Forced Sexual Experiences and Sexual Situation Self‐Efficacy Among South African Youth

Nearly 20% of South African youth experience forced or coerced sexual intercourse. Understanding the factors associated with forced sex is important for informing prevention programs aimed at reducing sexual violence and HIV and AIDS. Multilevel regression models test the association between sexual situation self‐efficacy and forced sex among 2,893 South African adolescents. Findings suggest that youth are more likely to experience forced sex after periods of time when their levels of self‐efficacy are lower than their average levels of self‐efficacy. Furthermore, youth who are lower on their self‐efficacy compared to their peers are more likely to experience forced sex. Implications for prevention research are discussed.     

Predictors of Adolescent Participation in Organized Activities: A Five‐Year Longitudinal Study

This study examined (a) growth curves of youth participation in sports, performance and fine arts, and youth clubs throughout the high school years and (b) the associations between a series of predictors and the initial participation rates and growth over time. The predictors included individual, friend, and family factors. The moderating effect of youths' gender was also examined. Study participants were 272 youths (55% girls, M_age=12.4 years) and their parents. The predictors were assessed in Grade 6 and were based on reports by youths, parents, teachers, and classmates. Participation in organized activities was assessed annually from Grades 7 to 10. Altogether, the findings revealed that participation in sports, performance and fine arts, and youth clubs remains stable across the high school years. However, interindividual differences were found in the participation growth curves. This variation was predicted by individual, friend, and family factors, mostly with respect to sports activities.     

Self‐Mutilation and Homeless Youth: The Role of Family Abuse,Street Experiences,and Mental Disorders

Self‐mutilation, which is the act of deliberately harming oneself, has been overlooked in studies of homeless and runaway youth. Given their high rates of abuse and mental health disorders, which are associated with self‐mutilation, homeless and runaway youth provide an ideal sample in which to investigate factors associated with self‐mutilation among a nonclinical population. Based on interviews with 428 homeless and runaway youth aged 16 to 19 years in 4 Midwestern states, the current study revealed widespread prevalence of self‐mutilation among these young people. Multivariate analyses indicated that sexual abuse, ever having stayed on the street, deviant subsistence strategies, and meeting diagnostic criteria for depression were positively associated with self‐mutilation. The findings are interpreted using stress theory and affect‐regulation models.     

Attachment and Self‐Efficacy in Career Search Activities: A Structural Model

The author integrated attachment theory with social cognitive career theory (SCCT) to examine how attachment styles influence the career search self‐efficacy activities of interviewing, networking, job searching, and personal exploration. Using an undergraduate sample (N = 275, 81% women), the author tested a structural model. Results indicated that anxious attachment style was negatively related to interviewing self‐efficacy, whereas avoidant attachment style was negatively related to networking, job searching, and personal exploration self‐efficacy. Theoretical implications based on these findings provide support for an integrative model of attachment theory with SCCT. Career counselors are encouraged to consider clients’ attachment styles when working with individuals who are searching for employment. To help address the limitations of the study, future researchers could test the applicability of the current model with a more diverse sample.     

Attachment Styles and Self‐Image in Turkish Adolescents

The purpose of this article is to examine the attachment styles and the relation of these styles to the self‐image in Turkish adolescents. The study included 378 adolescents (196 females and 182 males) from high schools with different socioeconomic status (SES) who were administered Relationship Scale Questionnaires and Offer Self‐Image Questionnaires. The findings indicate that adolescents from a low SES had significantly low scores on self‐image scales compared with those from high and middle SES. It was found that secure attachment patterns affect social relationships and superior adjustment aspects of self‐image positively. The results of this study show that attachment patterns play an important role in the development of the self‐image, which is a crucial psychological structure gained in adolescence.     

