the disparity
between how one perceives himself now
and how he ideally wants to be. This is
often termed the disparity between the
real and ideal self. If the individual per-
ceives a discrepancy between where he is
now and where he would ideally like to
be, then he will make behavior changes
to attain the ideal self. The third ques-
tion, “How much do I care?,” refers to
the importance of weight control to the
individual. Resolution of this question
takes into account degree of self-accept-
ance, preoccupation with weight, and
self-satisfaction. An individual who is
dissatisfied with her weight and is preoc-
cupied with weight loss will adopt new
and enduring behaviors. The final ques-
tion, “What do I intend to do?,” involves
behavioral strategies to control weight
(Page and Fox, 1997, p. 235).
Teenagers who manage their weight do
so for a variety of reasons based upon
their answers to these questions. Not all
weight management efforts are healthy,
and weight control efforts should be
evaluated according to the following cri-
teria: The weight control efforts should
be warranted, the methods should be
healthy, not maladaptive, and the efforts
should be effective, not futile. Individu-
als who are trying to lose weight even
though they are at a normal weight, who
use laxatives, purging, and so forth, and
who are trying to reach a weight that
cannot be maintained exhibit maladap-
tive weight control efforts. There is a
prevalence of maladaptive dietary
restraint and excessive exercise in our
society due to societal and peer pressures
to attain an idealized body image. The
teenage population is particularly vul-
nerable to these pressures, because dur-
ing adolescence self-concept becomes
increasingly based on interpersonal
interaction. Evaluations of the self, self-
esteem, and personal satisfaction with
physical attractiveness are based upon
the perceptions and affirmation of oth-
ers. Adolescence, in consequence, is
marked by an increase in self-conscious-
ness and self-image instability, coupled
with a decline in self-esteem. In the
female population, in particular, this is
expressed in body dissatisfaction and a
negative body image.
Society portrays the people who
embody the ideal physique as successful,
healthy, and affluent. Consequently, peo-
ple are compelled to achieve a similar
appearance in order to attain a similar
level of regard and esteem. Susceptible
individuals, and that includes approxi-
mately 90 percent of the entire female
population of North America, are dissat-
isfied with their bodies, and conse-
quently they are susceptible to the desire
to change their bodies to conform to
unattainable images presented by the
media (Davies and Furham, 1986, p. 143).

What females and males are learning is
that the body is “infinitely malleable”
and that great rewards await them when
they attain the desired shape (Brownell,
1991, p. 3). The lesson being taught is a
spurious one, but ardently embraced
nonetheless. The consequence is a mis-
perception that normality means being
underweight, which has tragically pro-
duced a plethora of young ladies and men
working with frustrating and futile dili-
gence toward this elusive “norm.”
Advertising exacerbates the futile
effort with assertions that claim if one
finds the optimal combination of diet,
exercise, and pills one can achieve the
perfect body; it is simply a matter of find-
ing what works for you. When you dis-
cover the magical combination and your
actual body metamorphs into the perfect
frame, you will be rewarded with success,
health, and so forth. The idea that one
can mold one’s body into any image is
ludicrous, and young people need to be
made aware of this reality. Body size and
shape are not determined solely by envi-
ronmental factors. So, instead of trying to
achieve a body one is not biologically des-
tined to attain, one should focus on exer-
cise for strength, health, and effective liv-
ing rather than as a way to lose weight;
the goal of losing weight breeds increas-
ing frustration and anxiety if the individ-
ual is unable to bridge the gap between
actuality and ideality. Ultimately, body
image and body dissatisfaction are inter-
twined with normative misperceptions,
low self-esteem, and negative self-con-
cept. Accordingly, healthy exercise and
eating behaviors combat, if not prevent,
disordered behaviors. When youth engage
in physical activities that make them feel
better about themselves, it gives them a
sense of mastery and self-efficacy. There-
fore, exercise, sport, and good nutrition
Standardized Tests 717
are strong foundations that are resistant
to social pressures.
Sara Johnston
See also Appearance, Cultural Factors in;
Body Build; Body Fat, Changes in; Body
Image; Eating Problems; High School
Equivalency Degree; Nutrition; Sports
and Adolescents; Steroids
References and further reading
Biddle, Stuart, and Nanette Mutrie. 1991.
Psychology of Physical Activity and
Exercise. London: Springer-Verlag.
Brownell, R. D. 1991. “Dieting and the
Search for the Perfect Body: Where
Physiology and Culture Collide.”
Behavioral Therapy 22: 1–12.
Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly. 1975. Beyond
Boredom and Anxiety. San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass.
———. 1997. Finding Flow: The
Psychology of Engagement with
Everyday Life. New York: Basic Books.
Davies, E., and A. Furham. 1986. “Body
Satisfaction in Adolescent Girls.”
British Journal of Medical Psychology
59: 279–287.
Fox, Kenneth R., ed. 1997. The Physical
Self: From Motivation to Well-Being.
Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
International Food Information Council
Foundation (IFIC) http://ificinfo.health.
org/insight/teentrnd.htm
The Nemours Foundation. Kids Health
www.kidshealth.org/teen/index.html
Page, Angela, and Kenneth R. Fox. 1997.
“Adolescent Weight Management and
the Physical Self.” Pp. 229–256 in The
Physical Self: From Motivation to Well-
Being. Edited by Kenneth R. Fox.
Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics
Whitehead, James R., and Charles B.
Corbin. 1997. “Self-Esteem in Children
and Youth: The Role of Sport and
Physical Education.” Pp. 175–203 in
The Physical Self: From Motivation to
Well-Being. Edited by Kenneth R. Fox.
Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Standardized Tests
A standardized test is a task or set of
tasks, given under uniform conditions
718 Standardized Tests
and scored according to uniform criteria,
used to compare the performance of an
individual to that of a larger group. Stan-
dardized tests are one set of tools used by
schools to learn about students. More
than 1 million standardized tests per
school day are used in American schools
alone. Adolescents are likely to en-
counter various types of standardized
tests during their middle and high school
years.
Standardized tests differ from typical
classroom tests in that they are designed
to provide a common measure of the per-
formance of many students. To obtain
this common measure, or standard, the
test is first administered to a very large
sample of students across the country.
The average scores of this large sample
then become the norm, or standard, upon
which other students will be measured.
When students take a standardized test
their scores reflect their relative standing
compared with the norming sample.
There are many different ways of report-
ing this relative standing. One common
method used is the percentile rank. A
percentile rank of 80, for example, means
that a student’s score is equal to or higher
than the scores of 80 percent of the stu-
dents in the norming sample.
Standardized tests are designed to
assess some aspect of a person’s knowl-
edge, skill, or personality. Standardized
tests can differ from one another in a
variety of ways, including the method of
administration (e.g., individual versus
group) and the response format (e.g., mul-
tiple choice, true-false, essay). Some
common uses of standardized tests are to
evaluate school programs, to report on
students’ progress, to diagnose strengths
and weaknesses, to select students for
special programs and groups, and to cer-
tify student achievement.
Standardized tests are often grouped
into two categories, based on what they
are attempting to measure. Standardized
achievement tests measure knowledge
about subjects such as reading, spelling,
or mathematics. These tests are heavily
dependent on formal learning acquired in
school or at home and are often used to
evaluate an individual’s progress in the
specified area. The emphasis of achieve-
ment tests is on what the individual can
do at that particular time. Examples of
achievement tests that may be adminis-
tered to adolescents include the Iowa Test
of Basic Skills (ITBS), the Metropolitan
Achievement Tests (MAT), and the Cali-
fornia Achievement Test (CAT). In many
states, a passing score on an achievement
test has become a requirement for promo-
tion to the next grade or for graduation
from high school.
Standardized aptitude tests attempt to
measure students’ abilities to learn in
school or how well they are likely to do
in future schoolwork. Unlike achieve-
ment tests, which measure knowledge of
subjects taught in school, aptitude tests
measure a broad range of abilities or
skills that are considered important for
success in school. The types of skills
measured by aptitude tests include verbal
ability and abstract reasoning.
High school students who are thinking
about going on to college may take both
aptitude and achievement tests as they
begin the application process. The Pre-
liminary Scholastic Assessment Test/
National Merit Scholarship Qualifying
Test (PSAT/NMSQT) is often a student’s
first step in this process. This aptitude
test is often taken in the junior year,
although it may be taken earlier. It meas-
ures critical reading, verbal reasoning,
math problem solving, and writing skills.
The PSAT/NMSQT is given for a number

of reasons, some of which include pro-
viding practice for the Scholastic Assess-
ment Test (SAT) and identifying students
who may be eligible for scholarships. The
SAT I Reasoning Test is an example of an
aptitude test that is used to predict how
well a student is likely to do in college.
The SAT I is a three-hour test that is
often taken during the senior year of high
school. The SAT I measures verbal and
mathematical reasoning abilities, which
have been developing throughout stu-
dents’ lives. The SAT II (Subject Tests)
and Advanced Placement (AP) exams are
examples of achievement tests that may
be used by colleges for admission, course
placement, and advising students about
course selection.
There are many factors that may
impact students’ scores on standardized
tests. One important factor to consider is
the type of preparation different students
bring to the test situation. Although one
cannot study for standardized tests by
memorizing specific facts, it is possible
to feel more comfortable with tests like
the PSAT and SAT I, and to develop test-
taking strategies. For example, there are
long-term strategies that are helpful,
such as taking solid academic courses,
reading widely, and writing frequently.
There are also more specific strategies:
Students can learn the format and timing
of the tests, become familiar with the
kinds of questions asked, know the direc-
tions for each question type, and take
complete practice tests. Information
about these and other helpful short-term
test-taking strategies is available in writ-
ing or on the Internet by contacting the
College Board.
Other factors, in addition to the
amount of preparation, may impact a
student’s performance on a standardized
test. Nervousness, hunger, and fatigue
Standardized Tests 719
are examples of internal conditions that
may affect test results. Research on the
relationship between test anxiety and
test performance suggests that a slight
amount of anxiety may be beneficial,
whereas a large amount may be detri-
mental. External factors such as a noisy,
poorly lit, or uncomfortable testing envi-
ronment can also influence test scores.
Although it is not always possible to con-
trol all of these factors, there are some
simple steps that can be taken in order to
minimize the influence of such variables.
For instance, being well rested and eating
a healthy breakfast are useful prior to
taking any kind of test.
Standardized college admissions tests,
like the SAT, provide an efficient means
of comparing a diverse group of students.
Issues related to fairness and cultural
bias make such comparisons and predic-
tions extremely difficult and important
to examine. Test score differences
between various groups that have been
reported in the literature are difficult to
interpret. Many more studies are
required before we understand all the fac-
tors that contribute to these differences.
Because of both the importance of stan-
dardized tests and the potential for bias, a
code of conduct, which states the obliga-
tions of professionals who develop or use
educational tests, provides guidelines
that aim to advance the quality of testing
practices. The Code of Fair Testing Prac-
tices in Education presents standards for
developing and selecting tests, interpret-
ing scores, striving for fairness, and
informing test takers. Ethnic and cul-
tural diversity must be considered at
each step in the testing process.
It is important to remember that when
students apply to schools, standardized
test results are just one source of infor-
mation that colleges use. No single test
720 Steroids
can account for the entire spectrum of
abilities related to intellectual behavior.
In determining who will succeed in col-
lege, additional factors such as high
school grades, letters of recommenda-
tion, and participation in extracurricular
activities provide valuable information.
Even the best standardized tests are
unable to measure a student’s creativity,
motivation, and special talents. A stan-
dardized test is only capable of sampling
the individual’s repertoire of skills at that
particular time. Test scores can vary
from day to day, depending on such
things as whether students guess, receive
clear directions, follow the directions
carefully, take the test seriously, and are
comfortable taking the test. Within the
context of their recognized limitations,
standardized tests remain useful tools for
learning about students.
Alyssa Goldberg O’Rourke
See also Academic Achievement; Acade-
mic Self-Evaluation; Cheating, Acade-
mic; Cognitive Development; College;
Higher Education; Intelligence Tests;
Learning Disabilities; Learning Styles
and Accommodations
References and further reading
Anastasi, Anne. 1988. Psychological
Testing, 6th ed. New York: Macmillan.
College Board Online. 2000.
www.collegeboard.com
Joint Committee on Testing Practices.
1988. Code of Fair Testing Practices in
Education. Washington, DC: Joint
Committee on Testing Practices.
Kaufman, Alan S. 1990. Assessing
Adolescent and Adult Intelligence.
Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Lyman, Howard B. 1986. Test Scores and
What They Mean, 4th ed. Englewood
Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Miller-Jones, D. 1989. “Culture and
Testing.” American Psychologist 44, no.
2: 360–366.
Neisser, U., et al. 1996. “Intelligence:
Knowns and Unknowns.” American
Psychologist 51, no. 2: 77–101.
Sattler, Jerome M. 1992. Assessment of
Children, 3rd ed. San Diego: Jerome M.
Sattler.
Steroids
Those who work with adolescents will
think first of those steroids used to
enhance appearance or athletic perfor-
mance; given the side effects these pro-
duce, their use is a serious problem, but
for these steroids as well as the rest, there
are also legitimate medical uses. The
term steroid refers to a group of hor-
mones that are produced by the adrenal
glands or the gonads (testes or ovaries).
The adrenals are located at the top part of
the kidneys, which are near the small of
the back. They produce three classes of
steroids:
1. Glucocorticoids such as hydrocor-
tisone, which helps our body deal
with stress
2. Mineralocorticoids, which help our
body regulate salt and water bal-
ance
3. Sex steroids, which promote sexual
development and the maintenance
of our reproductive system
The amount of any steroid the body
makes by itself is called the physiological
or natural amount. Sometimes it is nec-
essary to give steroids as treatment for a
medical problem. The amount of steroid
that is needed to treat a disease is called a
pharmacological or extra amount. When
most people think about someone taking
steroids they usually think about athletes
or bodybuilders who are taking one of the
sex steroids (testosterone or a steroid like
testosterone) to bulk themselves up, that
is, to increase their muscle mass or
strength. The use of so-called anabolic

steroids for those purposes is banned by
all official sports organizations.
However, some teenage boys do take
anabolic steroids in order to improve
their physical appearance. The doses
used for these purposes are many times
higher than the natural amount produced
by the body. Therefore, those who use
them may be at high risk for some of the
side effects of anabolic steroid use. These
side effects include severe liver damage,
which may be permanent and could
result in premature death or in the devel-
opment of liver cancer. They also include
the so-called roid rage, in which people
become violent and aggressive and may
injure or kill someone or be injured or
killed themselves, as well as significant
increase in acne, high blood pressure,
mood swings, and stoppage of growth
earlier than normal, resulting in short
stature. Other effects in teenage boys
include shrinkage and decreased function
of the testes and breast growth. Teenage
girls taking anabolic steroids may experi-
ence excessive hair growth on the face,
arms, legs, and chest, enlargement of the
clitoris, and deepening of the voice, all of
which would be permanent. Breasts may
shrink and periods may become irregular
or stop altogether.
There is substantial controversy about
whether anabolic steroids actually
accomplish what the user wants them to
do. There is no question that when ana-
bolic steroids are used in higher than nat-
ural amounts and are combined with an
exercise program, they can significantly
increase muscle mass. The increase in
strength may, however, be due to the
increased exercise program alone. In any
case, the risks of the side effects are sig-
nificant, and anabolic steroids should not
be used to enhance appearance or per-
formance.
Steroids 721
There are other medical indications for
the use of all three classes of steroids.
Glucocorticoids are used to treat many
diseases because they act to reduce harm-
ful processes that sometimes occur in a
teen’s body. There are certain diseases in
which the immune system does not
work properly, even perceiving a part of
the body as foreign. It will then begin to
try to protect the rest of the body by rid-
ding the body of that part. An example of
this kind of malfunction of the immune
system is a disease called lupus. Giving
pharmacological doses of glucocorticoids
can turn off the immune system and stop
the disease from progressing. Glucocorti-
coids are also used to help organ trans-
plants survive; the recipient’s body usu-
ally reacts to other people’s organs as
foreign, and glucocorticoids help prevent
that. They are also used in treating other
diseases, such as severe asthma, bad
allergic reactions, and some severe skin
diseases. Glucocorticoids in high doses
also may have significant side effects,
such as rapid weight gain, edema
(swelling of hands and feet), development
of diabetes, and problems in salt reten-
tion. Nevertheless, they can be very help-
ful and even lifesaving in treating some
diseases. They are also used in natural
amounts for people whose adrenal glands
no longer work.
Mineralocorticoids help maintain the
correct amount of water and salt in our
body. They are mainly used in natural
amounts for people whose adrenal glands
no longer work.
Both the adrenal glands and gonads
produce sex steroids. As described above,
they should never be used in pharmaco-
logical amounts to enhance appearance
or performance. In legitimate medicine,
they are used for the most part in natural
amounts for people whose gonads do not
722 Storm and Stress
work. They are also used as the main
ingredients in birth control pills or in
older women who have experienced
menopause (are no longer menstruating).
Jordan W. Finkelstein
See also Body Build; Body Image; Sports
and Adolescents; Sports, Exercise, and
Weight Control; Substance Use and
Abuse
References and further reading
Berkow, Robert B., ed. 1997. The Merck
Manual of Medical Information: Home
Edition. Whitehouse Station, NJ: Merck
Research Laboratories.
Clayman, Charles C., ed. 1994. The
American Medical Association Family
Medical Guide, 3rd ed. New York:
Random House.
Storm and Stress
The term storm and stress is used to
describe a set of beliefs based on the
notion that adolescence is an extremely
difficult developmental time period for
children, perhaps more difficult than
other developmental periods. Those who
endorse such a perspective believe that
increases in the following are markers of
adolescent storm and stress: a child’s
desire for independence and autonomy,
mood disruptions, risk-taking behavior,
and conflict with parents. Other factors
such as school difficulties and depen-
dence on peer relationships are also
believed to increase during adolescence.
From this perspective, adolescents are
believed to exhibit rebellious behavior
and resistance to adult authority. These
behaviors are thought to lead to increased
parent-child conflict, accompanied by
extreme mood swings. Advocates of this
position posit that rapid physical and
psychological growth during this stage of
life could be responsible. The degree to
which adolescence is a stormy and stress-
ful developmental period is still debated
in the research literature.
This overview of storm and stress
beliefs is divided into several sections.
First, early perspectives of adolescent
development will be reviewed. Second,
current perspectives of adolescence will
be discussed. Third, it is suggested that
overdiagnosis and underdiagnosis of ado-
lescents’ problems are a possible out-
come of storm and stress beliefs. Finally,
the common behavioral components of
storm and stress will be discussed. The
following sections provide insight into
the common storm and stress notions
and their effect on both parenting and on
the diagnosis of adolescent problems.
Early Perspectives on Storm and Stress
G. Stanley Hall, in 1904, was one of the
first scholars to discuss storm and stress
issues in relation to adolescent develop-
ment. His theories followed Lamarck’s
evolutionary ideas, which stressed that
evolution occurs as a result of accumu-
lated life experiences. Based on this
notion, Hall believed that adolescent
development is indicative of “some
ancient period of storm and stress” (Hall,
1904, p. 13), and that there may have
been a period in human evolution that
was extremely difficult, so much so that
the memory of that period has shaped
later generations. This memory is there-
fore experienced in the development of
each individual as storm and stress dur-
ing adolescence. According to the theory,
the storm and stress memory is espe-
cially apparent in the adolescent’s incli-
nation toward risk-taking behavior, con-
flict with parents and authority figures,
and erratic mood swings. Hall believed
that storm and stress is a biologically
based tendency, but that environment
 Storm and Stress 723

and culture shape the experience and

expression of it for individual adoles-
cents. The clash between the more tech-
nologically advanced and complacent life
offered by urbanization and the adoles-
cent’s desire for exploration and adven-
ture, as well as difficulties at school and
in the family, can exacerbate storm and
stress in adolescence.
Psychoanalytic theorists have also
played a role in perpetuating storm and
stress beliefs. Anna Freud and Peter Blos
believed that the storm and stress of ado-
lescence is a recapitulation of earlier
childhood experiences, especially oedipal
conflicts. According to this perspective,
such conflicts lead to emotional instabil-
ity when the adolescent ego tries to sup-
press depressed moods as the adolescent
renders the oedipal parent impotent.
Emerging id drives may be acted out in
delinquent, antisocial behavior. Freud
went further than Blos, claiming that the
adolescent experience of storm and stress
“Storm and stress” refers to the belief that
is universal and a part of each child’s
adolescence is an extremely difficult period
development into adulthood. From this for youth. (Skjold Photographs)
perspective, lacking this experience is a
possible indication of psychopathology.

Current Perspectives on
Storm and Stress
Contemporary studies support the con-
tinued existence of storm and stress
beliefs in the general population. For
example, in one study, college students
and parents of young adolescents per-
ceived adolescence as a more difficult
period than the elementary school period.
Problems experienced by adolescents
(symptoms of internalizing disorders, par-
ent-child conflict, identity crises, and
risk-taking behavior) are believed to be
less likely in early childhood.
Despite these beliefs, adolescence does
not appear to be a difficult stage for all
teenagers. People usually hold storm and
stress beliefs for adolescents as a group (a
kind of belief referred to as category
based) but not for each individual child (a
kind of belief referred to as target based).
Category-based beliefs reflect societal
stereotypes, whereas target-based beliefs
are held for the individual adolescent
regardless of other adolescents’ actions
and behavior. Although people appear to
be susceptible to storm and stress beliefs,
they may still view particular adoles-
cents whom they know and are close to
very differently from the way they view
adolescents as a group or subculture.
724 Storm and Stress
The media may be partially responsi-
ble for the storm and stress view of ado-
lescence. Category-based beliefs could be
influenced by stereotypes that television
and newspapers perpetuate. Rarely is a
story of an upstanding, well-adjusted
teenager depicted in the news. The
media typically present negative images
of adolescents.
The view that adolescents are less
social, more unfriendly, more moody, and
more disobedient than younger children
could lead some to perceive all difficul-
ties experienced by adolescents as acts of
rebellion. Parents, in particular, may fear
the potential onset of such rebellion and,
as a result, clamp down on their own
children as they make the transition into
adolescence. By constraining the devel-
opment of autonomy, some parents may
hope to avoid future conflicts with their
adolescents. However, young adolescents
may resent such controlling parental
authority and act out to assert indepen-
dence. Storm and stress beliefs may cre-
ate a self-fulfilling prophecy; adolescents
may rebel when parents increase restric-
tions to prevent anticipated rebellion.
Diagnosing the Difficult Adolescent
Knowledge of developmental norms, not
stereotypes, serves as a basis for making
sound diagnostic judgments, assessing
the need for treatment, and selecting the
appropriate treatment. In terms of diag-
nosis, both overdiagnosis and underdiag-
nosis can result from lack of knowledge
of developmental norms. A clinician who
lacks knowledge that a behavior or atti-
tude is typical of the adolescent age
period (e.g., interest in sexuality) is much
more likely to overdiagnose and to inap-
propriately refer such an adolescent for
treatment. With regard to underdiagno-
sis, it is a common belief that adoles-
cents have stormy and stressful relations
with their parents and that detachment
from parents is the norm. On the other
hand, research has not supported this
notion—it appears that only a minority
of adolescents have such relationships
with their parents. It is interesting to
speculate about the clinical implications
of such erroneous storm and stress
beliefs. Some have warned that adoles-
cents who are experiencing severe iden-
tity crises or extreme levels of conflict
with their parents are not experiencing
normal adolescent growing pains. A cli-
nician who overlooks this possibility will
underdiagnose the psychopathology
owing to storm and stress beliefs.
Common Components of
Storm and Stress
The following sections highlight three
components that are most often dis-
cussed in research on storm and stress:
parent-adolescent conflict, mood distur-
bance, and risk-taking behavior. A review
of such research will aid in evaluating
the myth versus reality of storm and
stress beliefs.
Parent-Adolescent Conflict. Conflict
with parents has been shown to increase
as a child enters early adolescence.
Accordingly, the time that parents and
children spend together decreases. Ado-
lescent children tend to desire more inde-
pendence from their parents, while some
parents may be reluctant to grant inde-
pendence to their children. This tug-of-
war over decision making and autonomy
could lead to increases in conflict
between parent and child. Though in-
creases in conflict do appear common,
many parents and children report that
they share core values and have a mutual
attachment to each other. Typically con-

flict does not dissolve the parent-child
relationship; it transforms it. Conflict is
usually over daily decision-making
issues such as dating and curfew rather
than over major moral issues. On the
other hand, adolescents may see these
arguments over mundane issues as repre-
sentative of a global parental restriction
of freedom and independence.
Mood Disruptions. Adolescents appear
to experience mood swings more often
than younger childhood or adults. Ado-
lescents may feel lonely, ignored,
depressed, anxious, or awkward on a
more regular basis than do children.
Some researchers have found that this
increase in negative affect is due prima-
rily to cognitive and environmental fac-
tors rather than biological factors result-
ing from puberty. Adolescents’ negative
perceptions of arguments with their par-
ents may be one source of mood disrup-
tions. Teenagers who interpret stressful
events as threats to their well-being may
feel tense and unsatisfied with their daily
life. The more negative life events ado-
lescents experience, the more likely they
are to experience mood disruptions.
Thus, this evidence provides partial sup-
port for the storm and stress notion that
adolescents show a greater tendency to
exhibit emotional disruption and mood
swings.
Risk-Taking Behavior. Risk-taking be-
havior (i.e., behavior that carries the
potential for harm to oneself or harm to
others) peaks during late adolescence (at
eighteen to twenty years old), rather than
early or middle adolescence. Though
increases in risk behavior are evident in
adolescence, not all adolescents engage in
risk-taking behavior. However, rates of
substance abuse, sexual activity, and
Storm and Stress 725
automobile accidents tend to be much
higher for late adolescents than adults.
Crime rates rise among teenagers until
the age of eighteen. After that, the rates
drop steeply. Substance abuse rates peak
around age twenty. Automobile accidents
and fatalities occur most frequently in
late adolescence. Young adults under the
age of twenty-five contract the majority
of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
Adolescents typically view risk-taking
behavior as exciting and pleasurable, yet
the consequences can be quite devastat-
ing. From one perspective, such findings
provide some support for a storm and
stress viewpoint. On the other hand, the
fact that not all children engage in these
behaviors, and that those who do are
more apt to do so in late adolescence, sug-
gests that storm and stress theory is not
generally applicable to all adolescents.
Christine M. Wienke
Grayson N. Holmbeck
See also Aggression; Anxiety; Conflict
and Stress; Conflict Resolution; Rebel-
lion; Violence
References and further reading
Arnett, Jeffrey J. 1999. “Adolescent Storm
and Stress, Reconsidered.” American
Psychologist 54: 317–326.
Blos, Peter. 1904. The Adolescent Passage.
New York: International Universities
Press.
Buchanan, Christy M., and Grayson N.
Holmbeck. 1998. “Measuring Beliefs
about Adolescence Personality and
Behavior.” Journal of Youth and
Adolescence 27: 607–627.
Freud, Anna. 1958. “Adolescence.”
Psychoanalytical Studies of Children
13: 231–258.
Hall, G. Stanley. 1904. Adolescence: Its
Psychology and Its Relations to
Physiology, Anthropology, Sociology,
Sex, Crime, Religion, and Education.
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Holmbeck, Grayson N. 1994.
“Adolescence.” Pp. 17–28 in
726 Substance Use and Abuse
Encyclopedia of Human Behavior, Vol.
1. Edited by V. S. Ramachandran. San
Diego: Academic Press.
Holmbeck, Grayson N., and John P. Hill.
1988. “Storm and Stress Beliefs about
Adolescence: Prevalence, Self-Reported
Antecedents, and Effects of an
Undergraduate Course.” Journal of
Youth and Adolescence 17: 285–305.
Larson, Reed, and Maryse H. Richards.
1994. Divergent Realities: The
Emotional Lives of Mothers, Fathers,
and Adolescents. New York: Basic
Books.
Substance Use and Abuse
Drug abuse is recognized as a pattern of
drug use that interferes with normal
social and emotional functioning as
thoughts and behaviors revolve around
obtaining and using drugs.
Most adolescents in today’s world are
faced with complicated personal and
social environments. As if life weren’t
complicated enough, the drugs that are
available to adolescents typically serve
only to interfere with the very indepen-
dence and maturity that adolescents
cherish. When drug use interferes with
normal social and emotional functioning,
a serious problem of abuse may be devel-
oping. Drug abuse–related behaviors can
take over a person’s life, as thoughts and
actions increasingly revolve around
obtaining and using drugs. For instance,
although an adolescent’s substance abuse
may be interfering with responsibilities
at school, work, or within the family,
drug use continues along with the prob-
lematic behaviors that are related to it.
Drugs can be powerful distorters of an
adolescent’s decision making abilities,
thus playing into the cycle of abuse.
The problem of drug use and abuse has
clearly been on America’s social con-
science the last few decades, and yet the
challenges of adolescent drug use persist.
The 1999 National Household Survey on
Drug Abuse (NHSDA) found that even
though underage alcohol use is illegal,
10.4 million youths aged twelve to
twenty were consuming alcohol in 1999.
The majority (6.8 million) of these under-
age drinkers were engaging in dangerous
binge drinking, and an alarmingly large
group (2.1 million) of youths could be
classified as heavy drinkers. In spite of the
pronounced dangers of smoking tobacco,
16 out of every 100 adolescents still
smoke cigarettes. These youths were
found to be seven times more likely to
use illegal drugs than those who didn’t
smoke. According to the NHSDA (2000),
more than 10 out of every 100 adolescents
between the ages of twelve and seventeen
were using illegal drugs in 1999. The
future will likely be difficult for those
adolescents who are presently using
drugs, since adults who began using drugs
at a young age were found to be more
likely to be dependent on drugs than
adults who didn’t start using drugs until
later in life. It is obvious to most that it is
not a big step from casual drug use to dan-
gerous abuse, and yet drug abuse remains
a major pitfall for adolescents.
In this discussion of drug abuse, the
term drug may be applied to any sub-
stance that has a physical or psychologi-
cal effect on an individual. Whether in
the form of beer, a marijuana joint, a
syringe of heroine, or a tobacco cigarette,
any drug can be dangerous and destruc-
tive to someone who uses it inappropri-
ately. Inappropriate drug use does not
just occur among under-age adolescents
using illegal drugs. Mature adults, over
the age of twenty-one, suffer and die
throughout the United States as a result
of the abuse of legal drugs like nicotine
(in tobacco products) and alcohol.

Drug abuse, legal or illegal, is a serious
problem for people of any age. Thousands
of Americans are killed each year as a
result of drug abuse. Billions of dollars
are spent each year in dealing with the
health-, law-, and work-related problems
that drug abuse causes. Families are
weakened and communities burdened by
the prevalence of drug abuse and the pain
and destruction that can result. Ironi-
cally, while overall drug use in America
has been decreasing, adolescent drug use
has continued to exist at high levels in
spite of extensive nationwide efforts to
curtail it. Parents, educators, community
workers, and state and federal programs
have all labored to help America’s youths
understand the real dangers that the
abuse of drugs can create. Although
increased prevention and treatment
efforts have made a difference, adolescent
drug use continues to present a major
challenge to keeping young people safe
and healthy.
How do we determine where to draw
the line between drug use, abuse, and
dependency? The use of drugs is simply a
matter of gaining access to a drug and try-
ing it at least once. Some adolescents
mistakenly perceive a drug as a tool for
dealing with themselves or the outside
world and begin to rely on it while ignor-
ing its dangers. They may use drugs to
make themselves feel happier or more
confident about themselves. Drug use
may serve as a pleasant or numbing dis-
tracter from stress that can accompany
personal and social situations. Some ado-
lescents who feel socially isolated or
rejected may turn to drugs as a way to
deal with their pain or depression. Others
may feel pressured to use drugs because
they want to be a part of a group or activ-
ity. Drug use may serve to break the
boredom adolescents who have little
Substance Use and Abuse 727
involvement in engaging activities might
feel or may appeal to those who want to
feel more mature. Adolescents who are
struggling with emotional difficulties
such as depression, low self-esteem, or
anxiety are especially likely to turn to
drugs as a means of dealing with their
problems. Ironically, inappropriate use of
drugs simply acts as a temporary shield
and ultimately exposes adolescents to an
even greater level of emotional hardship
and vulnerability.
Abuse and Dependency
Although drug dependency is tradition-
ally thought of as a more serious condi-
tion than substance abuse, the primary
difference is actually a matter of episodic
versus chronic use. Substance abuse is
episodic; only certain aspects of an indi-
vidual’s life are involved or affected by
the use of drugs, leaving other aspects of
life seemingly untouched. For instance,
an adolescent may consume excessive
alcohol at weekend parties but not dur-
ing the school week. Drug dependency is
a chronic condition, as drug use is
involved in and persistently interferes
with many more aspects of an individ-
ual’s life. It is not uncommon for drug
abusers to become dependent on drugs as
their episodic behaviors escalate toward
more pervasive and chronic ones.
Reinforcement
The escalation from experimentation and
social use to abuse and dependency is
usually driven by a powerful force
involved with the use and effects of
drugs: reinforcement. Reinforcement can
be defined as any condition that pro-
motes or decreases the occurrence of a
particular behavior. There are two pri-
mary forms of reinforcement, positive
and negative. Positive reinforcement
728 Substance Use and Abuse
occurs when the pleasant effects of a drug
influence the individual to continue
using the drug in order to reexperience
the positive condition of feeling good. For
instance, the condition of euphoria asso-
ciated with the use of a particular drug
may reinforce the continued use of that
drug by the user. Negative reinforcement
involves the increase or decrease of a
behavior due to the removal or avoidance
of an unpleasant stimulus. If an individ-
ual is experiencing stress or anxiety
(unpleasant stimuli), a drug may serve to
numb that person, thus temporarily
removing the unpleasant feeling.
Tolerance and Withdrawal
Adding to the psychological and physical
challenges that drug abuse can present
the individual is the development of tol-
erance to a drug. Tolerance is the body’s
tendency to become less sensitive to a
drug as it is administered over time. This
change occurs as a result of the body’s
physiological responses, which are
designed to counteract the effects of a
drug. In order to maintain an optimal
internal balance, the body releases chem-
icals that have the opposite effect of the
administered drug. Over the course of
continued drug use, the body’s counter-
acting response becomes more powerful,
thus elevating the amount of drug
required to create an effect. This condi-
tion forces the drug user to administer
larger and larger doses of a drug in order
to achieve the desired level of effective-
ness. As a drug user’s body progressively
builds a tolerance to a drug over time,
unpleasant withdrawal effects can be
experienced if drug use is stopped. With-
drawal involves the occurrence of effects
that are usually the opposite of those pro-
duced by the use of a particular drug. For
instance, alcohol use produces euphoric,
calming effects, and yet the withdrawal
effects of alcohol use include nervous-
ness and agitation. When drug use is dis-
continued, the body’s compensation
response is left unmatched by the effects
of the drug. The unpleasant effects of this
withdrawal condition often compel a
drug user to resume drug use in order to
avoid these withdrawal effects.
There are four types of drugs that are
commonly abused, including narcotics,
depressants, stimulants, and psychedelics.
Narcotics
Narcotics include drugs such as opium,
morphine, codeine, and heroin. Narcotic
drugs are derived from the opium poppy
plant or are synthetically manufactured
to produce physiological effects similar to
those produced by the opium poppy in its
natural form. Generally, narcotic drugs
produce the effects of analgesia (relief of
pain), euphoria (strong feelings of well-
being), and drowsiness. When used inap-
propriately, narcotics are very dangerous.
Tolerance to narcotic drugs develops very
quickly, requiring the consumption of
greater quantities in order to achieve a
satisfying level of potency. An individual
abusing narcotics is usually compelled to
continue consuming the drug in order to
avoid severely unpleasant withdrawal
symptoms such as tremors, sweating,
nausea, cramping, and diarrhea. In effect,
a narcotic abuser can rapidly become a
slave to the drug, constantly chasing the
pleasurable effects and avoiding the nega-
tive withdrawal symptoms.
Depressants
Depressants drugs act to depress (slow)
physical and psychological functioning.
They can reduce anxiety or tension at
low doses, while higher doses can induce
drowsiness or sleep. The two major types

of depressants include alcohol and seda-
tive-hypnotics. Sedative-hypnotic drugs
are sometimes used as sedatives or anes-
thetics; they include several varieties
such as barbiturates, sedatives, and tran-
quilizers. Although some specific effects
on the body and mind differ, depressant
drugs all serve to calm physical and men-
tal processes. Certain types of inhalants
used by adolescents to achieve effects
similar to the depressant drugs include
model glue, paint thinner, and gasoline.
The use of inhalants is particularly risky
because neurological damage and asphyx-
iation (suffocation) are potential out-
comes of abuse.
Alcohol (ethyl alcohol) is one of the
most commonly used drugs in America
and can be found within beer, wine, and
distilled spirits. Since it is relatively easy
to obtain it is the most widely abused drug
among adolescents. When taken in low
doses, alcohol produces a mild form of
euphoria and tends to reduce anxiety.
Thinking, perception, language, and coor-
dination are all impaired to varying
degrees depending on dosage level. Alco-
hol use dulls inhibitions, allowing indi-
viduals to behave in ways that they may
not otherwise feel comfortable with. At
higher doses, alcohol acts to sedate the
user, and with increased dosage can
induce drowsiness and sleep. Alcohol also
depresses respiration (breathing) and at
high doses can lead to death, as respiration
becomes too shallow to sustain life. With
continued use, alcohol produces both tol-
erance and the development of physical
dependence. Since alcohol produces both
positive and negative reinforcement, its
influence over the individual can be pow-
erful. Unlike the withdrawal effects of
narcotic use, the effects of alcohol with-
drawal are potentially life threatening.
Full-blown alcohol withdrawal (among
Substance Use and Abuse 729
those dependent on alcohol) can last a
week and will move through a series of
stages that become progressively more
unpleasant, culminating in delirium
tremors, which can be lethal.
Stimulants
Stimulants are drugs that produce in-
creased activity or alertness within the
brain and nervous system. There are four
main types of stimulants that are com-
monly abused: amphetamine, caffeine,
cocaine, and nicotine. Amphetamine is a
single name used to describe three simi-
lar drugs: amphetamine, dextroampheta-
mine, and methamphetamine. Metham-
phetamine, more commonly referred to
as “speed,” is the most abused of the
three amphetamine drugs. Amphetamine
drugs are typically taken as sleep and
appetite suppressants and have the over-
all effect of physically and emotionally
energizing the user. Cocaine is a drug
derived from the coca plant. It produces
similar effects to amphetamine drugs
such as alertness and the production of a
euphoric emotional state. At moderate
doses, cocaine can cause negative experi-
ences such as nervousness, paranoia, and
anxiety. However, at high doses, the drug
can cause sleeplessness, nausea, tremors,
and psychotic mental states. Continued
high levels of the drug can cause seizures,
stroke, respiratory arrest, and death.
Although tolerance develops to some of
the drug’s effects such as emotional
euphoria, continued use can actually sen-
sitize an individual to the convulsive
effects of the drug. Cocaine withdrawal is
relatively mild, and so negative reinforce-
ment (by the discomforts of withdrawal)
does not play a large role in dependence.
However, the psychological dependence
on cocaine, driven by positive reinforce-
ment, is extremely powerful. Cocaine
730 Substance Use and Abuse
abusers can spend a great deal of money,
time, and effort in obtaining the drug to
the detriment of other aspects of their
lives. The recent popularity of “crack”
cocaine (a nugget form of the drug) is
driven by its very low cost; it can some-
times be obtained for as little as a few
dollars.
Caffeine and nicotine are legal stimu-
lant drugs that are widely used in many
different forms. Caffeine is a colorless,
bitter chemical derived from various
types of plants and is an ingredient
within soft drinks and coffee. Caffeine
can also be found in pill form, usually as
nonprescription diet pills. Nicotine is
derived from the leaves of the tobacco
plant and is found within cigarettes,
cigars, chewing tobacco, and nicotine
gum or patches. The effects of caffeine
and nicotine are milder but similar to
those of amphetamine and cocaine.
Although both caffeine and nicotine are
relatively mild drugs in their legal forms,
abuse and dependency are not uncom-
mon when the drugs are used exces-
sively. The easy availability of nicotine
products and social attraction to their
use, contribute to widespread depen-
dency across all age groups. Although
the withdrawal effects of nicotine are
unpleasant, smoking or chewing tobacco
in order to experience the effects of nico-
tine have been shown to increase the
risks of developing various types of can-
cer (lung, mouth, throat) and chronic
emphysema.
All four types of stimulants involve a
rapid development of tolerance and so
compel users to increase dosages in order
to achieve desired levels of effect. Abuse
of the stimulant drugs cocaine and
amphetamine can give rise to serious
paranoia, delusions, and hallucinations.
These powerful and irrational side effects
can lead to violent behaviors. The with-
drawal effects of stimulants include slug-
gishness, sleepiness, and depression.
Although these are rarely lethal, they do
tend to compel people to continue using
the stimulant drug in order to avoid
them. In some cases, the depression that
severe stimulant withdrawal involves
can increase the risk of suicide.
Psychedelics
Psychedelic drugs (also called hallucino-
gens) cause serious alterations in the
ways people perceive and process sensory
experience. The drug-induced changes
caused by psychedelics can create exag-
gerated emotional reactions and irra-
tional interpretations of the surrounding
environment. Just as each individual is
unique, each individual’s experience
while taking a psychedelic drug will be
different. This adds to the unpredictabil-
ity and potential for panic or distress that
can accompany a psychedelic drug expe-
rience. Some psychedelic drugs are found
within certain plants, while others are
synthetically manufactured. Mescaline is
a psychedelic chemical compound drawn
from the peyote cactus. Its effects are
very powerful, sometimes lasting as long
as five to ten hours. Marijuana (and its
derivative, hashish) is another natural
psychedelic derived from the marijuana
or hemp plant. The active psychedelic
ingredient in marijuana is called delta–9-
tetrahydrocannabinol or THC. When
marijuana is taken at low doses it acts as
a mild sedative, while at higher doses the
drug can produce psychedelic effects.
LSD (“acid”) and PCP (“angle dust”) are
both synthetic psychedelic drugs pro-
duced within a laboratory. As with other
drugs, people who consistently use mari-
juana develop tolerance to it in addition
to withdrawal symptoms such as rest-

