Teen Dating Violence Perpetration: Protective Factor Trajectories from Middle to High School among Adolescents

Protecting adolescents from the risk of teen dating violence (TDV) perpetration is critical to enhancing prevention efforts. This study examined longitudinal trajectories of four protective factors (i.e., empathy, social support, parental monitoring, and school belonging) across adolescence in relation to four TDV types (i.e., verbal, relational, physical, and sexual). Adolescents (n = 1,668) who reported being in a relationship or dating during high school completed self‐report measures from middle through high school. Results indicated that all protective factors differentiated between TDV perpetrators and nonperpetrators, although these trajectories varied for boys and for girls and across the different types of TDV. Overall, youth who did not perpetrate TDV in high school generally displayed higher protective factors across the TDV perpetration types.     

Latent Profiles of Discrimination and Socialization Predicting Ethnic Identity and Well‐Being Among Asian American Adolescents

Ethnic identity is rooted in sociocultural processes, but little is known about how social interactions predict its longitudinal changes. Using data from 154 Asian American adolescents, latent profile analysis derived four typologies based on unfair treatment (i.e., discrimination, model minority stereotyping) and ethnic socialization (i.e., cultural socialization, preparation for bias, promotion of mistrust): Low Cultural Salience, High Cultural Salience with Marginalization, Culturally Prepared with Low Mistrust, and High Mistrust/Discrimination. Few gender or generational differences in profile membership were found. Positive outcomes were linked to adolescents attuned to both positive and negative experiences, Culturally Prepared with Low Mistrust, who reported increases in ethnic belonging and decreases in negative emotions. The implications for identity formation and adjustment are discussed.     

Social and Emotional Functioning of Older Asian American Adolescents

This study identified a constellation of psychosocial problems reported by older Asian American adolescents that was different from their Caucasian peers. When compared to 386 Caucasian American adolescents from the same community, Asian American students performed better academically and reported fewer delinquent behaviors. However, these Asian American youth reported higher levels of depressive symptomatology, withdrawn behavior, and social problems. They also perceived themselves more poorly and were more dissatisfied with their social support. These differences highlight the unique mental health needs of older Asian American youth. Practice recommendations are made that consider traditional Asian values and the role that family members can play in the development of effective treatment plans.     

Many dimensions of Asian American pan‐ethnicity

Asian Americans as a group consist of over 20 national origin groups with distinctive ethnicity, language, religion, cultural practices, immigration history, and perceptions of life in the United States. While “Asian American” has been interchangeably used to refer to both racial and pan‐ethnic grouping of individuals of Asian heritage, the exact meaning of the term varies contextually by one's ethnicity, experiences, and other social, structural, and cultural characteristics. In this article, I investigate three distinctive ways in which Asian Americans understand and enact upon their pan‐ethnicity: (a) as a political instrument, (b) as a social group identity, and (c) as a path of integration into the mainstream society. Then, I briefly discuss implications of pan‐ethnicity for Asian Americans, before turning to the discussion of ways in which future research could further investigate the complexities of pan‐ethnicity. I conclude by attempting to provide a nuanced definition of Asian American pan‐ethnicity based on the literature reviewed in this article.     

Psychosocial Correlates of Condom Use Intentions among Junior High School Students in the Bolgatanga Municipality of Ghana

ABSTRACT

Objectives: We explored sociodemographics, sexual experience, and psychosocial factors influencing condom use intentions of adolescents in Northern Ghana. Methods: Based on social cognitive theories and previous empirical studies investigating condom use, a cross-sectional survey was conducted among 2,018 adolescents (M age = 15.8 years) in Bolgatanga, Ghana. Correlations and multinomial logistic regressions were performed. Results: Findings showed that attitudes toward condom availability, injunctive norms toward condom use, sex experience, perceived susceptibility towards STIs, and perceived behavioral control toward buying as well as using condoms differentiated between people with different levels of intentions to use condoms. Conclusions: Implications for intervention development are discussed.     

In‐School Versus Out‐of‐School Friendships and Academic Achievement Among an Ethnically Diverse Sample of Adolescents

Much of the research on adolescent friendships and school achievement has focused on in‐school friends, ignoring the potential effects of having out‐of‐school friendships. The goal of this study was to examine the relation between having relatively more in‐school friends and school achievement among a sample of over 600 12th grade students from ethnically diverse backgrounds. We found that adolescents with more in‐school friends, compared with out‐of‐school friends, had higher grade point averages (GPAs) and that adolescents with higher GPAs had more in‐school friends. These relations were mediated by academic experiences, including those shared with friends. However, as hypothesized, the social aspects of adolescents' friendships did not vary according to their percent of in‐school friends, attesting to the importance of considering both types of friendships in understanding adolescents' social experiences. None of the relations described varied according to gender or ethnicity.     