A Survey of Specialist Youth Gender Diversity Services in Australia: A Whole‐of‐Family Approach

The number of referrals for children and young people seeking to affirm their gender has risen exponentially in Australia and elsewhere. Whilst the individual mental health needs and treatment outcomes for this group have been the subject of recent research, considerably less emphasis has been placed on exploring and amalgamating individual family member experiences, particularly siblings, using circular questioning. Yet, gender diversity is known to affect everyone in the family, and research clearly demonstrates that youth who feel validated and supported by individual family members in their gender identities benefit from improved mental health and global outcomes. This study aims to explore current clinical practices, professional viewpoints, use of circular questioning, and whole‐of‐family involvement in specialist youth gender diversity services in Australia. Clinical leads and coordinators of publicly funded youth gender diversity services and individual specialists across Australia were invited to complete an online survey, exploring individual protocols and practices in relation to involving the family, and the rationale underpinning this. All six respondents agreed that adopting a systemic understanding, considering general family functioning, and seeking individual family member opinions, was critical. Nevertheless, all family members were infrequently seen, with resourcing issues and time constraints being cited as the main reasons. The value of adopting a systemic and whole‐of‐family line of enquiry was supported by all respondents. Whilst sibling viewpoints were considered valuable by most professionals, siblings were infrequently seen for a variety of reasons. Further attention could therefore be given to involving siblings during specialist assessments. The findings consistently highlighted the value of a systemic line of enquiry and whole‐of‐family approach for gender diversity services and specialists. However, no current assessment guidelines incorporate this as a recommendation. Therefore, future Australian guidelines could formalise a systemic approach.     

Cognitive Self‐Regulation and Depression: Examining Academic Self‐Efficacy and Goal Characteristics in Youth of a Northern Plains Tribe

The relationship between cognitive self‐regulatory processes and depression was examined in American Indian adolescents from a Northern Plains tribe. Students completed measures of negative life events, self‐efficacy, goals, and depressive symptoms. Results indicated that academic self‐efficacy was strongly associated with depression. Academic self‐efficacy also correlated with intrinsically motivating goal representations, such that students who indicated high academic self‐efficacy had goals that were more important to them, goals they thought more about, and goals they viewed as wanted by the self instead of as imposed on by others. However, we did not find the hypothesized mediational model in which academic self‐efficacy influenced depression indirectly by influencing goal characteristics. Rather, this indirect model varied by grade, and differed from what we expected. Specifically, for older adolescents, higher levels of academic self‐efficacy predicted goals that were more likely to be identified as the adolescent's own, and in turn, these self‐ as opposed to other‐oriented goals predicted higher levels of depressive symptoms. Results are discussed as providing support for continued investigations into the role of specific cognitive self‐regulatory processes in youth adjustment.     

Student Self‐Reported Positive Purpose Over Two Years in Urban Middle Schools

We used Developmental Systems Theory as a framework for understanding the role of contextual factors in the development of purpose in urban adolescents. The sample included primarily low‐socioeconomic students of color attending urban middle schools (n = 2,629; 10–16 years of age). Longitudinal data were collected at four time points across two years. We used hierarchical linear modeling to model change in purpose. On average, purpose declined over time. We also identified several predictors of intercept and slope. For example, Black youth had a higher average purpose intercept, as well as a steeper average decline than other racial/ethnic groups. Females demonstrated a higher average purpose intercept than males, but this effect disappeared when academic achievement was added to the model.     

Self‐Perceived Competence in Mainland China: A Multiwave Longitudinal Examination of Internalizing Symptoms in Chinese Adolescents

The present 9‐wave, 2‐year study examined whether Cole's (1991) theory of self‐perceived competence could help explain vulnerability to depressive and anxiety symptoms in a sample of adolescents from mainland China. Participants included 624 adolescents (319 females and 305 males) from an urban school in Changsha (n = 308) and from a rural school in Liuyang (n = 316). Findings showed that self‐perceived academic competence was negatively associated with prospective depressive and anxiety symptoms. Meanwhile, adolescents with low levels of self‐perceived social competence were at heightened risk for depressive symptoms during times of increased stressors (supporting a vulnerability‐stress model). These findings advance past research by highlighting new developmental pathways for depressive and anxiety symptoms in Chinese adolescents.     

Civic and Political Participation of Children and Adolescents: A Lifestyle Analysis for Positive Youth Developmental Programs

Social participation plays a key role in predicting positive youth development (PYD). As a previous step of this link, this research examined how children and adolescents' relational lifestyles influenced their participation in political and civic activities. This research provides a multi‐dimensional approach to the study of children's social participation, based on six children's lifestyles factors (i.e. family dialogue, risky behaviours, cultural activities, civic values, family supervision and peer group relationships). Using data from an international survey that included 6130 participants (2198 Spanish, 3932 Italian, Mage = 13.8), this study's results show that relational lifestyles (especially family dialogue and out‐of‐school cultural activities) are positively related to political and civic participation among children and adolescents. On the contrary, some peer group relationships decreased their social participation in those key dimensions for PYD. Limitations of the current study, implications for future policy decisions and applications to children social programs are discussed.     