lessness, irritability, and nausea. Toler-
ance also develops with the use of other
psychedelics, but there may be no with-
drawal symptoms. A particular danger
involved with the long-term use of PCP
is the potential for neurological deficits
in language, memory, and vision.
Anabolic Steroid
Steroids are included in this discussion of
substance abuse as they can have power-
ful effects on the individual and can be
dangerous when they are abused. Ana-
bolic steroids are a synthetic form of the
male hormone testosterone, which plays
a role in muscle growth and develop-
ment. When used inappropriately by ado-
lescents, steroids can cause problems
with the cardiovascular and reproductive
systems of males and females, while also
increasing the risk of certain cancers. In
spite of these dangers, adolescents are
sometimes so driven to improve them-
selves physically and athletically that
they put themselves at great risk. Certain
features of the adolescent’s emotional
and physical development may play into
the attraction to steroid use. Moving
through a period of awkward or underde-
veloped body structure is a normal part
of adolescent development. Yet the sensi-
tivity of adolescents to the expectations
and perceptions of others can create feel-
ings of dissatisfaction with themselves
physically. In addition, adolescents can
be susceptible to pressure from peers and
authority figures who may be pushing for
greater athletic performance. These fac-
tors, combined with an adolescent’s typi-
cally lower self-esteem, can create a
strong motivation to improve themselves
physically by inappropriate means such
as steroids. Adolescents can actually
become psychologically dependent on
steroids as they become invested in look-
Substance Use and Abuse 731
ing more muscular or performing at
higher levels athletically. To the detri-
ment of their internal emotional devel-
opment, adolescents who use steroids
come to focus much of their self-worth
on external appearance and performance.
Prevention
No single strategy for preventing adoles-
cent drug abuse has been shown to be
effective on its own. Effective prevention
must involve several strategies combined
and applied consistently over time. The
most important aspect of this overall
strategy is to provide children and ado-
lescents with a supportive and nurturing
environment from which they may
develop a strong sense of belonging and
identity. Positive social and emotional
development requires investment from
others so that adolescents can begin to
invest in themselves. A second aspect to
drug abuse prevention involves educating
children and adolescents about the reali-
ties of drugs along with teaching them
realistic strategies for dealing with the
feelings and situations that can lead to
drug use. The third important aspect
involves providing adolescents with
opportunities to get involved in a variety
of scholastic and extracurricular activi-
ties. Adolescents who have alternatives
available to them usually choose positive
pathways in life, provided they have
mentors to assist them.
For more information about drug abuse
and prevention, the National Clearing-
house for Alcohol and Drug Information
can be reached at 1-800-729-6686 for
assistance in English or Spanish, or at
TDD 1-800-487-4889 for hearing-im-
paired callers. PREVLine, an electronic
communication system, is accessible
through the Internet at www.health.org,
and provides online forums and direct
732 Suicide
access to educational materials. “Prevent-
ing Drug Use among Children and Ado-
lescents” provides 14 prevention princi-
ples based on 20 years of research to help
schools and community groups develop
more effective drug prevention programs.
Call for a free copy at 1-800-729-6686.
Treatment
There are many types of drug treatment
available to adolescents and their families.
The first step in seeking out treatment
should always involve seeking out local
school or community support services.
Support groups for adolescents with alco-
hol or drug troubles exist throughout the
United States such as Alanon or Alateen
(1-800-356-9996). Other regional and
national support groups exist to provide
information and referral should they be
needed. For information about drug abuse
treatment and referral call the National
Drug Information and Treatment Referral
Hotline, 1-800-662-HELP. This hot line
provides drug-related information to peo-
ple seeking a local treatment program, and
directs those affected by the substance
abuse of a friend or family member to sup-
port groups or services. Valuable resources
can also be found on the Internet includ-
ing, the National Institute on Drug Abuse
(www.nida.nih.gov) and the National
Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alco-
holism (www.niaaa.nih.gov). Adolescent
drug abuse is a serious matter and requires
the involvement of experienced support
persons or professionals in order to prop-
erly address the problem. Do not hesitate
to seek out help.
George T. Ladd
See also Alcohol Use, Risk Factors in;
Alcohol Use, Trends in; Children of
Alcoholics; Cigarette Smoking; Drug
Abuse Prevention; Inhalants; Interven-
tion Programs for Adolescents; Peer
Pressure; Risk Behaviors; Steroids
References and further reading
American Psychiatric Association.
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders, 4th ed. Washington,
DC: American Psychiatric Association.
Cadogan, Donald A. 1999. “Drug Use
Harm.” American Psychologist 54:
841–842.
Carlson, Neil R. 1998. Physiology of
Behavior. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Department of Health and Human
Services, Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration. 2000.
1999 National Household Survey on
Drug Abuse. Rockville, MD. DHHS.
MacCoun, R. 1998. “Toward a Psychology
of Harm Reduction.” American
Psychologist 53: 1199–1208.
Winger, G., F. G. Hofmann, and J. F.
Woods. 1992. A Handbook on Drug and
Alcohol Abuse: The Biomedical
Aspects. New York: Oxford University
Press.
Suicide
Definition
Suicidal behavior can be defined as
thoughts, verbalizations, or actions that
have the intention of causing one’s own
death. Suicidal behavior is generally con-
sidered as extending along a continuum
from ideation to actual completion. Suici-
dal ideation is characterized by thoughts
or verbalizations about causing one’s own
death. A suicidal threat is the verbaliza-
tion of an imminent suicidal action. A
suicide attempt is a self-destructive
action that realistically could lead to
death (e.g., ingestion of a potentially fatal
dose of drugs). A suicide completion is an
action that ultimately leads to death.
Other behaviors, such as risk taking,
recklessness, or self-destructive actions
without suicidal intent, although poten-
tially life threatening (e.g., driving fast,
abusing drugs, engaging in unsafe sex), are
generally not considered suicidal by tradi-
 Suicide 733

tional definitions. Actions that are self-

inflicted and result in injury without the
intention of causing death (e.g., superfi-
cial wrist cutting, burning) have been
termed self-injury, self-mutilation, or
parasuicide, and are discussed in another
entry in this volume.
Many teens at some point have
thought about or contemplated suicide,
but most teens decide that life is worth
living. Other teens who are in crisis,
however, view their problems and pain
as inescapable. Teenagers who attempt
and complete suicide often have intense
and overwhelming feelings of despair,
hopelessness, and helplessness. Other
feelings include feeling unable to stop
the pain or sadness, not being able to see
a way out of the crisis, and worthless-
ness. Often, these youth become socially
isolated and withdraw from their family
and friends, have difficulty with sleeping
and eating, have sudden changes in their
Suicide is the third leading cause of death
personality, lose interest in activities
among youth ages 15 to 24. (Philip James
they once found pleasurable, begin or Corwin/Corbis)
increase their use of drugs or alcohol,
have physical complaints, have difficulty
concentrating, and have problems with
their schoolwork. Many of these signs
are quite similar to the symptoms of and homicide. Since the middle of the
depression. Other warning signs include last century, the rates of completed sui-
evidence of preparing for death, such as cide have increased among youth
making out a will and final arrange- between the ages of ten and nineteen, but
ments, giving away treasured or prized the rates have declined since 1994.
possessions, or having a preoccupation Although suicide attempts and comple-
with death. Teens who are planning to tions are uncommon before puberty, the
commit suicide will often make direct or rates increase dramatically through mid-
indirect statements about their suicidal dle adolescence. The Centers for Disease
intentions (e.g., “I won’t be a problem for Control reported that, in 1997, 303 youth
you any longer”). between the ages of ten and fourteen
committed suicide in the United States.
Prevalence Of youth ages fifteen to nineteen, 1,802
Among teenagers in the United States, committed suicide.
suicide is the third leading cause of The incidence of suicide attempts by
death, following unintentional injuries teenagers is more difficult to determine
734 Suicide
because of the number of attempts that
go unreported and the number of
attempts that may have been classified as
accidental. According to a study by
Lewinsohn and colleagues (1996), 2 per-
cent of adolescents in a community sam-
ple had attempted suicide during the past
year. However, 7 percent of the adoles-
cents had attempted suicide in their life-
time. About one-half of all youth who
attempt suicide will eventually make
further attempts, and it has been esti-
mated that approximately one-quarter to
one-third of adolescent suicide victims
have made at least one previous suicide
attempt. Furthermore, occasional suici-
dal ideation is surprisingly common in
the general adolescent population. These
rates, however, become significantly
lower for moderate to extreme suicidal
intent.
Differences between adolescent boys
and girls have been documented for the
rates of suicide completions, attempts,
and ideation. In general, boys are about
four times more likely to commit suicide
than girls. Suicide rates have increased
among fifteen- to nineteen-year-old
males since the 1960s, but have remained
relatively stable for females in that age
group and for the ten- to fourteen-year-
old-age group. Teenage girls, however, are
much more likely to report suicidal
ideation and attempt suicide than teen-
age boys.
Furthermore, rates of suicidal ideation,
attempts, and completions vary across
ethnic groups in the United States. The
risk of suicide among young people is
greatest for young white males. The rates
of completed suicide are generally higher
in Native American youth and lower in
African American youth. However, the
rates of suicide have increased dramati-
cally for African American males in the
past two decades. The rates of suicide
have also increased for Hispanic youth in
recent years.
Moreover, much discussion and debate
has arisen regarding the relation between
sexual orientation and suicide. Although
it has been suggested that gay, lesbian,
and bisexual youth are at greater risk
than heterosexual youth for completed
suicide, research has not been conclu-
sive. Because of a lack of societal accep-
tance of homosexuality, struggling with
issues of sexuality may place youth at a
greater risk for depression and other psy-
chological problems, including suicidal
behavior.
The most common method of com-
pleted youth suicide is by use of a
firearm. Other common means of com-
pleted suicide are suffocation (e.g., hang-
ing) and poisoning (e.g., intentional over-
dose). The most common methods for
those adolescents who attempt suicide
are intentional overdose and wrist cut-
ting. Gender differences have also been
found in the methods used for suicide,
with girls primarily using ingestion and
cutting, while boys primarily using guns
and hanging. Suicide attempts made by
older adolescents and males tend to have
more serious intent and lethality.
The vast majority of suicide attempts
are deliberate and planned. A high pro-
portion of youth report suicidal ideation
prior to attempting suicide. Youth who
attempt suicide without previous appar-
ent suicidal ideation usually commit the
act impulsively, and are more likely to be
under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
The majority of depressed youth report
suicidal ideation at some point, but not
all youth who express suicidal ideation
actually attempt it. The suicide attempts

of youth with depression almost never
occur when they are symptom free.
Risk Factors
Suicidal behavior in adolescents is a com-
plex phenomenon. Although there is no
typical suicidal adolescent, a number of
variables have been identified by
researchers as potential risk factors.
Some of these factors include reduced
family influence, economic stress, peer
pressure, alcohol and substance use and
abuse, sexual pressure, fear of AIDS,
media, and gang influences. Although
suicide has many causes, there is no par-
ticular formula to determine who will
commit suicide. However, many factors
have been documented in current re-
search and have been crucial in identify-
ing teenagers who may be at risk.
One of the strongest known risk factors
for suicide attempts and completions is a
past history of suicide attempt. In addi-
tion, suicide attempts almost always
occur in the context of significant psy-
chopathology or a psychiatric disorder
(e.g., major depression, alcohol and drug
abuse/dependence, disruptive behavior
disorders, and, to a lesser extent, anxiety
disorders). The majority of adolescents
who commit suicide have a psychological
disorder. Youth who have more than one
psychiatric disorder have an increased
risk of attempting suicide. However, hav-
ing a psychiatric disorder does not mean
that an adolescent will attempt suicide. It
is important to note that most youth
with a psychiatric disorder do not
attempt suicide. Major depression, with
feelings of low self-esteem, helplessness,
hopelessness, loneliness, and a sense of
guilt, is the most common psychiatric
disorder of those youth who attempt or
complete suicide. Although suicide with-
Suicide 735
out depression is rare, it is not necessary
to be depressed to commit suicide.
Other psychiatric disorders that are
associated with suicidal behavior are
related to poor impulse control and low
self-esteem. For example, disruptive
behavior disorders (e.g., conduct disor-
der), and associated chronic difficulty
with authority, is another common disor-
der that is associated with suicide. The
risk for suicide is even greater if the
young person is using drugs or alcohol.
Drugs and alcohol cause disinhibition
and can impair judgment and impulse
control. Similar to differences in rates
and methods of completion, differences
between adolescent boys and girls also
exist in regard to the risk factors for sui-
cide. Among girls, the most significant
risk factor for completed suicide is the
presence of major depression. Another
major risk factor for girls is a previous
suicide attempt. For boys, a previous sui-
cide attempt is the most important pre-
dictor, followed by depression, disruptive
behavior disorders, and substance abuse.
A number of factors in a teenager’s
social environment have been linked to
completed suicides, including stressful
life events and interpersonal difficulties.
Suicide in youth often occurs after the
teenager has experienced some sort of
recent disappointment, loss, or rejection.
For example, interpersonal losses and dis-
ciplinary problems increase suicide risk.
The following stressful life events may
be predictive of future adolescent suicide
attempts: many arguments or fights, the
attempt of a relative or friend to commit
suicide, problems of a relative or friend
with alcohol or drugs, a disruption in the
adolescent’s living situation, the death of
a relative or friend, an arrest or legal trou-
ble, and a breakup of an intimate rela-
736 Suicide
tionship. Interpersonal loss has been
found to increase the risk of suicide,
especially for boys. Since the reasons for
completing suicide are complex and mul-
tidetermined, these stressful life events
are rarely a sufficient cause for suicide.
These events can, however, be precipitat-
ing factors for teens.
Other risk factors for suicidal behavior
include a family history of depression or
substance abuse, ineffective coping skills,
functional impairment due to an illness
or injury, or having been born to a teenage
mother. The presence or the availability
of the means to kill oneself has been
associated with increased suicide risk. For
example, having a firearm in the home
has been found to greatly increase the risk
of youth suicide. In addition, suicide com-
pleters have been found to have experi-
enced more physical abuse, more expo-
sure to family violence, residential
instability, and parental unemployment,
and more parent-child conflict. The
occurrence of these stressful life events
and circumstances should serve as warn-
ing signs for clinicians or parents of suici-
dal adolescents. It is important to note,
however, that these events most often
occur without suicide as a consequence.
Treatment and Interventions
Depression and suicidal feelings are
treatable mental disorders. Unfortu-
nately, very few youth who have com-
mitted suicide have been in treatment at
the time of their death. Adolescents who
express that they want to kill themselves
should always be taken seriously, and
they should seek an evaluation from a
mental health professional. Although
people often feel uncomfortable talking
about death and suicidal feelings,
addressing the depression and suicidal
thoughts can be helpful and provide
some relief. Asking questions regarding
suicidal thoughts does not prompt suici-
dal behavior; rather, it can provide reas-
surance that someone cares, offers sup-
port, and is listening.
Often, inpatient hospitalization is the
necessary form of intervention if the ado-
lescent is in imminent danger of self-
harm. The most important aspect of
treatment for the youth in crisis is to pro-
vide a safe environment. If someone is in
imminent danger of harming herself, do
not leave her alone. When someone is
actively suicidal, it is also important to
limit her access to dangerous weapons,
such as firearms, lethal doses of medica-
tions, or knives. Emergency steps may
need to be taken, such as calling 911 or
taking the person to a crisis center or
emergency room. Other resources to con-
tact in an emergency include community
mental health agencies, a private thera-
pist or counselor, school counselor, psy-
chologist, or family doctor.
Laura A. Gallagher
See also Coping; Counseling; Depression;
Intervention Programs for Adolescents;
Psychotherapy; Self-Injury; Substance
Use and Abuse; Youth Outlook
References and further reading
Berman, Alan L., and D. A. Jobes. 1991.
Adolescent Suicide: Assessment and
Intervention. Washington, DC:
American Psychological Association.
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. 1998. “Youth Risk Behavior
Surveillance—United States, 1997.”
CDC Surveillance Summaries, August,
14, 1998. Morbidity and Mortality
Weekly Report 4, no. SS-3.
———. 1999. Suicide Deaths and Rates
Per 100,000. Available at: http://
www.cdc.gov/ncipc/data/us9794/
suic.htm
Gould, Madelyn S., et al. 1998.
“Psychopathology Associated with
Suicidal Ideation and Attempts among
Children and Adolescents.” Journal of

the American Academy of Child and
Adolescent Psychiatry 37: 915–923.
Gould, Madelyn S., Prudence Fisher,
Michael Parides, Michael Flory, and
David Shaffer. 1996. “Psychosocial Risk
Factors of Child and Adolescent
Completed Suicide.” Archives of
General Psychiatry 53: 1155–1162.
Hoyert, Donna L., Kenneth D. Kochanek,
and Sherry L. Murphy. 1999. “Deaths:
Final Data for 1997.” National Vital
Statistics Reports 47, no 19. Hyattsville,
Suicide 737
MD: National Center for Health
Statistics.
Lewinsohn, Peter M., Paul Rohde, and
John R. Seeley. 1996. “Adolescent
Suicidal Ideation and Attempts:
Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Clinical
Implications.” Clinical Psychology:
Science and Practice 3: 25–46.
Shaffer, David, and Leslie Craft. 1999.
“Methods of Adolescent Suicide
Prevention.” Journal of Clinical
Psychiatry 60: 70–74.
 T
Teachers
Teachers are rarely mentioned by adoles-
cents as having a significant or important
influence in their lives. Adolescents often
describe teachers as providing aid and
advice, but only as secondary sources rel-
ative to parents and peers. Moreover, stud-
ies of teacher characteristics and teacher-
student relationships have not often been
done with adolescents in middle and high
school. However, teachers can have a pro-
found effect on the academic and social
lives of students. Recent studies have
linked specific characteristics of teachers
to adolescents’ educational aspirations,
values, and self-concept. In middle school,
students’ perceptions that teachers care
about them have been related to positive
aspects of student motivation such as pur-
suit of social and academic goals, mastery
orientations toward learning, and aca-
demic interest. When perceived support
from parents, peers, and teachers is con-
sidered together, perceived support from
teachers has the most direct link to how
much students like school and to how
well they perform academically.
The most widely documented influence
of teachers on school adjustment concerns
the degree to which adolescents perceive
teachers as being supportive and caring.
Several authors have suggested that feel-
ings of belongingness and of being cared for
can foster the adoption and internalization
739
of goals and values of caregivers. With
respect to schooling, this explanation
translates into the notion that students
will be motivated to engage in classroom
activities if they believe that teachers care
about them. Middle school students char-
acterize caring and supportive teachers as
those who demonstrate democratic and
egalitarian communication styles designed
to elicit student participation and input,
who develop expectations for student
behavior and performance in light of indi-
vidual differences and abilities, who model
a caring attitude and interest in their
instruction and interpersonal dealings with
students, and who provide constructive
rather than harsh and critical feedback.
Students’ perceptions that teachers are
indeed supportive and caring predict posi-
tive motivational orientations toward
school over the course of the middle
school years. Specific qualities of middle
school teachers, which include communi-
cating high expectations, clear and consis-
tent rule setting, positive and construc-
tive feedback, fairness, and modeling of
interest in learning on the part of teach-
ers, relate positively to students’ pursuit
of socially valued goals, interest in
schoolwork, and positive beliefs about
personal control. Negative feedback from
teachers appears to be a powerful and con-
sistent predictor of students’ social behav-
ior and academic performance: Students
Teachers can have a profound effect on the academic and social lives of students. (Skjold
Photographs)

who perceive teachers as being harsh and
critical display antisocial and uncoopera-
tive classroom behavior and earn low
grades relative to their peers. These find-
ings underscore the potentially pervasive
influence of teachers’ negative and highly
critical feedback on adolescents’ overall
adjustment and success at school.
Young adolescents’ relationships with
and perceptions of teachers appear to
change dramatically with the transition
from elementary to middle school. Dur-
ing this time, students often report
heightened levels of mistrust of teachers,
perceptions that teachers no longer care
about them, and a decrease in opportuni-
ties to establish meaningful relationships
with teachers. These reported declines in
the nurturant qualities of teacher-student
relationships after the transition to mid-
dle school also correspond to declines in
academic motivation and achievement.
As students proceed through middle
school, they also report that teachers
become more focused on students earn-
ing high grades, on competition between
students, and on maintaining adult con-
trol, with a decrease in personal interest
in students. Students who report these
changes also tend to report less intrinsic
motivation to achieve than students who
do not. When asked about their own per-
ceptions of their teaching, however,
teachers do not perceive their practice in
the same way as students. Teachers
report that they do not emphasize com-
petition and grading as much as do stu-
dents, nor do they think they convey a
lack of caring to their students.
As adolescents change in their percep-
tions of their teachers as they progress
through middle school, they also change
in the degree to which they think teach-
ers have authority over their decisions
and behavior. In general, almost all ado-
Teachers 741
lescents believe that teachers have
authority over issues such as stealing and
fighting; somewhat less authority over
issues such as misbehaving in class,
breaking school rules, and smoking or
substance abuse; and least authority over
issues involving peer interactions, friend-
ships, and personal appearance. Interest-
ingly, when beliefs about teachers are
compared to beliefs about the authority
of their parents and friends to dictate
their school behavior, adolescents believe
that teachers have more authority with
respect to moral issues such as stealing
and fighting and conventional rules
involving school and classroom conduct.
They also believe that teachers have as
much authority as parents with respect
to smoking or substance abuse. Peers are
seen as having legitimate authority only
in personal matters such as friendships or
personal appearance. These beliefs, how-
ever, tend to change as children get older,
with younger adolescents in middle
school believing teachers have legitimate
authority in all areas of school conduct
and older adolescents in high school
believing that teachers have little author-
ity over most aspects of their lives at
school.
Little is known about teachers’ opin-
ions and beliefs about their adolescent
students. In a recent interview study,
however, middle school teachers spoke of
a variety of important things that they
did in the classroom, ranging from
instruction to promoting students’ social
and emotional development (Wentzel,
2000). For instance, 47 percent of the
teachers mentioned promoting social-
emotional development as an important
part of their job, 40 percent mentioned
instruction and establishing positive
teacher-student relationships, and 33 per-
cent mentioned classroom management
742 Teachers
and the teaching of learning skills. In
addition, a good day for teachers was typ-
ically described as one in which students
are motivated and on task, whereas bad
days were most often described as those
in which classroom management issues
and problems with instruction were
prevalent. Most teachers also had images
of ideal and nightmare students, with
ideal students being described most often
as motivated and self-regulated, and
nightmare students as having motiva-
tional and behavioral problems. Finally,
most teachers attributed their students’
success to home and instructional fac-
tors. These findings document the com-
plex nature of the day-to-day lives of
middle school teachers, as well as their
recognition that their students need sup-
port and guidance in areas that reflect
social as well as academic concerns.
It is likely that teachers might be more
crucial to some adolescents’ adjustment
to school than to others. Some students
who are at risk for academic problems
due to unstable or problematic home life
attribute their success to teachers who
have served as mentors and often surro-
gate parents in their lives. Teachers also
might be able to offset the negative
impact of low levels of acceptance and
rejection from peers. For instance,
research shows that some middle school
students who are rejected by their peers
but liked by teachers tend to do well aca-
demically over time. However, teachers
can also exacerbate the negative impact
of peer rejection on students, in that
young adolescents who are disliked by
their teachers as well as by their peers are
at higher risk for academic failure and
other school-related problems than their
peers who have more positive relations
with their teachers and peers.
What do we know about teachers’
instructional practices and adolescents’
adjustment to school? The most common
finding is that teachers tend to have dif-
ferent expectations for and interactions
with students depending on curricular
tracks. For instance, some researchers
have documented that teachers of stu-
dents who are not in college-bound pro-
grams tend to establish classrooms with
more structure and present subject mat-
ter in less interesting ways than teachers
of college-bound students. Students in
college tracks also tend to receive more
praise and recognition and less criticism
than other students.
The long-term implications of these
differential practices seem to be twofold.
Regardless of the quality of instruction,
students who perceive that their teachers
are interested in the subject matter and
are trying to make it interesting for them
are themselves more interested in the
subject matter, do better academically,
and are more motivated to behave in
socially appropriate ways than students
who believe their teachers are not inter-
ested in what they do. Therefore, college-
bound students are likely to benefit from
their classes more than other students, in
part simply because teachers make them
more interesting and motivating. In addi-
tion, less structured classrooms tend to
promote more friendly and open interac-
tions among students, and so college-
track students may well benefit from
more frequent opportunities to make
new friends with a wider and more
diverse set of peers than their noncollege-
bound classmates.
Kathryn R. Wentzel
See also Academic Achievement; Acade-
mic Self-Evaluation; Apprenticeships;

Homework; Mentoring and Youth
Development; School, Functions of
References and further reading
Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly, and Reed
Larson. 1984. Being Adolescent. New
York: Basic Books.
Eccles, Jacqueline, Carol Midgley, and
Terry Adler. 1984. “Grade-Related
Changes in the School Environment.”
Pp. 283–331 in Advances in Motivation
and Achievement. Edited by M. L.
Maehr. Greenwich, CT: JAI.
Epstein, Joyce, and Nancy Karweit. 1983.
Friends in School. New York: Academic
Press.
Harter, Susan. 1996. “Teacher and
Classmate Influences on Scholastic
Motivation, Self-Esteem, and Level of
Voice in Adolescents.” Pp. 11–42 in
Social Motivation: Understanding
Children’s School Adjustment. Edited
by Jaana Juvonen and Kathryn Wentzel.
New York: Cambridge University Press.
Juvonen, Jaana. 1996. “Self-Presentation
Tactics Promoting Teacher and Peer
Approval: The Function of Excuses and
Other Clever Explanations.” Pp. 43–65
in Social Motivation: Understanding
Children’s School Adjustment. Edited
by Jaana Juvonen and Kathryn Wentzel.
New York: Cambridge University Press.
Smetana, Judith, and Bruce Bitz. 1996.
“Adolescents’ Conceptions of Teachers’
Authority and Their Relations to Rule
Violations in School.” Child
Development 67: 1153–1172.
Wentzel, Kathryn R. 1997. “Student
Motivation in Middle School: The Role
of Perceived Pedagogical Caring.”
Journal of Educational Psychology 89:
411–419.
———. 1998. “Social Support and
Adjustment in Middle School: The Role
of Parents, Teachers, and Peers.” Journal
of Educational Psychology 90: 202–209.
———. 1999. “Social-Motivational
Processes and Interpersonal
Relationships: Implications for
Understanding Students’ Academic
Success.” Journal of Educational
Psychology 91: 76–97.
———. 2000. Middle School Teachers’
Educational Goals and Perceptions of
Their Students. Unpublished
manuscript, University of Maryland,
College Park.
Teasing 743
Teasing
Teasing involves making fun of another
person. Teasing may involve poking fun
at someone with whom one is friendly,
but it can also be much more like bully-
ing and may be a form of harassment.
Teenagers who engage in teasing may feel
that they are “only fooling” and thus
may not understand that the behavior is
hurtful. Teens may not recognize that the
person being teased views the situation
much differently. An adolescent who is
being teased may also be reluctant to
admit that the behavior is bothersome
for fear that this admission will simply
escalate the teasing or bring about other
forms of ridicule from peers.
Although there may be many instances
of good-natured fun when friends
exchange harmless jokes about one
another, this type of playful verbal ex-
change is qualitatively different from
one-sided teasing, directed at an individ-
ual, that is hurtful in nature. A common
adolescent situation is teasing that in-
volves comments or consequences that
are not harmless. Despite the old adage
that we are taught when we are young,
“Sticks and stones may break my bones
but names will never hurt me,” we actu-
ally know that words can be at least as
hurtful as physical aggression. This is
especially true when the harmful words,
or teasing, are ongoing.
Often, teasing involves a power
inequity. Power inequities occur in any
life situation in which some people have
more of something desirable. For exam-
ple, there is often a power inequity that
results from a difference in wealth. Peo-
ple with financial resources often have
more power to influence others than do
poor people. If you apply this model to
adolescent social situations, there are
744 Teasing
Teasing can take many forms and often focuses on issues of difference. (Shirley Zeiberg)
individuals with more social power.
Social power may mean having more
friends or at least having the attention of
others. Someone with more social power
may feel at liberty to pick on someone
with less social power. In addition, some-
one with more social power may be able
to influence others to pick on someone
with less social power. In this way,
groups of adolescents who are considered
“in” or “cool” determine how others will
be treated. Sometimes teens tease others
with the hope of gaining social power.
For example, teens who want to feel
accepted by others may join in teasing (or
initiate the teasing of) someone less pop-
ular. However, it is important to note
that not all popular teens engage in teas-
ing others. In fact, many popular teens
are friendly and kind. Thus, popularity
should not be an excuse for the mistreat-
ment of others.
Teasing can take many forms and often
focuses on issues of difference. Teasing
may involve comments or jokes about a
person’s physical appearance. Young peo-
ple who are overweight are at particu-
larly high risk for teasing by peers. Sadly,
this form of discrimination is also preva-
lent in adult society. Family situation or
structure, as well as ethnic or racial back-
ground, may also be a source of teasing.
Since teens spend the majority of their
waking hours in school settings, school

achievement can be another focus of
teasing. At times, less competent stu-
dents may be teased. However, this is
highly dependent on the school culture
and whether or not academic achieve-
ment is valued. In some settings, it is the
more competent, higher-achieving stu-
dents who may become the subject of
ridicule by their less academically ori-
ented peers. In many high schools, ath-
letes are held in the highest regard, and
so physical/athletic ability can be an
additional source of teasing. Teens (espe-
cially males) who are not athletically ori-
ented may find that they are teased by
peers. Conversely, teenage girls who are
athletic but may not be interested in
stereotypically female activities may be
subject to teasing by peers.
One of the most common forms of ado-
lescent teasing involves issues of sexual
orientation. When young people want to
insult one another they often use slurs
that are related to being gay. Since ado-
lescence is a time during which there is
often much confusion and self-con-
sciousness about sexual identity, this
type of teasing can be particularly hurt-
ful. Some statistics suggest that gay teens
are at even higher risk for suicide than
straight teens and often feel that they
have no one to turn to for help. There-
fore, teasing about sexual orientation
may have deadly consequences.
Though teenagers have the intellectual
ability to understand that their behavior
could have an impact on someone else,
their emotional development during this
period may limit their understanding.
From a social/emotional standpoint ado-
lescents are often thought to be experi-
encing a period of egocentrism, which
means that they see situations only from
their own point of view and may not
spontaneously take the perspective of
Teasing 745
another when looking at a situation. As a
result, a teen who make a comment that
she thinks is funny and actually gets a
laugh from others may not give one
moment’s thought to the impact that the
comment has on the person being teased.
Even when the behavior is pointed out,
the most common teenage response is, “I
was only fooling around.” This answer
focuses only on the intention, thoughts,
and actions of the teaser and completely
ignores the feelings of the teen being
teased.
Teasing is sometimes related to bully-
ing. Bullying is defined as physical or ver-
bal aggression against another person.
Bullying is a means of exercising power
and domination. A bully may be an indi-
vidual who has difficulty making friends
in more socially acceptable ways and
resorts instead to trying to control others
through aggression and intimidation.
Intimidation can be very powerful, in
that victims are made to feel fearful as a
result of implicit or explicit threats. Ado-
lescents who already feel self-conscious
may be reluctant to report incidents of
bullying.
Teasing and bullying can make teen-
agers feel miserable. Unfortunately,
adults often underestimate the impact of
such behavior. Teenagers who feel teased
or bullied should find an adult in whom
they can confide. If teens do not feel able
to confide in any adult whom they
already know, they can seek professional
help from a counselor or therapist trained
to help teens. Adults often suggest that
teens suffering from teasing or bullying
need to express their displeasure to the
aggressor. However, it is crucial for
adults to understand that expressing dis-
pleasure may not make the behavior
stop, especially if it is intentional on the
part of the teaser. In fact, knowing that
746 Teenage Parenting: Childbearing
they have evoked a response may provide
just the reinforcement needed to encour-
age a continuation of the behavior. Simi-
larly, adults often suggest that teens
ignore inappropriate comments made by
others. Although this may work at times,
this, too, can produce the opposite result,
in that the teaser may simply escalate
the attack in order to provoke the victim.
Since most teasing involves a focus on
those who are somehow deemed to be
different, educating young children,
teens, and adults about the importance of
mutual respect and acceptance of differ-
ences is an important step toward curb-
ing teasing behavior.
Deborah N. Margolis
See also Bullying; Conduct Problems;
Conflict Resolution; Peer Pressure;
Peer Victimization in School; Self-
Consciousness; Self-Esteem; Sibling
Conflict
References and further reading
Marano, Hara Estroff. 1998. Why Doesn’t
Anybody Like Me? New York: William
Morrow.
Stein, Nan. 1996. Bullyproof. Wellesley,
MA: Wellesley Center for Research on
Women.
Teenage Parenting: Childbearing
Becoming sexually active is a normal
part of human development for adoles-
cents making the transition into adult-
hood. In earlier historical periods, adoles-
cents expected to marry and begin
childbearing at a relatively early age. In
contemporary American society, how-
ever, adolescents typically do not expect
to marry at an early age, and many adult
women delay childbearing until near the
end of their reproductive years. Our soci-
ety offers adolescents no clear norms for
the acceptable age and acceptable rela-
tionship for initiation of sexual activity.
In this context of uncertainty, many ado-
lescents initiate sexual activity. Some
become pregnant and bear children.
Declines in Adolescent
Pregnancy and Birthrates
The birthrate for adolescents has
declined in the United States. The 1998
adolescent birthrate was 51 per 1,000
adolescent females (fifteen to nineteen
years of age). Declines have occurred for
all ethnic groups, although ethnic differ-
ences remain. Hispanic adolescents have
the highest birthrate; African Americans
and American Indians are higher than
Caucasians and Asian Americans. Simi-
larly, disparities remain in adolescent
birthrates in the geographic regions of
the United States, but declines have
occurred in all geographic areas. Missis-
sippi has the highest rate of births to ado-
lescents, and Vermont, the lowest. Eth-
nic differences must be interpreted
cautiously, however, because ethnicity is
confounded with socioeconomic status
in major studies. Socioeconomic status
may contribute to ethnic differences in
adolescent pregnancy and birthrates.
Pregnancy and birthrates differ by age
within the adolescent years. Older ado-
lescents have higher pregnancy and birth-
rates than younger adolescents. The birth-
rate for fifteen- to seventeen-year-olds is
34 per 1,000 for the United States. In con-
trast, the birthrate for eighteen- to nine-
teen-year-olds is 86 per 1,000. Young ado-
lescents who become pregnant have
different developmental needs from older
pregnant adolescents who are making the
transition into adulthood. Young preg-
nant adolescents also are more likely
than older adolescents to have medical
complications.

