Early career occupational mobility of Turkish and Moroccan second-generation migrants in Flanders,Belgium

This article analyses the early career occupational mobility of people from a Turkish or Moroccan descent in Flanders (Belgium). Previous research showed that second-generation migrants are less successful than natives when entering the labour market. We compare the progress in socio-economic status (SES) that youngsters of native and non-native descent make from their first to later jobs at the start of their career. Both second-generation immigrants and native majority young adults experience upward occupational mobility during this crucial phase of their occupational career. The gap between native and ethnic minority youth, however, does not narrow over the course of the years. The first job offers less SES for non-natives compared to that of natives, and the minority-native gap in occupational attainment remains constant afterwards. The future career is largely determined by the characteristics of the start of the occupational career, and educational attainment even before. Promising, however, might be the finding that a first job with a relative low occupational status does offer better opportunities for Turkish and Moroccan second-generation migrants than for native majority youth to do some catching up later on. In combination with a long-term negative impact of initial unemployment, ethnic minority youth perhaps are best off with starting to work as soon as possible after school leaving.     

Possible Selves Among Urban Youths of Color: An Exploration of Peer Beliefs and Gender Differences

Drawing from possible selves theory (H. Markus & P. Nurius, 1986), this study explored the roles of peer beliefs about school and gender differences in the development of academic and occupational visions of the future among 216 urban youths of color. Peer beliefs were not related to career and educational possible selves. No gender‐based differences were found in educational possible selves; however, boys were more likely to report hoped‐for and expected possible selves with lower occupational prestige than were girls. Directions for future research and the implications for practice in counseling urban youths of color are discussed.     

Understanding Urban Adolescent Mothers' Visions of the Future in Terms of Possible Selves

ABSTRACT

As part of a larger study of factors influencing the educational and occupational achievement of adolescent mothers, this study explored the phenomenology of pregnant and parenting teens' aspirations and expectations using the construct, “possible selves.” Focus group discussions, autobiographical projects, and self-report surveys revealed that African American pregnant and parenting youth develop self-representations related to future achievement in the context of interactions with neighborhoods, health care systems, and adult support figures. Results related to teens' “ideal selves,” “feared selves,” and “who they might become” are presented.     

Adult youth workers’ conceptions of their work in an under-resourced community in the United States

This study examined adult workers’ conceptions of their work with youth in a large, underserved, urban region in the northeastern United States. Drawing on qualitative interviews with 18 youth workers from various organizations, affiliated with a community coalition focused on substance abuse prevention, we explored how adults viewed their role of working with youth. We were particularly interested in whether these workers saw youth empowerment and collaboration with youth for community change as part of their role. Our data suggested that while workers in this study were very supportive of youth, the support and actions they provided were on behalf of rather than with them and that, in general, partnering with youth for community change was not a part of what they envisioned their work to be. While a few of the adults attempted to work more collaboratively with youth, they were clearly in the minority.     

Development of a Culturally Specific Career Exploration Group for Urban Chinese Immigrant Youth

A rapid increase in the number of Chinese immigrants and the specific challenges faced by low‐income Chinese immigrant youth attending urban schools warrant culturally sensitive school‐based interventions and services. However, research and services are limited for this population because of cultural biases in traditional career theories and the “model minority” myth suggesting that Asian students are excelling. The authors developed and implemented a culturally specific career exploration group for low‐income Chinese immigrant youth to address their career concerns with respect to multiple social and cultural factors and to provide social support. Implications for future program development and research are provided.     

Understanding career development amongst immigrant youth in a rural place

There is little research into the career trajectories and occupational aspirations of rural youth with immigrant backgrounds in Europe. This article presents new research based on field observations and interviews with five young immigrants of Persian descent in one rural town in Sweden. The findings highlighted gender differences in how the research participants felt their immigrant background would shape their future career plans and aspirations. The boys anticipated that by staying in the local town they might experience less of the stigma that they knew immigrants in urban areas often face. In contrast, the girls did not think of their rural home town as the best place to establish a career. One of the girls also spoke of an ambition to divide her working life between her new homeland and her family’s country of origin. The analysis stresses the importance of an intercultural understanding of both the local and the global when counselling immigrant youth in rural areas regarding their career choices.     

Risk Factors of Gay,Lesbian, and Bisexual Adolescents

Abstract

Many researchers of gay, lesbian, and bisexual adolescents describe them as an “invisible” minority. These youth are also one of the most “at risk” youth populations, as they often experience a range of problems related to society's stigmatization of same-sex orientation. Although sexual orientation is not necessarily related to heightened difficulties, lack of social support, infrequent positive interactions, and chronic stress may lead to increased problem behaviors for these youth. To further understand the risk and protective factors experienced by sexual minority adolescents, this article explores a number of these factors and reviews the current empirical research on specific topics, including: family, peer and school, substance use, suicide, and HIV/AIDS issues. Finally, practice implications are discussed to guide clinicians in working more effectively with this youth population.     