Adolescents and Music Media: Toward an Involvement‐Mediational Model of Consumption and Self‐Concept

Using social cognitive theory and structural regression modeling, we examined pathways between early adolescents' music media consumption, involvement with music media, and 3 domains of self‐concept (physical appearance, romantic appeal, and global self‐worth; N=124). A mediational model was supported for 2 domains of self‐concept. Music media consumption was positively associated with adolescents' involvement with media focusing on music personae. Higher involvement was associated with perceiving the self as less physically attractive and having lower overall self‐worth. Music media consumption was directly related to adolescents' evaluations of their own romantic appeal. Results suggest that through involvement processes with music media characters, adolescents may use music media as a venue for social comparison against which they evaluate their own physical attractiveness and self‐worth. Music media consumption may also provide social modeling for normative expectations about romantic relationships regardless of the level of involvement. Gender differences were nonsignificant in the mediational model.     

Why Trust Matters: How Confidence in Leaders Transforms What Adolescents Gain From Youth Programs

Youth's trust in program leaders is considered a key to the positive impact of youth programs. We sought to understand how trust influences youth's program experiences from their perspective. We interviewed 108 ethnically diverse youth (ages 12–19) participating in 13 arts, leadership, and technology programs. Analysis of these accounts suggested five ways in which youth's trust in leaders amplified program benefits. Trust increased youth's (1) confidence in leaders' guidance in program activities, (2) motivation in the program, (3) use of leaders for mentoring, (4) use of leaders as a model of a well‐functioning relationship, and (5) experience of program cohesiveness. Across benefits, trust allowed youth to draw on leaders' expertise, opened them to new experiences, and helped increase youth's agency.     

Birth Cohort and Age Changes in the Self‐Esteem of Chinese Adolescents: A Cross‐Temporal Meta‐Analysis, 1996–2009

The present cross‐temporal meta‐analysis involving 68 studies (n = 35,499) found that Chinese adolescents' scores on the Rosenberg Self‐Esteem Scale decreased substantially from 1996 to 2009. The decline of self‐esteem across birth cohorts was associated with the slide of social connection level of Chinese adolescents. Correlations between self‐esteem and corresponding social indicators like the floating population and divorce rate were significant. Analysis on self‐esteem age differences showed that self‐esteem development in China was different from Western results: self‐esteem scores followed a roughly increasing trend from Grade 7 through Grade 12 with double dip points at Grades 7 and 11.     

Traditionalism or Low Self‐Control?: Explaining the Health‐Risk Behaviors of American Indian Youth

Using a sample of American Indian high school students, we test self-control and Native traditionalism as predictors of their health-risk behaviors. Regression analyses found self-control to be a significant influence on all seven health-risk items as well as the health-risk composite. Traditionalism by and large fails to influence these behaviors. However, the traditionalism measure serves a second purpose as a means of controlling for cultural variation while testing the influence of self-control. In doing so, self-control remains a robust predictor. By controlling for cultural variation and examining behaviors that transcend cultural definitions of deviance, we believe these results support the cultural invariance thesis of self-control. Implications for refining traditionalism, testing the cultural invariance of self-control, and considering new directions in understanding the health risks among American Indians are discussed.     

Self‐Regulatory Profiles and Conduct Problems in Youth Referred to Juvenile Diversion

The current study utilized a person‐centered approach to explore how self‐regulatory profiles relate to conduct problems in an ethnically diverse sample of 197 adolescents referred to juvenile diversion programming. Utilizing a multidomain, multimethod battery of self‐regulation indicators, three common profiles emerged in a latent profile analysis. The profiles represented an Adaptive group, a Cognitively Inflexible group, and an Emotionally Dysregulated group. Group membership was associated with severity and type of conduct problems as well as callous and unemotional traits. The Adaptive group demonstrated lower severity conduct problems when compared to the other groups. The Emotionally Dysregulated group was more likely to commit violent offenses and demonstrated higher levels of some callous and unemotional traits than youth characterized by cognitive inflexibility.     