The abortion ratio, the ratio of abor-
tions to pregnancies, is relatively low in
the United States compared to other
developed countries. In most developed
countries, the abortion ratio is very high—
more than 50 percent for fifteen- to seven-
teen-year-olds. The majority of younger
pregnant adolescents in developed coun-
tries choose abortion, and they are more
likely than older adolescents (eighteen- to
nineteen-year-olds) to have abortions. The
abortion ratio in the United States, in con-
trast, is 36 percent for fifteen- to seven-
teen-year-olds and 34 percent for eighteen-
to nineteen-year-olds.
Adolescent childbearing occurs at a
higher rate in the United States than in
other developed countries. Even with the
exclusion of ethnic groups with higher
adolescent birthrates within the United
States, the U.S. rate for Caucasian ado-
lescents remains higher than that in
other industrialized nations. The preg-
nancy rate, calculated by combining
birthrates and abortion rates, is also
higher in the United States than in most
developed countries. Recent statistics
show that the United States is one of five
countries (including Belarus, Bulgaria,
Romania, and the Russian Federation)
with pregnancy rates of 70 or more per
1,000 adolescent females per year. There
has been a general decline in adolescent
pregnancy rates and birthrates over the
past twenty-five years in industrialized
countries, although great disparities in
adolescent pregnancy and birthrates exist
currently among these countries. Among
developed countries, adolescent preg-
nancy rates range from a low of 12 per
1,000 in the Netherlands to a high of 100
per 1,000 in the Russian Federation.
Japan and most Western European
nations have adolescent pregnancy rates
lower than 40 per 1,000.
Teenage Parenting: Childbearing 747
Developmental Tasks of Adolescence
Despite these declines in adolescent birth-
rates in the United States and in other
developed countries, adolescent child-
bearing still presents a substantial prob-
lem when it occurs. In the current social
context, adolescent childbearing can
interfere with the successful completion
of the normal developmental tasks of ado-
lescence, such as education, movement
toward economic self-sufficiency, and the
renegotiation of family relations and
establishment of new social relations.
Education. The completion of formal
schooling and successful entry into the
job market may be compromised by early
pregnancies, childbearing, and child rear-
ing. The overall declines in early child-
bearing may be linked to the increased
importance of education and the desire of
young people to attain higher levels of
education. For many young women, edu-
cation is a more central and more imme-
diate goal than motherhood.
Adolescents need to be motivated to
prevent pregnancy. In addition to infor-
mation about contraception and access to
contraceptives, they need strong reasons
to delay childbearing. As the Children’s
Defense Fund puts it, the “best contra-
ceptive is a real future.” Without other
competing life goals, such as education,
adolescents may see childbearing and
motherhood as their major goals.
Educational attainment has increased
for adolescents who have children as it
has for adolescents in general. Adolescent
child bearers today have higher educa-
tional attainment than adolescent child
bearers in the past. Adolescent mothers
who have the worst educational out-
comes are those who drop out of school
before their first birth. Another critical
factor related to lower educational
748 Teenage Parenting: Childbearing
attainment for adolescent mothers is hav-
ing a second birth.
Economic Self-Sufficiency. The increase
in the years of formal schooling means
an extended period of economic and
social dependency for adolescents in gen-
eral. A complex question is whether ado-
lescent childbearing causes economic
disadvantage and dependency, at a time
in the life span when individuals should
be moving toward economic self-suffi-
ciency. An alternative possibility is that
poverty leads to adolescent childbearing.
For low-income women, early childbear-
ing may present no more adverse conse-
quences than those associated with
poverty. Studies show that outcomes are
negative for low-income young women,
even when they delay childbearing. For
example, a comparison of adolescent
mothers with their sisters who delayed
childbearing until twenty years of age or
later revealed few differences in educa-
tional attainment and in later economic
outcomes. Thus, with socioeconomic
status held constant, differences between
adolescent child bearers and those who
delay childbearing are greatly diminished
or nonexistent. Reducing adolescent
childbearing will not eliminate the
effects of poverty. Preventing early child-
bearing may widen the pathways out of
poverty, however, or at least not exacer-
bate the effects of poverty.
Social/Family Relationships. The forma-
tion of satisfying, mature close personal
relationships may be jeopardized by early
births and the demands of child rearing.
Although not all outcomes are negative,
adolescent childbearing changes the
entire family system, creating new roles,
such as grandparent, and new social and
economic demands for all family mem-
bers. In addition to renegotiating existing
family and social relationships, adoles-
cent child bearers also must master the
parenting role with their own children.
Adolescent child bearers in contempo-
rary society are unlikely to be married, in
contrast to the 1950s, when the relatively
high rate of births to adolescents was
masked by the correspondingly high rate
of early, stable marriages and relative eco-
nomic prosperity. Despite the high value
generally placed on marriage as the con-
text for childbearing and child rearing,
negative effects of marriage, such as inter-
ference with continued education,
increased likelihood of subsequent preg-
nancies, inadequate economic resources
of young husbands, divorce, and instabil-
ity for the adolescent mother and child,
may occur. A study of birth records for a
midwestern state indicated that few
African American adolescent mothers
were married. Hispanic adolescent moth-
ers were more likely to be married, and,
for those who were married, educational
attainment was lower than for their coun-
terparts who were not married. Another
study found that African American ado-
lescent mothers were more likely to live
with their parents, to stay in school, and
to remain unmarried than were Cau-
casian and Hispanic adolescent mothers,
who tended to leave the family of origin,
drop out of school, and marry if they
could.
Adolescent childbearing occurs in a
social context in which adult women
increasingly have babies out of wedlock.
Adolescents account for a small percent-
age of unwed births in the United States.
The decline in marriage rates and in-
crease in out-of-wedlock births are not
uniquely adolescent problems. Marriage
may be a more appropriate choice for
older than for younger adolescents. Only

a small percentage of adolescents become
pregnant or bear children at ages earlier
than fifteen years. It should be noted,
however, that there has been a decline in
the age at which it is possible for a young
adolescent to begin having children. The
average age at which girls reach menarche
is twelve and a half years. The changing
biological timetable for sexual matura-
tion has moved in the opposite direction
from the preferred social timetable for
childbearing and child rearing. Childbear-
ing and child rearing now occur toward
the end of the reproductive years, espe-
cially for affluent women. An enormous
investment of societal resources has
made it possible for older women to bear
children safely. These medical resources
are available to affluent women but not to
women generally. The social norm that
has evolved favors a late beginning for
childbearing, carefully controlled child-
bearing, and few children.
The majority of adolescent child bear-
ers report that they did not want to or
plan to become pregnant. Adolescents
need help making the decision to avoid
pregnancy and taking active steps to pre-
vent pregnancy. Parents, however, may be
uncomfortable discussing sexuality and
contraception with their children. Parents
may be ambivalent about encouraging
their adolescents to use contraceptives,
thinking they might hasten the adoles-
cents’ sexual initiation. Because of adults’
discomfort and uncertainty, adolescents
may not have sufficient adult guidance
and may turn to peers for information and
advice. Adolescents may get less atten-
tion and guidance from adults at one of
the times they need it most. Coercion or
unwanted sexual behavior may occur in
adolescents’ relationships. Childhood sex-
ual abuse, however, is not associated with
increased likelihood of adolescent preg-
Teenage Parenting: Childbearing 749
nancy, when other variables such as age at
first intercourse and contraceptive use at
first intercourse are considered. In addi-
tion, concern about HIV and AIDS may
affect contraceptive use.
Romantic relationships surrounding
adolescent childbearing may be short-
lived. Some perspectives on adolescent
child bearers’ relationships, especially
ethnographic work, incorporate a nega-
tive picture of the relationships that lead
to adolescent childbearing. In this view
of adolescent childbearing, young men
father children to prove their virility and
adolescent females want to get pregnant.
This line of research provides examples
of adolescent mothers’ participation in a
“baby club,” in which they compete to
have the most attractive, best-dressed
children. According to this perspective,
the adolescent mothers’ interest is not
sustained as the children become older
and are no longer “cute.” When their
interest wanes, some researchers assert,
adolescent mothers relinquish care of
their children to their grandparents.
Becoming a grandmother can be espe-
cially difficult for a relatively young
grandmother. Grandmothers may not
always be able to provide the emotional
and financial support adolescent mothers
need. High levels of support may be
needed and readily accepted by younger
adolescents. The same high levels of sup-
port may not be needed by older adoles-
cents and may be perceived as inappro-
priate interference or control.
Most fathers of children born to ado-
lescent mothers are not themselves ado-
lescents but are young adult males.
Power differentials may exist in the rela-
tionships between adolescent females
and young adult males. For adolescent
males who become fathers, studies find
few differences in cognitive functioning,
750 Teenage Parenting: Childbearing
socioemotional characteristics, or sexual
knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors, in
comparisons with adolescent males who
are not fathers. Further, adolescent
fathers typically do not live with the
mother and baby and may have difficulty
maintaining meaningful involvement in
the rearing of the child. The involvement
of fathers may not always be welcome by
the adolescent mother and her family or
by programs set up to assist adolescent
mothers. Continued involvement of the
father, however, is related to the adoles-
cent mother’s psychological and eco-
nomic well-being.
The majority of adolescent mothers
keep their babies rather than release
them for adoption. There is great concern
for the educational and developmental
outcomes for the children of adolescent
mothers. Adolescent childbearing often
occurs in a social milieu of poverty and
low educational attainment. Thus, the
children of adolescent mothers may have
a less than optimal rearing environment.
These children, however, do not fare
worse than other children reared in
poverty. In addition, despite the stereo-
type of a repeated cycle of adolescent
child bearers, generation after generation,
the majority of daughters of adolescent
mothers do not themselves become ado-
lescent child bearers.
Diverse Outcomes for
Adolescent Parents
Longitudinal research shows substantial
variability in outcomes for adolescent
mothers and their children. Although
some adolescent mothers and their chil-
dren fare relatively well, the prevention
of early pregnancy remains an important
goal. Because the United States has
higher adolescent birthrates than other
developed nations, it is instructive to
examine policies and practices in those
countries. Other developed countries
that have lower rates of adolescent child-
bearing than the United States have more
generous health and welfare benefits for
their citizens and more widely available
sex education and contraceptive services
for adolescents.
Diane Scott-Jones
See also Abortion; Abstinence; Child-
Rearing Styles; Contraception; Decision
Making; Parenting Styles; Programs for
Adolescents
References and further reading
Anderson, E. 1999. Code of the Street:
Decency, Violence, and the Moral Life
of the Inner City. New York: Norton.
Bachrach, C. A., C. C. Clogg, and D. R.
Entwisle, eds. 1993. Pathways to
Childbearing and Childbirth Outcomes
of Adolescent and Older Mothers
[Special issue]. Journal of Research on
Adolescence 3, no. 4.
Caldwell, C. H., and T. C. Antonucci.
1997. “Childbearing during
Adolescence: Mental Health Risks and
Opportunities.” Pp. 220–245 in Health
Risks and Developmental Transitions
during Adolescence. Edited by J.
Schulenberg, J. L. Maggs, and K.
Hurrelmann. New York: Cambridge
University Press.
Coles, R. 1997. The Youngest Parents.
New York: Norton.
Furstenberg, F. F., J. Brooks-Gunn, and S. P.
Morgan. 1987. Adolescent Mothers in
Later Life. New York: Cambridge
University Press.
Rosenheim, M. K., and M. F. Testa, eds.
1992. Early Parenthood and Coming of
Age in the 1990s. New Brunswick, NJ:
Rutgers University Press.
Scott-Jones, D. 1993. “Adolescent
Childbearing: Whose Problem? What
Can We Do?” Phi Delta Kappan 75:
1–12.
Singh, S., and J. E. Darroch. 2000.
“Adolescent Pregnancy and
Childbearing: Levels and Trends in
Developed Countries.” Family Planning
Perspectives 32: 14–23.

Teenage Parenting: Consequences
Adolescent sexual behavior, pregnancy
and childbearing (particularly among
unmarried adolescents) have been a socie-
tal, economic, and political concern for
centuries. Today, teenage pregnancy is
viewed as a major problem placing burden
on all involved: teenagers, their children,
and taxpayers. Currently, over 1 million
teenage women under the age of twenty
become pregnant every year in the United
States, with one female teenager becom-
ing pregnant every thirty-one seconds.
The percentage of American teenagers
who are sexually active has increased in
recent years, while the age of first inter-
course has decreased. Currently, approxi-
mately 56 percent of females and 73 per-
cent of males have had sexual intercourse
before their eighteenth birthday, with the
average age of first intercourse being sev-
enteen years for females and sixteen years
for males. The rates for unintended
teenage pregnancy and nonmarital births
have increased in part because of earlier
puberty, later age of marriage, greater
numbers of teenagers having sex, and lack
of contraceptive use. Among the 1 million
teenage pregnancies each year in America,
just under one-half are to females aged sev-
enteen and younger, with approximately
half of the teenage pregnancies resulting in
live births, 35 percent ending in induced
abortion, and 14 percent resulting in a
miscarriage or stillbirth.
Historical Trends in the United States
The birthrate among U.S. teens has fluc-
tuated over the decades. Historically, after
World War II, during the 1950s and 1960s,
teen birthrates in the United States
reached their highest levels. During the
1970s, a decline in birthrates occurred as
a result of the legalization of abortion and
the development of different contracep-
Teenage Parenting: Consequences 751
tive methods. Birthrates among teenagers
declined from 66.2 percent in 1972 to 46.7
percent in 1982, with the legalization of
abortion occurring in 1973. From 1986
until 1991, overall birthrates rose steadily.
Among 15–19 year old females, the
birthrate rose from 50 (in 1986) to 62 (in
1991) per 1,000 females. Between 1991
and 1996, the birthrates declined 12 per-
cent, however, the rate in 1996 (54.7 per
1,000) was still higher than in 1980. Cur-
rently, the United States has the highest
rate of teenage pregnancies and births
compared to other westernized countries.
This has been a consistent pattern; for
example, in 1988 and 1992, the United
States had 53 and 61 births per 1,000 teen
pregnancies (born to females ages 15 to 19
years old), as compared with Japan, which
had 4 births per 1,000 teen pregnancies for
both years, while in the Netherlands,
there were 6 and 8 births, respectively.
Consequences for Teenage Mothers
A pregnant female can choose from the
following options regarding her preg-
nancy: she can carry the child to term and
choose to become a parent, have an abor-
tion, or have the baby and give the baby up
for adoption. The great majority of today’s
teenagers are choosing either to raise their
child or to have an abortion (see entry on
abortion for further information).
Teenage females who choose to give
birth and raise their child face a multi-
tude of consequences, both medically
and psychologically. Medically, females
who are younger than 17 years of age
while pregnant have a higher incidence
of medical complications than do adult
women. Approximately one-third of
pregnant teenagers receive inadequate
prenatal care. Teenage mothers tend to
have more obstetric problems (e.g., either
inadequate or excessive weight gain,
752 Teenage Parenting: Consequences
Adolescent childbearing may interfere with the successful completion of developmental tasks
of adolescence. (Shirley Zeiberg)
pregnancy-induced hypertension, ane-
mia), which arise from various intercon-
nected factors, including poverty, lack of
prenatal care, and poor nutrition.
In addition to the medical complica-
tions a teen mother may face, her future
educational and occupational prospects
are likely to decline as well. Adolescent
mothers are less likely to complete
school or to do so on time, be employed,
or make high wages, and are more likely
to live in persistent poverty, become wel-
fare dependent, have larger families, and
become single parents. Interestingly, it
should be noted that many of these con-
sequences are not a direct result of the
pregnancy, but may have been character-
istics of the mother or her social environ-
ment prior to the birth. For example, a
majority of the teenagers were living in
poverty at the time of birth, or they had a
history of poor academic performance
prior to birth and had either already
dropped out or were at high risk of drop-
ping out of high school. However, recent
research findings suggest that with age,
many women who were teenage mothers
fare better than previously hoped. In
long-term follow-up studies of teenage
mothers, most had completed high
school (approximately 70 percent by the
time the mothers are 35 to 39 years old),
moved off public assistance, and many
had secure and stable employment.
Consequences for Teenage Fathers
Although most of the research on conse-
quences of teenage pregnancy and child-

bearing has focused on the teenage
mother, virtually little research has been
conducted on the teenage fathers. Re-
search has found that many fathers of chil-
dren born to teenage women tend to be
two to three years older than the women,
with many being older than twenty years
of age. It is hard to get an accurate esti-
mate of the number of teenage fathers as
well as the consequences they may expe-
rience for a number of reasons. Teenage
fathers tend not to live with their chil-
dren, and may not know or deny that they
are fathers, leading to an underreporting of
teenage fatherhood.
Consequences for Children
of Teenage Mothers
Children born to adolescent mothers run
the risk of many health and psychologi-
cal problems. Infants of teen mothers
(particularly mothers under sixteen
years of age) are more likely to be born
prematurely and with a low birth weight
(two times the rate of infants born to
adults), which is a big contributor to
infant mortality, morbidity, and future
health problems. Within the first
twenty-eight days of life, infants of teen
mothers are three times more likely to
die than infants born to older mothers.
These threats to the infants’ health typi-
cally are not the result of the mother’s
actual age, but are results of factors asso-
ciated with the mother being young,
such as inadequate prenatal care, poor
nutrition, or substance use.
Future consequences of teenage preg-
nancy on the children include an in-
creased risk for future developmental
delays, academic difficulties (e.g., school
failure or withdrawal), behavior prob-
lems, substance use, and unplanned preg-
nancy as a teenager. Many of the same
factors associated with teenage preg-
Teenage Parenting: Consequences 753
nancy and childbirth also influence the
children, often supporting intergenera-
tional transmission of risk factors for
teenage pregnancy such as poverty or low
academic attainment.
Consequences for Taxpayers
Teen pregnancy has huge economic and
social costs as well. Young unmarried
women seventeen years or younger are
more likely to go on public assistance
and to spend more years on welfare once
enrolled. It is estimated that taxpayers
pay nearly $7 billion per year for the
costs of births to adolescents, which
includes Aid to Families with Dependent
Children, Medicaid, and food stamps.
These costs do not include additional
support to families and children provided
by social services, protective services,
and education for the young mother.
What Can Be Done?
There have been many prevention and
intervention programs developed to
address the issue of teenage pregnancy in
the United States, most programs focus-
ing on the adolescent female. These pro-
grams primarily fall into five categories,
those which: (1) teach about sex and/or
HIV, (2) improve access to contraception,
(3) are sexual education programs focus-
ing on parent-child communication, (4)
involve multiple components, and (5)
focus on youth development. Everyone,
from parents and adolescents to govern-
ment and social agencies, must be
involved in these prevention programs in
order to make them a success, with the
ultimate goal of curbing teenage preg-
nancy and helping America’s teens
remain healthy and successful.
Christine M. Lee
Jennifer L. Maggs
754 Television
See also Abortion; Abstinence; Decision
Making; High School Equivalency
Degree; School Dropouts; Single Parent-
hood and Low Achievement; Welfare
References and further reading
Alan Guttmacher Institute. 1994. Sex and
America’s Teenagers. New York: Alan
Guttmacher Institute.
American Academy of Pediatrics. 1999.
“Adolescent Pregnancy—Current
Trends and Issues: 1998.” Pediatrics
103, no. 2: 516–520.
Centers for Disease Control. 1997. “State-
Specific Pregnancy Rates among
Adolescents—United States,
1990–1996.” MMWR 46: 837–842.
Emilio, J. D., and E. B. Freedman. 1997.
Intimate Matters: A History of
Sexuality in America. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press.
Kirby, D. 1997. No Easy Answers:
Research Findings on Programs to
Reduce Teen Pregnancy. Washington,
DC: National Campaign to Prevent
Teen Pregnancy.
Moore, K. A., and N. Snyder. 1994. Facts
at a Glance. Annual newsletter on teen
pregnancy. Washington, DC: Child
Trends.
Moore, K. A., B. W. Sugland, C.
Blumenthal, D. Glei, and N. Snyder.
1995. Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention
Programs: Interventions and
Evaluations. Washington, DC: Child
Trends.
Stevens-Simons, C., and E. R. McAnarney.
1996. “Adolescent Pregnancy.” In
Handbook of Adolescent Health Risk
Behavior. Edited by R. J. DiClimente,
W. B. Hansen, and L. E. Ponton. New
York: Plenum Press.
Stevens-Simons, C., and M. White. 1991.
“Adolescent Pregnancy.” Pediatric
Annals 20: 322–331.
Television
With the exception of the Internet, tele-
vision is the newest medium of all of our
media. Newspapers, magazines, and
radios were all vehicles for transporting
information that existed before the tele-
vision was invented. Its introduction into
mainstream society forever revolution-
ized the way people could see the world
and the events occurring around them.
There is not one person in particular
who is credited with inventing television.
Rather, there were many discoveries from
many people in many places all over the
world that led to the creation of television
as we know it today. Similarly, it is some-
what unclear when the first display of tel-
evision occurred. Many individuals and
many companies made the claim that
they were the first to produce a successful
demonstration of television. For example,
the New York Times reported on April 7,
1927, that American Telephone and Tele-
graph (AT&T) had successfully trans-
mitted a speech by the secretary of
commerce, Herbert Hoover, from Wash-
ington, D.C., to the Bell Laboratories in
New York. Apparently, the newspaper
had ignored the accomplishments of a sci-
entist in England named John Logie Baird,
who had given some successful demon-
strations of his own some time before the
AT&T demonstration. However, the New
York Times cannot be blamed for poor
reporting. It was fairly common practice
at that time for each company in each
country to boldly proclaim that they had
given the first successful demonstration
of television in history.
Television did not reach the American
public until 1939. At that time, however,
very few Americans actually owned a tel-
evision set. Because of the fact that televi-
sion broadcasting had not been perfected,
and also because of the high prices of tel-
evision sets at the time, the American
public was not very interested in televi-
sion. In an attempt to combat these prob-
lems, the government allowed for com-
mercial television programming to begin
in July 1941. However, with the onset of
World War II, television for commercial
purposes took a backseat to television for
 Television 755

High levels of media use are associated with some problems in adolescent behavior and
development, but for the vast majority of youth the media has no long-term detrimental
effects. (Michael Pole/Corbis)

military purposes. Many laboratories
were working on ways to use television to
guide missiles and spy on distant loca-
tions. After the war, television sales were
still unimpressive at best. In 1947, there
were only 60,000 television sets in the
country (Boddy in Smith, 1998).
By the 1950s, America was ready for
television. Sales skyrocketed, with more
than 3 million television sets sold in the
first six months of 1950 alone (Boddy in
Smith, 1998)! By the end of the decade,
nine out of ten homes had a television set
(Baughman, 1997). The reason for this
756 Television
astronomical boost in sales can be attrib-
uted to both the good state of the econ-
omy as well as a decrease in the cost of
television sets. However, perhaps even a
more significant reason for the increase
in television sales was the migration of
much of the population away from the
cities and into the suburbs. Television
now provided people in the suburbs with
entertainment in the comfort of their
own homes. This was a mixed blessing of
sorts for the television industry. On one
hand, television sales were booming.
Advertisers were eager to sponsor pro-
grams and the networks were eager to sell
them airtime. On the other hand, televi-
sion stations had to be very careful in
determining what shows were appropri-
ate for a family-based audience. This is, of
course, a problem that still exists with
television today.
Determining what was acceptable
material for television programs was just
one of the many problems that arose as
television gained popularity. Many crit-
ics felt that the time that people would
spend watching television would take
away from time that could be spent doing
more productive or educational things.
Similarly, many people in radio and the
movies feared that the time that people
had spent listening to the radio or going
to the movies would now be spent
watching television. Unfortunately for
them, this was exactly the case. The
older media had to adapt to find new,
receptive audiences. As a result, radio
stations played more music in an
attempt to attract the teenage audience.
In addition, radios were installed in cars.
Moviemakers had the even greater
dilemma of convincing people who were
now residing in suburbs to leave the
comfort of their homes and travel to the
cities to watch movies. In order to do so,
moviemakers produced films with spec-
tacular scenes, such as Moses parting the
Red Sea in the film The Ten Command-
ments. In addition, drive-in theaters
began to pop up throughout the suburbs.
If people were not going to go to the
movies, the moviemakers were going to
try to bring the movies to them.
As television grew increasingly more
popular, researchers began to wonder
what kind of effects television was hav-
ing on society. In many cases the results
are quite shocking. One famous study
examined how the murder rate changed
over the first ten years of television in
three different countries: the United
States, Canada, and South Africa. The
results of the study showed that murder
rates increased in all three countries after
the first decade of television’s inception
in that country. It should be noted that
these results do not mean that television
was a direct cause in any given murder.
There are other factors that could have
influenced the results of the study as
well. For example, it is possible that gun
sales increased as well. However, one can
state that the introduction of television
was correlated with an increase in mur-
der rates in the three countries.
Researchers also became interested in
how violence on television effected chil-
dren viewers. A revealing study not only
demonstrated that the amount of vio-
lence children saw on television was
highly correlated with how aggressive
they were in adolescence, but that the
reverse was also true (i.e., one could
assess how much television violence
these adolescents had seen by assessing
how aggressive the adolescents were).
As was previously mentioned, many
researchers were curious as to how time
spent watching television replaced time
that people used to spend doing other

things. One study in Canada examined
children from three communities that
differed in how many television stations
they received. The first community,
which the researchers called Notel, had
no television reception; the second com-
munity, Unitel, received one television
station; the third community, Multitel,
received several television stations. A
particularly important finding from this
study is that second- and third-grade chil-
dren from Notel scored better on reading
tests than children in Unitel, who in turn
scored better on the tests than children
in Multitel. In addition, once television
did arrive in Notel, the children of that
community no longer scored higher on
the reading tests. These findings suggest
that television viewing can have a nega-
tive effect on reading skills (though they
do not suggest exactly how).
Many studies have specifically targeted
how television effects the adolescent
audience. Researchers find this age group
to be particularly important to study
because adolescents go through the
process of discovering who they are as an
individual. Given that television is a
highly accessible and influential medium,
it follows that adolescents could incorpo-
rate messages suggested in television into
their personal identity. This is the very
goal of many advertisers. If an advertiser
can make a television viewer identify
with the actors in an ad, then they hope
that the viewer will use the same deter-
gent as the actor or wear the same pants.
While these are two harmless examples of
how television might influence a viewer,
consider the following studies. The first
examined the effects of alcohol use in tel-
evision shows and in ads on adolescents.
Although the amount of alcohol con-
sumption on TV has decreased since the
1980s, a large percentage of the public
Television 757
believes that alcohol advertising is a
major contributor to underage drinking.
The study confirmed the public’s concern
by finding that many adolescents believe
that people of influence and status, like
those depicted in television shows and
ads, drink alcohol and that drinking is a
symbol of adulthood. It should be noted,
however, that other studies have found
such factors as parents’ and peers’ atti-
tudes toward drinking to be more impor-
tant predictors of future drinking than
exposure to alcohol advertising.
A second study examined the role of
television in adolescent women’s dissat-
isfaction with their bodies and their drive
for thinness. The study found that the
amount of television watched did not
effect body dissatisfaction, but watching
certain programs did. Soap operas and
movies, specifically, predicted body dis-
satisfaction, and women who watched
music videos had a higher drive for thin-
ness than those who did not.
Although these studies warn us of the
negative effects of television, there is no
doubt that television has had a positive
impact on society, too. Television allows
us all to see places we might never visit,
to keep up with events all over the nation
and the world, and even gives us glimpses
into the depths of space. Its images are
often so powerful that people remember
them forever. Neil Armstrong’s walk on
the moon, the explosion of the Chal-
lenger, the tearing down of the Berlin
Wall; these are all events that captured
the attention of a nation and the world.
There have been attempts to make tele-
vision more educational as well. Thus far,
much of the effort to make television
more educational has come in children’s
television. While the Notel study men-
tioned previously showed that television
can have a negative impact on reading
758 Television, Effects of
skills, television programs implemented
for educational purposes can benefit chil-
dren. Sesame Street, Mister Rogers’ Neigh-
borhood, and Blue’s Clues are all among
the more popular educational programs.
These three programs are a reflection of
how much progress has been made in try-
ing to get more educational television pro-
gramming on the air. Sesame Street has
now been on the air for over thirty years,
and continues to be popular. Along with
Sesame Street, Mister Rogers’ Neighbor-
hood appears on public broadcasting.
Appearing on public broadcasting allows
for the programs to receive federal funding
as well as contributions from grants and
individual donors. Because public broad-
casting receives this financial support,
shows like Sesame Street can be presented
without the influence of any commercial
agencies. This is an important point to
realize because one of the many dilemmas
that has emerged in the past few decades
is how commercial-based networks can be
regulated to provide more educational pro-
gramming to their audience. Success in
this task had been minimal until recently.
However, things have changed. Nick-
elodeon, which is not federally funded, has
taken it upon itself to provide more edu-
cational programming. The network has
implemented many previously unimagin-
able techniques for improving the quality
of its educational programming. For exam-
ple, Blue’s Clues repeats the same exact
episode for one entire week. While many
networks would consider this lack of vari-
ety to be the kiss of death for any show,
Nickelodeon has stood behind its show,
claiming that research shows that chil-
dren need repetition, practice, and rein-
forcement to best absorb the material they
are learning on television. The success of
Blue’s Clues and Nickelodeon’s efforts
could inspire other networks to consider
taking more chances with educational
programming.
Another promising educational direc-
tion that television can now take is
through its inevitable convergence with
the Internet. With the technological
advances that have been made in recent
years, it is anticipated that people will
soon be able to watch television and surf
the Web on the same screen. It would
seem that this convergence would allow
for the development of some innovative
new programming that can combine the
resources of the Internet with those of
television. Exactly how this will be done
and the precise effects it will have on
society remain to be seen.
Jason Sidman
See also Appearance, Cultural Factors in;
Media; Television, Effects of; Violence;
Youth Culture
References and further reading
Baughman, James L. 1997. The Republic of
Mass Culture: Journalism, Filmmaking,
and Broadcasting. Baltimore: Johns
Hopkins University Press.
Centerwall, Brandon S. 1989. “Exposure to
Television as a Risk Factor for
Violence.” American Journal of
Epidemiology 129, no. 4: 643–652.
Fisher, David E. 1996. Tube: The
Invention of Television. Washington,
DC: Counterpoint.
Smith, Anthony, ed. 1998. Television: An
International History. Oxford; New
York: Oxford University Press.
Television, Effects of
Although the influence of media on
youth behavior and development contin-
ues to be a topic attracting social and
political debate, the data indicate that
most forms of media have no major,
enduring effects on the vast majority of
youth. Put another way, current research
indicates that only some youth, under

specific circumstances, are influenced by
exposure to the media.
A more specific finding is that levels of
television viewing have only a small
influence on adolescents’ leisure reading,
completion of homework assignments,
school achievement, and physical and
social activities. However, high levels of
viewing can have some dramatic effects
on these activities.
For example, extensive television
viewing is associated with lowered
school achievement, obesity, and de-
creased involvement in academic and
extracurricular activities. First, although
results from about two dozen studies of
the association between television
watching and school achievement indi-
cate that there is virtually no overall
relation between these two domains of
youth behavior, A. C. Huston and J. C.
Wright (1998) have found that lowered
achievement does occur when adoles-
cents spend thirty or more hours a week
watching television—that is, when their
amount of television viewing approaches
the time devoted to many full-time jobs!
Second, a longitudinal study of youth by
W. H. Dietz and S. L. Gortmaker (1985)
has found that early-life television view-
ing is linked to obesity in adolescence.
And, third, M. Myrtek and colleagues
(1996) have found that between sixth and
eighth grades, high levels of television
viewing are related to lower participation
in organized school and community
groups, decreased reading, diminished
activities outside the home, completion
of less homework, and reduced interest
in hobbies.
High levels of TV viewing are associ-
ated with other problematic behaviors as
well. For instance, researchers have
found that adolescents’ engagement in
passive leisure activities such as televi-
Television, Effects of 759
sion viewing is greater than their partici-
pation in active leisure activities such as
playing a sport. The boredom generated
by television viewing is associated with
drug use and delinquency. Watching rock
music videos is related to permissive sex-
ual attitudes and behaviors, especially
among girls with problematic family
relationships. And television viewing in
general is associated with socially and
politically authoritarian attitudes, espe-
cially among youth from higher socio-
economic backgrounds.
In sum, media are a major part of the
life of most youth. Although high levels
of media use are associated with prob-
lems in adolescent behavior and develop-
ment, for the vast majority of youth the
media have no pervasive or long-term
detrimental effects. It will be important,
however, to revisit this conclusion as
more research is conducted about the
possible influences of new and emerging
media (e.g., interactive television) on
youth development.
Richard M. Lerner
See also Appearance, Cultural Factors in;
Attractiveness, Physical; Body Image;
Computers; Television; Violence
References and further reading
Dietz, W. H., and S. L. Gortmaker. 1985.
“Do We Fatten Our Children at the
Television Set? Obesity and Television
Viewing in Children and Adolescents.”
Pediatrics 75: 807–812.
Huston, A. C., and J. C. Wright. 1998.
“Mass Media and Child Development.”
In Handbook of Child Psychology. Vol.
3, Child Psychology in Practice. Edited
by I. E. Sigel and K. Renninger. New
York: Wiley.
Lerner, Richard M. In press. Adolescence:
Development, Diversity, Context, and
Application. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice-Hall.
Myrtek, M., C. Scharff, G. Brugner, and W.
Muller. 1996. “Physiological, Behavioral
and Psychological Effects Associated
760 Temperament
with Television Viewing in Schoolboys:
An Exploratory Study.” Journal of Early
Adolescence 16, no. 3: 301–323.
Temperament
Temperament serves as a source of indi-
viduality in children, and continues to
play a role in adolescence. The character-
istic ways that children approach and
engage their world are often referred to as
temperament. By understanding how
temperaments, or predispositional quali-
ties, function, we may know more about
how adolescents will react to emotional
events, handle stressors, or adapt to a
new situation. Adolescence is character-
ized by rapid socioemotional growth in
many areas, including cognitive develop-
ment, physical maturation, expansion of
interpersonal relationships, and emo-
tional growth. Within developmental
psychology, the role of temperament as a
main contributor to social and emotional
development has advanced our under-
standing of adolescence.
Temperament reflects differences in an
individual’s behavioral style or tenden-
cies. Although there is no single defini-
tion of temperament, there is general
agreement on a number of central criteria
that define it. Temperament qualities
emerge early in life, are relatively stable
across time, vary among individuals, and
have a hereditary basis. One perspective
considers temperament as relatively sta-
ble, primarily biologically based, individ-
ual differences in reactivity and regula-
tion. Reactivity refers to physiological
arousal (e.g., increased heart rate) and dis-
plays of emotionality. Levels of reactivity
correspond to responses of the autonomic
and central nervous systems and re-
sponses of the endocrine system. Reactiv-
ity is typically measured with respect to
the intensity of a reaction and/or the time
to recover from a challenging or stressful
event. Self-regulation refers to internal
processes that work to inhibit or promote
physiological reactivity. Self-regulatory
processes may include attention, self-
soothing behaviors, and approach or
avoidance behaviors.
Temperament is reflected in the ways
children experience, react, and cope with
issues of adolescence. For example, due to
the underlying temperamental character-
istics associated with a highly reactive
temperament, anxious adolescents may
be predisposed to experience extreme feel-
ings of fear or anxiety, together with the
accompanying bodily responses of in-
creases in heart rate or blood pressure, in
response to a stressful event. A stressful
event may be defined as having to speak in
front of a class or trying to approach an
unfamiliar group of peers to make friends.
However, there is not always a perfect
relationship between psychological expe-
riences (how tense an adolescent may feel
or how fearful he perceives a situation to
be) and physiological reactivity (increases
in heart rate or blood pressure) for all ado-
lescents, as differences exist among indi-
viduals, even within a group of anxious
adolescents.
Temperament is often described in
terms of types or profiles, with respect to
different constellations of behaviors. The
behavioral qualities that are often
mapped onto temperament are emotion,
attention, and activity. One major dis-
tinction between types contrasts easy
and difficult temperaments. The former
refers to such behaviors as ease of adapt-
ability and positive approach, whereas
the latter refers to such characteristics as
negative emotionality and being socially
demanding. For adolescents these broad
categories may be expressed with a range
 Temperament 761

of behaviors. For example, positive

moods and ease in approaching and meet-
ing new people may characterize an easy
temperament, whereas a difficult tem-
perament may be expressed as rigidity in
adapting to the demands of a situation, or
negative moods. It should be recognized
that some researchers have criticized the
construct of difficult temperament.
Although the term may classify a certain
profile of behaviors and adjustment style,
it may neglect the parent’s own point of
view of his or her child, namely that a
parent may not experience the child as
“difficult.” Furthermore, the construct
has not always accounted for the fact
that the behaviors may be more appropri-
ate in a certain context (e.g., interacting
with a stranger).
The term goodness of fit reflects the
idea that development occurs in part as a
result of interactions between an individ-
ual and her social environment. Thus,
Temperament refers to a person’s behavioral
optimal development occurs when there
style, and is reflected in how young people
is an appropriate fit between an adoles- approach their world, their intensity of
cent’s characteristics (e.g., temperamental reactions, and their mood. (Skjold
predisposition) and her environment and Photographs)
its demands (e.g., caretaking style). For
adolescents, their behavior is often an
expression of their underlying tempera-
ment. Thus, when others respond posi- to difficulties interacting in social situa-
tively to this behavior and provide appro- tions, or they may develop academic dif-
priate feedback, they may promote ficulties if they are too inhibited to seek
positive interactions and thus healthy necessary assistance in a busy classroom.
development and adaptation. In contrast, Furthermore, an adolescent with an
if these behavioral expressions do not active, social, and excitable temperament
match well with the environment, or may fit better and have less conflict with
they do not meet behavioral expectations, a social and highly charged family, rather
the resulting interaction may be negative than with a less demonstrative family.
and developmentally maladaptive. That varying temperament types thrive
As an illustration, adolescents who are differently, depending upon the environ-
extremely inhibited may have difficulty ment, demands, or expectations with
asserting themselves appropriately in which they are matched, may even be
intense social situations. They may seen within a single family. Due to the
develop peer relationship problems due individual differences in temperamental
762 Thinking
dispositions, two siblings raised in the
same household, by the same parents,
may have very different reactions to the
same parenting style. Therefore, care-
givers (e.g., parents, teachers) need to be
sensitive and appropriately responsive to
children’s temperament, as their reac-
tions serve to shape children’s subse-
quent development.
Furthermore, evidence for the impor-
tance of this fit between temperament
and environment begins at an early age.
For example, excessive input from the
family environment was associated with
lower cognitive development for difficult
infants. In contrast, for easy infants more
social input was associated with higher
cognitive development. In addition, high
active toddlers had better outcomes
when their families were lower in stimu-
lation intensity, whereas that was oppo-
site the case for low active toddlers.
Finally, although temperament is often
thought to be a precursor to personality,
and as adolescents develop there is often
more reference to their personality than
to their temperament, they remain dis-
tinct concepts. Temperament should be
understood to be qualitatively different
from personality, as temperament empha-
sizes the dynamics and energy of respon-
siveness. Temperament encompasses
constitutionally based individual differ-
ences in reactions and behavior, and func-
tions at both the biological and behavioral
level. Personality, on the other hand,
refers to the relatively permanent traits,
dispositions, or characteristics within an
individual, and the concept implies a rel-
ative degree of consistency in how an
individual deals with these traits and
social experiences. The more that is
known about possible outcomes associ-
ated with the interaction of temperamen-
tal traits and environment, the better the
understanding of adjustment problems for
adolescents.
Christine M. Low
See also Anxiety; Coping; Developmental
Assets; Identity; Personality; Self; Shy-
ness
References and further reading
Buss, Arnold H., and Robert Plomin. 1975.
A Temperament Theory of Personality
Development. New York: Wiley.
Derryberry, Douglas, and Mary K.
Rothbart. 1985. “Emotion, Attention,
and Temperament.” Pp. 132–166 in
Emotion, Cognition, and Behavior.
Edited by Carroll E. Izard, Jerome
Kagan, and Robert Zajonc. New York:
Cambridge University Press.
Goldsmith, H. Hill, Arnold Buss, Robert
Plomin, Mary Rothbart, Alexander
Thomas, Stella Chess, Robert Hind, and
Robert McCall. 1987. “Roundtable:
What Is Temperament? Four
Approaches.” Child Development 58:
505–529.
Kohnstamm, Gedolph A., John E. Bates,
and Mary K. Rothbart, eds. 1995.
Temperament in Childhood. UK: Wiley.
Thomas, Alexander, and Stella Chess.
1977. Temperament and Development.
New York: Brunner/Mazel.
Thinking
Adolescence is a transition period
between childhood and adulthood in a
number of different ways. One very
important way has to do with thinking.
Thinking comes to play a more signifi-
cant role in the lives of most teens than it
did when these teens were children.
Teens are capable of more complex kinds
of thinking than are children. For exam-
ple, they can readily engage in what is
called counterfactual thinking, or imag-
ining a course of events counter to reality,
such as, “If I hadn’t gone along with the
other kids, this wouldn’t have happened.”
Teens are also likely to spend more of
their free time engaged in thinking than

do children. Some of this may be the
brooding that comes with the task of con-
structing a personal identity: “Why did
she look at me like that?” “How should I
act with that group?” But much of this
thinking serves a critical purpose, since
teens differ from children in another way:
They have more freedom to make deci-
sions than do children. Some of these
decisions, such as choice of clothing or
music, may not be consequential in the
long run, but many decisions that teens
are faced with—decisions about the
choice of friends, about alcohol, drugs, or
sex—could have life-or-death conse-
quences, for others as well as themselves.
Teens not only have greater freedom
than do children in deciding what they
will do. They also have greater opportu-
nity to decide what they will believe.
This new potential raises some basic
questions: How do such decisions get
made, and what kinds of thinking under-
lie them? Does more thinking, or certain
kinds of thinking, lead to better deci-
sions? Is thinking worth the effort it
entails, or do the choices people make
and the beliefs they hold turn out to be
just as good without it? Is it important to
know why one holds beliefs, to be able to
support those beliefs with good, thought-
ful arguments? Or is it enough just to be
clear about what one believes? To put it
a different way, are unexamined beliefs
worth having?
It turns out that adult society holds
conflicting views about teens’ ability to
think for themselves. Developmental
psychologist David Moshman describes
two U.S. Supreme Court decisions made
about the same time. One sided with
high school students who had been
denied permission by their school to form
a Bible study group, ruling that a school
allowing extracurricular groups to meet
Thinking 763
on its premises must extend this privilege
to any such group. In another ruling,
however, the Court upheld a high school
principal’s right to censor articles written
by students for the school newspaper if
the principal regards the article as
“unsuitable for immature audiences.” A
similar ambivalence regarding the think-
ing of adolescents appears with respect to
other important issues, such as whether
teens who commit serious crimes should
be tried as adults. Do teenagers have the
privileges and responsibilities that follow
from the ability to think as well as adults
in deciding what to do or believe? Or do
teens need special protection because of
their “immature” thinking skills? The
research evidence on this issue shows no
striking differences between the thinking
abilities of older adolescents and those of
adults. It is important to keep in mind,
however, that we can interpret this find-
ing as a cup half full or half empty. Are
teens as accomplished thinkers as adults,
or do adults think as poorly as teens?
It is not only adults who show varied
understandings of the thinking that teens
may engage in. Teens themselves show
this variation. Researchers who have
studied the understandings that children,
teens, and adults have about their own
and others’ thinking and knowing have
found that these understandings change
in predictable ways. At an early age, chil-
dren hold the view that thoughts and
assertions mirror an external reality. “It
is impossible that I could hold a view
that is incorrect.” With time, children
connect thoughts and assertions to the
human minds that generate them,
enabling them to comprehend the idea of
a false belief. But knowing, at this point,
remains a simple black-and-white affair:
“If you and I disagree about something, it
must be the case that one of us is right
764 Thinking
and one is wrong, and it is simply a mat-
ter of finding out which is which.”
Next, and often during the adolescent
years, comes the most striking and dra-
matic change in beliefs about knowing
and thinking. In a word, now everyone is
right. Knowledge becomes simply opin-
ions, freely chosen by their holders, like
pieces of clothing. As a result, they are not
open to challenge. And from this belief
comes the most treacherous step down a
slippery slope: Because all have a right to
their opinion, all opinions must be
equally right. Tolerance for others’ opin-
ions, in other words, is confused with the
inability to discriminate among them.
Only at the next, and most advanced,
level of understanding do we see a coor-
dination of the objective and subjective
components of knowing. At this level, a
person is able to acknowledge that know-
ing is necessarily uncertain, without
abandoning the idea that knowledge
claims can be evaluated with regard to
their worthiness. Two people can both
have legitimate positions on an issue—
can both “be right”—but one can be
more right than the other, to the extent
that his position is better supported by
argument and evidence. Although many
teens have achieved this understanding,
others will go through their entire adult
lives as absolutists, who believe that all
questions have simple right-or-wrong
answers, or as multiplists, who believe
that “anything goes.”
These different ways of thinking about
thinking have important consequences,
for example, in the way teens approach
their schoolwork. In the words of David
Olson and Janet Astington, who have
studied how teens understand texts, “The
author must come to be seen (or imag-
ined) as holding those beliefs for some
reasons.” Assertions in textbooks need to
be understood as reasoned expressions of
someone’s beliefs, rather than as disem-
bodied facts. One study (Paxton, 1997)
showed that simply inserting expressions
that make an author visible in the text
(e.g., “I think” or “from my perspective”)
enhances high school students’ evalua-
tions of their textbooks.
Different ways of thinking about
thinking also play an important role in
teens’ thinking outside of school. These
implications have to do with their intel-
lectual values, with whether they believe
that thinking is worthwhile, that it will
have productive consequences. Beliefs
about an activity shape one’s valuing of
that activity, which in turn shapes one’s
disposition to engage in that activity (and
hence likelihood of doing so). Someone
may value drinking alcohol because she
believes it enhances one’s image among
peers. This belief/value constellation
greatly increases the likelihood that one
will engage in the behavior. The same is
true in the case of intellectual behavior,
or thinking. If facts can be ascertained
with certainty and are readily available to
anyone who seeks them, as the absolutist
understands, or if any claim is as valid as
any other, as the multiplist understands,
there is no point in expending the mental
effort that the evaluation of claims
entails. It is only at the evaluativist level
of understanding, then, that thinking and
reason are recognized to be an essential
support for beliefs and action choices.
Thinking is the only effective route that
allows us to make choices between con-
flicting claims. Understanding this leads
one to value thinking and to be willing to
expend the effort that it entails.
Although valuing thinking is thus criti-
cal, it is not the whole story. Believing
thinking is worthwhile does not by itself
tell us how to do it well. Thinking devel-