Environmental Correlates of Depressive Symptoms Among African American Adolescents Living in Public Housing

Abstract

Using a sample of 238 African American adolescents living in public housing, this study assesses the prevalence of depressive symptoms and examines the relationship between depressive symptoms and neighborhood characteristics. The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 34. Males (M = 20) reported significantly higher depressive symptoms than females (M = 16). Results show a significant relationship between ambient risk and depressive symptoms. The relationship between ambient risk and depressive symptoms was exacerbated by exposure to delinquent peers. Parental factors and attitude towards deviance buffered the relationship between ambient risk and depressive symptoms. These findings may have important implications for social policy and suggest that interventions to prevent depression among African American adolescents, living in public housing developments, must not only focus on reducing neighborhood risk factors but also on enhancing the protective factors available to the youth.     

Direct and Indirect Pathways From Adverse Childhood Experiences to High School Dropout Among High‐Risk Adolescents

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with an increased risk for school dropout. This study examined pathways from childhood adversity to school dropout through academic, behavioral, emotional, and social pathways. Data were collected prospectively from 728 adolescents and their caregivers who participated in the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect and from child protective services records. Path analyses revealed a direct association between ACEs and dropout, as well as indirect effects through poor reading achievement and elevated externalizing problems. ACEs were associated with elevated internalizing problems, which were negatively associated with dropout. However, ACEs were not associated with peer influences. Implications of the identified mechanisms in the ACEs and school dropout association for future preventive interventions are discussed.     

Evaluation of the High School Relationship Curriculum Connections: Dating and Emotions

Interest in relationship education for high school students has grown since the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 provided funding for Healthy Marriage Initiative programs. This study used a pretest and posttest design and measures of relationship knowledge and attitudes to evaluate a relationship curriculum taught in required health education classes to a sample of 139 students. Comparison of students’ pretest and posttest scores showed slight gains in knowledge about relationships. Analysis based on characteristics associated with risk and protective factors for relationship outcomes (gender, academic performance and parental divorce history) found significant differences. Implications for expanding high school relationship education and recommendations for social work involvement in these programs are discussed.     

Dating and Sexuality among Minority Adolescents with Disabilities: An Application of Sociocultural Theory

Adolescents with disabilities, American Indians, Hispanics, and African Americans are more likely to experience victimization and pregnancy as teens. This study explored ethnic and racial minority youth with disabilities’ dating and sexual experiences from the perspectives of social workers using Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory. Thirteen in-depth interviews were conducted with master’s degree–holding high school social work practitioners. Social workers described family beliefs and practices, socioeconomic status, special education, historical influences, and resiliency as aspects of adolescents’ lives that impacted their dating and sexuality. Social workers’ dialogue concerning family beliefs and attitudes toward abusive relationships were interpreted as internally oriented signs used by adolescents with disabilities to navigate their dating and sexuality. Socioeconomic status, family practices, and special education were interpreted as externally oriented meditational tools. Social workers reported that many adolescents experienced a history of violence, but that some adolescents adapted their cultural heritage by creating new values for themselves and engaged in healthier dating and sexual behaviors than their peers. Finally, although social workers were a source of support to adolescents with disabilities, they were also at times a portal for ethnocentric discourse.     

A Textbook Approach to Teaching: Structural Uniformity among American High School Sociology Courses

There has been renewed interest over the past 5 years among sociologists in empirically examining the status of sociology in high school. The few studies that have recently been conducted, however, have focused almost exclusively on high school sociology teachers. The nature and structure of the courses themselves have been largely ignored. Given the American Sociological Association’s recent attempts to develop and implement an Advanced Placement course, it seems especially important to examine the characteristics of existing sociology courses. This paper uses the results of a national mail survey to describe and discuss three aspects of the nature and structure of a random sample of sociology courses that were offered during the 2005–06 school year: instructional materials and pedagogical resources, teaching techniques, and course content. I demonstrate that these aspects of the courses look remarkably similar across the country: Teachers rely overwhelmingly on standard introductory textbooks to structure their courses. They are also apt to utilize supplemental materials from textbook publishers and from newspapers and newsmagazines, and to use a combination of lecture and discussion in their sociology classes. The paper concludes with recommendations for future research.     

Ethnic‐racial Socialization,Perceived Neighborhood Quality,and Psychosocial Adjustment among African American and Caribbean Black Adolescents

Ethnic–racial socialization is employed by ethnic minority parents to support their children’s psychosocial adjustment. These socialization messages may be associated differently with psychosocial adjustment for Black youth according to ethnicity and qualities of the neighborhood context. This research examined whether associations between ethnic–racial socialization messages and psychosocial adjustment vary by ethnicity and perceived neighborhood quality in a nationally representative sample of Black adolescents who participated in the National Survey of American Life Adolescent supplement study. The effects of promotion of mistrust messages varied by ethnicity, and the effects of egalitarianism messages varied depending on perceived neighborhood quality. These findings help clarify prior research which has yielded equivocal results for the effects of these messages for Black youth’s psychosocial adjustment.     