Dimensions of Precariousness in an Emerging Sector of Self‐Employment: A Study of Self‐Employed Nurses

Changing economic ideologies and a new emphasis on entrepreneurial opportunities have led to a rise in self‐employment in Canada, especially among women. Although some people benefit from self‐employment, it is considered to be a precarious form of employment. Despite a growing body of literature on gender and self‐employment, there is more to learn about its precarious nature across industries and types of entrepreneurs. This ethnographic study examines the experiences of self‐employed nurses in order to better understand self‐employment in professional caring work. In some ways, these nurses' experiences fit with what is known about female self‐employment but this specific sector highlights how precariousness can take different forms across different areas of work. In particular, this study reveals new insights about the complexity and ambiguity of precariousness.     

Self‐Esteem Trajectories among Ethnic Minority Adolescents: A Growth Curve Analysis of the Patterns and Predictors of Change

The current study presents a growth curve analysis of self‐esteem among Black, Latino, and Asian American high school students. A series of hierarchical linear models were used to examine patterns and predictors of change in self‐esteem over time. Results revealed an average increase in self‐esteem with age. Although boys and girls experienced similar trajectories of self‐esteem, ethnicity was a significant moderator of developmental change. Black adolescents reported higher self‐esteem, while Asian American adolescents reported lower self‐esteem, compared with their Latino peers. Latino adolescents experienced a sharper increase in self‐esteem over time compared with Black adolescents. The unique and conjoint effects of adolescents' experiences with peers, family, and school were examined in relation to self‐esteem trajectories. Results revealed that each perceived context was significantly associated with self‐esteem trajectories when examined independently, but family experiences emerged as most strongly related to changes in self‐esteem. Results underscore the need to examine change at the individual level, as well as the importance of studying the unique and conjoint effects of individual and contextual‐level variables on developmental processes among ethnic minority adolescents.     

Self‐Help Career Services: A Case Report

Self‐help career services represent an important form of career intervention rarely described in the literature. Using a case‐report approach, the author describes this type of career intervention, which was guided by cognitive information processing theory and Holland's ( 1997 ) typological theory. The report offers an example of appropriately identifying client readiness to engage in career counseling using a 3‐tier model for service delivery composed of direct, brief, and self‐help interventions. It also demonstrates an effective method for translating theory to practice, a particularly critical need in the career development field. The outcome of the intervention supports a differentiated model of career services that increases client accessibility to those services.     

Developmental Trajectories of Nonsuicidal Self‐Injury in Adolescence and Intrapersonal/Interpersonal Risk Factors

This 3‐wave study investigated the developmental trajectories of nonsuicidal self‐injury (NSSI) and intrapersonal/interpersonal risk factors among 3,381 Chinese adolescents (56.2% females) aged from 13 to 17 years during a 1‐year period. Using an accelerated longitudinal design and latent class growth analysis, we identified four subgroups of NSSI trajectories: negligible (74.6%), experimental (12.8%), moderate decreasing (10.8%), and high fluctuating (1.9%). Adolescents reporting both intrapersonal (i.e., impulsive behaviors and depression) and interpersonal (i.e., unstable relationships and parental criticism) risk factors were significantly more likely to follow the latter three trajectories. The findings of this study suggest there is heterogeneity in NSSI development among adolescents and highlight the contributions of both intrapersonal and interpersonal risk factors in the engagement in NSSI.     

Usefulness and Reliability of Tanner Pubertal Self‐Rating to Urban Black Adolescents in South Africa

Self‐rating of pubertal development is the recommended method to assess puberty in large community‐based surveys of adolescent development and behavior. The aim of this study was to validate for the first time pubertal self‐assessment using the sexual maturation scale developed by Tanner among Black South African adolescents (n=182) aged between 10 and 18 years who were recruited and assessed at public schools in Soweto—Johannesburg. There was significant concordance between adolescents' and same sex health professional's assessment of pubic hair growth and breast development in females (κ coefficients .71 and .76, respectively; p<.0005), and pubic hair growth and genital development in males (κ coefficients .63 and .60, respectively; p<.0005). We conclude that the Tanner pubertal self‐rating appears to be a reasonably valid instrument to use among black South African youth. The tool can be administered in school or other community‐based settings with moderate confidence provided the procedure is thoroughly explained to the participant through the developed tutorial in the language of choice, and privacy and confidentiality are assured.