ops into good thinking, and good thinking
into better thinking, when it is exercised,
frequently and vigorously. The analogy of
developing an athletic skill is a useful one.
It is also important, research has shown,
that thinking be exercised in social con-
texts, that it be shared among peers. This
has a number of benefits. One important
benefit is simply making ideas explicit
and clear, because of the need to commu-
nicate them to others. Another benefit of
thinking as a social activity is the oppor-
tunity it affords to be exposed to other
points of view. It is crucial to become
aware that there are other reasonable
views than one’s own, as well as to learn
what these view are. Examining and com-
paring alternative views on an issue, and
the arguments that support each, offers
valuable experience in the skills of coordi-
nating theories and evidence. The same
kinds of experience are relevant when the
alternatives are action choices rather than
assertions. Good personal decision mak-
ing requires a thoughtful identification of
all the choice options and the positive and
negative consequences associated with
each.
Many times, the same action choice
can have different reasons supporting it.
Two teenagers may decide to abstain
from sexual activity for entirely different
reasons. The implication is that one can-
not assume to know the thinking that
underlies an action based simply on the
action itself. But this does not make
thinking any less important to good deci-
sion making. Rather, it means that we
must focus on the thinking that under-
lies a belief or action, rather than the
belief or action itself.
Educational programs designed to teach
decision-making skills to adolescents
report some success. Still, it is not easy to
become a careful, thoughtful decision
Thinking 765
maker. A recent newspaper story (New
York Times Science Times section, March
7, 2000), for example, reports about a
study of the “Baby Think It Over” doll,
designed to help young teens understand
what parenting an infant is really like.
The seven-pound doll bursts out in loud
cries at intervals ranging from fifteen
minutes to four hours, twenty-four hours
a day. Three days of experience with the
doll, the researchers found, did not alter
the decisions that sixth- to eighth-grade
girls from a neighborhood with a high
teen pregnancy rate had made to become
mothers by the age of twenty. In fact, the
maternal intentions of 3 of the 109 girls
became stronger as a result of the experi-
ence. And even those who found taking
care of the surrogate baby harder than
they expected expressed an unrealistic
belief: Each of them believed her own
child would be less trouble to care for.
These girls appeared ready to take an
action that would irrevocably change
their lives in major ways, with little indi-
cation that careful, informed, and realis-
tic thinking supported this decision.
Beliefs may be more reversible than
actions, but it is not easy to change
beliefs, even when much evidence exists
to show that these beliefs are wrong. A
good deal of psychological research
shows that people cling to their beliefs in
the face of disconfirming evidence. These
findings point to the importance of help-
ing teenagers to become as thoughtful
about their own thinking as they can be.
They need to know why they believe
what they do, which they only do if they
have examined the arguments and evi-
dence supporting each of the positions on
an issue and weighed them against each
other. And they need to be ready to revise
their thinking—and, as a result, their
beliefs and actions—but only when the
766 Tracking in American High Schools
evidence warrants it. To change one’s
mind too readily, as a result of each new
piece of input that comes along, is as
detrimental as being too resistant to
changing one’s views.
In the end, the most important goal is
to be in control of one’s thinking. Ado-
lescents want and need to feel that they
are in control of themselves and their
lives. Being watchful over and in control
of one’s thinking may be the most impor-
tant component of the self-management
that teens aspire to.
Deanna Kuhn
Wadiya Udell
See also Academic Self-Evaluation; Cogni-
tive Development; Coping; Ethnocen-
trism; Gender Differences and Intellec-
tual and Moral Development;
Intelligence; Learning Styles and
Accommodations; Memory; Self
References and further reading
Baron, Jonathan, and Rex V. Brown, eds.
1991. Teaching Decision Making to
Adolescents. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Kuhn, Deanna, and Michael Weinstock. In
press. “What Is Epistemological
Thinking and Why Does It Matter?” In
Epistemology: The Psychology of Beliefs
about Knowledge and Knowing. Edited
by Barbara Hofer and Paul Pintrich.
Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Kuhn, Deanna, Victoria Shaw, and Mark
Felton. 1997. “Effects of Dyadic
Interaction on Argumentive
Reasoning.” Cognition and Instruction
15: 287–315.
Moshman, David. 1993. “Adolescent
Reasoning and Adolescent Rights.”
Human Development 36: 27–40.
Olson, David, and Janet Astington. 1993.
“Thinking about Thinking: Learning
How to Take Statements and Hold
Beliefs.” Educational Psychologist 28:
7–23.
Paxton, Robert. 1997. “‘Someone with
Like a Life Wrote It’: The Effects of a
Visible Author on High School History
Students.” Journal of Educational
Psychology 89: 235–250.
Tracking in American High Schools
Tracking is a form of ability grouping that
is found in most American public high
schools. Ability grouping starts in elemen-
tary schools, often in the form of within-
class grouping (e.g., high and low groups in
reading or math within a single class).
Tracking in high school is somewhat more
structured, taking the form of between-
class groupings that refer to the nature of
the courses (e.g., honors, advanced, regu-
lar, remedial, or vocational). The impor-
tance of high school tracking is that the
sequences of courses determine not only
the content and quality of the learning
experience but also the eligibility of the
student for enrollment in four-year col-
leges and universities, with consequent
implications for later career paths. The
current tracking systems in high schools
clearly do much to injure the life chances
of those in the lower-track courses.
The meaning of high school enrollment
has changed dramatically during the
twentieth century. In the early years of
that century, about 15 percent of the rele-
vant age group attended high school,
whereas at the end of the century over 80
percent graduated from high school (com-
puted using U.S. Bureau of the Census
data). Whereas enrollment in high schools
was earlier limited primarily to middle-
and upper-class students, today members
of all social groups assume that secondary
school enrollment should be required and
available. The power of this movement
toward mass education is best exempli-
fied by the extent to which dropping out
of high school is now viewed as a major
national problem, at a time when drop-
ping out is increasingly rare.
The United States was a world leader
in the development of mass public sec-
ondary education, expressing a merito-
cratic ideology that equality in educa-

tional opportunities for different groups
would lead to similar educational out-
comes for those groups. The remaining
individual differences in academic
achievement would therefore reflect dif-
ferences in merit. Differential rewards for
differences in education would thus be
appropriate and nondiscriminatory.
Sadly, the contemporary high schools
of the United States provide little com-
fort for those who see the public school
system as providing equality of educa-
tional opportunity. Racial, ethnic, and
class differences in academic achieve-
ment are viewed by most observers as a
major problem, and differences in the
level of individual educational perfor-
mance are often explained as a product of
educational inequality of opportunity.
The failure of tracking in American high
schools is often described in terms of the
perpetuation of inequality.
The educational system is linked to
the system of social stratification in all
modern societies. In earlier agricultural
societies, parents passed on their wealth
to their offspring through the inheritance
of land and livestock. Today, the primary
way in which most parents aid their chil-
dren economically is by investing in their
education. Thus, education is in part a
mechanism for inheritance.
Although schooling is not the only fac-
tor leading to occupational attainment, it
is the most important factor that parents
feel they can directly influence on behalf
of their children. This parental concern
for education is not limited to the higher
social classes. Lower-status parents’ con-
cern about education is typically equal to
or greater than the concern of higher-
status parents.
On the other hand, education is also
viewed as crucial for social mobility.
Access to education is viewed as provid-
Tracking in American High Schools 767
ing an opportunity for those from less
affluent backgrounds to improve their sta-
tus, primarily because education is used
as a rational means of selecting people to
occupy higher occupational positions.
Education serves, therefore, as a mecha-
nism for both inheritance and mobility.
Indeed, credentialism in deciding who
will enter higher positions in the occupa-
tional structure has dramatically in-
creased the educational requirements for
the better jobs in contemporary society.
In personnel selection, having the appro-
priate level of education is often more
important than having the appropriate
level of skills. Since the payoff for higher
education has markedly increased when
compared with the payoff for graduation
from high school, the distinction between
curricula that are college preparatory and
those that do not prepare for higher edu-
cation has become even more important.
The nature of tracking in American
high schools changed from 1965 to 1975.
Prior to that period, students were
assigned to a curricular grouping that
determined most of the courses they
would take during their high school years
(e.g., college preparatory, general, voca-
tional). After that period, students could
enroll in courses that were discrepant
from each other in the level of ability
associated with each class. Theoretically,
a student might enroll in the highest
level of math class, by taking a calculus
course, for example, while simultane-
ously taking a low-level English course.
Most high schools now state that they do
not track their students, since each stu-
dent does not have an overall assignment
to a particular level of courses. But the
reality, despite numerous discrepancies,
is that de facto tracking persists today in
American high schools, and that many of
the results of such tracking are similar to
768 Tracking in American High Schools
those found in the earlier period of over-
all curricular tracks.
The persistence of tracking is a reflec-
tion of an American stress on individual
differences in ability. There are important
national differences in the emphasis on
ability or on effort. Asian schools, believ-
ing that almost all students can perform
at a high level, emphasize student effort
more than individual differences in abil-
ity. Teachers in Asian schools report that
clarity of presentation is the primary
characteristic of a good teacher.
In the United States, the relative
emphasis on ability is much greater than
in Asian countries. American teachers
report that the essence of good teaching
is understanding the individual differ-
ences among students. In the United
States, variability in student perfor-
mance is viewed as an obvious product of
differences in ability.
Not surprisingly, students in Asian
schools not only average better math per-
formance than do American students, but
Asian students also exhibit less variabil-
ity in their math scores. Grading in the
two countries is also influenced by the
ideological emphasis on ability or effort.
American teachers emphasize ability in
their grading, sometimes awarding sepa-
rate grades for effort. In Japan, teachers
grade more often on improvements in
demonstrated ability that indicate an
increase in effort.
Almost all American public high
schools track. Whether schools assign
students into overall tracks or into abil-
ity levels on a course-by-course basis,
what is taught and learned differs dra-
matically by track. Teachers take into
account the ability levels of the students
in each class, and the content of instruc-
tion varies accordingly. Not only do
higher-level courses cover more material
than do lower-level courses, but the qual-
ifications of teachers also vary. The best
and most experienced teachers tend to be
assigned to the higher-level courses and
to be given greater resources, whereas
beginning teachers are typically given
lower-level courses to teach.
In addition, teachers of lower-track
courses set lower academic standards for
their students compared with teachers of
higher-track courses. Well-intentioned
teachers often feel they cannot expect
much from students of low ability and, in
a form of “racism without racists,”
demand and expect little from their stu-
dents. The higher the track, the more
learning occurs. Higher-track students
gain at the expense of lower-track stu-
dents. When teachers teach both lower-
track and higher-track courses, they put
more attention, concern, and effort into
their teaching of college-track students.
So those most in need of exceptional
teaching are least likely to get it.
Educators generally assume that teach-
ing classes that are relatively homoge-
neous in terms of ability will enable stu-
dents to progress at a rate commensurate
with their capacities. Prior school
achievement is the strongest determi-
nant of track placement. But critics of the
tracking system argue that it serves as a
mechanism for perpetuating ethnic and
class divisions. Schools typically overes-
timate their ability to assess ability. Par-
ticularly among those in the middle level
of ability, misassignment to a lower track
is common. Not only is the possibility of
improvement in performance reduced,
but there are negative long-term conse-
quences of such misassignment.
Even among students who expect to
graduate from a four-year college and
whose math skills are above the national
average, many are assigned to lower-

track math and science courses that
make it almost impossible to enter a
four-year college. Such misassignment is
more likely when the student is from a
disadvantaged minority or from a family
with lower parental education. From this
perspective, students are, in part,
selected in terms of their social origins.
In general, the noncollege tracks are pre-
dominantly filled with low-socioeco-
nomic-status and disadvantaged minor-
ity students. An interesting exception to
these tendencies is that assignment prac-
tices favor black students over nonblack
students who are equal in school per-
formance. A possible explanation is that
most black students performed poorly in
elementary school, largely as a result of
poverty, segregation, and discrimination.
The relatively few blacks who performed
very well may be favored in order to
redress the imbalance in assignments.
There is considerable overlap between
measures of social origin, measures of
ability, and track assignment. Students
from advantaged families are more likely
to have the cultural and social capital
that leads to better school performance.
Among those advantaged students whose
performance is only average, parents are
likely to engage in active management to
make sure that their children are placed
in a higher track. Parents are well advised
in urging placement in the highest track
that is potentially feasible for their child.
There are also curricular differences at
the level of entire schools. At the school
level, when the school population is
mainly composed of minority or low-sta-
tus students, the proportion of lower-
track courses is usually larger and the
higher-track courses are less rigorous.
Some have reported that minority stu-
dents in Roman Catholic schools perform
better academically than minority stu-
Tracking in American High Schools 769
dents in public schools. One partial rea-
son for this difference may be the struc-
ture of tracking within Catholic schools.
Controlling for background characteris-
tics, more students are in the college-
preparatory track in Catholic schools
than in the public schools, and more rig-
orous academic course work is required of
students who are in the noncollege track
in Catholic schools. Paradoxically, this
improved result may be a function of the
lack of financial resources in the Catholic
schools. They are too poor to create a var-
iegated curriculum that, for example,
includes vocational courses, so they help
their students by emphasizing the main
college-prep curriculum.
Although there is considerable move-
ment across track lines as students move
through their high school years, the bar-
rier between taking college-prep courses
and other courses tends to be relatively
less permeable. About 80 percent of all
students end their high school years in
the same general grouping, college-prep
or noncollege-prep, as when they began
their first year in high school (Dorn-
busch, Glasgow, and Lin, 1996). Being in
the college-prep track leads to better aca-
demic achievements and greater occupa-
tional opportunities, even after control-
ling for prior school achievement and
background characteristics. For above-
average students (in the fiftieth to eighti-
eth percentile on earlier standardized
math scores), misassignment to lower-
track math and science courses leads to a
permanent loss of academic potential.
Despite their high ability, they work less
hard and learn less; seldom are they reas-
signed to the college-prep track.
It is clear that it is the lower-track stu-
dents who pay the price for the current
tracking system. Under that system, they
learn less, develop attitudes that are less
770 Transition to Young Adulthood
proschool, associate with more students
who are antischool, and have lower edu-
cational expectations. Those students
who are in the higher track either per-
form slightly better academically or, at
least, do not suffer from being tracked.
Since those in the higher track are typi-
cally of middle- or upper-class origin,
powerful forces are at work to support the
current system. Attempts at de-tracking
schools have sometimes been successful,
but, more typically, higher-status parents
successfully support the status quo. Their
children are perceived as advantaged by
the current system, and they usually
have much more political clout than do
the parents of lower-track students.
Since the immediate overthrow of the
tracking system is not a likely alternative
in most high schools, some argue that the
best feasible reform is to stress short-term
remediation of specific deficiencies in
skills. The advantage of such an approach
is that each student can return to the
mainstream class as quickly as possible,
thus avoiding the disadvantages of long-
term assignment to a lower track. Indeed,
short-term remediation is likely to be
more effective if instituted in the early
grades, so that work habits and expecta-
tions are not diminished. Certainly, the
persistence of the current tracking sys-
tem, which leads to the loss of so much
talent, is the source of a national tragedy.
Sanford M. Dornbusch
See also Academic Achievement; Acade-
mic Self-Evaluation; Cognitive Devel-
opment; College; Intelligence; Intelli-
gence Tests; Learning Disabilities;
Learning Styles and Accommodations;
Standardized Tests
References and further reading
Dornbusch, Sanford M., Kristan L.
Glasgow, and I-Chun Lin. 1996. “The
Social Structure of Schooling.” Pp.
401–429 in Annual Review of
Psychology, Vol. 47. Palo Alto, CA:
Annual Reviews.
Lucas, Samuel R. 1999. Tracking
Inequality: Stratification and Mobility
in American High Schools. New York:
Teachers College Press.
Oakes, Jeannie. 1985. Keeping Track: How
Schools Structure Inequality. New
Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Transition to Young Adulthood
As the end of the adolescent period draws
near, a new stage of development—young
adulthood—presents its own challenges.
The challenges for the person involve
making choices about aspirations, careers,
and relationships that serve both the
needs of the individual and the needs of
society. We must also keep in mind that
the cultural setting of the adolescent
influences these choices.
The transition from late adolescence to
young adulthood may be especially prob-
lematic for contemporary young people.
That is, the challenges of the young adult
transition may be especially acute
because, in modern society, there is an
increasing delay between the attainment
of physical maturity and the assumption
of adult responsibilities. This gap creates
a change in the period of dependency of
youth on adults. Moreover, modern soci-
ety is marked by a diversity of develop-
mental paths (e.g., involving different
career possibilities, some of which—such
as software designer, e-commerce spe-
cialist, or manufacturer of digital televi-
sion equipment—did not exist in earlier
historical periods), and this diversity
makes the achievement of adult inde-
pendence more complicated. Different
adult responsibilities (completion of
career training, establishing an intimate

adult relationship, establishing one’s
own home, paying off one’s educational
loans) are increasingly segmented and
separated across chronological periods.
Complicating this transition still fur-
ther is a relative lack of funding, public
support, or public policies and programs
facilitating the transition to adulthood
for the half of the adolescent population
that moves directly from secondary
school to full-time work, that is, the half
that does not go on to college from high
school. College gives youth a slower tran-
sition to adulthood; it provides a “safe
haven to experiment with a variety of
adult behaviors, values, and life styles;
the developmental opportunities pro-
vided by this privilege are not well
explored, but that half of the population
not attending college may be missing
more than continued academic achieve-
ment” (Sherrod, Haggerty, and Feather-
man, 1993, p. 219).
The presence of a safe haven may be
quite useful for adolescents making the
transition to young adulthood. If there
were problems of personal adjustment
and/or of social relationships in high
school, the transition to adulthood might
provide an opportunity to get back on
track.
For example, in a study of students ran-
domly selected from three public schools
in the Boston, Massachusetts, area, Susan
Gore and colleagues found that relations
with parents improved across the transi-
tion to adulthood, and these enhanced
relations were associated with lower
depressed mood and less delinquency
among the youth. In addition, and also
suggestive of using the transition to
adulthood to get back on a healthy devel-
opmental track, among high school grad-
uates prior mental health and behavior
Transition to Young Adulthood 771
problems were not substantially related
to posttransition mental and behavioral
functioning, suggesting that graduation
from high school may have given youth
the chance to break away from the trou-
bles of their past.
However, not all explorations of possi-
ble life tracks during the transition to
young adulthood might be beneficial to
youth. One problematic path is having
babies out of wedlock. Not only are poor
women more likely to have such births
but also out-of-wedlock childbearing dur-
ing late adolescence is associated with
poverty after the transition to parenthood.
On the other hand, the presence of
developmental problems, even chronic
ones, need not preclude the achievement
of a successful transition to young adult-
hood. A large national study by Steven
Gortmaker and colleagues provides a dra-
matic illustration of this point. Of the
youth who participated in the study, 1.9
percent were identified as having a
chronic physical health condition be-
tween the ages of fourteen and twenty-
one years. These conditions involved such
disorders as asthma, anomalies of the
spine, diabetes mellitus, rheumatoid
arthritis, epilepsy, cerebral palsy, scolio-
sis, congenital heart anomalies, eye, lower
limb, or foot anomalies, muscular dystro-
phy, and sickle-cell anemia. Although
youth who had very severe chronic health
conditions had substantial limitations in
their transitions to adulthood, such
severely debilitating conditions were rare.
The great majority of chronically physi-
cally challenged youth made successful
transitions to adulthood.
Getting back on track during the transi-
tion to young adulthood may be influ-
enced by events in earlier developmental
periods, that is, by the antecedents of the
772 Transition to Young Adulthood
transition. In turn, the degree to which the
person functions well during the transi-
tion to young adulthood has consequences
for behavior and development in later life.
In regard to the antecedents of behavior
during the transition to young adulthood,
in a twenty-year follow-up of the children
of African American teenage mothers,
Jeanne Brooks-Gunn and colleagues stud-
ied the factors related to success in com-
pleting high school and in pursuing edu-
cation beyond high school. Among the
participants in the study, 37 percent had
dropped out of high school, 46 percent had
completed high school, and 17 percent
had gone on to postsecondary education.
Completion of high school was associated
with the number of years the father was
present in the life of the girl, high mater-
nal educational aspirations in the child’s
first year of life, being prepared for school,
and not repeating a grade in elementary
school. In turn, continuing education
beyond high school was related to few
years on welfare, high cognitive ability in
preschool, attending a preschool, and no
grade failures in elementary school.
Research has found that failure to com-
plete high school is associated with psy-
chological dysfunction in young adult-
hood. In addition, unemployment during
the transition to adulthood is related to a
greater tendency to pursue gender-typical
adult roles. For instance, young women
who are unemployed during the transition
have a higher probability than do other
women of staying at home with children.
In addition to behaviors associated with
high school completion and employment
during the transition, behaviors associ-
ated with interpersonal relationships dur-
ing this period can have later-life influ-
ences. For example, Allan Horowitz and
Helen White found that cohabitation dur-
ing the transition to young adulthood
may be linked to some later-life prob-
lems. In their longitudinal study of
unmarried young adults who were
assessed when they were eighteen,
twenty-one, or twenty-four years of age
and then retested seven years later, when
they were twenty-five, twenty-eight, or
thirty-one years old, respectively, cohabi-
tation during the first assessment period
was not related to depression at the time
of the second assessment. However, men
who had cohabited during the first assess-
ment reported more alcohol problems
than did men who were single or married
at the time; similarly, women who had
cohabited reported more alcohol prob-
lems than did women who were married
during the first assessment.
On a more positive note, having chil-
dren or being married during the transi-
tion to adulthood is associated with hav-
ing family-related goals. The presence of
these goals is related to both additional
transitions in the family (e.g., having addi-
tional children) and feelings of well-being.
As is true for other aspects of youth
development, the family appears to have
a major influence on the nature of the
transition to young adulthood and, as
well, on behavior later in adult life. For
example, a more prestigious vocational
background of grandparents is related to
higher educational levels among parents,
which, in turn, is associated with both
greater high school academic success and
the attainment of gender-atypical careers.
Educational attainment and healthy
ego development in young adulthood are
related to mothers and fathers behaving
in ways that both promote autonomy in
their adolescents and maintain their
relatedness to the family. Youth who
come from relatively small, intact, mid-

dle-class families, where parents main-
tain the expectation for success of their
children, attain more education and
higher prestige jobs in young adulthood
than do peers from other types of families.
In addition, parents who encourage their
children to pursue education beyond high
school, and who encourage both the
autonomy of their young adult children
and their continuing relationship with
them, are more likely to have youth who
complete high school and who have bet-
ter educational attainment and higher
occupational prestige in young adulthood.
Researchers have also found that indi-
viduals who, as adolescents, had parents
who granted autonomy to them are more
psychologically healthy as young adults,
for example, in regard to feelings of con-
trol and adjustment. Moreover, in such
families, relationships between young
adults and their parents tend to become
more positive over time. Indeed, as young
adults makes transitions to marriage, to
full-time employment, and even to
cohabitation (but not to parenthood),
relationships with parents become closer,
more supportive, and less conflicted.
On the other hand, family conflict or
poor parenting practices during the late
adolescent period are often related to
both problematic parent-child relations
and to negative behavioral or emotional
outcomes in young adulthood. Feelings
of well-being among young adults are
lower in families that are characterized
by marital conflict.
Young adults do not generally receive
help from parents involved in low-qual-
ity marriages; in addition, divorce lowers
help between fathers and young adults,
although not between mothers and
young adults. Similarly, low maternal
communication and problem-solving
Transition to Young Adulthood 773
ability and high maternal depression in
adolescence are linked to delinquency
during the transition to young adulthood.
High levels of maternal problem-solving
skills and the absence of maternal
depression are linked to lower rates of
delinquency during this transition.
Clearly, the transition to young adult-
hood is not easy. This transition chal-
lenges the young person to keep the
course of his development on a healthy
path, or, if it is off course, the period rep-
resents an opportunity to find a healthy
path. The person leaving the period of
adolescence and entering young adult-
hood must find a way to exit the world of
adolescence—a world defined in large
measure by the culture of high school—
and enter the realm of adults—a context
defined in the main by commitment to
work and career.
Richard M. Lerner
Jacqueline V. Lerner
See also Autonomy; Career Development;
College; Decision Making; Ethnocen-
trism; Mentoring and Youth Develop-
ment; Rites of Passage; Vocational
Development
References and further reading
Aquilino, William S. 1997. “From
Adolescence to Young Adult: A
Prospective Study of Parent-Child
Relations during the Transition to
Adulthood.” Journal of Marriage and
Family 59: 670–686.
Best, Karin M., Stuart T. Hauser, and
Joseph P. Allen. 1997. “Predicting Young
Adult Competencies: Adolescent Parent
and Individual Influences.” Journal of
Adolescent Research 12, no. 1: 90–112.
Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne, Guang Guo, and
Francis F. Furstenberg. 1993. “Who
Drops Out of and Continues beyond
High School? A 20-Year Follow-Up of
Black Urban Youth.” Journal of
Research on Adolescence 3, no. 3:
271–294.
774 Transitions of Adolescence
Gore, Susan, Robert H. Aseltine, and Mary
Ellen Colten. 1993. “Gender, Social-
Relational Involvement, and
Depression.” Journal of Research on
Adolescence 3, no. 2: 101–125.
Gortmaker, Steven L., Charles A. Salter,
D. K. Walker, and William R. Dietz.
1990. “The Impact of Television
Viewing on Mental Aptitude and
Achievement: A Longitudinal Study.”
Public Opinion Quarterly 54: 594–604.
Hammer, Torild. 1996. “Consequences of
Unemployment in the Transition from
Youth to Adulthood in Life Course
Perspective.” Youth & Society 27, no. 4:
450–468.
Horowitz, Allan V., and Helen R. White.
1998. “The Relationship of
Cohabitation and Mental Health: A
Study of Young Adult Cohort.” Journal
of Marriage and the Family 60:
505–514.
Klein, Karla, Rex Forehand, Lisa
Armistead, and Patricia Long. 1997.
“Delinquency during the Transition to
Early Adulthood: Family and Parenting
Predictors from Early Adolescence.”
Adolescence 32: 203–219.
Lerner, Richard M. In press. Adolescence:
Development, Diversity, Context, and
Application. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice-Hall.
Nummenmaa, Anna R., and Tapio
Nummenmaa. 1997. “Intergenerational
Roots of Finnish Women’s Sex-Atypical
Careers.” International Journal of
Behavioral Development 21, no. 1:
1–14.
Sherrod, Lonnie R., Robert J. Haggerty, and
David L. Featherman. 1993. “Late
Adolescence and the Transition to
Adulthood.” Journal of Research on
Adolescence 3: 217–226.
Sullivan, Mercer L. 1993. “Culture and
Class as Determinants of Out-of-
Wedlock Childbearing and Poverty
during Late Adolescence. Journal of
Research on Adolescence 3, no. 3:
295–316.
Transitions of Adolescence
Often, a transition refers to movement
from one stage or state to another and
where movement also involves change or
growth. Adolescents experience transi-
tions in a number of areas: physically/bio-
logically, cognitively, socially, and emo-
tionally. Although changes in all of these
areas are normative, or are expected to
occur around particular ages, it is also
true that not everyone changes in exactly
the same way or at the same rate.
The beginning of adolescence is marked
by puberty, the biological changes that
lead to physical growth and sexual matu-
ration. On the average, girls tend to reach
puberty about two years earlier than boys.
Physical growth includes overall increase
in height and weight; however, different
parts of the body grow at different rates.
For example, hands, feet, and legs usually
show sooner and faster growth (also
known as “growth spurts”), followed by
growth of the torso. Physical growth is
triggered by a growth hormone released
by the pituitary gland, located at the base
of the brain.
Sexual maturation is controlled by sex
hormones; although estrogen is usually
thought of as a female hormone and
androgens as male hormones, everyone
possesses both, but in different amounts.
In females, the ovaries produce estrogen,
which triggers menarche (the first men-
strual period); growth of pubic and under-
arm hair; development of breasts; and the
maturation of female reproductive organs.
In males, the testes release testosterone,
which triggers spermarche (the first pro-
duction of sperm); growth of pubic, body,
and facial hair; muscle growth; and matu-
ration of male reproductive organs. For
both males and females these changes
carry, as well, an increase in sex drive.
Not everyone physically matures at
the same rate. When adolescents mature
much earlier or much later than their

peers it can cause some distress or self-
consciousness. Some studies have shown
that the effects of early and late matura-
tion can differ for males and for females.
For example, early-maturing girls are
often found to have less positive body
images and feel more self-consciousness
than later-maturing girls. On the other
hand, it is late-maturing boys who expe-
rience less positive body images and
increased self-consciousness.
Adolescents also experience cognitive
transitions. Cognitive processes have to
do with how we come to know and think
about things. For example, adolescents
begin to think more in terms of possibili-
ties. This can include all the possible
ways of solving a problem in the present
or all the possible avenues one can pursue
in terms of college and/or career in the
future. In general, adolescents become
more capable of logical and abstract
thinking; can formulate and test hypothe-
ses or ideas mentally; use more effective
strategies for studying and remembering
class material; and can plan, monitor, and
evaluate the steps they take in solving a
problem. Adolescents become more capa-
ble of questioning and evaluating the
nature and quality of relationships, polit-
ical and social issues, religious beliefs,
cultural values, and so on. So not only do
adolescents begin to think about different
things, they also begin to think about
things differently.
In school this may become evident as
adolescents begin to show increased
capability for grasping more complex
mathematical and scientific concepts,
understanding the underlying meaning of
a poem or short story, thinking more crit-
ically about what they read and hear, and
engaging in intellectual discussions. At
home, cognitive growth may be evident
Transitions of Adolescence 775
in the questioning of parental rules and
practices or in the experience of “argu-
ment for argument’s sake.” The adoles-
cent’s need to question and discuss, in
combination with the increased need for
freedom and independence, can lead to
parent-adolescent conflict and tension,
but can also lead to increased mutual
awareness and understanding—parents
can come to appreciate their son or
daughter’s increasing maturity and inde-
pendence, and adolescents can come to
appreciate their parents’ values and rea-
sons for certain practices. Typical parent-
adolescent discussions about rules and
independence often center on such issues
as curfew, attendance at particular social
events, whom one can date, and the like.
Although mutual understanding does not
necessarily lead to agreement, in the best
of moments it can lead to healthy com-
promise and mutual acceptance.
Cognitive transitions not only include
how adolescents think about and
approach the world around them but also
how they think about themselves. Ado-
lescents grow in their capacity for intro-
spection. That is, they can think about
their own thoughts and feelings in ways
they could not do as children. The ability
to reflect on one’s own thoughts and feel-
ings, in combination with the physical
and biological changes described above,
can lead adolescents to see themselves as
the focus of other people’s attention and
interest. Psychologists refer to this ten-
dency as imaginary audience, when the
adolescent feels that everyone is looking
at him or her. This, in turn, can lead ado-
lescents to become quite self-conscious,
making them more sensitive to critical
remarks from teachers and parents, espe-
cially when criticism occurs in front of
others. Even remarks intended as helpful
776 Transitions of Adolescence
recommendations on the part of adults
can be interpreted by adolescents as neg-
ative criticism.
The idea that others are focused on
them can also lead many adolescents to
develop an opinion of themselves as so
special and unique that others could
never understand what they are thinking,
feeling, and going through. Psychologists
refer to this belief as the personal fable.
The personal fable also includes the feel-
ing that one is invincible, or that certain
things “will never happen to me,” which
can lead to increased risk taking. This
belief is reflected, for example, in such
behavior as unprotected sex or reckless
driving.
There are several aspects of social and
emotional transitions as well that become
important for adolescents. The amount of
time and attention directed toward family
decreases, while the amount of time and
attention directed toward peers increases.
Peers include one’s immediate circle of
close friends, the larger group of age-
mates, and relationships with members of
the opposite sex. Regardless of type, peer
relations can affect, to varying degrees,
one’s self-esteem and one’s sense of
belonging.
During adolescence, friendships begin
to deepen and take on a quality of inti-
macy. When people enjoy psychological
intimacy they are able to share their
innermost thoughts, feelings, and dreams
with each another. For the adolescent
this intimacy can include feeling com-
fortable just being oneself without wor-
rying too much about what the other per-
son will think; working out problems
regarding teachers, parents, or other
peers; and dealing with stressful events
or circumstances. By their very nature,
relationships possessing an intimate
quality tend to be far fewer in number
than the relationships one has with the
wider peer group.
The larger peer group consists of those
whom one encounters at school or in
social gatherings. Although the larger
peer group may include intimate friend-
ships, it is neither likely nor possible that
all members of the peer group are inti-
mate friends. The peer group, however,
does take on increased importance for
adolescents, such that it matters what
others think and say about them. The
experiences of peer pressure and con-
formity are largely tied to this sensitivity
to peer perception and evaluation. This
does not mean that parents or significant
adults have no influence on an adoles-
cent’s thinking or decisions. Rather,
adults and peers influence different
aspects of life. For example, parents and
adults tend to impact basic values, edu-
cational plans, and career goals, whereas
peers tend to have a greater impact on
short-term choices such as dress, music,
and friends. The persistent concern,
among adults, centers around short-term
choice that can lead to long-term conse-
quences (e.g., drinking and driving,
unprotected sex that results in pregnancy
or sexually transmitted disease, arrest for
possession of drugs).
Regarding relationships with the oppo-
site sex, sexual interest is largely initi-
ated by hormonal changes, but the actual
beginning of dating is regulated by the
social and cultural expectations and
norms of both one’s peer group and one’s
family background. When dating first
begins it can have more to do with social
strategizing (e.g., whom to date, who will
know or see them together, how to han-
dle the good-night kiss) than with
romance or companionship.
As adolescents become more experi-
enced in dating, their social skills

improve, and they become increasingly
more comfortable with themselves and
the date situation. As they become more
mature, adolescents begin to date people
they want to be with more than people
they want to be seen with; however, dif-
ferent people date for different reasons,
including fun, status, companionship,
sexual experimentation, and intimacy.
Experiences of disappointment or hurt
often stem from two people dating for
different reasons: for example, one person
may date in the hope of achieving inti-
macy and the other for the purpose of
sexual experimentation.
Along with the social and emotional
transitions described so far, the adoles-
cent begins to ponder such questions as,
“Who am I?” and “Who do I want to be?”
These are quite significant questions
regarding one’s identity. Identity does not
simply consist of the adjectives one
might use in describing oneself. Rather,
there are several aspects of identity that
an adolescent may need to explore and
integrate—academic, social, sexual, polit-
ical, religious. Exploration and integra-
tion take place over time and result in the
young person’s increasing ability to make
commitments to ideologies (or the values
and beliefs that guide one’s actions),
occupation, and relationships.
Regarding this process there are a few
important points to bear in mind: (1)
Choices and commitments should be
self-chosen. For example, one should go
to medical school because one wants to
help people get well and not simply
because one’s mother is a doctor. (2)
What one aspires to in the future should
have some basis in a current reality. For
example, if one is five feet tall a future in
professional basketball is not a likely
possibility, and one may need to be satis-
fied with recreational basketball and pur-
Transitions of Adolescence 777
suing a career in some other area of inter-
est. (3) Adolescence marks neither the
beginning nor the end of the identity
development process. Rather, we bring
with us the lessons, values, and experi-
ences gained during childhood and con-
tinue to adjust our desires and expecta-
tions well into adulthood. (4) Identity
requires a balance between being con-
nected with others and being one’s own
person. For example, one may weigh the
advice of parents and friends, yet ulti-
mately make a decision on the basis of
one’s own reflection and judgment.
For some adolescents the period of
exploration can be cut short when adult
roles and responsibilities are taken on
before the end of adolescence, for exam-
ple, by starting a family or entering the
full-time workforce before or immedi-
ately following graduation from high
school. The college experience often
opens a new world of possibilities, thus
leading a person to rethink choices made
only a semester or a year earlier.
In the United States adolescents are
confronted with several points at which
they are granted partial adult status by
society. For example, at thirteen an ado-
lescent may be responsible for the care
and well-being of younger siblings; at six-
teen he begins to drive and may get a job
after school; at around eighteen he/she
graduates from high school and can vote
and enlist in military service; at twenty-
one he/she reaches legal drinking age in
most states and may marry or be tried as
an adult for a crime at any point during
the adolescent years, depending upon the
state in which he/she resides.
In the United States social transitions
are marked at various points during ado-
lescence; however, there is no formal
way in which U.S. society recognizes the
adolescent’s growing maturity, compe-
778 Twins
tence, and autonomy across the several
areas of transition. Adolescents move
from one situation and set of expecta-
tions to another much more often than
do either children or adults. The many
transitions of adolescence can be facili-
tated and/or complicated by such factors
as the degree to which various settings
confer similar levels of privileges and
responsibilities upon the adolescent; an
adolescent’s temperament (e.g., intro-
verted versus extroverted); level of
parental support and expectation; the
degree to which school offers a suffi-
ciently challenging academic program
and opportunities for exploration of
interests; the extent to which the values
of family and peers resemble one
another; and the presence or absence of
intimate friendships.
Imma De Stefanis
See also Autonomy; Dating; Menstrua-
tion; Middle Schools; Puberty: Hor-
mone Changes; Puberty: Physical
Changes; Puberty: Psychological and
Social Changes; Rites of Passage;
School Transitions
References and further reading
Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne. 1988. “Antecedents
and Consequences of Variations in
Girls’ Maturational Timing.” Journal of
Adolescent Health Care 9: 365–373.
Elkind, David. 1985. “Egocentrism
Redux.” Developmental Review 5:
218–226.
Elkind, David, and Robert Bowen. 1979.
“Imaginary Audience Behavior in
Children and Adolescents.”
Developmental Review 15: 33–44.
Lerner, Richard M. 1985. “Adolescent
Maturational Changes and Psychosocial
Development: A Dynamic Interactional
Perspective.” Journal of Youth and
Adolescence 14: 355–372.
Petersen, Anne. 1985. “Pubertal
Development as a Cause of
Disturbance: Myths, Realities, and
Unanswered Questions.” Genetic,
Social, and General Psychology
Monographs 111: 205–232.
Sebald, Hans. 1985. “Adolescents’ Shifting
Orientation toward Parents and Peers: A
Curvilinear Trend over Recent
Decades.” Journal of Marriage and the
Family 48: 5–13.
Twins
Twins are two individuals born at the
same time from the same mother. Twins
can be either identical (monozygotic) or
fraternal (dizygotic). Identical twins
result when a zygote (fertilized egg) splits
in two within days after conception.
These twins are genetically identical.
That is, they share 100 percent of their
genes. Fraternal twins result when the
mother releases two ova (eggs) that are
fertilized by two separate sperm. These
twins are about 50 percent genetically
similar. Genetically, fraternal twins are
the equivalent of brothers and sisters;
they just happen to be born at the same
time. Therefore, although identical twins
are always the same sex and appear to be
physically identical, fraternal twins may
or may not be the same sex, and they typ-
ically do not resemble each other more
than do any other sibling pair.
Fraternal twins are more common than
identical twins. The frequency of fraternal
twin births ranges from 4 to 16 per 1,000
births, depending upon a variety of factors.
One such factor is ethnicity. For example,
fraternal twins are much more prevalent
among African Americans (16 per 1,000
births) than among Caucasians (8 per
1,000 births) (Berk, 1997). Fraternal twins
are also more likely to be born to older
mothers, mothers who have taken fertility
drugs, and mothers who themselves are
fraternal twins (since this type of twin-
ning runs in families). Because there has