Mexican American and European American Adolescents' Dating Experiences across the Ecosystem: Implications for Healthy Relationships within an Ecodevelopmental Framework

Dating health interventions that target the complex, multi-systemic spheres in which adolescents experience their first romantic relationships are required. This study utilizes an ecodevelopmental approach to better understand Mexican American and European American youths' perceptions of how peers, parents, school, and the media act both independently and collectively to affect their dating lives, also elucidating how such systems are at times in conflict. Seventy-five middle adolescents participated in focus groups divided by gender and ethnicity to uncover differences and similarities within and across groups. Findings underscore the importance and widespread effects of romantic relationships for adolescents' social development and the need for intervention programs that target multiple points of intervention while attending to mesosystemic conflicts across systems.     

Patterns of Intermarriages and Cross‐Generational In‐Marriages among Native‐Born Asian Americans

This article examines patterns of post‐1965 native‐born Asian Americans’ intermarriages and cross‐generational in‐marriages using a combined sample of the 2001–2006 American Community Surveys from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series. The analysis focuses on ethnic and gender differences in intermarriage and cross‐generational in‐marriage rates and patterns. About 55 percent of native‐born Asian Americans are found to be intermarried while another 23 percent are married to 1.5‐generation or first‐generation co‐ethnic immigrants. Thus only 22 percent of native‐born Asian Americans are married to co‐ethnic native‐born Asian Americans. As expected, there are significant ethnic and gender differences in intermarriage and cross‐generational in‐marriage rates and patterns. This study is significant because it is the first study that has examined intermarriage patterns among post‐1965 native‐born Asian Americans, the majority of whom are likely to be children of post‐1965 Asian immigrants, using the most recent Census data available. It is also significant for studies of the new second generation in general in that it is the first study to show patterns of cross‐generational in‐marriage among members of the new second generation.     

The Nature and Correlates of Sibling Influence in Two‐Parent African American Families

Guided by research and theory on sibling similarities and differences, this study explored the nature and correlates of 2 processes of sibling influence—social learning and sibling differentiation—during adolescence. Participants included 2 adolescent‐age siblings (M = 16.29 years for older siblings and M = 12.59 years for younger siblings, respectively) from 166 two‐parent African American families. Significant nonlinear associations between these two influence dynamics and some sibling relationship qualities were discovered. For sibling differentiation, but not social learning, these links were further moderated by gender composition of the sibling dyad. Additional analyses revealed that youths' reports of social learning were generally linked to smaller differences between siblings, whereas differentiation processes were linked to greater differences in siblings' individual characteristics.     

Measuring the Psychobiological Correlates of Daily Experience in Adolescents

Mapping the psychobiological correlates of social contexts, experiences, and emotional responses of adolescents in their daily lives provides insight into how adolescent well‐being shapes, and is shaped by, experience. Measures of these psychobiological correlates are enabled by devices and technologies that must be precise and suitable for adolescent participants. The present report reviews the most often used research measures, and suggests strategies for best practice, drawn from practical experience. The rapid advances in technological methods to collect attuned measures of psychological processes, social context, and biological function indicate the promise for multimodal measures in ecological settings. Attaining these methodological goals will support research to secure comprehensive, quality data, and advance the understanding of psychobiological function in ambulatory settings.     

Correlates of Voluntary vs. Involuntary Part‐time Employment among US Women

This article presents a study of the extent to which type and duration of labour force attachment add to the explanatory power of psychological, demographic, and family household characteristics to predict voluntary (n=166) vs. involuntary part‐time (n=160) employment of women in the United States. We use the terms ‘voluntary’ and ‘involuntary’ to reflect the woman's choice in accepting to work in paid part‐time employment. In this context, voluntary part‐time work is not meant to be construed as charitable, non‐paid activities, but rather is construed as individuals who are working part‐time but who would prefer to be working full‐time, if a suitable job were available. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Labor Market Experience (NLSLME), we found that labour market attachment characteristics added little to predict part‐time employment status (involuntary vs. voluntary) and had virtually no effect on the odds of any other correlates on employment status. The major exception was number of years of unemployment. The longer working women were previously unemployed, the greater the likelihood they were involuntarily employed in part‐time jobs. In addition, we found that marriage and private sector employment decreased the likelihood of involuntary part‐time employment. Findings suggest that involuntarily part‐time employed women appear to be ‘settling’ for what they can get, namely, part‐time rather than full‐time jobs and that unmarried part‐timers may be viewed as a stigmatized or marginal group more likely to be employed in the public rather than private sector. Policy implications and future research are discussed.