Twins are two individuals born at the same time from the same mother and can be either
identical or fraternal. (Shirley Zeiberg)
been an increase in the number of women
using fertility drugs and the number of
women who are postponing childbearing
until they are older, the prevalence of fra-
ternal twinning is on the rise.
In contrast, the prevalence of identical
twinning across time and ethnicity has
been relatively stable. The prevalence
rate of identical twins is about 4 per
1,000 births. Factors such as ethnicity
and age do not appear to influence this
type of twinning. Moreover, identical
twins do not run in families; identical
twins appear to occur randomly. How-
ever, research using animals suggests
that factors such as late fertilization of
the ovum and temperature changes may
increase the probability of animals hav-
ing identical twins. It is unclear whether
these factors similarly affect humans.
Twins 779
Research Using Twins
A great deal of research has been con-
ducted using twins to determine
whether traits and behaviors are influ-
enced by genes or the environment.
Researchers compare characteristics of
identical twins and fraternal twins.
Although both types of twins are
believed to share similar environments,
identical twins share more of their genes
(100 percent) than do fraternal twins (50
percent). Therefore, if the concordance
rate (similarity) for a trait is higher for
identical twins than for fraternal twins,
that trait is believed to be genetically
influenced. For example, identical twins
have been shown to be much more simi-
lar to one another in personality traits
such as shyness, extraversion, and activ-
ity level than fraternal twins are. There-
780 Twins
fore, researchers believe that these traits
are influenced at least partially by hered-
ity. Twin studies also have shown that
other personality characteristics such as
optimism (how positively a person views
the world), drinking behaviors and alco-
holism, psychopathology (e.g., schizo-
phrenia, manic-depression), and IQ are
all influenced partially by genes. It is
important to realize that these traits are
also influenced by the environment. On
average, genetic influences explain about
50 percent of the variation of these traits
(Santrock, 1992). Environmental factors
such as socioeconomic status, family
relationships, and peer relations may
also play an important role in the mani-
festation of these traits.
Developmental Issues of
Twins during Adolescence
Adolescents are faced with many impor-
tant developmental tasks. One such task
is to develop a stable sense of identity.
Not surprisingly, identity formation may
be much more difficult for twins, espe-
cially identical twins. Some twins may
fail to develop a separate sense of identity
(leading to adult twins who dress alike,
live together, do not marry, and so on). In
contrast, other twins may desperately
struggle with the issue of identity and
attempt to be as different from one
another as possible.
Another important developmental
task during adolescence is the develop-
ment of autonomy or independence.
This task can be thought of as emotion-
ally pulling away from parents and
becoming an independent person. Most
adolescents achieve a sense of auton-
omy during adolescence and begin to
function more independently. However,
this task may be more difficult for
twins, mainly because in order to func-
tion as independent people, they not
only need to achieve autonomy from
their parents, but they also need to
become autonomous from each other.
During adolescence, individuals begin
to spend less time with their families
and more time with their peers. Peer
relationships become more important
as adolescents learn to interact with
larger groups of friends and the opposite
sex. Some twins may opt to forego the
experience of becoming involved with a
large peer network simply because they
are likely to receive a great deal of emo-
tional and psychological support from
their “lifelong best friend,” their twin.
It also may be difficult for identical
twins to feel as though they are a
unique and significant part of a peer
group if their peers cannot tell them
apart. Therefore, as with the struggle
with identity formation, some twins
may consciously seek out different peer
groups, and others may not seek out
peer groups at all.
Another developmental task that
occurs during late adolescence and early
adulthood is the development of inti-
macy or the ability to form close, inti-
mate relationships with others. Unlike
the difficulties that may be associated
with the other primary developmental
tasks of adolescence for twins, this task
may be relatively easy for twins, since
they have experienced the most intimate
relationship with another from birth. In
short, the achievement of developmental
tasks during adolescence may be more or
less difficult for twins, depending on the
nature of the task as well as on the nature
of the individual twin.
Christine McCauley Ohannessian

See also Family Relations; Sibling Con-
flict; Sibling Differences; Sibling Rela-
tionships
References and further reading
Berk, Laura E. 1997. Child Development,
4th ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Clegg, Averil, and Anne Woollett. 1983.
Twins: From Conception to Five Years.
New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.
Twins 781
Freiberg, K. L. 1998. Annual Editions:
Human Development. Guilford, CT:
Dushkin/McGraw-Hill.
Juel-Nielsen, Niels. 1980. Individual and
Environment: Monozygotic Twins
Reared Apart. New York: International
Universities Press.
Santrock, John W. 1992. Life-Span
Development, 4th ed. Dubuque, IA:
W. C. Brown Publishers.
 V
Violence and Aggression
Violence and aggression among adoles-
cents is not a new phenomenon in the
United States. The quantity and severity
of aggressive behavior in adolescence,
however, has undergone change within
the past ten to fifteen years. In 1991, a
report released by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation confirmed statistically that
violent crimes by youth ages ten to sev-
enteen had ballooned during the 1980s
and is still surging upward in the 1990s
(Curcio and First, 1993, p. 242). To under-
stand fully the impact of violence on the
lives of adolescents, it is essential to
understand the many interrelated factors
that contribute to violent behavior.
The American Psychological Associa-
tion cites three main aspects of adoles-
cent lives that contribute to violent
behavior: (1) developmental factors, (2)
social factors, and (3) individual factors.
Developmental Factors
From a developmental perspective, fac-
tors contributing to violent behavior
include inherited and biological factors
and learned patterns of behavior. These
factors can contribute to a pattern of
aggressive responses, conflict, and diffi-
cult interpersonal relationships.
One developmental influence on ado-
lescent violence is child-rearing practices
in early childhood. Parental indifference,
783
permissiveness toward aggression, and
lack of clear behavior limits are likely to
set the stage for the development of
aggressive behavior in adolescence. Nega-
tivism, overly controlling parenting meth-
ods, lack of warmth, and harsh, physical
punishment contribute to patterns of
aggressive and violent behavior and can
lead to long-term aggressive behavior.
Research on aggression indicates that
boys exhibit higher levels of aggression
than girls. One possible explanation for
these gender differences is that aggressive
acts are aimed at damaging the goals that
are valued by each gender group. Boys
tend to exhibit overt forms of aggression
such as hitting, pushing, or threatening to
fight. These behaviors match goals that
are important to boys within the peer
group, such as power and control. Girls,
however, are more likely to focus on rela-
tionship issues among their peers. Aggres-
sive behavior in girls is evident in behav-
iors such as excluding a peer from a group,
withdrawal of friendship, or spreading
rumors. Both forms of aggression are pre-
dictors of long-term social problems.
Additionally, aggressive children know
fewer solutions to social problems.
Research on bullying indicates that chil-
dren characterized as bullies have an
aggressive pattern of behavior based on a
need for power and dominance over others.
A poor self-concept is evident in bullies,
784 Violence and Aggression
Adolescents engage in violence for reasons
relating to their personality, family, peer
group, and community. (Skjold Photographs)
who tend to have feelings of being
unloved, unimportant, and inferior. The
best way to deal with these feelings is by
placing them onto others and gaining
power and control over them.
Social Factors
Social influences on violent behavior are
defined by the attitudes that currently
exist in the larger society. Complex
events or combinations of events in the
environment (in conjunction with indi-
vidual variables) set the stage for displays
of aggression.
On a larger scale, poverty and socio-
economic inequality contribute to aggres-
sive behavior. Poverty and its life cir-
cumstances deeply affect the way in
which people live. In fact, although levels
of violence are high in each of the ethnic
minority groups, it is clear that one’s
socioeconomic status is a greater predic-
tor of violence than racial or ethnic sta-
tus. Also, rates of unemployment are
higher among ethnic minority groups,
resulting in greater levels of poverty.
These factors can damage one’s self-
esteem and lead to family disruptions.
Additionally, limited income prohibits
access to some basic life necessities,
adding to the stress. For these reasons,
residence in urban areas is also a con-
tributing factor to violence. If the area is
characterized by low socioeconomic sta-
tus, discrimination, poor housing, high
population density, and high unemploy-
ment, the feelings that accompany these
conditions (e.g., hopelessness, anger)
increase the risk of exposure to violence.
Another sociocultural influence on
violence is cultural differences. Cultural
membership is not a cause of violence,
but rather increasingly diverse cultures
come together in social, economic, and
cultural contexts that afford easier access
and privilege to some, while excluding
others. An adolescent’s violent and
aggressive behavior should be viewed in
the context of the interaction between
the parents’ culture and the community
and of the adolescent’s assimilation into
mainstream American society. This view
offers the realization that for some ado-
lescents and their families, access to soci-
ety’s benefits is not a reality. Further,
because families in the United States
today are more culturally and struc-
turally diverse than families of previous
generations, an understanding of aggres-
sion and violence also requires an under-
standing of the diverse nature of Ameri-

can society as a system of advantage
based on race and ethnicity.
Individual Factors
The influence of individual experiences
on aggression and violence are also signif-
icant. One example of an individual expe-
rience is relatively easy access to firearms
and other weapons that are more likely to
be owned by deviant youth. The use and
abuse of alcohol and other drugs also
plays a major role in interpersonal vio-
lence. Involvement in antisocial groups
such as gangs increases the likelihood
that a teen will be involved in conflict
and violence. Gangs meet some impor-
tant developmental needs for adolescents
(needs for connection, belonging, self-
definition), but increase the risk of
involvement in violent behavior.
The strongest predictor of a child’s
involvement in violence is a history of
previous violence. To make a reasonable
transition to adulthood, adolescents need
to feel a sense of safety and security, as
well as a sense of hope about their
futures. For these reasons, adolescents
who are victims of violence and conflict
or who live with the chronic pressure of
violence require interventions to decrease
their risk of future victimization and of
future involvement in violence.
Judith E. Robinson
See also Aggression; Delinquency, Mental
Health, and Substance Abuse Problems;
Emotional Abuse; Juvenile Crime; Juve-
nile Justice System; Physical Abuse;
Risk Behaviors; Sexual Abuse; Youth
Gangs
References and further reading
American Psychological Association
Commission on Violence and Youth.
1993. Violence and Youth: Psychology’s
Response. Washington, DC: Public
Interest Directorate.
Vocational Development 785
Arllen, Nancy L., Robert A. Gable, and Jo
M. Hendrickson. 1994. “Toward an
Understanding of the Origins of
Aggression.” Preventing School Failure
38, no. 3: 18–23.
Centers for Disease Control. 1991.
“Homicide among Young Black Males:
United States, 1978–1987.” Journal of
the American Medical Association 265:
183–184.
Crick, Nicki R. 1996. “The Role of Overt
Aggression, Relational Aggression, and
Prosocial Behavior in the Prediction of
Children’s Future Social Adjustment.”
Child Development 67: 2317–2327.
Crick, Nicki R., and Jennifer K. Grotpeter.
1995. “Relational Aggression, Gender,
and Social-Psychological Adjustment.”
Child Development 66: 710–722.
Curcio, Joan L., and Patricia F. First. 1993.
Violence in the Schools: How to
Proactively Prevent and Defuse It.
Newbury Park, CA: Corwin Press.
Gable, Robert A., Lyndal M. Bullock, and
Dana L. Harader. 1995. “Schools in
Transition: The Challenge of Students
with Aggressive and Violent Behavior.”
Preventing School Failure 39: 29–34.
Olweus, Dan. 1993. Bullying at School:
What We Know and What We Can Do.
Cambridge, MA: Blackwell.
Slee, Phillip T. 1993. “Bullying: A
Preliminary Investigation of Its Nature
and the Effects of Social Cognition.”
Early Child Development and Care 87:
47–57.
Soriano, Marcel, Fernando L. Soriano, and
Evelia Jimenez. 1994. “School Violence
among Culturally Diverse Populations:
Sociocultural and Institutional
Considerations.” School Psychology
Review 2: 216–235.
Spivek, Howard, Alice J. Hausman, and
Deborah Prothrow-Stith. 1989.
“Practitioners’ Forum: Public Health
and the Primary Prevention of
Adolescent Violence: The Violence
Prevention Project.” Violence and
Victims 4: 203–212.
Vocational Development
One of the main tasks that teenagers face
is to prepare themselves for the world of
work. This preparation includes learning
786 Vocational Development
about themselves and about occupations.
Researchers and educators refer to these
tasks as vocational development. Voca-
tional development during childhood and
adolescence has far-reaching implica-
tions for an individual’s future income,
socioeconomic status, social relation-
ships, and prestige in the community.
Moreover, there is considerable evidence
to suggest that, to a large extent, individ-
uals define themselves through their
occupation. This process of self-defini-
tion is often described as vocational iden-
tity development.
Not every adolescent experiences
vocational development in the same way
or at the same time. Variations are the
result of gender and individual differ-
ences in interests, values, abilities, and
opportunities. Looking at sex differences,
it is readily apparent that the job aspira-
tions of boys and girls are often quite dif-
ferent. This can be traced to the sex role
stereotyping of occupations, which is a
process whereby society determines
which occupations are appropriate for
males and females. This process has pro-
found effects on the distribution of males
and females within occupational group-
ings. For example, in the United States
females dominate in nursing, while
males dominate in auto mechanics. Sex
role stereotyping of occupations may
reduce the occupational options available
to males and females, in spite of signifi-
cant efforts that have been made in the
media and in schools to reduce its detri-
mental impact. Although efforts to
reduce sex role stereotyping have been
directed mainly toward encouraging girls
and young women to explore and enter
male-dominated occupations, efforts
have also been made to get boys to enter
female-dominated fields.
As children and adolescents observe
the world around them they learn about
various features of different occupations.
As a consequence of this and other forms
of learning, which occur both within and
outside of the family, they develop voca-
tional interests. At first these may be
fairly undifferentiated, with boys often
choosing either stereotypic male occupa-
tions or the occupations of their fathers,
and girls choosing stereotypic female
occupations or the occupations of their
mothers. With increasing maturity and
more extensive exposure to the world of
occupations, interests become more dif-
ferentiated and are thought to reflect the
individual’s personality.
The most prominent instrument to
assess vocational interests is Holland’s
Self-Directed Search (SDS). It provides a
means for individuals to explore their
interests and their competencies and to
match them against occupations that are
known to favor individuals with similar
characteristics. The SDS partitions the
world of work and the individual’s per-
sonality into six dimensions: realistic,
investigative, artistic, social, enterprising,
and conventional. Upon completing the
SDS, an individual can identify where she
best fits within the world of work. Exam-
ples of realistic occupations include auto
mechanic and farmer; investigative occu-
pations include biologist and physicist;
artistic occupations include musician and
journalist; social occupations include
clinical psychologist and high school
teacher; enterprising occupations include
salesperson and small business owner;
and conventional occupations include
bank teller and accounting clerk.
Occupational choices are also depen-
dent on the values that individuals hold.
For example, having a great deal of

money is most important for some peo-
ple, while others place priority on help-
ing others. Moreover, as adolescents
progress through their education and as
they acquire firsthand experience in the
world of work through part-time jobs,
they realize that they are able to excel in
some areas but not in others. Thus, indi-
viduals who do well in mathematics are
more likely to choose engineering as
their occupation than those who do not,
and those who like socializing choose
occupations that enable them to have
more interactions with people.
Our discussion thus far has empha-
sized that vocational development
involves multiple processes that ulti-
mately lead to an occupational career.
The formal beginning of such a career is
an initial occupational choice. The
majority of young adults, a generation
ago, would have viewed such an initial
occupational choice as a long-term com-
mitment. In today’s fast-paced occupa-
tional world that is shaped by rapid tech-
nological advances, however, initial
occupational choices are often temporary
and superseded by other choices down
the road. It is thus increasingly impor-
tant for teenagers to understand and
appreciate the complex processes of voca-
tional development and to master the
skills involved in making good occupa-
tional choices.
In an ideal world, adolescents can
choose the occupation that best reflects
their abilities, interests, and values. Un-
fortunately, however, the opportunities
for making such a choice are unevenly dis-
tributed in the United States and even
more so in the rest of the world. There-
fore, as adolescents begin to develop occu-
pational preferences, it is important that
they become aware of the opportunities as
Vocational Development 787
well as the limitations created by their
own behavior, by their family and their
community, and, more generally, by soci-
ety. They often face the challenge of trying
to realize their occupational preferences in
a context that may not be supportive of
their intentions. Therefore, in predicting a
particular adolescent’s vocational path,
one must consider the complex interac-
tions between the developing person and
the contexts within which he is attempt-
ing to build an occupational future.
Vocational development represents
both peril and opportunity. Teenagers
who invest time and effort in exploring
the world of occupations and work, on
the one hand, and their own competen-
cies, interests, and values, on the other,
are most likely to end up choosing a
career path that allows them to prosper
both psychologically and materially.
Teenagers who do not attend to these
important issues tend to flounder in
school and to experience uncertainty and
confusion regarding their vocational
identity. Vocational identity, in turn,
plays a central role in teenagers’ develop-
ing sense of identity in many other life
domains, including relationships with
others, religion, and politics. Because
work is such a central part of the human
experience, it is important that parents,
educators, and other professionals facili-
tate adolescents’ transition from adoles-
cence to adulthood and from school to
work by serving as positive role models
and as facilitators of adolescents’ voca-
tional development.
Fred W. Vondracek
Erik J. Porfeli
See also Apprenticeships; Career Develop-
ment; Employment: Positive and Nega-
tive Consequences; Mentoring and
788 Volunteerism
Youth Development; Work in Adoles-
cence
References and further reading
Holland, John L. 1994. Self-Directed
Search: Assessment Booklet. Odessa,
FL: Psychological Assessment
Resources.
———. 1997. Making Vocational Choices:
A Theory of Vocational Personalities
and Work Environments, 3rd ed.
Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment
Resources.
Sharf, Richard S. 1997. Applying Career
Development Theory to Counseling,
2nd ed. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Vondracek, Fred W., Richard M. Lerner,
and John E. Schulenberg. 1986. Career
Development: A Life-Span
Developmental Approach. Hillsdale, NJ:
Erlbaum.
Volunteerism
Throughout the world Americans are
known for being generous with both
their time and resources. The generosity
of Americans is not limited to adults;
young people each year give of their time
and resources. Like the adolescents of our
earlier agrarian society who worked for
the benefit of the family, youth today
who are involved in service activities are
assuming meaningful roles and respond-
ing to real needs of society, as well as to
their own need to be needed. Service and
volunteering provide opportunities for
adolescents to contribute to society in
meaningful and valued ways. Engaging in
community service empowers teens to
become contributors, problem solvers,
and partners with adults in improving
their communities and the larger society.
The last fifteen years have seen an
explosion of volunteering or community
service among youth both individually or
in groups as a part of school or outside of
school. Approximately 13.3 million
teenagers ages twelve to seventeen are
involved in some form of volunteerism
(Independent Sector, 1996). The impor-
tance of volunteerism as a value of Amer-
ican culture is demonstrated in the fact
that many high schools across the coun-
try are requiring a certain number of
hours devoted to community service as a
part of their curriculum and even as a
requirement for graduation. Scholars have
affirmed the benefits of volunteerism or
community service, but only recently has
research been conducted to provide strong
evidence for those benefits. A few of the
rationales for youth’s engagement in com-
munity service include the meaningful
role it provides for adolescents, the civic
leadership and responsibility it instills,
and the opportunity for age desegregation
through partnerships between adults and
young people.
Volunteerism, Community
Service, and Service Learning
Volunteerism can be defined as people
performing some service or good work of
their own free will and without pay
(with, for example, charitable institu-
tions or community agencies). For exam-
ple, many individuals have volunteered
while growing up through 4-H, scouting,
church youth groups, or other organiza-
tions. Community service is a specific
type of volunteering done in the commu-
nity without any formal attachment to
any specific outcomes of learning. Learn-
ing may take place within the individual
while participating in community ser-
vice, but the focus of community service
programs is on the task and not the
learning. In addition, community service
has been used as a punishment tech-
nique for delinquent behavior of youth
and adults, but that is not what commu-
nity service means in this entry. In fact,

Approximately 13.3 million teenagers ages twelve to seventeen are involved in some form of
volunteerism and many high schools are requiring it for graduation. (Shirley Zeiberg)
throughout this entry the words volun-
teerism and community service are used
interchangeably.
Community service and service learn-
ing are often confused and the lines sepa-
rating the two blurred. Service learning is
developed as part of an educational learn-
ing experience that is predominantly
school based. The service is integrated
into the students’ academic curriculum,
with structured time provided for stu-
dents to think, talk, or write about what
they did and saw during the actual ser-
vice activity. Thus, their learning is
extended beyond the classroom and into
the community. The focus of service
learning programs is on learning within
the individual. The focus of this entry is
Volunteerism 789
on youth volunteering in the community
outside of the parameters of school, thus
on community service and not on tradi-
tional service learning opportunities.
Youth Volunteering
America’s youth continue the long-held
tradition of being generous with their
time and talents. In fact, more than half
of America’s teenagers report volunteer-
ing in 1995 (Independent Sector, 1996).
Fifty-nine percent of teenagers ages
twelve to seventeen donated an esti-
mated 3.5 hours per week and 2.4 billion
hours per year in total (Independent Sec-
tor, 1996). Most youth report engaging in
their community service through reli-
gious institutions, informal contacts and
790 Volunteerism
efforts, youth development agencies, or
educational organizations like schools.
Youth volunteering represents a large
dollar value, when one considers that
their volunteer time is worth approxi-
mately $7 billion.
Youth volunteers are more likely to
participate when directly asked to be
involved. For example, when asked to
volunteer, 93 percent of teens partici-
pated, whereas only 24 percent of the
teens volunteered without being asked
(Independent Sector, 1996). Additionally,
youth who had volunteer experiences as
children, usually through faith organiza-
tions, were more likely to be engaged in
community service.
Community Service
Community service provides youth with
a vehicle that facilitates their ability to
be contributing members of a commu-
nity; volunteering and community ser-
vice have been found to have other posi-
tive influences on youth as well. Social
scientists have found that community
service has a positive impact on the psy-
chological, social, and intellectual devel-
opment of teenagers who participate in
service. Community service has been
linked with enhancement of self-esteem,
growth in moral and ego development,
increased use of critical thinking skills,
and a greater mastery of skills and con-
tent directly related to the experiences of
participants. Indeed, community service
enables young people to gain a height-
ened sense of personal and social respon-
sibility, more positive attitudes toward
adults and others, and more active explo-
ration of potential careers. Moreover,
teens gain a sense of empowerment in
community service when they have the
power to define the problem they wish to
solve and decide on a plan of action. As
noted by Peter Scales and Nancy Leffert
in their comprehensive review of
research, community service and volun-
teering has been associated either
directly or indirectly with all of the fol-
lowing benefits:
• Decreased school failure, suspen-
sion, and dropout; increased read-
ing grades; increased performance;
increased grades; increased school
attendance; increased commitment
to class work; increased effort for
good grades
• Decreased behavior problems at
school
• Reduced teenage pregnancy
• High levels of parents talking with
young adolescents about school
• Increased self-concept, self-efficacy,
and competency; decreased alien-
ation
• Reduced violent delinquency
• Less depression
• Increased moral reasoning
• More positive attitudes toward
adults; better development of
mature relationships; increased
social competence outside school;
increased empathy
• Increased problem-solving skills
• Increased community involvement
as an adult; increased political par-
ticipation and interest; increased
positive attitudes toward commu-
nity involvement; positive civic
attitudes; belief that one can make
a difference in community; leader-
ship positions in community
organizations
• Increased personal and social
responsibility; increased perceived
duty to help others; increased effi-

cacy in helping others; increased
altruism; increased concern for
others’ welfare; increased aware-
ness of social problems
These research findings speak volumes
with regard to the power of volunteering
to positively impact youth’s lives. How-
ever, a word of caution is necessary: Vol-
unteering may bring negative conse-
quences unless it is carefully monitored.
For example, community service may be
an intrusion in the life of the receiver of
services, it may be more of a relief for the
teenage helper than for the helped, or it
may convince the person who is receiv-
ing help of the inadequacy of their coping
abilities and foster their tendency to
depend on others. Thus, care must be
taken when engaging in community
service to be sensitive to the real needs of
those being assisted.
Civic Responsibility and
Age Segregation
Social changes that have occurred over
the past century have led to a movement
toward an age-segregated society, in
which young and old have become dis-
connected and feel isolated from each
other. When young people have little
more than themselves to believe in—and
therefore no hope or optimism—commu-
nity cohesion is greatly weakened.
Engagement in community service
empowers teens to achieve a civic ethic,
to realize that when they contribute to
the community both they and the com-
munity benefit. Service draws teens out
of themselves and provides them hope
and optimism because it allows them to
believe in something greater than them-
selves. By participating in service, young
people shoulder some responsibility for
Volunteerism 791
others and for their communities. There-
fore, participating in service in a commu-
nity, whether that community is a class-
room or a youth group (such as 4-H, Boy
Scouts, or Girl Scouts), provides not only
young people but people of all ages a
chance to be productive citizens.
The movement to an age-segregated
society means too many children raising
each other with little stabilizing input
from adults. Communities can or should
offer intergenerational opportunities to
learn from and share with each other
through community service, opportuni-
ties that are important to the creation of
nonmarket values. Furthermore, com-
munity service allows individuals to
carve out a niche in life where the com-
mon, nonmarket values such as fellow-
ship, solidarity, and social equality can
flourish. Service within a supportive
community allows young people to expe-
rience belonging, rather than being lost
in a bureaucracy.
Community service bridges the gap
between generations. It is a gateway for
mutually beneficial and satisfying inter-
generational interactions that tear down
cross-generational alienation. When teens
are involved in service, the community’s
perception of them changes from seeing
them as the cause of problems to seeing
them as a source of solutions. In addition,
service gives young people the chance to
be around the stabilizing influence of
adults outside of home and school.
As America enters the twenty-first
century, our role as parents and adults is
to develop an ethic of service and lifelong
learning within our youth so that they
will be positive contributing members of
society. This statement is reinforced by
Urie Bronfenbrenner: “No society can
long sustain itself unless its members
792 Volunteerism
have learned the sensitivities, motiva-
tions, and skills involved in assisting and
caring for other human beings” (53).
Daniel F. Perkins
Lynne M. Borden
See also Moral Development; Social
Development; Youth Outlook
References and further reading
Bass, Mary. 1997 Citizenship and Young
People’s Role in Public Life.
Washington, DC: National Civic
League.
Benard, Bonnie. 1991. Fostering Resiliency
in Kids: Protective Factors in the
Family, School, and Community.
Portland, OR: Western Regional Center
for Drug-Free Schools and Communities
Far West Laboratory.
Benson, Peter L. 1997. All Kids Are Our
Kids. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Bronfenbrenner, Urie. 1979. The Ecology
of Human Development: Experiments
by Nature and Design. New York:
Cambridge University Press.
Conrad, Diane, and Dan Hedin. 1989.
High School Community Service: A
Review of Research and Programs.
Washington, DC: National Center on
Effective Secondary Schools.
———. 1991. “School-Based Community
Service: What We Know from Research
and Theory.” Phi Delta Kappan 72:
743–749.
Eckersley, Robert. 1993. “The West’s
Deepening Cultural Crisis.” The
Futurist 27, no. 6: 8–12.
Howe, Howard. 1986. “Can Schools Teach
Values?” Remarks at Lehigh University
Commencement. Bethelehem, PA (May).
Independent Sector. 1996. Volunteering
and Giving among American Teenagers
12 to 17 Years of Age. Washington, DC:
Independent Sector.
Johnson, Lloyd, Jerald Bachman, and
Patrick Omalley. 1996. Monitoring the
Future: Questionnaire Responses from
the Nation’s High School Seniors. Ann
Arbor: Institute for Social Research,
University of Michigan.
Lerner, Richard M. 1995. America’s Youth
in Crisis: Challenges and Options for
Programs and Policies. Thousand Oaks,
CA: Sage.
Perkins, Daniel F., and Joyce Miller. 1994.
“Why Volunteerism and Service-
Learning? Providing Rationale and
Research.” Democracy & Education 9:
11–16.
Scales, Peter, and Nancy Leffert. 1999.
Developmental Assets: A Synthesis of
Scientific Research on Adolescent
Development. Minneapolis, MN: Search
Institute.
Schine, Joan. 1989. Young Adolescents and
Community Service. Working Paper for
the Carnegie Council on Adolescent
Development. Washington, DC.
Sundeen, Richard, and Sally Raskoff. 1995.
“Teenage Volunteers and Their Values.”
Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector
Quarterly 240: 337–357.
Toole, James, and Pamela Toole. 1992. Key
Definitions: Commonly Used Terms in
the Youth Service Field. Minneapolis,
MN: National Youth Leadership
Council.
 W
Welfare
Welfare is a term typically used to refer to
monthly income, and other support serv-
ices given to families with children. Most
welfare recipients are female-headed fam-
ilies with an average of two children. Fam-
ilies on welfare receive a monthly cash
allotment, as well as certain services,
which may include food stamps, Medicaid
(government-funded health insurance),
child care, clothing allotments, and hous-
ing services. Cash benefit levels and addi-
tional services vary state by state. Some of
these services are funded with welfare
money, and some are paid for through
other funds.
History of Welfare
Early welfare programs in the United
States came out of the Progressive Reform
Movement, and were called “Mothers’
Pensions” or “Widows Pensions.” These
“pensions” were funded and run at the
state level, and were meant to provide a
survival-level income to widows and their
children. The goal of these programs was
to enable women to stay at home to raise
their children. In practice, this assistance
was generally available only to Caucasian
women. In addition, unmarried women
and women who had divorced or had been
deserted by their husbands did not qualify
for these benefits.
793
In 1935, as part of the Social Security
Act, Mothers’ Pensions were replaced
with a new federal-level program called
Aid to Dependent Children (ADC). This
program was a government response to
socialist, labor, feminist, and social work
movements of the time. Benefits still
went to families where the father had
died, but were expanded to include fami-
lies where the father had deserted the
family or was incapacitated and unable to
work. The majority of the welfare recipi-
ents in the 1930s were Caucasian, but the
1940s and 1950s witnessed an increase in
minority welfare recipients as more
African American families began to reside
in northern states (which were more
likely to extend benefits to them).
During the 1960s, there was a brief
period in which welfare rights activism
helped many more families to access ben-
efits, and ADC was changed to Aid to
Families with Dependent Children
(AFDC). Efforts were made to enroll more
families, increase benefit amounts, and
destigmatize welfare. Several Supreme
Court decisions during this time period
affirmed welfare benefits as an entitle-
ment. From the late 1960s to the present,
however, people opposed to more welfare
expenditures succeeded in reducing wel-
fare grants, increasing work require-
ments, and emphasizing marriage as a
794 Welfare
preferred alternative to public benefits.
In the 1990s, with the passage of the Per-
sonal Responsibility and Work Opportu-
nity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), the
number of families receiving benefits has
decreased dramatically.
Welfare Reform: The Personal
Responsibility and Work
Opportunity Reconciliation Act
Welfare in the United States has a long
history, but the system that is currently
in place was passed by Congress in
1996. In August of that year, President
Bill Clinton signed the Personal
Responsibility and Work Opportunity
Reconciliation Act. This welfare reform
bill ended the federal entitlement of
individuals to cash assistance under Aid
to Families with Dependent Children,
giving states complete flexibility to
determine eligibility for and level of
benefits. The assistance given to fami-
lies is now called Temporary Assistance
to Needy Families (TANF) and is
intended to provide time-limited cash
aid to needy families with or expecting
children, and to provide parents with
job preparation and support services.
PRWORA requires work in exchange for
public assistance.
The U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services identifies the following
four goals for TANF: (1) Aid needy fami-
lies so that children may be cared for in
their homes or those of relatives; (2) end
dependence of needy parents upon gov-
ernment benefits by promoting job prepa-
ration, work, and marriage; (3) prevent
and reduce out-of-wedlock pregnancies
and establish goals for preventing and
reducing their incidence; and (4) encour-
age formation and maintenance of two-
parent families.
As the stated goals demonstrate,
PRWORA contains statements reflecting
strong moral values about family struc-
ture and reproduction. In particular, it
implies that only married (presumably
heterosexual) couples should bear chil-
dren, that children should be raised in
two-parent, mother-father homes, and
that abortion rates should be reduced.
PRWORA also stems from a belief that
government welfare programs have con-
tributed to an increase in poor, female-
headed families, and that this phenome-
non is the cause of many social problems.
The federal government hopes that
PRWORA will achieve the goals listed
above, but it is uncertain whether it will
be successful. In many ways this is a very
new type of welfare policy with which
the government is experimenting.
AFDC was set up to provide services for
everyone who qualified, and PRWORA
replaced AFDC and other public assis-
tance programs with a single block grant
program, which allots states a capped sum
of money to use for welfare. States now
have more control over the provision of
welfare to their residents, provided that
they adhere to several new federal require-
ments. First of all, TANF benefits are only
intended for families who are expecting
children, or have children under the age of
18, and individuals may receive TANF for
no more than five years in total.
There are also strict work requirements
that must be met by families on TANF.
Single parents with children who are over
the age of five must participate in work
activities for at least 30 hours per week.
Single parents with children who are five
years old and under must participate in
work activities for at least 20 hours per
week. (The federal law permits states, if
they choose, to exempt single-parent fam-

ilies from these work requirements if they
have a child under the age of one.) Two-
parent families must participate in work
activities for a total of at least 35 hours per
week. If the two-parent family is receiving
federally funded childcare, and neither
adult is disabled in any way, the shared
work requirement is 55 hours per week.
The new welfare laws prohibit a number
of people from receiving TANF benefits.
First, TANF benefits are not provided for
illegal immigrant families. For legal immi-
grant families, TANF benefits are withheld
for the first five years of their residency in
the United States. After that, it is at the
state’s discretion whether or not to provide
public assistance. Second, TANF benefits
are not provided for anyone convicted of a
drug-related felony after August 1996.
Third, TANF benefits are not provided for
any person who fails to comply with state
child support requirements. Finally, TANF
benefits may be reduced or denied to any
mother who fails to provide the state with
information about the father of her child. If
she does not cooperate in establishing
paternity, she will lose at least 25 percent
of her benefits.
For teenage parents under the age of 18
to receive TANF benefits, they must live
with their parents, or in another adult-
supervised living arrangement. Adoles-
cents without a high school diploma or
equivalent must also attend school.
Welfare provision varies widely from
state to state. Some states have welfare
rules that are stricter than the federal
requirements listed above, and some
states have received permission to be
more lenient about some of the rules.
Welfare and Teenagers
Although teenagers constitute a small
percentage of the total women receiving
Welfare 795
benefits, adult women who began child-
bearing as teenagers comprise almost
half of the welfare caseload. Decision
makers with strong moral preferences for
two-parent families interpreted these
numbers as a call for federal efforts to
reduce out-of-wedlock pregnancies, espe-
cially for teenagers. Consequently, teen-
agers, specifically unwed teenagers, have
a special role in the new welfare law.
PRWORA includes some strict require-
ments for teenage mothers who are
receiving assistance.
In order to receive TANF benefits,
unwed teenage mothers under the age of
18 must live with their parents, or
another adult relative, or in an adult-
supervised living arrangement. Unwed
teenage mothers under the age of 18 who
have not attained a high school diploma
or equivalent must attend school in order
to receive assistance.
In most states, the school rules simply
require teenagers to attend school. How-
ever, some states have more specific
rules about teenagers and school atten-
dance. In some states, teenagers must
maintain a minimum grade-point aver-
age (GPA); in some states, education and
training other than GED programs can be
counted; and a very small number of
states provide monetary bonuses for
teens who complete a grade of school,
have good attendance, graduate from
high school, receive a GED, or maintain
a high GPA. In most states, there are no
formal criteria for permitting alternative
education.
Despite the special challenges that face
a poor teenager balancing child rearing,
work, and school, they receive very little
support under the new welfare laws. In
most cases, teens do not receive any spe-
cial priority for childcare, transportation,
796 White and American: A Matter of Privilege?
specialized case management, or other
services. In over half the states, no addi-
tional state funds have been provided to
assist teens in meeting the school/train-
ing requirements.
PRWORA also has numerous provi-
sions aimed specifically at reducing
teenage fertility. States have the flexibil-
ity to design any kind of adolescent preg-
nancy prevention program they want
using TANF funds. However, the major-
ity of federal funds targeting teenage fer-
tility tend to emphasize abstinence
rather than family planning programs
that educate teenagers about and/or dis-
tribute birth control.
The federal program has developed
some cash incentives to encourage states
to reduce their out-of-wedlock births.
These incentive programs are based on
improvements that states show in reduc-
ing teenage pregnancy. However, many
states are not collecting the data they
may need to evaluate the success of their
programs for teenage parents. For exam-
ple, many states are not collecting data
on numbers of teenagers living in each
type of housing arrangement (with par-
ents, guardians, adult relatives, other
supervised settings, independently) or
the numbers of teens who are noncom-
pliant with this supervised living rule
and are therefore being refused benefits.
Jessica Goldberg
Jennifer Douglas
Shireen Boulos
See also Poverty; Teenage Parenting:
Childbearing; Teenage Parenting: Con-
sequences; Work in Adolescence
References and further reading
Committee on Ways and Means, U.S.
House of Representatives. 1998. 1998
Green Book. Washington DC: U.S.
House of Representatives.
Levin-Epstein, J. 1996. Teen Parent
Provisions in the Personal
Responsibility and Work Opportunity
Reconciliation Act of 1996.
Washington, DC: Center for Law and
Social Policy.
Nathan, R. P., P. Gentry, and C. Lawrence.
1999. “Is There a Link between Welfare
Reform and Teen Pregnancy?” Rocke-
feller Reports. Albany, NY: Nelson A.
Rockefeller Institute of Government.
Wood, R. G., and J. Burghardt. 1997.
Implementing Welfare Requirements
for Teenage Parents: Lessons from
Experience in Four States. Washington
DC: Mathematica Policy Research, for
the Office of the Assistant Secretary for
Planning and Evaluation, U.S.
Department of Health and Human
Services.
White and American:
A Matter of Privilege?
“White privilege”—trendy catchphrase
or accurate depiction of modern-day
American society? In thinking about
this question, consider the following
scenarios.
• Michelle, age eighteen, goes shop-
ping at Wal-Mart—does she won-
der if the security will keep a close
eye on her as she walks around?
• Todd, age twenty, feels like taking
his parents’ new Jeep Cherokee for
a drive—does he worry that the
police will pull him over, whether
or not they have good reason?
These scenarios have something to do
with how people perceive each other.
And one of the first things people often
perceive is skin color. But if a person is
white, issues of skin color may not be
particularly salient, if thought about at
all. Which means if a person hasn’t con-
sidered what it would be like to be per-
ceived by others based on this very visi-
 White and American: A Matter of Privilege?
ble human trait, perhaps the person sim-
ply never had to do so.
Being white and living in the United
States translates into automatic member-
ship in the racial majority. Not only does
that make it much easier for a white per-
son to blend into society as a whole, it
also translates into tremendous power.
Consider the following: Who is in the
White House? Who controls most big
businesses? Which Hollywood stars
make the most money? In this country,
on multiple levels, white people are
firmly in charge.
The notion of white privilege helps
further explain this reality. Simply put,
being white in the United States affords
certain advantages other racial groups
may not have—like the freedom to walk
into a store without being instantly scru-
tinized by security guards. But perhaps
the biggest privilege is that in this coun-
try, white people, no matter how young
or old, don’t necessarily have to think
about being white—a privilege that may
be taken for granted, even when it comes
at others’ expense.
The more disheartening sides of white
privilege are evidenced in many ways.
For instance, African American adoles-
cents (and males in particular) may be
less confident than white students in
their academic abilities and potential for
school success, especially if African
American students perceive that their
own culture isn’t being given the same
focused attention as white students’ cul-
tural issues. Conversely, the more posi-
tive teacher and parent support African
American students feel they are receiv-
ing, the more likely they may be to con-
sider broader academic possibilities for
themselves.
In direct contrast to these examples of
the flip side of white privilege, consider
797
the twenty-nine-year-old white physi-
cian who experienced all the benefits of
being white right from the start. This
person came from a wealthy family, was
constantly praised by teachers through-
out high school, and was never harassed
by the police for his occasional rowdy
behavior. Does he ever think about how
being white influenced his relatively
trouble-free existence thus far? Not
really, he says—he merely assumed life
would come easy, and it has.
Sometimes white privilege is this glar-
ingly obvious, while at other times, its
effects are subtler and less pronounced.
But where does this sense of privilege
come from? Historically speaking, white
people have been in control from the
moment they set foot on American soil.
Early white settlers, often escaping from
their own forms of persecution, perhaps
believed they deserved to be here, regard-
less of who they may have displaced in
the process. Sadly, with that sentiment
comes the fact that white people haven’t
always considered the well-being of their
nonwhite neighbors over time (slavery
and the treatment of Native Americans
being two of the more blatant examples).
And while U.S. society has certainly
become more multicultural in recent
years, the fact that white people’s tradi-
tional power base may be in danger of
slipping is a source of discomfort to some
people. As proof, consider the growing
number of “white power” hate groups
and their increasing influence among var-
ious demographic groups, particularly
adolescents and young adults whose
value systems are still developing and
changing. Yet even those white people
who have no use for such extremism
may, if they’re truly honest with them-
selves, feel less than enthusiastic about
this country’s increasingly multicultural
798 White and American: A Matter of Privilege?
flavor. After all, when one’s own privi-
leges get called into question, one may
start to feel uneasy, no matter how open-
minded one purports to be. Social psy-
chology literature refers to this phenom-
enon in terms of identification with one’s
own in-group in contrast to an undesir-
able out-group—in other words, an “us”
versus “them” mentality.
At present, the issue of white privilege
is even more important because by the
middle of the year 2000, whites will no
longer be in the racial majority—mean-
ing the privileges they have always taken
for granted may become less secure. So
how can whites better prepare for this
future reality—particularly concerning
their relationships with nonwhites?
First comes awareness—realizing that
if one is white and American, one has at
least some degree of power and privilege
due to skin color alone. And by being
white, one automatically shares in the
societal benefits of all white people his-
torically—again, simply by virtue of
racial group membership.
Along with awareness comes acknowl-
edgement that in a country claiming to
support equal opportunity for all, no citi-
zen should have an advantage just
because of skin color. Next comes
action—the willingness to branch out
beyond the safety of one’s white contexts
to connect with other cultures. The
means by which people make this hap-
pen are certainly many and varied, but on
a basic level could include attending a
nonwhite cultural festival, interviewing
a nonwhite teacher or professor, or talk-
ing to someone about what it’s like to be
nonwhite in the United States. Such
approaches are especially suitable for
adolescents in terms of giving them
meaningful, concrete exposure to non-
white cultural backgrounds. Indeed,
numerous studies over time have proven
that meaningful interracial contact
makes a significant difference in the atti-
tudes one has toward people from other
races—so the more positive experiences
with nonwhite racial groups one seeks
out, the better.
Of course, such a complex issue defies
simplistic solutions. Understanding
white privilege and working to diminish
its downside is no easy task, considering
that white privilege has been entrenched
in American society for hundreds of
years. But only through conscious aware-
ness that such privilege does exist—and a
determined effort not to let this aware-
ness bypass one’s ability (or willingness)
to act—will the situation finally start to
shift. Perhaps then people may begin
appreciating skin color for the diversity it
truly represents.
Jill C. Stoltzfus
See also Ethnic Identity; Racial Discrimi-
nation
References and further reading
Allen, Theodore. 1994. The Invention of
the White Race, Volume One: Racial
Oppression and Social Control. London:
Verso.
Allport, Gordon W. 1954. The Nature of
Prejudice. New York: Addison-Wesley.
Blanchard, F. A., C. S. Crandall, J. C.
Brigham, and L. Vaughn. 1994.
“Condemning and Condoning Racism:
A Social Context Approach to
Interracial Settings.” Journal of Applied
Psychology 79: 993–997.
Delgado, Richard, and Jean Stefancic, eds.
1996. Critical White Studies: Looking
behind the Mirror. Philadelphia: Temple
University Press.
Devine, Patricia G., and Andrew J. Elliot.
1995. “Are Racial Stereotypes Really
Fading? The Princeton Trilogy
Revisited.” Personality and Social
Psychology Bulletin 21: 1139–1150.
Devine, Patricia G., and Kristen A.
Vasquez. 1998. “The Rocky Road to
Positive Intergroup Relations.” Pp.

234–262 in Confronting Racism: The
Problem and the Responses. Edited by
Jennifer L. Eberhardt and Susan T. Fiske.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Eberhardt, Jennifer L., and Susan T. Fiske,
eds. 1998. Confronting Racism: The
Problem and the Responses. Thousand
Oaks, CA: Sage.
Feagin, Joe R., and Hernan Vera. 1995.
White Racism. New York: Routledge.
Kaplan, Elaine B. 1999. “‘It’s Going Good:
Inner-City Black and Latino
Adolescents’ Perceptions about
Achieving an Education.” Urban
Education 34: 181–213.
Sanders, Mavis G. 1998. “The Effects of
School, Family and Community Support
on the Academic Achievement of
African American Adolescents.” Urban
Education 33: 385–409.
Why Is There an Adolescence?
Adolescence as we know and experience
it did not always exist. While the biolog-
ical changes of the growth spurt years
have always occurred and signaled the
onset of the transition into adulthood,
the nature and length of the transition
has been undergoing continual change.
Three broad social forces—the change
from a rural/agricultural to urban/indus-
trial society, mandatory schooling, and
child labor laws—all acted to segregate
children and adolescents from adults and
helped shape the nature of adolescence.
Similar social forces, such as the increase
in the number of two-working-parent and
single-parent families, the extension of
schooling into and beyond the high
school years, and the increasing delay in
entering the workforce, have acted to
lengthen the adolescent years. Improve-
ments in nutrition and healthcare have
resulted in the growth spurt occurring
earlier, thereby extending the onset of
adolescence to earlier ages. As a result of
these changes we have lengthened the
Why Is There an Adolescence? 799
adolescent years by extending them
upward in the age range and by their
beginning sooner.
When we were largely an agricultural
nation children were expected to con-
tribute to the family’s welfare by working
on the farm. The home was the work-
place; children, adolescents, and adults
all worked together. With the spread of
the industrial revolution and the atten-
dant urbanization of the nation, home no
longer was the workplace for increasing
numbers of families. Large numbers of
children “left” the workforce as their
families moved to cities.
Mandatory education plunged most
youth into schools. This established a for-
mal separation of youth from adults and
helped to formalize the role of youth as
one distinct from that of adulthood. It
also acted to increase contact with age-
mates and reduce contact with adults. As
age grading increased, this segregation
became more refined, and younger, mid-
dle-aged, and older children were segre-
gated from each other. Today, the school
is the setting for the adolescent “society.”
Child labor laws were instituted in
part to keep children out of sweatshops,
mines, and factories to improve their
health and well-being. It also further seg-
regated adolescents from adults and
emphasized the idea that childhood and
adolescence were uniquely different from
adulthood.
The formalized separation of child-
hood from adulthood continues today.
The percentage of adolescents living in
two-working-parent and single-working-
parent families has increased dramati-
cally over the past twenty-five years.
Children in these families have reduced
contact with adults after school and dur-
ing vacation times. Similarly, the num-
ber of adolescents seeking postsecondary
800 Work in Adolescence
training has been increasing. For these
late adolescents the entrance into the
full-time workforce also is delayed.
Each society creates its own version of
adolescence. Adolescence in the United
States reflects the desire and need for a
well-educated citizenry as well as other
social factors that act to create it. As our
society continues to change so will the
nature of adolescence and the adolescent
experience.
Jerome B. Dusek
See also Identity; Puberty: Hormone
Changes; Puberty: Physical Changes;
Puberty: Psychological and Social
Changes; Rites of Passage; Transition to
Young Adulthood; Transitions of Ado-
lescence
References and further reading
Bornstein, Marcus H., and Michael E.
Lamb. 1999. Developmental
Psychology: An Advanced Textbook.
Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Crockett, Lisa J., and Rainer K. Silbereisen.
2000. Negotiating Adolescence in Times
of Social Change. New York: Cambridge
University Press.
Dusek, Jerome B. 1996. Adolescent
Development and Behavior. Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Work in Adolescence
Working is an integral part of American
teenagers’ lives. Many people think of
adolescence as a time to have fun and
enjoy a moratorium from adult responsi-
bilities. It is also a time to prepare for
future employment by doing well in
school. However, most teenagers’ daily
schedules involve the simultaneous pur-
suit of both school and work. Eighty per-
cent or more of contemporary adolescents
are employed at least some time during
their high school years. By the twelfth
grade, close to three-quarters are
employed during the school year. More
than half of employed young people
(fifteen- to seventeen-year-olds) work in
the retail sector (in restaurants, fast-food
outlets, grocery stores, department stores,
gas stations, and the like); more than a
fourth are in the service sector (entertain-
ment and recreation, in private house-
holds, health, education, and so on) (Com-
mittee on the Health and Safety
Implications of Child Labor, 1998). In
addition to paid employment, today’s
youth are involved in other kinds of work.
Most teenagers help their families by
doing chores in their homes; many do vol-
unteer or community service work. The
widespread combination of schooling and
working in adolescents’ lives has spurred
a lively controversy, as well as a growing
body of systematic research about the
developmental impacts of working, with
both research and controversy especially
focused on paid work activity.
It is widely believed that employment
is good for youth, contributing to charac-
ter development and positive work val-
ues. In fact, a series of highly prominent
reports and commissions have pro-
claimed the benefits of youth employ-
ment and recommended that there be
closer connections between schools and
workplaces. More recently, many com-
munities have developed “School-to-
Work” initiatives, facilitated by the
School-to-Work Opportunities Act of
1994. American parents generally
approve of their teenage children’s
employment, as they believe that work-
ing fosters responsibility, independence,
good work habits, and time management
skills. In fact, when they look back on
the jobs that they themselves held as
adolescents, parents are nearly unani-
mous in their opinion that employment
was a beneficial experience in their own
lives.

The majority of contemporary adolescents are employed at least some time during their high
school years. (Shirley Zeiberg)
The expectation that paid work will be
beneficial for adolescents is reasonable,
given that most young people, as they
look forward to adulthood, anticipate
that they will be employed and that
working will be a significant part of their
lives. Teenage boys and girls are now
very similar in this regard. Paid work is
the vehicle through which the “markers”
of adulthood are acquired—residential
and financial independence from the
family of origin, the ability to nurture
and support one’s own children, and the
capacity to acquire all the accoutrements
of the desired “adult” lifestyle. Since
Work in Adolescence 801
employment is an integral feature of the
future adult “possible self,” successfully
holding a paid job would likely signify to
the adolescent, as well as to parents and
others whose opinions matter, progress
in moving toward an independent and
highly valued adult status.
Aside from such symbolic significance,
paid employment also conveys quite tan-
gible benefits that are likely to foster sub-
sequent success in the labor market,
despite the relatively low levels of skill
that most jobs for young people entail.
For example, by performing part-time
work in adolescence, the youth learns
802 Work in Adolescence
about how to acquire a job and how to
behave at an interview. The young
worker learns about the daily routines
and how to comport oneself in the work-
place, learning, for example, the impor-
tance of coming to work on time; the
nature of appropriate clothing and
demeanor; and how to relate to supervi-
sors, coworkers, and clients. All of this
will contribute to what is sometimes
called “work readiness,” the capacity to
obtain, and to maintain, paid work. The
young person may also learn specific
skills that transfer to other jobs—for
example, how to operate a cash register
or a computer keyboard—and have
opportunities to apply knowledge that is
learned in school.
In addition to such elements of human
capital, the employed youth also has the
potential to gain social capital. Supervi-
sors in early jobs can provide advice and
act as references for future employers.
Furthermore, since knowledge of job
availability often occurs through informal
networks, the youth may learn of better
employment opportunities through
coworkers or former coworkers. Indeed,
building a network of occupational asso-
ciates may be of great benefit in future job
searches. In view of the salient symbolic
meanings and practical consequences of
work, it is no wonder that most adoles-
cents in America want to work. Given
this motivation and the continuing avail-
ability of suitable part-time jobs, employ-
ment among teenagers while school is in
session, for at least some time during the
high school career, has become almost
universal.
There is, in fact, substantial evidence
that employment in adolescence con-
tributes to early adult occupational and
income attainments. That is, youth who
work during high school more easily
acquire jobs after high school; they have
less unemployment and higher income.
Such gains have been found to persist
nearly a dozen years after high school.
If all of these benefits accrue from paid
work in adolescence, one might wonder
what the controversy about teenage
employment is all about. There is, how-
ever, reason to be cautious about adoles-
cent work. In 1986, the publication of
Ellen Greenberger and Laurence Stein-
berg’s book, When Teenagers Work,
alerted the scientific community, as well
as the public at large, to the potential
dangers of working in adolescence. In
fact, their study of students in four Cali-
fornia high schools showed that those
who worked more hours had lower
grades, were more likely to use alcohol
and drugs, and were more likely to get in
trouble at school. These findings gener-
ated considerable skepticism in the edu-
cational community about the benefits of
working.
Instead of viewing work as enabling
youth to implement positive “possible
selves” as they move toward adulthood,
Greenberger and Steinberg raised the
specter of precocious development, echo-
ing what has become an enduring con-
cern among psychologists since the turn
of the century. That is, the independence
conferred by a job may encourage a pre-
mature adultlike identity and claim to
adult status. Employed youths may begin
to think of themselves as adults, coming
to resent childlike roles that involve sub-
ordination to adult authorities such as
teachers and school administrators. As
their jobs make them less available to
spend time with their families, the qual-
ity of the relationships teenagers have
with their parents could deteriorate. Par-
ents, seeing their children take on adult-
like employment, may be less motivated

(and less able) to closely monitor the
behaviors of their employed teenagers.
Consequently, according to this argu-
ment, adolescents become prone to prob-
lem behavior in school and increasingly
take on adultlike leisure-time activities,
such as smoking, alcohol use, and other
recreational drugs. Instead of investing
their time and energy in school, building
their human capital through educational
achievement, employed youth could
have less time to do their homework and
become less interested and engaged in
the educational enterprise more gener-
ally. There is concern that youth will pre-
maturely withdraw from educational
endeavors in favor of full-time work,
early marriage, and parenthood.
This “dark side” of adolescent employ-
ment has been confirmed, at least in part,
by several surveys that address youth
activities and lifestyles. In fact, the more
frequent alcohol use among teenagers
who work longer hours is one of the most
robust findings in this area of research.
Hours of work have also been empirically
linked to teenage smoking, the use of
illegal drugs, minor delinquency, and
other behavioral problems.
The assertion that investment in paid
work will detract from students’ grades,
however, receives less consistent sup-
port, with some studies reporting that
long work hours are associated with
lower student grades, while others indi-
cate no significant relationships between
hours of work and grade-point average.
Similarly, it has not been demonstrated
that work hours decrease the amount of
time spent doing homework. However, a
large investment in work during high
school predicts fewer years of postsec-
ondary attainment. Still, there is evi-
dence that teenagers who learn to bal-
ance school and working during high
Work in Adolescence 803
school, by working almost continuously
but limiting their hours of work to
twenty or fewer hours per week, achieve
more postsecondary schooling during the
following years then their peers. Finally,
there is no solid evidence that employed
youth have poorer quality relationships
with their parents than their nonworking
counterparts.
In summary, both the “work is good”
and the “work is bad” schools of thought
receive some empirical support. Follow-
ing employment during high school,
youth move more easily into the adult
workforce, achieving more stable employ-
ment, higher earnings, and other positive
vocational outcomes. On the other hand,
those teenagers who work more hours
exhibit more frequent problem behaviors.
But in some arenas, researchers report
null findings—unable to demonstrate
that hours worked either promotes or
detracts from school performance or fam-
ily relationships.
How can these diverse and seemingly
contradictory findings be reconciled? In
some ways, the advocates of both perspec-
tives may be correct. That is, work expe-
rience does confer benefits with respect to
the accumulation of human (and social)
capital, which pay off in the early work
career. As parents note, teenagers who
work may actually become more respon-
sible, more independent, and better time
managers. But as they learn the ways of
the workplace, take on adultlike responsi-
bilities, and often work alongside older
youth and adults, many employed youth
do prematurely assume what most would
consider undesirable components of adult
lifestyle. Some chafe at adult authority
and may act out in school. Thus, as youth
take on a role that so clearly signifies
adult status, they assume adultlike behav-
iors and capacities, some of which are
804 Work in Adolescence
highly approved and others frowned upon,
at least when engaged in by minors.
The context in which youth are
employed must be taken into account,
however, in assessing the developmental
consequences of work. That is, working
in adolescence has different meanings
and outcomes, depending on features of
the broader social environment in which
it occurs. For example, Shanahan et al.
(1996) have shown that in rural and
urban communities, teenagers’ earnings
are used in different ways, and have
divergent implications for parent-child
relationships. Comparing youth in St.
Paul, Minnesota, with their counterparts
in rural Iowa counties, they find that
rural youth are more apt to use their
earnings in ways that contribute to their
families—by giving money to their par-
ents or by spending their earnings on
items, such as school expenses, that
would otherwise be purchased by their
parents. The urban youth were more apt
to use earnings for entertainment and
other more individualistic pursuits,
enhancing their leisure time. Not sur-
prisingly, as earnings increased, relation-
ships between rural parents and their
teenage children became more positive;
earnings had no consequences for the
quality of parent-child relations in the
urban setting.
Likewise, employment during high
school must be considered in the context
of the other activities adolescents are
engaged in. Shanahan and Flaherty’s
analysis of adolescent time use (in press)
shows that most employed youth are
involved in a wide variety of pursuits,
including extracurricular activities in
school, time with peers, and chores at
home. The majority of youth who work
at paid jobs spend about as much time at
these activities, doing homework, and
engaging in volunteer work as their non-
employed counterparts.
In fact, in their analysis the two most
prevalent time use clusters among stu-
dents in the eleventh grade had only one
distinguishing characteristic: In the first,
the youth were employed about seven-
teen hours per week; in the other, the
teenagers were not employed. How can
youth who work so many hours be so
similar to their nonworking counterparts
with respect to their investment in
extracurricular life at school, homework,
chores, and activities with their friends?
The answer to this question is that
employment, and any other single pur-
suit, is not a zero-sum game. There are
many ways that young people can spend
their time, and highly discretionary, less
valuable activities may be the ones that
are sacrificed when time becomes scarce.
Schoenhals et al. (1998) report evidence
that when youth work more hours, they
spend less time watching television.
Though most discussion in the scien-
tific and policy arenas has focused on
adolescent hours of work (an element of
youth employment readily alterable via
parental restriction or even by child
labor law), it should be recognized that
youth who work perform different kinds
of jobs and have varying work condi-
tions. That is, young people may be
employed in schools, hospitals, depart-
ment stores, and landscaping businesses,
as well as in restaurants and a host of
other places. In each locale, there will be
different job tasks, interactions with dif-
ferent kinds of people, and the use of
varying tools and instruments. Some
will have supervisors who take a strong
interest in their work; others will work
without supervision.
What may be most important from the
perspective of the developing teen is

whether the work environment provides
experiences that help them to develop
capacities that enhance their movement
into adulthood. For example, having
advancement opportunities and feeling
that one is being paid well, and thus is
valuable to the employer, builds a sense
of efficacy in the workplace. Having a job
that allows the acquisition of useful
skills promotes positive occupational val-
ues. Alternatively, job pressures resulting
from too much work, or other noxious
work conditions, will generate feelings of
distress and heighten depressive moods.
Thus, to understand the impact of youth
employment, it is important to consider
the quality of the work experience as well
as the time investment in working.
What can parents do to help to assure
that working will be a beneficial experi-
ence for their teenagers? First, it is impor-
tant for parents to monitor their
teenagers’ work so as to be sure that
employment is not squeezing out other
desirable activities or leading to exces-
sive fatigue. As noted earlier, Shanahan
and Flaherty’s analysis showed that most
adolescents are able to combine work
with other pursuits. Working excessive
hours, however, could jeopardize other
developmentally beneficial activities.
Furthermore, parents should recognize
the opportunities that employment pre-
sents for “teachable moments”—encour-
aging youth to attend to the prospect of
future adult work, to consider the kinds
of experiences in the workplace that they
like (or dislike), to think about what tasks
they are good at. Talking with young peo-
ple about their work could help them
become aware of the credentials needed
to obtain the kind of adult work they are
hoping to acquire. Contemporary Ameri-
can adolescents tend to give relatively lit-
tle thought to such matters, in compari-
Work in Adolescence 805
son to their counterparts in previous his-
torical eras or in other Western societies.
With stronger engagement in vocational
issues, teenagers may become able to
make better choices about what courses
to take, in high school as well as subse-
quently, about what college or other post-
secondary institution to attend, and about
the kinds of experiences they should
acquire (including work, internships, and
other activities) that would facilitate
more effective vocational exploration or
enable them to realize their goals.
Jeylan T. Mortimer
See also Apprenticeships; Asian American
Adolescents: Issues Influencing Iden-
tity; Employment: Positive and Nega-
tive Consequences; Mentoring and
Youth Development; Vocational Devel-
opment
References and further reading
Aronson, Pamela J., Jeylan T. Mortimer,
Carol Zierman, and Michael Hacker.
1996. “Generational Differences in
Early Work Experiences and
Evaluations.” Pp. 25–62 in Adolescents,
Work and Family: An Intergenerational
Developmental Analysis. Edited by
Jeylan T. Mortimer and Michael D.
Finch. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Publications.
Bachman, Jerald G., and John Shulenberg.
1993. “How Part-Time Work Intensity
Relates to Drug Use, Problem Behavior,
Time Use, and Satisfaction among High
School Seniors: Are These
Consequences or Merely Correlates?”
Developmental Psychology 29: 220–235.
Carr, Rhoda V., James D. Wright, and
Charles J. Brody. 1996. “Effects of High
School Work Experience a Decade Later:
Evidence from the National
Longitudinal Survey.” Sociology of
Education 69: 66–81.
Committee on the Health and Safety
Implications of Child Labor. 1998.
Protecting Youth at Work: Health,
Safety and Development of Working
Children and Adolescents in the
United States. Washington, DC:
National Academy Press.
806 Work in Adolescence
Greenberger, Ellen, and Laurence D.
Steinberg. 1986. When Teenagers Work:
The Psychological and Social Costs of
Adolescent Employment. New York:
Basic Books.
Mortimer, Jeylan T., and Monica
Kirkpatrick Johnson. 1998. “New
Perspectives on Adolescent Work and
the Transition to Adulthood.” Pp.
425–496 in New Perspectives on
Adolescent Risk Behavior. Edited by
Richard Jessor. New York: Cambridge
University Press.
Mortimer, Jeylan T., and Helga Kruger.
2000. “Transition from School to Work
in the United States and Germany:
Formal Pathways Matter.” In Handbook
of the Sociology of Education. Edited by
Maureen Hallinan. New York: Plenum
Press.
Mortimer, Jeylan T., Michael D. Finch,
Seongryeol Ryu, and Michael J.
Shanahan. 1996. “The Effects of Work
Intensity on Adolescent Mental Health,
Achievement, and Behavioral
Adjustment: New Evidence from a
Prospective Study.” Child Development
67: 1243–1261.
Mortimer, Jeylan T., Ellen Efron Pimentel,
Seongryeol Ryu, Katherine Nash, and
Chaimun Lee. 1996. “Part-Time Work
and Occupational Value Formation in
Adolescence.” Social Forces 74 (June):
1405–1418.
Schneider, Barbara, and David Stevenson.
1998. The Ambitious Generation:
America’s Teenagers, Motivated but
Directionless. New Haven: Yale
University Press.
Schoenhals, Mark, Marta Tienda, and
Barbara Schneider. 1998. “The
Educational and Personal Consequences
of Adolescent Employment.” Social
Forces 77 (December): 723–762.
Shanahan, Michael J., and Brian Flaherty.
In press. “Dynamic Patterns of Time
Use Strategies in Adolescence.” Child
Development.
Shanahan, Michael J., Glen H. Elder Jr.,
Margaret Burchinal, and Rand D.
Conger. 1996. “Adolescent Earnings and
Relationships with Parents: The Work-
Family Nexus in Urban and Rural
Ecologies.” Pp. 97–128 in Adolescents,
Work and Family: An Intergenerational
Developmental Analysis. Edited by
Jeylan T. Mortimer and Michael D.
Finch. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Publications.
Steinberg, Laurence D., and Elizabeth
Cauffman. 1995. “The Impact of
Employment on Adolescent
Development.” Annals of Child
Development 11: 131–166.
 Y
Youth Culture
Youth distinguish themselves in many
ways: dress, hairstyle, makeup, and jew-
elry; music and use of other media such as
film and the Internet; language, recre-
ation, even food and beverage choices.
These distinguishing characteristics of
youth qualify as culture according to the
definitions offered by anthropology and
cultural psychology.
Culture has been defined as the sym-
bolic and behavioral inheritance received
from the past that provides a community
framework for what is valued. Whether
symbolic and behavioral culture should be
distinguished is controversial (Shweder et
al., 1998). Culture is learned, socially
shared, affects all aspects of the individ-
ual’s life, and allows for individual varia-
tion (Roberts, 1993). The view that culture
is learned and is all-encompassing has a
long history in the field dating back to
Margaret Mead and her teacher Franz Boas
(Boas, 1911; Mead, 1961).
Establishing effective communication
with youth requires understanding the
cultural context of their lives (Harper and
Harper, 1999). Contemporary teens grow
up in a world saturated with mass media,
advertising, and communications tech-
nologies. Teens watch television more
than twenty hours per week and listen to
music a similar amount of time. Adver-
807
tising permeates their lives, and maga-
zines are as important as television and
radio; estimates from the Labor Depart-
ment are that teens spent about $141 bil-
lion in 1998 on CDs, sneakers, clothes,
and other products advertised to them.
Estimates are that this figure rose to $160
billion in 1999 (Brown and Witherspoon,
2000). They also influence a sizable por-
tion of the purchases made within the
family, from computers to fruit snacks
(Terry, 1998). Thus, teens are a big market
for business.
A large part of teen culture includes top
hits in TV, music, and movies. Paul Willis
refers to the “common youth culture” of
images, styles, and ideas that teens attend
to in the media (1990). As C. Terry puts it,
“Being cool is both a unifying factor and
an unending quest” for teens aged twelve
to eighteen years (1998). Media products
become a core component of teen culture
and hence a critical ingredient of peer
conversations and social interactions.
They constitute “cultural capital.”
Adolescent researchers have described a
pyramid of teen media use—the media
diet of today’s teen. At the broad base of
the pyramid are those choices based
wholly on the teen culture (including hit
television shows and top ten songs and
music videos). As one progresses toward
the point, individual choices based on
808 Youth Culture

Establishing effective communication with youth requires understanding their culture, which
are the things in their world that are meaningful to them. (Shirley Zeiberg)

taste, age, personality, and demographics
become important (Brown and Wither-
spoon, 2000; Brown, 1999).
Teen work is another aspect of culture.
Teens work at a number of jobs, including
fast-food restaurants, music shops, and
other organizations connected to their
culture. There is a sizable amount of
research on teen work (Stern and Nakata,
1989), but little of it has explored its
interaction with culture.
Hip-hop is one particularly prevalent
form of current youth culture. The ori-
gins of hip-hop lie in the black and His-
panic communities of the inner city in
the 1970s; there are those that argue that
its true source lies in ancient African tra-
ditions (Harper and Harper, 1999). Four
traditions can be noted: break dancing,
rap music, graffiti, and fashion.
Break dancing, a form of movement
that is characterized as full of verve, orig-
inated as a competitive endeavor. It is
highly athletic and acrobatic.
Rap music involves deejaying in which
the person playing the music exercises his
or her selection and sometimes com-
ments on the music. The selection and
order thus become critical aspects of the
presentation. Scratching involves scratch-

ing the record to make a particular noise
that becomes integral to the music.
Hence, these two devices lead to a refor-
mulation that enhances the rhythmic pat-
tern of the music.
Graffiti art predated hip-hop in New
York City. Graffiti art is, of course, art—
designs or pictures, names, and other
symbols drawn on subway cars, bill-
boards, sides of buildings, and so forth,
frequently with spray paint. The now
deceased artist Keith Haring raised this
art to the level at which it became appre-
ciated by the art world.
Hip-hop fashion involves baggy or
loose clothing, sportswear, hooded sweat-
shirts, skull and baseball caps, and faded
denim. Today, major designers such as
Tommy Hilfiger have entered the arena.
Hip-hop is big business today and perme-
ates youth culture, particularly among
minority youth, the fastest growing seg-
ment of the youth population (Harper
and Harper, 1999). Nonetheless, teens’
interaction with hip-hop is poorly under-
stood by academic researchers. What is
its appeal? What is its impact on values
and behaviors as youth make the transi-
tion to adulthood?
Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs is an influ-
ential mainstream trendsetter in today’s
youth culture. He has dominated the rap
music industry and influenced the inter-
ests of youth worldwide. Puff Daddy thus
becomes an important role model, partic-
ularly for minority youth. What message
does he send through his lyrics and
music videos? Sports are another pur-
veyor of youth culture. Youth participate
in sports and more importantly are spec-
tators of professional sports, wear sports
clothes and logos, read sports magazines,
and idolize sports figures. They are
responsible for inventions such as
“extreme sports” that have spread to
Youth Culture 809
other segments of the population. USA
Today has launched a focus on high
school sports to attract teen readers. Per-
haps one reason that figures like Puff
Daddy and arenas like sports are so
important to youth is that entertainment
and sports represent two avenues for suc-
cess for poor, minority youth. Again,
research is needed.
Youth culture has not received much
in the way of serious consideration by
academic scholars of youth development.
Social cognitive learning theory (Ban-
dura, 1996) is one proposed mechanism
by which culture operates through the
media to impact youth. Youth attend to
models such as Puff Daddy or Michael
Jordan and emulate their behaviors, par-
ticularly in their choice of advertised
products such as sneakers and beverages.
Certainly marketers recognize that a
model such as Michael Jordan is impor-
tant to the marketing of their product.
The business world has, in fact, appreci-
ated the size and power of the youth mar-
ket, and has shaped its marketing to
youth on a solid basis of research, but
that research is typically not available to
the public. It is, in fact, proprietary,
although it can be available for a price.
There are a number of interesting
empirical questions needing research.
For example, to what extent does the
market create culture, to what extent
does it mimic it? There are numerous
examples of advertising that intention-
ally pit the youth market against adults
regarding interests and preferences; prod-
ucts range from clothes to chewing gum
and cereal. Do these ads mimic youth
culture or create it through their product
development, based on what they know
from market research to be youth inter-
ests? A second example is the diffusion
of youth culture to the wider society.
810 Youth Gangs
How does an innovation such as the
style of baggy male pants hanging off the
hips become so widely dispersed? This is
a style that originated in inner-city poor
neighborhoods because prisoners are not
allowed to have belts and hence fre-
quently find their pants in this position.
Yet almost all teen boys now adopt this
style, including white, middle-class sub-
urban boys who are academically ori-
ented. Methods such as ethnography
may be particularly helpful in research in
these areas, and in fact the private sector
has relied on ethnography, focus groups,
and other such methods.
Culture is a prevalent and powerful
presence in the lives of youth. We cannot
understand today’s teenagers without
attending to, studying, and understand-
ing their culture. Academic research has
much to learn from the business world
about directing research effort at youth
culture. Strategies need to be explored for
increasing the interaction between the
two communities.
Lonnie R. Sherrod
See also Appearance, Cultural Factors in;
College; Computers; Dating; Ethnocen-
trism; Freedom; Media; Peer Groups;
Rebellion; Sports and Adolescents;
Television; Television, Effects of; Youth
Outlook
References and Further Reading
Bandura, A. 1996. Social Foundations of
Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive
Theory. NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Boas, Franz. 1911. The Mind of Primitive
Man. New York: Free Press.
Brown, J. D. 1999. “Adolescents and the
Media.” Newsletter of the Society for
Research on Adolescence. Spring 1999,
1–2, 10.
Brown, J. D., and E. M. Witherspoon. 2000
(In press). “The Mass Media and
Adolescents’ Health in the United
States.” In Media, Sex, Violence, and
Drugs in the Global Village. Edited by
Y. R. Kamalipour. Boulder, CO:
Rowman and Littlefield.
Harper, P. T., and B. M. Harper. 1999. Hip-
Hop’s Influence within Youth Popular
Culture. Silver Springs, MD: McFarland.
Mead, M. 1961. Coming of Age in Samoa:
A Psychological Study of Primitive
Youth for Western Civilization. US:
William Morrow.
Roberts, D. 1993. “Adolescents and the
Mass Media.” Pp. 171–186 in
Adolescence in the 1990’s. Edited by R.
Takanishi. New York: Teachers College
Press.
Shweder, R., J. Goodnow, G. Hatano, R.
LeVine, H. Markus, and P. Miller. 1998.
“The Cultural Psychology of
Development: One Mind, Many
Mentalities.” Pp. 865–938 in Handbook
of Child Psychology. Vol. 1, Theoretical
Models of Human Development. Edited
by W. Damon and R. Lerner. New York:
Wiley.
Stern, D., and Y. Nakata. 1989.
“Characteristics of High School
Students’ Paid Jobs, and Employment
Experience after Graduation.” In
Adolescence and Work: Influences of
Social Structure, Labor Markets, and
Culture. Edited by D. Stern and D.
Eichorn. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Terry, C. 1998. “Today’s Target,
Tomorrow’s Readers.” Newspaper Youth
Readership, September.
Willis, P. 1990. Common Culture. Boulder,
CO: Westview Press.
Youth Gangs
Introduction
Youth gangs have been a part of Ameri-
can culture since the Bowery Boys began
hanging out on street corners after the
American Revolution. Since that time, a
consensus on the definition of a gang has
not been reached. Although many gangs
today are populated by young people
from neighborhoods that are character-
ized by high unemployment rates and
high educational dropout levels, as well
as a general feeling of hopelessness, not

Present-day gangs are more diverse and complex than gangs of earlier times. In general, gang
members behave in ways that set them apart from mainstream culture. (Daniel Laine/Corbis)
all gangs share an impoverished back-
ground. Today, youth gangs are springing
up in affluent suburbs and in rural areas.
Early definitions of the term gang did
not focus on criminal activity, but rather
on delinquent behavior. Today, since no
consensus on the definition has been
reached, consequently every organization
that comes in contact with youth gangs
has created an operational definition that
suits its own needs. Understandably, law
enforcement’s definition focuses on activ-
ities that are breaking the laws, yet not all
jurisdictions use the same definition. The
only consensus reached is that gangs vary
by activity and membership.
Research in the last decade has pro-
vided varying definitions and characteris-
tics of gangs and their members. Accord-
Youth Gangs 811
ing to Carl Taylor’s research on Detroit,
Michigan, gangs, it is possible to classify
gangs into three categories: scavenger, ter-
ritorial, and corporate. Scavenger gangs
lack a purpose other than their impulsive
behavior and need to belong. They are
loose knit and have no particular goals, no
purpose, and no substantial camaraderie.
For the most part they are immoral but
not criminal. When scavenger gangs
become serious about organizing and set
goals, they move into the territorial stage.
A territorial gang claims territory as being
the gang’s, and their objective is to protect
their turf from outsiders. The final cate-
gory is the well-organized corporate gang,
whose focus is on material gain and
whose gang activities revolve around ille-
gal means of making money.
812 Youth Gangs
The diversity of gangs is also growing
with the rise of rural and affluent subur-
ban gangs. Although gangs may vary in
demographics (i.e., race, ethnicity, income,
sex, age, and so on), some researchers have
concluded that their similarities include
lack of positive role models, low self-
esteem, fear for physical safety, peer influ-
ence, and lack of family stability.
Historical Perspective
The earliest record of gangs in the United
States may have been as early as the eigh-
teenth century, at the end of the Ameri-
can Revolution, 1783. Some of these
gangs were known as the Bowery Boys,
the Smith Vly Gang, the Broadway Boys,
and the Long Bridge Boys. These were
noncriminal gangs who spent their time
hanging out on street corners and having
fistfights with rival gangs.
During the early years after the Civil
War ended, immigration increased for
industrial centers like New York,
Chicago, and Detroit. The Irish, Polish,
Jewish, and Italian immigrants who came
were impoverished, and they formed
gangs based on ethnicity. Due to the
increase in population of the urban areas
and depression in the economy, the gap
between the rich and poor grew wider.
According to Frederick Thrasher, there
were 1,313 gangs in Chicago in the 1920s.
Many, but not all, of these gangs were
ethnic gangs. The increase of immigrants
to urban areas continued throughout this
century. In particular, in the early 1940s,
large numbers of Puerto Ricans entered
New York City. This fact, along with a
growing African American population
from the South, contributed to the large
minority populations in northern cities.
While the Eastern European ethnic
groups were establishing their communi-
ties, Puerto Ricans and African Ameri-
cans became a strong presence.
Racial conflict at this time was clear in
the big northern cities such as Detroit,
where one of the worst race riots in
American history took place in 1943.
Groups of white youth gang members
roamed the city attacking black citizens.
Around the same time in Los Angeles,
the Zoot Suit Riots of 1943 were under
way. In these riots, white residents and
visiting soldiers harassed and beat up
young Chicano men who dressed in the
popular zoot suit style of clothing.
The Watts riots of 1965 had the same
results for African American youths as
the Zoot Suit Riots of 1943 had for Mexi-
can American youth. The outcome was
that due to the media’s negative portrayal
of them, these youths began to see them-
selves differently. They chose to see
themselves as defiant rather than defeated
and to redefine exclusion as exclusivity.
The media began their exaggerated view
of a gangster from this era and can be
blamed for the present-day stereotype.
This stereotype includes the belief that a
gang member is a Latino or African Amer-
ican illiterate youth who comes from a
female-headed household in an impover-
ished urban area. At the same time subur-
ban gangsters are not seen as a threat
because they have been portrayed as liter-
ate, misunderstood youth who come from
intact families in affluent communities.
Historically and currently, gangs in
fact span the spectrum from whites to
blacks, from rich to poor, from literate to
illiterate, from nonviolent to violent,
from noncriminal to criminal, from rural
to urban, from tight-knit organizations to
loosely knit groups. Whether or not a
consensus is ever found on a definition, a
realistic portrayal of the youth gang

member is impossible without a respect
for all people.
Influence of Media
The debate about what constitutes a gang
has been underscored by the portrayal of
gangs and gangsters in the media. Enter-
tainment has become a big business as an
industry that promotes and sells gang-
sters, action heroes, and violence. The
media have been developing a bio-sketch
of a gang member since the Zoot Suit
Riots of 1943 and using it to keep fear of
diversity in the minds of all who are will-
ing to be taken in.
For the past five decades the entertain-
ment industry has had ever-increasing
interaction with our youth. The practice
of society during this time has been to
blame the popular culture (i.e., music,
style of dress, media, cinema, and so on)
for all the ills it encounters. In the 1950s,
popular music was blamed for lowering
the morals of our children. In the 1960s,
communism was said to be idealized by
popular music, and in the 1970s the drug
use of young people was also blamed on
popular culture. In the 1980s, this same
culture was blamed for causing teen sui-
cide and encouraging gang violence. The
1990s blamed popular culture for all the
school violence. Whether or not we can
put the blame on popular culture isn’t
fully known; what is suggested is that pop
culture has had a hand in desensitizing our
youth toward violence and delinquency.
The American cinema has had a long
history of gangster movies. From West
Side Story to the more hard-core portrayal
of criminal street gangsters today, the cin-
ema has literally been a training ground
for gang wanna-bes. Classic movies such
as The Godfather give an excellent exam-
ple of Frederick Thrasher’s evolution of
Youth Gangs 813
street gangs rising from neighborhood
play groups and evolving into successful
criminal street gangs. From the portrayal
of rebelling youth (Rebel without a
Cause, Blackboard Jungle, Wild Ones), to
the portrayal of star-crossed love (West
Side Story), to the portrayal of the hard-
core reality of street gangsters (Menace II
Society, 187, Heat, Boys in the Hood), the
youth of America did not have to look far
for gangster role models.
Society, especially the media, have been
ready to assign responsibility for brutal
acts exclusively to so-called vicious gangs.
But the reality is that gang members are of
all kinds, with only about 10 percent of
gangs being composed of hard-core, vio-
lent constituents. Researchers have found
that most gang members are peripherally
involved in violence, with only a small
percentage of gang members actually
being responsible for the violence.
Gang Myths
In order to properly gauge the gang influ-
ence in a community, one must first
address and dispell popular myths about
gangs. Although there are many myths in
existence today, the following are a select
few that tend to come up often.
Myth 1: All street gangs are turf ori-
ented.
Reality: There are gangs that claim
ownership to a particular territory,
but this is not the exclusive type of
gang. Others include scavenger and
corporate gangs.
Myth 2: Females are not allowed to
join gangs.
Reality: Females are joining gangs in
record numbers. One study of
female gangs showed females in
814 Youth Gangs
autonomous gangs involved in
organized criminal activities.
Myth 3: There are no gangs in my
neighborhood.
Reality: Today, no neighborhood,
regardless of economic status, is
immune to gang membership.
Gangs can be found in rural areas
and suburban areas, as well as
urban areas.
Myth 4: Gang members wear baggy
clothes and athletic team baseball
caps.
Reality: Baggy clothing has become
the “cool” style of dress and not a
uniform that only gang members
wear.
Myth 5: All gangs have a single leader
and a tight structure.
Reality: Some gangs are loosely knit
organizations, virtually having no
leadership.
Myth 6: Gangs are a law enforcement
problem.
Reality: Gangs are a problem for every
member of society, including par-
ents, teachers, and clergy, as well
as police.
Myth 7: I know a gang member when
I see one.
Reality: This statement opens the
door to racism. Using traditional
ideas of gang membership would
mean that only Latino and African
American youths would be tar-
geted. It is important to remember
that youth gang members are
diverse in color, style of dress,
activities they engage in, and eco-
nomic backgrounds.
Conclusion
Historically, youth gangs began as a
group of young people hanging out on
street corners. The majority of these
early gang members were bonded by their
ethnicity. Ethnicity is the common
denominator the media and society focus
on when discussing gangs. Our nation’s
gang problem continues to grow, empha-
sizing the need to stop the cycle of new
members. In order to better address the
needs of youth today, we need to be
aware of the fact that gangs are no longer
an urban issue. Currently we are seeing a
rapid growth of suburban and rural gangs.
The majority of these are not ethnic
gangs. Society needs to change the way it
uses the term gang, taking into account
the fact that gangs are diverse and range
from noncriminal to criminal and from
loosely knit to highly structured; mem-
bers come from diverse ethnic back-
grounds; they experience different rea-
sons for joining; and they pursue different
activities. Youth gangs should be defined
by the behavior that is associated with
gangs and not by ethnic makeup.
Carl S. Taylor
Wilma Novalés Wibert
See also Aggression; Delinquency, Mental
Health, and Substance Abuse Problems;
Ethnic Identity; Identity; Juvenile
Crime; Juvenile Justice System; Peer
Groups; Peer Pressure; Peer Status;
Rites of Passage; Violence
References and further reading
Cromwell, Paul, D. Taylor, and W.
Palacios. 1992. “Youth Gangs: A 1990’s
Perspective.” Juvenile & Family Court
Journal 43, no. 3: 25–31.
Curry, G. David, and Irving A. Spergel.
1992. “Gang Involvement and
Delinquency among Hispanic and
African-American Adolescent Males.”
Journal of Research in Crime and
Delinquency 29: 273–291.

Evans, William P., Carla Fitzgerald, Daniel
Weigel, and Sara Chvilicek. 1999. “Are
Rural Gang Members Similar to Their
Urban Peers? Implications for Rural
Communities.” Youth & Society 30, no.
3: 267–282.
Fagan, Jeffre E. 1989. “The Social
Organization of Drug Use and Drug
Dealing among Urban Gangs.”
Criminology 27: 633–669.
Goldstein, Arnold P., and Ronald Huff.
1993. The Gang Intervention Hand-
book. Champaign, IL: Research Press.
Goldstein, Arnold P., and Fernand I.
Soriano. 1994. “Juvenile Gangs.” In
Reason to Hope: A Psychosocial
Perspective on Violence and Youth.
Edited by Leonard D. Eron, Jacqueline
H. Gentry, and P. Schlegel. Washington
DC: American Psychological
Association.
Huff, C. Ronald. 1990. Gangs in America.
Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Monti, D. J. 1993. “Origins and Problems
of Gang Research in the United States.”
In Gangs. Edited by S. Cummings and
D. J. Monti. Albany: State University of
New York Press.
Moore, J. W. 1978. Homeboys: Gangs,
Drugs and Prison in the Barrios of Los
Angeles. Philadelphia: Temple
University Press.
Osman, Karen. 1992. Gangs. San Diego:
Lucent Books.
Sante, Luc. 1991. Low Life: Lures and
Snares of Old New York. New York:
Vintage Books.
Shaw, C. R., and H. D. McKay. 1942.
Juvenile Delinquency and Urban Areas.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Shelden, Randell G., Sharon K. Tracy, and
William B. Brown. 1997. Youth Gangs
in American Society. Wadsworth
Publishing.
Spergel, Irving A., and David G. Curry.
1993. “The National Youth Gang
Survey: A Research and Development
Process.” In The Gang Intervention
Handbook. Edited by Arnold P.
Goldstein and C. Ronald Huff.
Champaign, IL: Research Press.
Taylor, Carl S. 1990. Dangerous Society.
East Lansing: Michigan State University
Press.
———. 1993. Girls, Gangs, Women and
Drugs. East Lansing: Michigan State
University Press.
Thrasher, Frederick M. 1927. The Gang.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Youth Outlook 815
Youth Outlook
Americans have become increasingly con-
cerned about what they perceive as the
degenerating moral values and behavior of
young people. Supported by a nostalgia for
the past and a litany of statistics on youth
violence and teenage suicide, this view
shapes the way Americans understand
adolescence. Their willingness to believe
in the moral degeneration of youth was
shown last year when police arrested two
boys under ten years old in Chicago for the
murder of an eleven-year-old girl. Ameri-
cans were initially shocked, but quickly
adjusted to the idea. Even after the chil-
dren were exonerated, the media focused
on the complicity of the police, not our
eagerness to believe that two young boys
might commit such a crime. Their will-
ingness to believe may stem from a trend
in the way that adolescents are thought
about and portrayed in the media. Writers,
journalists, and many researchers focus on
the cynicism, despair, and demoralization
of contemporary youth, characterizing
them as hopeless, aimless, materialistic,
hedonistic, even nihilistic. National atten-
tion is paid to adolescents who indeed may
be some or all of these things.
But is this true of most adolescents?
Looking for an answer to this question, we
went into the heartland of America to find
out what adolescents, ones whose voices
are not typically heard in the media, had
to say about themselves and the world
they live in. Our study describes what
these adolescents say when they reach for
their deepest insights into the laws that
govern their lives.
We studied essays written by teenagers
for the Templeton Foundation’s Laws of
Life Essay Contest. Sir John Templeton
began the Laws of Life Essay Contest to
encourage young people to reflect on and
articulate the moral principles and ideals
816 Youth Outlook

essays, the study also reveals what ado-

lescents may need to learn in order to
cope with the challenges of modern liv-
ing and citizenship.

A General Description of the

Adolescents Who Participated
We examined 476 essays from five
schools. The schools were located in two
areas of the country. The majority of the
essays (259) came from two public middle
schools located in a rural section of the
Bible Belt. Most of the students from
these schools come from families of mid-
dle and lower socioeconomic status.
Fifty-two essays were written by students
from a private Catholic K–8 school
located in an urban area. This school
serves an “at-risk” population of prima-
rily African Americans. Of the total
essays, 311 came from these three middle
schools. The two high schools in the sam-
ple were both private religious schools.
One was a long established parochial
Many youth maintain a positive outlook on
school in an urban area, from which 136
themselves and their world.
(Wartenberg/Picture Press/Corbis) essays came. The school is located in a
distressed neighborhood and draws from a
diverse population. Another high school
in the sample provided 29 essays from
that govern their lives. The contest pro- eleventh and twelfth graders. Located in
vides students with the opportunity to an upper-middle-class suburb, this school
forge or clarify their personal moral has a reputation for providing a Christ-
understandings. It asks teens to reflect on centered education. Females wrote 262 of
their intuitions about the way the world the essays; 214 were from males. The
works and encourages them to do their authors of the essays were all between the
best, to test the limits of their wisdom, ages of twelve and seventeen.
and to critically reflect on and support
their positions. The essays suggest trends TABLE 1
in the content of adolescents’ moral Type Ages Males Females Totals
understandings, provide a picture of the Schools Rural/ 12, 13,
spiritual, emotional, and intellectual 1 & 2 Public 14 111 148 259
School 3 Urban/
assets they draw upon when faced with Relig 12, 13 26 26 52
complex personal dilemmas, and suggest School 4 Urban/ 14, 15,
Relig 16, 17 62 74 136
some age and gender differences on these School 5 Suburban/
Relig 16, 17 15 14 29
issues. From what students omit in their

What the Essays Revealed
Six basic themes emerged from the essays:
Responsibility to Self, Responsibility to
Others, Positive Emotional Orientations
to Life and Other People, Spirituality/Reli-
gion, Skepticism, and Outliers. Outliers
are essays that lay outside the first five
themes. (Note that many essays express
more than one theme or law of life.)
Responsibility to Self. First, 42 percent
of the students expressed the wisdom of
feeling or showing deferential regard for
one’s self. The theme of Responsibility
to Self included a range of student con-
cerns. The majority of the essays dis-
cussed the need to persevere and work
hard. One student wrote: “Hard work in
my dictionary is the force put into some-
thing to make one’s life better. That is
what my dad has raised me up by, and
that is what I’m going to do” (twelve-
year-old male). Many essays reflected the
importance of being self-confident, of
exercising good judgment, of using self-
control for one’s own good, and of
accepting suffering. The theme also
included the idea that, as a general rule,
one ought to strive to improve one’s self.
An offshoot of this line of thought was
the mention of the wisdom of establish-
ing goals and pursuing education. One
young woman wrote, “I felt like I was
going around in circles and was never
moving on. Right then and there I real-
ized that I had no goals. . . . In order for
me to go to law school, I had to finish
high school, and in order for me to get
into high school, I had to take the test.
. . . As Georgia Douglas Johnson would
say, “Your world is as big as you make
it” (thirteen-year-old female).
A group of essays within this theme
articulated the importance of retaining
one’s integrity and individuality, even
Youth Outlook 817
treating it as an obligation: “People tell
me every day that I’m weird. If they want
to think that, it is fine with me. . . . Like I
said earlier, it doesn’t bother me” (twelve-
year-old female). The theme also included
concerns with honesty, patience, and
humility. The contents of one essay was
the following moral story:
There once was a little boy who
wanted a new bike for his birthday.
Unfortunately, his mother and father
didn’t have the money to get him a
new bike. Every day while coming
home from school he stopped by the
bikeshop. He looked and looked for
hours until he couldn’t take it any
more. So he decided to steal it from a
young man with wealthy parents. He
thought to himself “they won’t
mind.” One day before his birthday
his father received a promotion that
he hadn’t expected. So he decided to
surprise him with the new bike he
wanted. They [sic] next morning
when the boy was up, he came down-
stairs to see the brand new bike. All
of a sudden he did not feel too good.
He started to wish he had the
patience to wait. (Thirteen-year-old
male)
Responsibility to Others. The second
significant theme students articulated
was the importance of feeling or showing
deferential regard to others. Thirty-two
percent of the teenagers discussed this.
The significant difference between Re-
sponsibility to Others and Responsibility
to Self is that actions taken under the
rubric of the former are intended to ben-
efit others, not self. For example, concern
for honesty in this theme aims at creat-
ing civil harmony and interpersonal
trust, not personal gain:
818 Youth Outlook
Honor is a part of honesty but honesty
is more than that. It is partially trust.
If somebody lies to you, it breaks that
trust. Honesty is a strange thing
sometimes. A little kid could have
more honesty than a politician. Hon-
esty, like honor, is needed in order to
have a happy and good civilization.
(Thirteen-year-old male)
Realizing why one has a responsibil-
ity to others is the fundamental ele-
ment in one’s development of a
responsibility toward others.
Although I do not claim to have fully
attained a complete grasp of integrity,
I have attempted to practice maintain-
ing it. It is, in a certain perspective, a
definition of who we are, and what we
give to others. (Fourteen-year-old
male)
Responsibility to Others was also dom-
inated by concern for respect:
I feel respect is a crucial value that
my children must have to be virtuous
individuals. With this virtue they will
treat others fairly. They will also con-
sider their feelings. If they are respect-
ful they will listen to and adhere to
my advice and be obedient. My chil-
dren also won’t prejudge people. They
will treat everyone equally and hold
everyone in their same regard until
they get to know them and their per-
sonality. (Fourteen-year-old male)
Respect is a quality which I feel is
needed in a special sort of dual rela-
tionship. This type of relationship
consists of having the respect of oth-
ers, and at the same time giving them
the respect which they are due. . . . [I]f
a person gains the respect of another,
then they will most likely also gain
their trust and open-mindedness. . . .
[I]f a person always respects others,
then they will learn to look at the
good inside of others and they will
gain that person’s respect in return.
(Fifteen-year-old male)
Responsibility to others also included
paying attention to the Golden Rule,
keeping an open mind, and maintaining
harmony by exercising self-control. Con-
cern with loyalty and trustworthiness
were also included.
Positive Emotional Orientations to Life
and Other People. The most popular
theme, by far, was Positive Emotional
Outlook to Life and Other People; 67 per-
cent of the essays articulated laws related
to this theme. This theme was quite
broad and differs from the previous in
that it focuses on the emotional connec-
tion between the essay writers and others
in the world. By far, the law of love was
the most popular:
Love, an essence at the core of all
humans, can be the only true happi-
ness. (Sixteen-year-old male)
Love is the key to living. . . . When I
think of love, I think of God, Jesus,
family and friends. I believe that there
would be a lot less violence if every-
one had love in his or her heart. . . . I
say that love is the greatest law of life.
(Thirteen-year-old female)
Calls to live life fully and enjoyably, to
be grateful for what you have, and to be
particularly grateful for your family and
friends were also present:
I learned a very important lesson from
Christina’s death. . . . I learned that

you have to cherish each moment for
what it is and enjoy life while you
have the chance to live it. (Seventeen-
year-old female)
Please remember to respect your
brother or sister no matter what the
age. Be thankful that you were blessed
with them. I SURE AM! (Thirteen-
year-old female)
Gratefulness teaches a person to be
thankful for everything, and to be
more particular about what you need
and don’t need in your life. Most
importantly, gratefulness of your own
possessions, and capabilities helps cre-
ate a more giving heart that desires to
reach out to others that are truly in
need. (Sixteen-year-old female)
The importance of forgiveness, gen-
erosity, trust, kindness, compassion, and
the general attitude of hopefulness also
indicated the positive emotional orienta-
tion of the students.
Spirituality/Religion. Eighteen percent
of the students expressed secure belief in
the truth and value of God. Many of the
essays discussed the importance of loving
God and expressed strong faith and a
hopeful optimistic relationship with God:
Then, one day, he came over on his
week leave, and told us that he was
going to war in thirty days. He didn’t
seem nervous or scared of it. He was
very brave. . . . It is a very tragic thing
for us and his family, but mostly for
him. . . . I know in my heart that if
me and Donny are brave, always pray,
and trust in God, everything will
eventually turn out okay. Even if
Donny gets hurt or killed, God will
deliver us, tell us what to do, and give
Youth Outlook 819
us the strength to do it. (Twelve-year-
old female)
Our God, who knows and sees all,
certainly does not miss those who
choose enduring faithfulness. . . . At
Christ’s judgment, God promises to
reward those who have been faithful
to his calling. (Seventeen-year-old
female)
Others spoke of the importance of fear-
ing God:
I picked [Jesus] to be my savior
because I do not want to go to the
lake of fire when I die. I also love him.
(Thirteen-year-old male)
Skepticism. A remarkably small number
of students (.02 percent) articulated skep-
tical laws of life. Out of 476 essays, only
11 were skeptical, and 7 of these came
from a single senior class. They focused
on such issues as the unfairness of life:
For some reason it finally sunk in.
Life can deal a good hand or it can
deal a bad hand. My mother was dealt
a bad hand and she lost the game. [She
was diagnosed with a chronic disease.]
(Seventeen-year-old male)
Not everyone gets a fair chance to
accomplish his or her goals no matter
how hard he or she tries at it. (Seven-
teen-year-old male)
These essays also articulated the
necessity of depending only upon your-
self in the world:
Throughout my life I have learned
many lessons, but there is one that I
will never forget. The lesson is that
people sometimes take advantage of
820 Youth Outlook
others’ good nature. People do this
because their needs come first, no
matter what the circumstances. . . .
People are for themselves in this
world. All you have is yourself. Every-
one will look to get over on you to
meet their needs no matter how it
effects another. To this day, I am still
angry about what happened. (Seven-
teen-year-old male)
Although many of the essays were
purely skeptical, a postive note can be
heard in some.
Dad was right, life wasn’t fair. He
thought about all the unfair things
that had happened to him, and all the
unfair things that had happened to
others. Joey knew he had a bad day,
but he also realized that while it
could have been a lot better, it also
could have been a lot worse. (Sixteen-
year-old male)
Outliers. The final theme consisted of
oddball and street-smart laws of life.
Only .05 percent of the essays were out-
liers. They included the following:
Wear a seatbelt.
Don’t drink and drive.
Keep Humor in Your Life.
Exercise Freedom of Speech.
Reality is Mysterious.
Play sports.
Learn sign language.
Own a dog.
Have a hero in the Worldwide
Wrestling Federation.
The distribution of theme by fre-
quency and gender is shown in Figure 1.
Clearly, teenagers most frequently
revealed the importance of a Positive
Emotional Outlook on Life and Others.
This was followed by Respect for Self and
then Respect for Others. Spirituality and
Religion also was important to many
adolescents. Suprisingly, there were very
few Skeptical and Outlying essays.
As shown in Figure 1, some of these
themes were distributed differently
across gender. On the whole, females
were more positive than males; nearly
twice as many females (201) expressed
Positive Emotional laws of life as did
males (119). It is also worth noting that
all eleven Skeptical essays were written
by males. Again, seven of them were
from a single high school class. Eighty
percent of the Outliers were also written
by males.
The essays were also analyzed by age.
The trends worth noting in the analysis
by age and gender include the relative
stability of Positive Emotional Orienta-
tions to Life over time (see Figure 2).
Interestingly, as a sense of Responsibility
to Self increases from ages twelve to sev-
enteen, a sense of Responsibility to Oth-
ers declines (see Figure 3).
What the Essays Say
about Youth Outlook
On the whole, the essays coalesce into an
unusual portrait of adolescent thinking
on moral laws of life. Instead of painting
a cynical, materialistic, and demoralized
picture of youth, the essays reflect per-
sons with strong and positive veins of
moral wisdom from which to draw. What
the media and many researchers find
most compelling about adolescents may
be what is most unusual: adolescents
who are “at risk” or already involved in
the penal system, or who exemplify the
traits of what has come to be known as
Generation X. Indeed, the essays suggest
822 Youth Outlook
that skepticism is low to the point of
being negligible among males and nonex-
istent among females. Positivity dramat-
ically outweighs negativity in the essays
we examined.
In addition to the absence of the
expected cynicism and demoralization,
the essays demonstrated a lack of materi-
alism as well. Students spoke eloquently
of being grateful, but not for their mate-
rial possessions. The following clearly
represents the sentiments of the group in
general:
So often I see myself buying some-
thing new, going out to eat, or even
watching my favorite TV show with-
out realizing how fortunate I am to be
able to do these things. Many of us
take for granted the things we have
and can do in our daily lives . . . the
school we go to, the sports we play or
the abilities we possess. . . . It is unbe-
lievable how much we have yet we
don’t think twice about it. (Sixteen-
year-old female)
The teens expressed thanks for personal
health and the health of their family and
friends. They also spoke of how fortunate
they felt to have friends and to be receiv-
ing an education. As a whole, the sample
was not from highly privileged families.
Some subportions were privileged eco-
nomically, but most of the writers came
from either moderate or disadvantaged
families. The positivity expressed in the
essays did not come from the fulfillment
of material desires but out of a sense of
appreciation of what they had.

Most of the laws of life came out of
teenagers’ personal experience and from
moral exemplars. Many laws of life were
articulated as responses to things that had
happened to students, what we commonly
think of as unfortunate or traumatic life
events. Students were assimilating deaths,
disappointments, and conflicts, and cop-
ing with dilemmas of trust and integrity.
The positive spin they placed on these
experiences is notable in that it is usually
considered a special sign of wisdom. The
essay writers seemed to find joy in unex-
pected places and inspiration in small
moments. One young woman found unex-
pected happiness in taking care of her dis-
abled sister. Another young man rediscov-
ered his faith in God in a small moment
with his girlfriend. It also seems that stu-
dents were highly attuned to the behavior
of moral exemplars. One young woman
tells us about her cousin who died: “The
laws of my life, which are to live to the
fullest, to appreciate your family, and to
accept the hardships in your life, were
modeled through my cousin Chris. Live”
(fifteen-year-old female).
Not surprisingly, the essays reflected an
increasing sense of Responsibility to Self
for adolescents over time. Adolescence is
commonly understood as a time of iden-
tity formation and focus. However, it is
surprising, even alarming, that at the
same time Responsibility to Self in-
creases, Responsibility to Others dimin-
ishes (see Figure 3). This second point
highlights a major difference from what
both Jean Piaget and Eric Erickson found
in their studies on developing adolescents
conducted earlier this century. A hall-
mark of adolescence for Piaget and Erick-
son was that along with an increasing cog-
nitive ability to generalize arose a growing
concern with and sense of responsibility
Youth Outlook 823
to society at large. This hallmark was
clearly lacking in this study.
It may also be cause for concern that
the thinking in the essays on moral
issues was, on the whole, consistently
confined to small and local communities.
In general, students’ circle of concern
extended to self, family, friends, and con-
gregation. Only a few essays expressed
concern about or exhibited positive con-
nections to worlds outside their own
small circle. The shape of adolescents’
sense of positivity toward life becomes
apparent in conjunction with students’
general lack of concern for communities
outside their own, their focus on their
own experience, and their diminishing
sense of responsibility toward others.
Given the fact of cultural pluralism in
the United States and increasing trends
of globalization, these conditions have
the potential to become problematic. It
may be cause for concern that students’
positive moral attitude extends only
toward a narrow segment of the popula-
tion and does not include a sense of
responsibility even toward members of
that group.
The trends in the essays, however, may
have been influenced by the nature of the
sample and the study; the data were con-
strained by both. First, essays were drawn
from only two locales; thus, the sample
cannot be considered representative of
adolescents across the nation. Nor was
the sample random; all the schools chose
to be involved in the contest. Although
the majority of the essays came from pub-
lic middle schools, it is important to note
that three out of the five schools were
religious. All of the data from fifteen- to
seventeen-year-olds came from students
enrolled in Christian or Catholic high
schools. Due to a misunderstanding, one
824 Youth Outlook
of the high schools sent only the top
twenty-nine finalists from the contest. In
addition to the post hoc analysis, no pre-
determined scale was used to assess or
evaluate the essays. The sample was not
random, and so analysis across socioeco-
nomic status could not be done. Nor
could an analysis of the difference
between urban and rural students be
done. Even the analysis of age was con-
founded by the fact that the data from all
fifteen- to seventeen-year-olds came from
students in religious schools. And,
although the Templeton Foundation pro-
vided teachers with a contest guidebook,
there was no controlling for the instruc-
tions teachers provided their students.
The instructions allow teachers and
schools tremendous latitude in framing
the purposes and requirements of partici-
pation in the contest. For example, some
of the essays were geared to fulfill a par-
ticular assignment for a class. One
teacher used the contest as a vehicle to
teach her students how to write a five-
paragraph essay. Another teacher required
students to write about their biblical laws
of life.
The fact that the essays were written
for a competitive event may also have
influenced the young people’s thinking
on what they presented as their laws of
life. Some of the essays were graded by
teachers as well as adjudicated and
rewarded through the contest. The fact
that the essays were part of a contest and
may have been graded by a teacher both
helps and hinders us as researchers.
Although this may have biased the stu-
dents’ responses in that they might, on
some level, have written to please the
judges and teacher, it may also have been
the catalyst for deep critical thinking.
The competition and critique may have
provided incentive to go beyond what
they might otherwise have written. It is
clear in any case that the contest invites
young people to dig deeper into their
moral and social philosophies. In some
schools, this seemed to have happened;
batches of essays were deeply thoughtful
and provocative, even profound. In oth-
ers, depth of reflection was not present,
particularly when the essays were used
as a vehicle toward some other curricular
end, like the learning of the five-para-
graph essay. It seems less likely that
these students were clarifying or forging
their moral positions than fulfilling an
assignment. The question of whether the
essays are a clear reflection of students’
moral laws of life remains.
Final Implications
The student essays that we examined
revealed a number of noteworthy charac-
teristics. Most importantly, the vast
majority of students expressed a more
positive view of life than is commonly
recognized in popular or media portrayals
of today’s teens. Moreover, most of the
essays showed a great deal of compas-
sion, spirituality, and personal and social
responsibility. All of these characteristics
suggest a cohort of youngsters that has a
strong moral sense.
But it is a moral sense that seems to be
confined to the boundaries of students’
immediate interpersonal relationships—
their friends and family in particular. The
contents of the essays reflected little con-
cern about the larger society beyond
home, school, or neighborhood. Concepts
such as civic duty and patriotism were all
but absent. Nor was there much mention
of social causes, political leaders, or news
events.
If the essays we examined are represen-
tative of contemporary society’s adoles-
cent population, this is a dramatic and

unsettling change from prior cohorts. All
of the classic developmental theories—
Piaget, Erikson, Sullivan, Hall—mark ado-
lescence as an age when young people
work out their larger societal beliefs and
concerns, a process that includes intense
reflection about ideological belief sys-
tems. This process is a necessary precur-
sor to citizenship. If it is not taking place
today, one wonders how the institutions
of a free and democratic society will be
maintained in the future. Of course, it
Youth Outlook 825
could be that the process is simply delayed
in today’s world. But it may also be that
the cynicism associated with public life
has caused teenagers to turn inward, at
the expense of their civic growth.
Susan Verducci
William Damon
See also Ethnocentrism; Identity; Moral
Development; Peer Groups; Political
Development; Social Development;
Youth Culture
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Note: Page numbers in boldface indicate an encyclopedia entry devoted to that topic.
Abortion, 1–2
complications, 2
morning-after pill, 1
spontaneous (miscarriage),
447–449
Abortion ratio, 747
Abstinence, 526, 669, 673
Abuse. See Child maltreatment;
Physical abuse
Academic accommodations,
402–407
Academic achievement, 5–9
anxiety and, 50
cheating, 105–107
children of alcoholics,
113–114
chronic illness and, 699–700
community influences, 620
community-based programs
and, 8–9
comprehensive educational
evaluation, 400
consequences of peer
victimization, 503
developmental assets, 212
divorce and, 232
educational expectations,
134–137
emancipated youth, 298
ethnic identity and, 619–620
family involvement and,
284–287, 290, 619
foster care and, 298
gender differences, 315–317,
321–322
intrinsic motivation and,
459–463
learning disabilities and, 8
learning styles and, 398–402
maternal employment and,
420–422, 458
Index
media effects, 759
parental characteristics and,
112, 480
peer groups and, 492
pregnancy and, 747
racial/ethnic minorities and,
6–8, 66, 71, 619
school engagement and,
615–617
school structure and, 618
self-esteem and, 636
self-evaluations, 10–13
self-handicapping, 8
single parenthood and,
688–690
single-sex schools and,
628–629
social influences, 7–8
standardized tests, 315,
717–720
teacher characteristics and,
619, 739
work and, 103, 264
See also Education; Higher
education; School dropouts
Acceleration hypothesis, 478
Accidents and injuries, 13–17,
38–39, 725
prevention, 15–17, 205
Accommodations, 402–407
legal requirements, 405–407
Acne, 17–19
Acquired immunodeficiency
syndrome (AIDS), 350–355,
654
ACT test, 63, 406
Active listening, 157–158
Acute lymphocytic leukemia
(ALL), 97
Addiction, 727–728
903
ADHD. See Attention-
deficit/hyperactivity
disorder
Adolescence, 799–800
lore of, 410–411
transitions of, 774–778
See also Puberty
Adolescent egocentrism,
505–506, 633, 634, 745
Adolescent Family Life
Program, 529
Adolescent pregnancy. See
Pregnancy and
childbearing
Adolescents’ rights, 587–590
in research, 590–594
Adoption, 686
exploration and search, 19–23
issues and concerns, 23–26
legal issues, 22–23
Adrenal hormones, 554
Adulthood, transition to. See
Transition to adulthood
Advertising, 717, 757
cigarette, 123–124
Aerobic activities, 713
African American adolescents:
academic achievement, 7, 9
AIDS cases, 352
body image, 31, 92
college enrollment, 137–138,
344
delinquency, 200–201
family support for education,
619
identity formation, 26–29, 31
intelligence tests, 372
issues for male adolescents,
32–35
juvenile justice and, 599
marriage and pregnancy, 748
904 Index
maternal employment, 419
mentors and, 441
occupational aspirations,
271
onset of sexual behavior,
664
parenting styles, 112
programs, 34
puberty timing, 565
racial discrimination,
569–571
research on, 30–32
single-parent families, 277,
278
socioeconomic status, 522
teenage pregnancy, 748, 772
tracking and, 769
After-school programs,
197–198, 535–540
Aggressive behavior, 35–38.
See also Violence and
aggression
Agreeableness, 509
Aid to Families with
Dependent Children
(AFDC), 793–794
AIDS, 350–355
information sources, 654
Air quality, 266–267
Alcohol use, 38–40, 193,
239–240, 302, 729
accidents and injuries and,
13, 38–39, 43
associated mortality, 38–39
consequences, 43
dating and, 185
as gateway drug, 240
parental awareness of, 482
prevalence, 726
prevention, 239
risk factors, 38–40, 43
school climate and, 534
sexual behavior and, 3
stress coping and, 171
suicide and, 39
treatment, 177, 179
trends, 41–43
working teens and, 803
See also Substance use and
abuse
Alcoholics, children of,
112–115
Allowance, 44–46
Amenorrhea, 247, 293–295,
433, 436
Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA), 120
Amphetamine, 75, 729
Anabolic steroids, 720–721,
731
Anaerobic activities, 713
Anal intercourse, 4
Androgynous people, 657, 658
Anemia, 46–48
Anorexia nervosa, 57, 228–229,
247–248, 474, 561
menstruation and, 432
oral health and, 204
treatment, 177–178, 179
See also Eating disorders
Anthropology, 410–411
Antidepressants, 178
Antisocial behavior, normal,
149. See also Behavioral
problems; Delinquency
Anxiety, 175, 292, 550
consequences of, 50
disorders, 50, 177, 195, 231
emotional abuse and, 256
treatments, 50
Appearance, 302, 716–717
attractiveness, 76–79
body build, 85–86
body hair, 88–90
cultural factors in, 51–53, 57
developmental challenges,
217
mainstream popularization
of extremes, 55–56
management, 54–57
media influences, 717
proms and, 541–542
rebellion and, 55–56
sex roles and, 53, 56
See also Body image; Eating
disorders
Apprenticeships, 57–60, 103
Approach-avoidance model for
coping, 169–173
Aptitude tests, 718
Art therapy, 64
Arts, 60–64
careers in, 64
education, 62–63
programs, 63–64
Asbestos, 267
Asian American adolescents:
academic achievement, 7,
66, 71
birthrates, 746
body image, 92
college enrollment, 344
comparisons and contrasts,
65–67
discrimination experiences,
69
familial relationships,
66–67, 70–72
issues influencing identity,
67–73
parenting styles, 112
sexual-minority youth, 310
Asian parenting styles, 66
Asian schools, 768
Asian youth, 6–7
Assimilation, 67, 128
Asthma, 266–267
Athletics. See Sports and
athletic activities
Attachment, 102, 282–283
Attention, 74
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity
disorder (ADHD), 73–76,
194–195, 227–228, 394,
397
Attractiveness, 76–79
magazines and, 427
peer relations and, 498
See also Appearance; Body
image
Attributional style, 703
Auditory processing
accommodations, 401,
402–403
Authoritarian parenting, 66,
109, 110, 112, 224–225,
487
social development and, 694
Authoritative parenting, 66,
102, 109, 110–111, 225,
283, 480, 486–487
Autonomy and independence,
79–83, 282, 478, 559, 611,
695, 772
chronic illness and, 100,
119, 698
conformity, 159–162
dimensions of, 79
emancipated minors,
251–253, 298
freedom, 301–303
gender difference, 82
health issues, 302–303
normative conflict, 80
parent-child cultural
differences, 67
parenting styles and,
110–111
peers and, 82
rebellion, 574–576
responsibility for
developmental tasks,
584–585

Babbage, Charles, 145
Barbie, 315
Barbiturates, 729
Beauty, 76–79. See also
Appearance;
Attractiveness; Body
image
Behavior modification, 406
Behavioral autonomy, 79, 282.
See also Autonomy and
independence
Behavioral problems, 149–151,
228
adoptees and, 22
conduct problems, 149–151,
228
continuity and stability, 150
dating and, 185
developmental challenges
and, 174–175
discipline and, 225
divorce and, 232
early maturation and, 561
emotional abuse and, 256
etiology of, 150
gender differences, 150
intervention programs,
374–379
normal antisocial behavior,
149
parental monitoring and,
483
peer pressure and, 494–497
rebellion, 574–576
risk factors, 150, 595–600
treatments, 150–151
when to seek help, 176
work and, 803
See also Bullying; Crime;
Delinquency; Eating
disorders; Psychological
or emotional problems;
Sexuality and sexual
behavior; Substance use
and abuse; Violence and
aggression
Behavioral therapies, 177, 553,
646
Benedict, Ruth, 94
Benzodiazepines, 51
Benzoyl peroxide, 19
Biculturalism, 465
Big Brother/Big Sister
programs, 441–442
Binge eating, 248, 249, 474
Birth control. See
Contraception
Blos, Peter, 80, 723
Body build, 85–86, 556, 560,
561, 652, 717
Body fat, 186, 473, 556, 611
changes in, 86–88
gender differences, 87
Body image, 86, 90–92, 611
dating stressors, 186
early maturation, 560
eating disorders and, 52,
87–88, 90, 228
gender and self-satisfaction,
86, 91, 716–717
media influences, 52, 53,
717, 757
racial/ethnic considerations,
31, 52, 91–92
See also Appearance
Body mass index (BMI), 473
Body piercing, 638
Bone marrow transplant, 99
Books on tape, 402, 404
Boot camps, 647
Borderline personality disorder,
230
Boy Scouts of America, 309
Braces, 203
Brain cancers, 267
Break dancing, 808
Breast cancer, 164
Breast development, 554, 564,
774
Bulimia, 57, 204, 228–229,
248–249, 474, 561
Bullying, 93–94, 499, 501, 502,
745, 783–784
Byron, Augusta Ada (Lady
Lovelace), 145
Caffeine, 730
Calcium, 335, 470
Cancers, 97–100, 267
associated STDs, 673, 675
treatment, 98–99
Canker sores, 204
Carbohydrate loading, 474
Career development, 101–104
apprenticeships, 57–60, 103
the arts, 64
chronic illnesses and, 120
educational and
occupational
expectations, 134–136
ethnic identity and, 271
family influences, 101–103
gender differences, 317
girls’ magazines and, 427
intrinsic motivation, 459
Index 905
mentoring and youth
development, 440–442
tracking in high school, 742,
766–770
vocational development,
785–788
vocational interest
assessment, 786
volunteerism, 788–792
work experiences, 103–104
See also Higher education;
Sex roles; Work
Catholic schools, 769
Centers for Disease Control
(CDC), 333, 350
Cervical cap, 166
Cheating, 105–107
Chemotherapy, 98
Chicana/o adolescents,
107–109, 391. See also
Latina/o adolescents
Child maltreatment, 600
emotional abuse, 253–257
neglect, 467–469
physical abuse, 512–516
sexual abuse, 659–662
Child Protective Services
(CPS), 467, 514
Childrearing styles, 109–112.
See also Parenting styles
Children of adolescent
mothers, 753
Children of alcoholics,
112–115
Children’s Defense Fund, 595
Children’s rights, 587–590
Chlamydia, 673, 674
Chores, 44, 115–118
Chronic illnesses, 118–121
academic and vocational
functioning, 699–700
anemia, 46–48
asthma, 266–267
cancers, 97–100, 267
diabetes, 220–223, 473
Down syndrome, 235–238
independence issues, 100,
119
parental relationships,
698–699
peer interactions and, 699
sexuality and, 698
spina bifida, 697–700
transition to adulthood and,
771
See also Health; Health
services; specific health
problems
906 Index
Cigarette smoking, 122–125,
192, 240, 596
dental health and, 203–204
secondhand smoke, 266, 267
See also Tobacco use
Cliques, 126–127, 491
Clothing. See Appearance
Cocaine, 596–597, 729–730
Codeine, 728
Coercive parenting, 225. See
also Authoritarian
parenting; Parenting
styles
Cognitive autonomy, 79
Cognitive development,
127–133, 279, 368–371,
775
communication skills,
157–158
continuity versus
discontinuity, 132
controversial issues, 128
critical thinking, 157
cultural influences, 454
decision making, 189–191
developmental challenges,
219
dyslexia and, 242–245
ethnic identity and, 269
formal operational thinking,
129–132
gender differences, 133, 318,
321–322
gifted and talented youth,
323–325
idealization, 131
imaginary audience, 132,
634, 676, 775
learning disabilities, 393
memory, 430–432
mental retardation and,
436–440
Piaget and, 128–129, 368,
450–451
processing, 401–403
religious development, 579
self-esteem and, 637
stage generality, 132–133
thinking, 129–132, 157, 219,
637, 762–766, 775
See also Autonomy and
independence;
Intelligence; Moral
development; Social
development
Cognitive therapies, 177, 553,
646
Cognitive-behavioral therapies,
177, 646
Cohabitation, 772
Cold sores, 204
College, 134–139, 303,
343–349, 624–625. See
also Higher education
College admissions tests,
718–720
College preparation track. See
Tracking
Columbine High School, 425
Combs, Sean “Puff Daddy,”
809
Communication skills,
157–158
Community colleges, 137, 343,
624–625
Community service, 788–792
Community-based
interventions, 8–9,
645–646
Computer games, 424–425
Computer hacking, 139–143
Computers, 144–149
Condoms, 4, 162, 167–168
AIDS prevention, 353
failure rate, 4
female, 166–167, 353, 673
lubricants, 168
use trends, 667
Conduct problems, 149–151,
194–195, 228. See also
Behavioral problems;
Violence and aggression
Confidentiality rights, 593
Conflict, 151–155, 156
father-adolescent, 289–290
household work and, 118
interparental, 233
normative developmental
aspects, 80
normative stressors, 152
siblings, 679–682
storm and stress, 724–725
See also Family stress;
Stress
Conflict resolution, 155–159
Conformity, 159–162
Conscientiousness, 509
Contraception, 162–168,
527–528
abstinence, 2–5
barrier methods, 164–168
condoms, 4
effectiveness of, 4
emergency, 164
hormonal methods, 162–164
morning-after pill, 1
natural birth control, 433
rhythm method, 2
use trends, 667
See also Abortion;
Condoms; Pregnancy and
childbearing; Sexuality
and sexual behavior;
Sexually transmitted
diseases
Contraceptive sponge, 166
Convention on the Rights of
the Child, 587–590
Cooperative Extension System
(CES), 375–376, 378–379
Coping, 169–174, 175–176, 227
African American male
adolescents, 33
gender differences, 172
health and, 169
media and, 428
Corporal punishment, 512,
514. See also Physical
abuse
Cosby, William, 290
Counseling, 174–179, 551–553
former cult members, 181
rape survivors, 573
types of, 176–179
See also Psychotherapy
Crabs, 675
Crime, 35, 381–384, 599
computer hacking, 139–143
costs of, 383
fashion and, 55–56
gender differences, 599
juvenile justice system,
384–380
juvenile victims of, 383
recidivism, 382–383
school, 383
storm and stress and, 725
trends in, 199–201
See also Delinquency
Crisis intervention, 178
Critical thinking, 157
Crushes, 131, 414–415
Crying, 609
Cults, 179–181
warning signs, 180–181
Cultural relativity, 271
Culture clash, 67
Custody arrangements, 234
DARE program, 241
Darwin, Charles, 76
Dating, 183–187, 776
chronic illnesses and, 120

developmental effects, 185
infidelity, 187–188
normative stressors, 152
risks of, 185–186
Decision making, 82, 189–191,
765
risk perception, 600–602
Delinquency, 35, 599
computer hacking, 139–143
continuity of, 195–196
coping style and, 173
drug abuse prevention and,
241
emotional abuse and, 256
gangs, 55–56, 493, 785,
810–815
gender differences, 200,
599
interventions, 197–198
peer counseling and, 645
peer influences, 201,
494–497
protective factors, 197–198
psychiatric disorders and,
194–195
racial/ethnic correlations,
200–201
risk factors, 197–198, 201
sibling differences, 683
societal costs, 201
socioeconomic
relationships, 201
substance use and, 192–197,
241, 367
television and, 759
trends in, 199–202
See also Behavioral
problems; Crime;
Substance use and abuse;
Violence and aggression
Democratic parents, 225
Dental health, 202–205, 473
Dependency, chronic illnesses
and, 120
Depo provera, 164, 527
Depressants, 728–729
Depression, 175, 205–208,
229–230, 611
body image and, 90
coping style and, 172, 173
counseling, 178
delinquency and, 194–195
eating problems and, 562
emotional abuse and, 256
gender differences, 172, 207
prevalence, 207
sadness, 609–612
suicide and, 735
symptoms of, 205–206,
229–230
treatment, 230
Detachment, 80
Developmental assets, 208–217
Developmental challenges,
217–220
biology, 217–219
psychology, 219
Developmental disorder, 394
Developmental tasks,
responsibility for,
584–587
Developmental toxicity, 267
Dextroamphetamine, 75
Diabetes, 220–223, 473
Diaphragms, 165–166
Dieting, 57, 250, 474, 714, 715
Differential developmental
trajectories (DDT),
309–310
Disabilities:
accommodations for,
402–407
legal protections, 405–406
See also Chronic illnesses;
Learning disabilities
Discipline, 223–226
corporal punishment, 512,
514
See also Parenting styles
Dispositions, 386–387
Dissociation, 256, 639
Distancing hypothesis, 478
Diversion, 386
Divorce, 232–234, 277
Down syndrome, 235–238
Draper, John, 140
Driving, 302
motor vehicle accidents,
13–17, 39, 725
Dropouts. See School dropouts
Drug abuse prevention,
238–242. See also
Substance use and abuse
Dyslexia, 242–245
Dysmenorrhea, 434–435
Dysthymia, 609
Eating behaviors, 471–474,
714–715. See also Eating
disorders; Nutrition
Eating disorders, 57, 87–88,
228–229, 247–251, 302,
474, 561–562
anemia and, 47
body image and, 52, 87–88,
90, 228
Index 907
delayed menarche and, 432
dental health effects, 204
emotional disorders, 562
etiology, 250–251
female athlete triad,
293–296
males and, 561–562
menstrual cycle and, 247,
432
obesity and, 249
stress and, 251
treatment, 177–178, 179,
251
See also Anorexia nervosa;
Nutrition
Education:
accommodations, 402–407
arts, 62–63
Asian versus American
schools, 768
expectations, 134–137
family-school involvement,
284–287
full-service schools, 626–627
functions of school, 617–621
gifted and talented youth,
323–325
grading, 12, 334, 768
health promotion, 333–337
high school equivalency
(GED), 341–343
homework, 358–360, 480
learning styles and, 398–402
maternal, 459
mutual, 287
parental involvement,
446–447
pregnancy and, 747, 752–753
private schools, 531–535
safety, 16
school climate, 533–534
single-sex schools, 627–629
tracking, 766–770
See also Academic
achievement; High
school; Higher education;
Middle school; School;
School dropouts; Sex
education; Teachers
Education for Handicapped
Children Act, 405
Educational programming,
757–758
Ego, 631, 703–704
Egocentrism, 451, 505–506,
633, 634, 745
Emancipated minors, 251–253,
298
908 Index
Emergency contraception, 164
Emotional abuse, 253–257
Emotional autonomy, 79, 282
Emotional problems. See
Psychological or
emotional problems
Emotions, 257–260
arts and expression of, 62
empathy, 260–262
essay contest themes, 816,
818–819
fears, 291–293
loneliness, 407–410
love, 411–415
psychosomatic disorders,
546–550
sadness, 609–612
sexuality and, 668–671
shyness, 676–679
storm and stress, 725
See also Psychological or
emotional problems
Empathy, 260–262
Employment. See Work
Empowerment, 376
Environmental health issues,
265–268
Equivalency degree, 341–343
Essay contest, 815–823
Estrogen, 37, 162, 554
Ethical standards for research,
591
Ethnic identity, 65, 269–271,
465
academic achievement and,
619–620
ethnocentrism, 271–273
issues for Asian Americans,
67–73
Ethnic or racial minorities:
academic achievement and,
6–8, 66, 71, 619
accidents and, 15
birthrates, 746
body image and, 52, 91–92
college/university
enrollment and, 137–138,
344–345
delinquency trends, 200
family composition and, 277
gangs, 812
intelligence tests and, 372
juvenile justice and, 388
parenting styles and,
111–112
racial discrimination,
569–571
school climate and, 534
suicide, 734
tracking and, 769
See also African American
adolescents; Asian
American adolescents;
Latina/o adolescents;
Native American
adolescents; Racial
discrimination and
racism
Ethnocentrism, 271–273
Exercise, 336
menstruation and, 432, 433,
436, 716
nutritional issues, 474–475
sedentary lifestyles, 712–713
weight control and, 711–717
See also Sports and athletic
activities
Extended families, 275
Extraversion, 507
Extrinsic motivation, 580, 702,
705
Failure to thrive, 255–256
Family and Medical Leave Act
(FMLA), 422
Family composition, 275–278
extended families, 275
large families, 275–276
“Ozzie and Harriet”
families, 278
single-parent families,
276–278
See also Single-parent
households
Family economics, 44–46
Family planning services, 162,
527–528
Family policy, 422
Family relations, 279–284
adolescent anxiety and, 49
attachment, 282–283
family life cycle, 282
grandparents and
intergenerational
relationships, 327–332
peer victimization in school
and, 503
sibling conflict, 679–682
sibling differences, 682–684
sibling relationships,
684–688
teenage childbearing and,
748–750
transformations in, 279–282
transition to adulthood and,
772–773
See also Autonomy and
independence; Parent-
adolescent relations;
Parenting styles; Siblings
Family rituals, 114
Family stress:
coping, 171
divorce, 232–234
interparental conflict, 233
normative stressors, 80,
152–153
See also Conflict; Stress
Family therapy, 176, 177, 552,
608, 645
Family Unity Model, 297
Family values, and drug abuse
prevention, 242
Family-care tasks, 116
Family-school involvement,
284–287, 290
Fashion statements, 55. See
also Appearance
Fathers and adolescents,
287–290, 479, 482–483
gender differences, 289
monitoring, 482–483
Fathers, of children of
adolescent mothers, 668,
749–750, 753
Fears, 291–293
Female athlete triad, 293–296
Female condoms, 166–167,
353, 673
Femininity score, 657
Filial therapy, 257
Firearms, 15, 599, 736, 785
Fluid reasoning, 401
Follicle stimulating hormone
(FSH), 554
Foster care, 296–300
4-H, 375, 378
Freud, Anna, 80, 723
Freud, Sigmund, 319
Friendships, 559, 586, 611,
694–695, 776–777
cliques, 126, 491
love, 412
See also Peer relations
Full-service schools, 626–627
Gangs, 55–56, 493, 785,
810–815
Gangsta rap, 426
Gay, lesbian, bisexual and
sexual-minority youth,
305–311, 611
developmental research,
308–310

harassment of, 745
labels, 305–308
media representations, 309
prevalence, 308
romantic attractions,
414–415
suicide risk, 734, 745
GED, 341–343
Gender differences, 311–318
abilities, 651–652
academic achievement,
315–317, 321–322
academic self-evaluation, 11
aggressive behavior, 35–37,
783
allowance, 45–46
autonomy development, 82
body satisfaction, 86, 91,
716–717
cognitive development, 133
conduct problems, 150
conformity and, 161
coping strategies, 172
crime and delinquency 191,
197–198, 383, 599
depression, 172, 207
father-adolescent
relationships, 289
gender intensification
hypothesis, 314
grandparent relationships,
327
identity development, 317
intellectual development,
318, 321–322
internalizing and
externalizing disorders,
175
juvenile justice and, 388
loneliness, 409–410
monitoring, 478
moral development,
318–321, 454–455
parent-adolescent conflict,
479
parental involvement in
sports participation, 706
parental monitoring
effectiveness, 482–483
peer pressure and, 496
peer victimization and, 501
physical sex differences,
649–651
runaways, 606
single-sex schools and,
627–629
spatial abilities, 322
sport experiences, 707
stress perceptions, 153–155
substance use, 192, 193
suicide, 734
Women’s Ways of Knowing,
322
work and career choices,
313–314, 317
Gender role socialization. See
Sex roles
General Educational
Development (GED),
341–343
Genital development, 554, 555,
556, 649–650, 774
Genital herpes, 204, 672,
674–675
Genital warts, 672, 675
German apprenticeship model,
58–69
Gifted and talented youth,
323–325
Gilligan, Carol, 82, 319–320,
322, 454–455
Glucocorticoids, 720, 721
Gonadotropins, 554
Gonorrhea, 326, 673, 674
Grading, 12, 334, 768
Graffiti, 809
Grandparents, 327–332, 749
GRE, 63
Group therapy, 177, 257,
551–552
Growth spurt, 554–555, 556,
560, 564, 650–651, 774
Gynecological examination,
162
Hacking, 139–143
Hair growth, 88–90, 554,
555–556, 564
Hair loss, chemotherapy and,
98
Hair removal, 89
Hall, G. Stanley, 410, 576, 581,
583, 722–723
Hallucinogens, 730–731
Harassment:
intervention for, 504–505
peer victimization in school,
499–505
sexual, 502, 598
teasing, 743–746
See also Bullying
Health:
accidents and injuries, 13–17
acne, 17–19
air quality and, 266–267
coping and, 169
Index 909
dental health, 202–205, 473
Down syndrome and, 236
early maturation and, 561
environmental health
issues, 265–268
female athlete triad,
293–296
injury prevention, 15–17
psychosomatic disorders,
546–550
sedentary lifestyles, 712–713
sports, exercise, and weight
control, 711–717
steroids use and, 720–722
stress and, 151, 153–154
teen autonomy and,
302–303
teen pregnancy and, 752
tobacco use and, 122–125
See also Chronic illnesses;
Contraception;
Menstruation; Nutrition;
Pregnancy and
childbearing; Sexuality
and sexual behavior;
Sexually transmitted
diseases; Substance use
and abuse
Health insurance, 523–524
Health promotion, 333–337
exercise, 336
nutrition, 334–336
sleep, 336–337
stress reduction, 337
Health services, 338–341
family planning, 162
pregnancy prevention,
527–528
Hepatitis B, 673, 675
Heroin, 728
Herpes, 204, 672, 674–675
Heterocentrism, 308, 310
High school, 624
college preparation, 134–136
tracking in, 742, 766–770
High school dropouts. See
School dropouts
High school equivalency,
341–343
Higher education, 303,
343–349, 624–625
college, 134–139
community colleges, 137,
343, 624–625
costs of, 137
four-year college students,
137–138
910 Index
high school preparation and
educational expectations,
134–137
learning disabilities and, 397
minority enrollment,
137–138, 344
standardized tests and,
718–720
tracking in high school, 742,
766–770
Hip-hop, 426, 808–809
Hirsutism, 89
Hispanics. See Latina/o
adolescents
HIV. See Human
immunodeficiency virus
Hodgkin’s lymphoma, 97
Home environment:
adolescent anxiety and, 49
adolescent conduct
problems and, 150
career development and, 102
children of alcoholics,
112–115
intrinsic motivation and,
462
normative stressors,
152–153
nutrition and, 472
runaways and, 606
school dropouts and, 613–614
See also Family relations
Homeless youth, 355–358
Homework, 358–360, 480
Homicide, 15, 599, 757
Homophobia, 308
Homosexuality. See Gay,
lesbian, bisexual, and
sexual-minority youth
Hormone replacement therapy,
296
Household chores, 44
Huffing, 365–367, 729
Human immunodeficiency
virus (HIV), 350–355, 662,
663
Human papilloma virus (HPV),
675
Human rights, 587–590
Hyperactivity, 74
Hypogonadism, 294
Identity, 101, 361–365,
629–633, 695, 777
adoption and, 19–23
African Americans and,
26–29, 31
appearance management, 54
confusion, 585–586
developmental assets, 213
developmental tasks, 219,
585–586
emotional abuse and, 255
gender differences, 317
issues for Asian Americans,
67–73
media and, 560, 757
parent and teacher
influence, 365
psychosocial moratorium,
361–363
pubertal identity crisis, 558
self appraisal in, 27–28
sexual, 305, 307
sport participation and, 708
value of, 363
vocational development, 786
See also Ethnic identity
Imaginary audience, 132, 634,
676, 775
Independence. See Autonomy
and independence
Independent Living Programs
(ILP), 299
Individual Educational Plan
(IEP), 298, 395, 406, 700
Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA),
298, 394, 405, 406,
699–700
Information Processing Model,
398
Informed consent, 591
Inhalants, 365–367, 596, 729
Inhelder, Barbel, 128–129
Injection drug use, 353
Injuries, 13–17
Inpatient treatment programs,
647
Instructional and
Environmental
Preferences, 398
Insurance, 523–524
Intelligence, 368–371
children from single-parent
households, 689
fluid reasoning, 401
gifted and talented youth,
323–325
kinds of, 369
learning disabilities, 393
measurement of, 63
memory and, 430
sibling differences, 683
See also Cognitive
development
Intelligence tests, 323,
370–371, 372–374, 401
cultural bias, 372–373
Internalizing problems,
407–409
Internet, 143, 147, 428–429
Interventions, 374–379, 640
community-based
prevention, 645–646
effectiveness, 376
features of effective
programs, 377–378
juvenile justice treatment,
647
multisystemic treatments,
648
for peer victimization, 504
pregnancy prevention,
525–531
program scale, 376–377
residential or inpatient
treatment, 647
systems approaches,
647–648
therapeutic approaches,
646–649
See also Health promotion;
Programs for adolescents;
Psychotherapy
Intrauterine devices (IUDs),
162
Intrinsic motivation, 459–463,
580, 702–703, 705
Invulnerability, 172, 506, 601,
635
IQ tests. See Intelligence tests
Iron, 47, 335–336, 470, 716
Job Corps, 59
Jocks, 490
Joe Camel, 124
Jordan, Michael, 809
Junior colleges, 343
Junior high school. See Middle
school
Juvenile crime, 381–384, 599.
See also Crime;
Delinquency
Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention
Act, 387
Juvenile justice system,
384–380
dispositions, 386–387
diversion, 386, 647
juvenile rights, 388–389
trends, 387–388

Kohlberg, Lawrence, 319,
449–455
Kwan, Michelle, 69
Latina/o adolescents, 391–392
AIDS cases, 352
birthrates, 746
body image, 92
Chicanas/os, 107–109
delinquency, 201
heroes and role models, 108,
392
intelligence tests, 372
marriage and pregnancy, 748
maternal employment, 419
mentors and, 441
onset for sexual behavior,
664
school dropouts, 613
socioeconomic status, 522
suicide, 734
Laws of Life Essay Contest,
815–823
Lead, 267
Lean body mass, 87
Learning accommodations,
402–407
Learning disabilities, 227–228,
393–398
academic achievement and,
8
assessment, 395
attention-deficit/
hyperactivity disorder,
73–76, 194–195, 227–228,
394, 397
defined, 393
dyslexia, 242–245
famous examples, 395
higher education and, 397
prevalence, 395
special education programs,
396
Learning styles, 398–402
Leukemia, 97, 267
Life skills development, 178
Life skills training, 644–645
Listening skills, 157–158
Loneliness, 407–410
Loners, 490
Lore, 410–411
Love, 411–415
Lubricants, 168
Lunelle, 164
Lupus, 721
Luteinizing hormone, 554
Lymphomas, 97
Magazines, 423, 426–427
Marijuana, 192, 240–241, 596,
730
Masculinity score, 657
Masturbation, 660, 670
Materialism, 518
Maternal employment, 458,
520, 658
influences on adolescents,
420–422
trends, 417–419
Math and science, gender
differences in academic
performance, 315–316,
321
Mead, Margaret, 410
Media, 422–429, 754–759
body image and, 717, 757
cigarette advertising,
123–124
common youth culture,
807–808
culture of appearance and,
52, 53, 57
delinquency and, 759
effects of television,
758–759
gangs and, 812, 813
identity development and,
428, 560, 757
Internet, 428–429
nutrition and, 472–473
positive uses, 427–428
risk behavior prevention,
644
sex in, 425–426
sex information sources, 654
sexual-minority
representations, 309
violence/aggression and, 36,
423–425, 757
See also Television
Memory, 401, 430–432
accommodations, 403
Menarche, 87, 294, 432, 555,
558, 564
sports and, 702
Menopause, 295
Menstruation, 434–436, 611
anemia and, 47
cramps, 434–435
eating disorders and, 247,
432
female athlete triad,
293–296
information sources, 654
menarche, 87, 294, 432, 555,
558, 564
Index 911
menstrual cycle, 432–433,
436, 555, 556, 558
menstrual dysfunction,
433–434, 436
nutritional needs, 336, 716
oral contraceptives and, 163
physical activity and, 702,
716
Mental health. See Behavioral
problems; Depression;
Psychological or
emotional problems
Mental health services,
174–179. See also Health
services; Psychotherapy
Mental retardation:
assessment of, 372
Down syndrome, 235–238
siblings with, 436–440
Mentoring, 440–442, 646
apprenticeship model, 57–60
Mescaline, 730
Metallica, 147
Mexican Americans, 107–109,
391–392. See also
Chicana/o adolescents
Middle school, 12, 442–447,
622–624
school disengagement,
615–616
students’ perceptions of
teachers, 739, 741
Midlife crisis, 282
Mifepristone (RU486), 2
Mineralocorticoids, 720, 721
Miscarriage, 447–449
Mitnick, Kevin, 141, 142
Money management, 44–46
Monitoring, 197–198, 478,
481–483, 665
gender differences, 482–483
Moral development, 449–455,
586–587, 695
cultural differences in,
453–454
gender differences in,
318–321, 454–455
Morning-after pill, 1
Morphine, 728
Mothers, adolescent. See
Pregnancy and
childbearing; Sexuality
and sexual behavior;
Single-parent households
Mothers and adolescents,
455–459, 478–479
education, 458
monitoring, 482–483
912 Index
single mothers, 457–458
working mothers, 458
See also Maternal
employment; Single-
parent households
Motivation, 459–463, 580,
702–703
self-esteem and, 636
sports and, 702–706
Motor vehicle accidents,
13–17, 39, 725
Multicultural society, 569
Multiple intelligences, 63,
369–370, 400
Multisystemic treatments, 648
Muscle mass, 560, 652
Muscle strength, 556
Music, 422, 426, 808–809
Music videos, 425, 428
Mutual education, 287
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator,
398
Napster, 147
National Mentoring Working
Group, 440, 441
Native American adolescents,
465–467
academic achievement, 466
birthrates, 746
college enrollment, 344–345
school and academic
achievement, 618
suicide, 734
Natural birth control, 433
Neglect, 467–469
Neglectful parenting style, 109,
111, 487
Nerds, 490
Neuroblastoma, 98
Neurological toxicity, 267
Neuroticism, 509
Nickelodeon, 758
Nicotine, 730
Nondirective parents, 225
Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, 97
Noninsulin-dependent diabetes
mellitus (NIDDM), 473
Nonoxynol-9, 165
Norms, 159
developmental assets, 209,
216
Norplant, 164
Nuremberg Code, 591
Nutrition, 470–475, 714–715
anemia and, 47
dental health and, 473
dietary supplements, 474
eating behaviors, 471–472
family environment and,
472
food choices, 469–471
health promotion, 334–336
media influences, 472–473
menstruation and, 336
obesity and, 473
physical activity and,
474–475
pubertal development and,
471
recreation and, 472–473
requirements, 470–471
resources, 475
See also Eating disorders
Obesity, 87, 249, 473, 714
television and, 759
Obsessive-compulsive disorder,
231–232
One to One, 379, 440, 441
Openness, 509
Opium, 728
Oppositional defiant disorder
(ODD), 150, 228
Oral contraceptives, 162–164,
435, 527. See also
Contraception
Oral health, 202–205
Orthodontic care, 203
Osteoporosis, 293, 295–296
Panic attacks, 231
Pap smear, 162
Parent-adolescent relations,
281, 477–481, 562–563
academic achievement and,
619
academic self-evaluation
and, 12–13
Asian American
experiences, 66–67, 70–72
career development and,
101–103
children of alcoholics,
112–115
chronic illness and, 698–699
conduct problems and, 150
discipline, 223–226
discussing puberty issues,
560
distancing and acceleration
hypotheses, 478
divorce and, 233–234
emotional abuse, 253–257
fathers and adolescents,
287–290, 458, 479
gender differences, 289
love, 411–412
mothers and adolescents,
455–459, 478–479
normative conflict, 80
peer influence versus, 493
rebellion, 722, 724
self-esteem and, 479–480
sex education, 653, 654
sport participation and,
706–707, 709–710
storm and stress, 477,
722–725
student academic intrinsic
motivation and, 462
transition to adulthood and,
771–773
working teens and, 804
See also Autonomy and
independence; Family
relations; Family stress;
Parenting styles
Parent Teacher Association
(PTA), 285
Parent training programs, 645
Parental alcoholism, 112–115
Parental control, adolescent
self-esteem and, 479–480
Parental monitoring. See
Monitoring
Parental smoking, 123
Parenting styles, 109–112,
224–225, 484–489
academic achievement and,
112, 480
adolescent aggression and,
783
Asian, 66
attitudes and practices,
487–488
authoritarian, 66, 109, 110,
112, 224–225, 487
authoritative, 66, 102, 109,
110–111, 225, 283, 480,
486–487, 694
autonomy development and,
81
career development and, 102
demandingness and
responsiveness, 484–486
history of, 485–486
neglectful, 109, 111, 487
peer victimization in school
and, 503
racial/ethnic differences,
111–112
social development and, 694

Parent-school collaboration,
446–447, 619
PCP, 730, 731
Peer counseling, 241, 645
Peer groups, 489–493, 494–496
attitudes toward academic
achievement and, 492
cliques, 126–127, 491
crowds, 489–491
gangs, 55–56, 493, 785,
810–815
Peer mediation, 156, 158–159,
645
Peer pressure, 270, 494–497,
611
age relationship, 496
gender differences, 496
status and, 496
tobacco use and, 123
Peer relations, 559, 694–695,
776–777
academic achievement and,
7, 619
adolescent autonomy
development and, 82
African American male
adolescents, 33
appearance management
and, 54–56
chronic illness and, 699
conformity, 159–162
consequences of peer
victimization, 503–504
coping and, 171
delinquency and, 201
developmental tasks, 586
ethnic identity and, 269–270
foster care and, 298–299
gossip, 492
interventions for peer
victimization, 504–505
loneliness and, 407–409
love, 412
normative stressors, 152,
155
physical attractiveness and,
498
proms, 540–542
risk factors for
victimization, 502–503
sex information sources, 653
shyness and, 678
sport participation and, 707
status, 496, 497–499
teachers and, 742
teasing, 743–746
victimization in school,
499–505
See also Dating
Peer support groups, 439–440
Pemoline, 75
Periods, See Menstruation
Permissive parenting, 109, 110,
225, 487
Personal fable, 132, 505–506,
633, 776
Personal Responsibility and
Work Opportunity
Reconciliation Act, 794
Personality, 507–512
assessment of, 509–510
continuity and change,
510–511
environmental influences,
512–513
shyness, 678
sibling conflict and, 680–681
sibling differences, 687
temperament and, 762
Personality disorder, 230
Personality Model, 398
Peyote, 730
Phenomenological Variant of
Ecological Systems
Theory (PVEST), 26–29,
31
Phobias, 231
Physical abuse, 512–516
causes, 515
effects, 515–516
prevalence, 514–515
remediation and treatment,
516
Physical activity. See Exercise;
Sports and athletic
activities
Physical attractiveness, 76–79.
See also Appearance
Piaget, Jean, 128–129, 130, 132,
368, 450–451
Piercing, 55, 638
Plagiarism, 105, 106
Planned Parenthood, 162
Play, 479
Play therapy, 50, 257
PMS, 435
Political development, 517–519
Popular culture, 807–810
cigarette smoking and, 123
gangs and, 813
See also Appearance; Media
Popularity, 497, 586, 707
Populars, 490
Pornography, 654
Postsecondary education. See
Higher education
Index 913
Posttraumatic stress disorder
(PTSD), 195
Poverty, 520–525
adolescent childbearing and,
748
age differences, 522–523
aggressive behavior and, 784
international comparisons,
524, 595
trends, 521–522
See also Socioeconomic
status
Pregnancy and childbearing,
411, 662–663, 746–750,
751–753
abortion ratio, 747
children of teen mothers,
753
consequences of, 751–753
economic self-sufficiency,
748
educational and
occupational prospects
and, 747, 752–753
fathers and, 668, 749–750,
753
health issues, 752
married and unmarried
mothers, 748
miscarriage, 447–449
outcomes for teen parents,
750
planning, 749
prevalence, 338
prevention, 747
sexual development timing
and, 749
social/family relationships
and, 748–750
societal costs, 753
transition to adulthood and,
771
trends, 525, 667, 668,
746–747, 751
welfare issues, 795
See also Abortion;
Contraception; Sexuality
and sexual behavior
Pregnancy prevention, 747,
753
community-based life
options programs,
528–529
contraceptive services
approach, 527–528
education, 526–527
effective programs, 529–531
914 Index
government programs, 529,
796
interventions, 525–531
males and, 529, 530
reducing repeat pregnancies,
529
See also Abortion;
Contraception
Prejudice and racial
discrimination, 569–571
Preliminary Scholastic
Assessment
Test/National Merit
Scholarship Qualifying
Test (PSAT/NMSQT), 718
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS),
435
Prevention programs, 644–646
Privacy rights, 593
Private schools, 531–535
Probation officer, 387
Problem behaviors. See
Behavioral problems
Problem solving, 157
Processing-speed
accommodations,
403–404
Progestin, 162
Programs for adolescents,
535–540
African Americans and, 34
the arts and, 63–64
Big Brother/Big Sister
programs, 441–442
effectiveness, 376
features of effective
programs, 377–378
intervention, 374–379
prevention programs,
528–529, 644–646
scale and effectiveness,
376–377
See also Interventions;
Services for adolescents
Programs that Work (PTW),
333
Prolactin, 609
Proms, 540–542
Prostitution, 542–546, 606
Protein nutrition, 470
PSAT/NMSQT, 718
Psychedelic drugs, 730–731
Psychodynamic therapies, 177,
553
Psychological abuse, 253–257
Psychological or emotional
problems, 226–232
adoptees and, 22
attention-deficit/
hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD), 73–76, 194–195,
227–228, 394, 397
coping styles and, 172
delinquency and, 194–196
developmental challenges
and, 174–175
discipline and, 225
divorce and, 232
emotional abuse and, 256
internalizing and
externalizing disorders,
175
mental retardation, 436–440
obsessive-compulsive
disorder, 231–232
schizophrenia and
personality disorder, 230
self-injury, 638–640
stress effects, 153
suicidal behavior and, 735
when to seek help, 176
See also Anxiety; Behavioral
problems; Depression;
Eating disorders;
Emotions; Psychotherapy
Psychosocial moratorium,
361–363
Psychosomatic disorders,
546–550
Psychotherapy, 174–179,
551–553, 646–649
abuse victims, 516
anxiety treatments, 50–51
counseling, 174–179
for emotional abuse,
256–257
former cult members, 181
life skills development, 178
outcomes, 179
types of counseling, 176–179
Psychotropic medications, 178
PTA, 285
Puberty, 471, 695, 774
body fat changes, 86–88
body hair growth, 88–90
challenges of, 217–220
hormonal changes, 554–555,
556, 609, 774
identity crisis, 558
physical changes, 555–559,
611, 650–651, 774
psychological and social
changes, 558–563
responsibility for
developmental tasks,
584–587
storm and stress, 477,
722–723
Puberty, timing of, 555, 556,
559–561, 563, 564–566,
774
athletic experiences and,
701–702
body build and, 85–86, 91
brain development, 565
depression and, 207
effects of unusual timing of
normative stressors, 154
father absence and, 563
hair growth, 90
pregnancy issues, 749
racial differences, 565
self-esteem and, 637
sexual behavior onset and,
665
weight changes, 87
See also Sexual development
Pubic hair, 554, 555–556, 564
Pubic lice, 675
Puerto Ricans, 391, 664
Puppy love, 414
Quality of life, 595
Racial discrimination and
racism, 273, 569–571
Asian American
experiences, 69
identity formation and, 28
issues for research on
African Americans, 30, 31
social construction, 571
structural, 28, 30
tracking and, 769
white privilege, 796–798
Racial identity formation,
26–29
Racial minorities. See African
American adolescents;
Asian American
adolescents; Chicana/o
adolescents; Ethnic or
racial minorities; Latina/o
adolescents; Native
American adolescents
Rap music, 426, 808–809
Rape, 571–574
risk reduction, 572
therapy for survivors, 573
Reading problems, 242
Reagan, Nancy, 241, 494
Rebellion, 574–576, 722, 724
appearance and, 55–56

Recommended dietary
allowances (RDAs), 470
Recording for the Blind &
Dyslexic (RFB&D), 404
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 405
Reinforcement, 727–728
Rejecting-neglectful parenting
style, 487
Religion and spirituality,
576–583
apostasy, 581–582
cognitive stage theories, 579
continuity, 581
conversion, 582–583
cults, 179–181
essay contest themes, 816,
819
motivational theories, 580
resilience and coping
applications, 580–581
social construction, 579–580
Research, adolescents’ rights
in, 590–594
Residential treatments, 647
Resiliency:
coping and, 172–173, 176
developmental assets,
208–217
protective factors, 469
Responsibility, essay contest
themes, 816–818
Responsibility, for
developmental tasks,
584–587
Rhythm method, 2, 4
Rights of adolescents, 587–590
in research, 590–594
Risk behaviors, 595–600, 641,
725
developmental assets and,
213
health promotion and,
333–337
prevention programs,
644–646
school dropouts and, 614
See also Behavioral
problems; Sexuality and
sexual behavior;
Substance use and abuse
Risk perception, 600–602
Ritalin, 75
Rites of passage, 578, 603–605,
695
Romantic relationships:
dating, 183–187
feelings of love, 412–415
See also Gay, lesbian, and
sexual-minority youth;
Sexuality and sexual
behavior
RU486. See Mifepristone
Runaways, 355–358, 606–608
prevention and intervention,
607–608
prostitution and, 542–543,
606
Sadness, 609–612
Safe sex, 2, 337. See
Contraception; Pregnancy
prevention; Sexuality and
sexual behavior
Safety:
environmental health
issues, 265–268
injury prevention, 15–17
mouthguards, 205
perception, as
developmental asset, 209
Salt, 336
SAT. See Scholastic Aptitude
Test
Schizophrenia, 230
Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT),
63, 406, 719
School:
accommodations, 402–407
appearance management
and, 54–55
arts and, 62–63
Asian versus American, 768
climate, 533–534
engagement, 615–617
family-school involvement,
284–287
full-service schools, 626–627
functions of, 617–621
gateways for services, 642
middle schools, 442–447
parent collaboration,
446–447, 619
peer victimization in,
499–505
phobia, 50
private schools, 531–535
single-sex, 627–629
transitions, 622–626
See also Academic
achievement; Education;
High school; Higher
education; Middle school
School dropouts, 598, 612–615,
620, 772
Index 915
family characteristics and,
613–614
gender differences, 613
individual characteristics
and, 614
outcomes, 614
racial differences, 613
School performance. See
Academic achievement
School teachers. See Teachers
School-to-work model, 57–60
Secondhand smoke, 266
Sedative-hypnotic drugs, 729
Self, 629–633. See also
Cognitive development;
Identity; Personality; Self-
esteem
Self-appraisal, in identity
formation, 27–28
Self-concept, 558, 692
Self-consciousness, 132,
634–635
Self-Directed Search (SDS), 786
Self-esteem, 479–480, 630–631,
635–638
achievement and, 636
emotional abuse and, 256
enhancement strategies, 637
parent-adolescent
relationship and, 479–480
personal fable and, 506
youth programs and, 537
Self-injury, 638–640, 733
Self-regulation, 760
Service learning, 789
Services for adolescents,
640–648
community-based
interventions, 645–646
family planning, 162
gateways, 642
needs of adolescents,
640–642
pregnancy prevention,
527–528
prevention programs,
644–646
risk factors, 642–643
therapeutic approaches,
646–649
See also Health services;
Interventions; Programs
for adolescents
Sex differences, 649–652
ability, 651–652, 694
physical characteristics,
87–88, 649–651
See also Gender differences
916 Index
Sex education, 449, 526–527,
653–656, 753
curriculum, 655
effectiveness of, 4–5
information sources,
653–654
timing of, 655–656
Sex roles, 311–314, 656–659,
693–694
adolescent development
and, 659
appearance standards and,
53, 56
chores and, 117
defining and measuring, 657
development of, 657–658
developmental tasks, 584,
586
magazines and, 426–427
maternal employment and,
421
parental employment, 313
psychological adjustment
and, 658–659
single-sex schools and,
627–629
social development and, 696
sports participation, 707
transition to adulthood and,
772
vocational development
issues, 786
See also Gender differences
Sexual abuse, 649–662
consequences, 660–661
mitigating factors, 661–662
prevalence, 659–660
Sexual assault, 571–574
Sexual development, 554–558,
564, 611, 649–651, 664,
774. See also Puberty,
timing of
Sexual disorders,
environmental hazards
and, 267–28
Sexual harassment, 502, 598
Sexual identity, 305, 307
Sexual orientation, 305–311,
611. See also Gay,
lesbian, bisexual, and
sexual-minority youth
Sexual well-being, 665
Sexuality and sexual behavior,
662–666, 776
abstinence, 2–5, 526, 669,
673
anal intercourse, 4
behavior problems, 667–668
chronic illness and, 100,
120, 698
double standard, 669
emotional aspects, 668–671
experimentation, 184
health promotion, 337
homeless youth, 358
media and, 425–426
normative stressors, 152
onset, 664–665
parental monitoring, 665
pregnancy prevention
interventions, 525–531
prior sexual abuse and, 660
prom and, 542
prostitution, 542–546, 606
research issues, 664–665
risk behaviors, 597
sexual freedom, 302–303
social pressures, 669
substance use and, 3,
239–240
trends, 751
See also Contraception;
Dating; Pregnancy and
childbearing
Sexually transmitted diseases
(STDs), 162, 597, 662,
663, 671–676, 725
anal intercourse and, 4
associated medical
problems, 673, 675
diagnosis and testing, 673
gonorrhea, 326, 673, 674
herpes, 204, 672, 674–675
HIV/AIDS, 350–355
information resources, 676
oral health and, 204
prevention of, 337
prostitution and, 545
runaways and, 606
selective overview, 674–676
sources of transmission, 672
symptoms, 672
treatment, 673
Shaken baby syndrome, 514
Shyness, 676–679
Siblings, 563
adoptive, 686
conflict, 679–682
differences, 682–684
equality of parental
treatment, 688
mental retardation and,
436–440
relationships, 684–688
spacing, 687
twins, 778–781
See also Family relations
Sickle-cell anemia, 47
Single-parent households,
276–278, 419, 479
academic achievement and,
688–690
chores in, 118
single mothers, 457–458
Single-sex schools, 627–629
Skepticism, essay contest
themes, 816, 819–820
Sleep, 336–337
Social competency, as
developmental asset, 213
Social construction, 571,
579–580
Social development, 691–697,
776–777
athletic experiences and,
706
developmental challenges,
219–220
parenting style and, 694
See also Moral development;
Peer relations
Social Interaction Models, 398
Socioeconomic status (SES),
201, 520–525
aggressive behavior and, 784
school dropouts and, 613–614
teenage childbearing and,
746, 748
tracking and, 769
See also Poverty
Soft drinks, 470
Somatization, 547
Spatial orientation, 322, 649,
652
Special education, 396
gifted and talented youth,
323–325
legal basis, 405–406
Speech pathologist, 400–401
Spencer, Herbert, 319
Spencer, Margaret B., 26–29, 31
Spermicides, 165
Spina bifida, 697–700
Spirituality and beliefs. See
Religion and spirituality
Spontaneous abortion, 447–449
Sports and athletic activities,
336, 560–561, 700–711
ability, effort, and task
difficulty, 703
attributions, 703
benefits of, 708
biological change and, 701
delayed menarche and, 432

effects on adolescent
development, 707–708
exercise and weight control,
711–717
female athlete triad,
293–296
gender roles, 707
identity development and,
708
injuries, 14
motivational issues,
702–706, 713
negative effects of, 708–709
nutritional issues, 474
oral safety, 205
parental involvement,
706–707, 709–710
peer influence, 707
puberty timing and, 701–702
significant others, 705
social changes and, 706
steroids use and, 720–722
task orientation versus ego
orientation, 703–704
youth culture and, 809
Standardized tests, 63, 315,
717–720
Stanford-Binet, 323
STDs. See Sexually
Transmitted diseases
Steroids, 731
Stimulants, 729–730
Storm and stress, 477, 722–725
Street teens, 355–358
Stress, 151–155, 226–227, 410
children of alcoholics, 113
coping, 169–174, 175–176,
227
coping with fear, 293
divorce and, 233–234
early puberty and, 207
eating disorders and, 251
emotionality and, 259
father-adolescent conflict,
289
gender differences, 153–155
health effects, 151, 153–154
health promotion and, 337
normative stressors, 152
positive effects, 550
psychosomatic disorders
and, 549–550
sibling conflict, 679–682
smoking and, 124
suicide and, 735–736
unusual timing of
normative stressors, 154
See also Conflict
Substance use and abuse,
191–193, 238–242,
596–597, 726–732
anabolic steroids, 731
child maltreatment and, 256
children of alcoholics,
112–115
continuity, 195–196
coping with stress and, 171
delinquency and, 192–196,
241, 367, 727–728
depressants, 728–729
gateway drugs, 366
gender differences, 193
HIV transmission, 353
homeless youth,
inhalants, 365–367, 596, 729
narcotics, 728
parental awareness of, 482
prevention, 238–242,
731–732
psychedelic drugs, 730–731
racial/ethnic patterns, 193
rape risk and, 572
runaways and, 606
school climate and, 534
sexual behavior and, 3
societal costs, 727
steroids, 720–722
stimulants, 729–730
tobacco use, 122–125
tolerance and withdrawal,
728
treatment, 177, 179, 732
working teens and, 803
See also Alcohol use;
Tobacco use
Suicide, 230–231, 609, 732–736
chronic illnesses and, 120
common methods, 734
gay teens and, 745
gender and ethnic
differences, 734
prevalence, 733–734
risk factors, 735–736
self-injurious behaviors,
639–640
substance use and, 39
treatment and interventions,
736
trends, 600, 611–612
warning signs, 230–231, 733
Summer Training Education
Program (STEP), 59
Supreme Court decisions, 387
Syllogistic reasoning, 129
Syphilis, 675
Index 917
Systems-based interventions,
647–648
Tattooing, 55, 638
Tax law, 523
Teachers, 534, 618–619,
739–742
academic performance and,
739
adolescent academic self-
evaluation and, 12–13
adolescent autonomy
development and, 81–82
foster care issues, 298
peer relations and, 742
Team teaching, 445
Teasing, 743–746
Tech-Prep, 59
Teenage parents and parenting.
See Pregnancy and
childbearing
Television, 422–428, 754–759
body image and, 757
delinquency and, 759
educational programs,
757–758
effects of, 758–759
identity and, 757
sex in, 425–426
violence/aggression and, 36,
423–424, 757
Temperament, 760–763
Temporary Assistance to
Needy Families (TANF),
794–796
Test anxiety, 292
Testicular development, 554,
555, 556, 564
Testing, 63, 315, 717–720. See
also Intelligence tests
Testosterone, 36, 37, 89, 554,
720, 774
Thinking, 129–132, 157, 219,
637, 762–766, 772. See
also Cognitive
development
Third molars, 205
Tobacco use, 122–125, 193,
240, 302, 596, 730
dental health and, 203–204
environmental hazards, 266,
267
prevalence, 726
See also Substance use and
abuse
Tourette’s disorder, 232
Toxic shock syndrome, 165
Toxic wastes, 267
918 Index
Tracking, 742, 766–770
Transgendered people, 307
Transition to adulthood, 303,
625, 695–696, 770–774
apprenticeships, 57–60
chronic health problems
and, 771
discontinuities, 94–95
gender roles and, 772
independent living
programs, 299
See also Autonomy and
independence; Career
development; Higher
education; Work
Transitions of adolescence,
774–778
changes in family relations,
279–282
rites of passage, 578,
603–605, 695
Transitions, school, 622–626.
See also High school;
Higher education; Middle
school
Trichomonas vaginitis, 674
Trisomy 21, 235–237
Twins, 113, 778–781
Two-spirit persons, 307
Unemployment, 784
Uninvolved parents, 224
United Nations Convention on
the Rights of the Child,
587, 589
Urinary tract infection (UTI),
674
Vaccines, hepatitis, 673
Values, 151, 282, 519, 611
developmental assets, 212
drug abuse prevention and,
242
Laws of Life Essay Contest,
815–823
moral development,
449–455, 586–587
youth outlook, 815–823
Video games, 424–425
Violence and aggression, 35–38,
599, 611, 783–785
computer games and,
424–425
conflict resolution, 156
gangs and, 813
gender differences, 35–37,
783
hormones and, 36, 37
management of, 38
media and, 36, 423–425, 757
parenting practices and, 783
peer victimization in school,
499–505
sibling conflict and, 679,
681
social factors, 784–785
See also Behavioral
problems; Bullying;
Crime; Delinquency;
Physical abuse
Visitation arrangements, 234
Visual processing
accommodations 401–402
Vocational development,
785–788
Vocational identity
development, 786
Volunteerism, 788–792
Walker, Lawrence, 320
Water, 336
Wechsler scales, 372
Weight control, physical
activity and, 711–717
Welfare, 524, 793–796
White privilege, 796–798
Wisdom teeth, 205
Women’s Ways of Knowing
(WWK), 322
Work, 303, 625, 800–805
academic achievement and,
103, 264
advice for parents, 805
apprenticeships, 57–60
educational requirements,
767
experiences and career
development, 103
gender differences, 317
gender role stereotypes,
313–314
household chores and, 117
maternal employment, 520,
658
maternal employment,
influence on adolescents,
420–422, 458
maternal employment,
trends, 417–419
parent-child relations and,
804
physical attractiveness and,
78
positive and negative
consequences, 262–265
potential dangers, 802–803
precocious development
and, 802
problem behaviors and,
803
school dropouts and, 614
use of earnings, 804
welfare programs, 794–796
youth culture and, 808
See also Career
development; Work
Young Warriors Program, 34
Youth culture, 807–810
Youth in Care Networks, 299
Youth Outlook, Laws of Life
Essay Contest, 815–823
Youth programs, 535–540