Step-Up: Promoting Youth Mental Health and Development in Inner-City High Schools

African American and Latino youth who reside in inner-city communities are at heightened risk for compromised mental health, as their neighborhoods are too often associated with serious stressors, including elevated rates of poverty, substance abuse, community violence, as well as scarce youth-supportive resources, and mental health care options. Many aspects of disadvantaged urban contexts have the potential to thwart successful youth development. Adolescents with elevated mental health needs may experience impaired judgment, poor problem-solving skills, and conflictual interpersonal relationships, resulting in unsafe sexual behavior and drug use. However, mental health services are frequently avoided by urban adolescents who could gain substantial benefit from care. Thus, the development of culturally sensitive, contextually relevant and effective services for urban, low-income African American and Latino adolescents is critical. Given the complexity of the mental health and social needs of urban youth, novel approaches to service delivery may need to consider individual (i.e., motivation to succeed in the future), family (i.e., adult support within and outside of the family), and community-level (i.e., work and school opportunities) clinical components. Step-Up, a high school-based mental health service delivery model has been developed to bolster key family, youth and school processes related to youth mental health and positive youth development. Step-Up (1) intervenes with urban minority adolescents across inner-city ecological domains; (2) addresses multiple levels (school, family and community) in order to target youth mental health difficulties; and (3) provides opportunities for increasing youth social problem-solving and life skills. Further, Step-Up integrates existing theory-driven, evidence-based interventions. This article describes Step-Up clinical goals, theoretical influences, as well as components and key features, and presents preliminary data on youth engagement for two cohorts of students.     

The Relationship Between Attitudinal and Behavioral Aspects of Career Maturity

The construct of career maturity has played a prominent role in career development theory. To have practical significance, however, career counselors should know that career maturity is linked to actual career-related behaviors. Toward this end, the current study investigated whether a meaningful relationship existed between an attitudinal measure of career maturity and a measure of career maturity reflecting job performance-related behavioral competencies in a sample of minority youth. Only modest relationships were found between several career maturity attitudes and the behavioral measures. Results are discussed and implications for career counselors working with minority adolescents are provided.     

Drinking Motives,Alcohol Use,and Sexual Attraction in Youth

Sexual minority youth were found to be more likely to drink alcohol during weekdays compared to heterosexual youth. Drinking during weekdays was associated with consuming alcohol as a coping strategy. Sexual minority youth also more frequently consumed alcohol to eliminate personal worries (coping) and to not be excluded by their peers (conformity). Sexual orientation–related alcohol problems should be addressed at an early stage. Such efforts are likely to be effective if insecurities and stress related to sexual orientation are addressed as well.     

Careers in the third sector

The article explores the concept of career as it relates to third-sector employees. The results of a survey of third-sector employees in New South Wales, Australia, suggests a distinctive pattern of work orientation involving a preference for work that is both personally challenging and socially meaningful. Pragmatic considerations are also important for women with young children. These and other findings suggest that the majority of third-sector employees pursue a career that more closely fits Driver's spiral career model rather than the conventional linear career model. It therefore behooves nonprofit employers to tailor the organizational reward system to the motivational needs of their employees if they hope to maximize worker satisfaction and effectiveness.     

Afterschool programs that support homeless youth: igniting hope and opportunities in the midst of trauma,uncertainty, and displacement

Across the United States, many afterschool and out-of-school time programs are making constructive and lasting impacts on the lives of homeless children and youth by providing expanded learning opportunities and positive youth development outcomes in a safe space. In this brief, we profile two youth-serving organizations and the After School Division of the California Department of Education to illustrate how afterschool programs can be part of the solution for homeless children and youth. Staff from these organizations shared their practices, successes, challenges, and lessons learned. Most importantly, they shared a message of hope and a vision for what is possible in the midst of trauma, uncertainty, and displacement.     

A Framework for Promoting Women's Career Intentionality and Work–Life Integration

Work–life integration is a major problem for today's working women, as the demands of full‐time work conflict with the relational factors of family life. Women feel they have to make difficult decisions that sacrifice their career or family, with little understanding of the influences that affect decision making. Career counselors may not be discussing the strain of Work–life integration with female college students, leading them to believe “having it all” is attainable. A framework blending the Kaleidoscope Career Model with the Systems Theory Framework to help women understand the environmental, societal, and personal influences on Work–life integration is proposed as a solution. This framework allows college women to make decisions with an intentional background of how these systems interact and sway perception. Using this framework, career counselors may help students identify goals, research the benefits and challenges, and clarify their authentic selves in personal and work realms.     

DRAMATIC SELF CHANGE

Dramatic self-change is a long, arduous process that occurs over five stages. First, people must witness firsthand the splintering of their own selves during the fragmentation stage. In the second or provisionality stage, they must desperately struggle at assembling new, unified selves to replace the former ones that split apart. If this challenge is not enough, they must then somehow summon the courage and conviction to subject their newly unified selves to the "test of experience" during the praxis stage. Should their newly unified selves withstand this test, then people must patiently await the social repercussions that they hope will follow in wake of their feat in order to generate the psychological momentum needed for them to embrace fully their new unified selves during the consolidation stage. Finally, during the social segregation stage, people must invariably gravitate toward groups in which they will be most comfortable and away from groups in which they will be least comfortable expressing their new selves. Thus, once started, dramatic self-change may never be completed.     

Perceived Levels of Cultural Competence for School Social Workers: A Follow-Up Study

The purpose of this article is to report on findings from a follow-up study that examined the relationship among social work education programs, postgraduate professional development, and school social workers’ perceived levels of cultural competence in practice with urban minority youth. The initial study demonstrated that African Americans perceived a higher level of cultural competence than their Anglo American counterparts did. Findings highlight the need to understand the processes by which practitioners become culturally competent for urban school social work practice. Underscoring the importance of professional development, the authors determined that geographic location of practice may serve as a factor that influences how practitioners anticipate the need for culturally competent practice with diverse populations. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.     

Bullying among urban Mexican-heritage youth: Exploring risk for substance use by status as a bully,victim, and bully-victim

Little is known about adolescent bullying behavior and its relationship to substance use in ethnic minority populations. In a sample of youth of Mexican heritage, the current study aimed to examine the prevalence of bullying behavior subtypes and its co-occurrence with recent alcohol, cigarette, and inhalant use. Data come from a school-based substance use prevention study in the Southwestern U.S. (n = 809). We explored the prevalence of bullying behavior by status among youth classified as bullies, victims, bully-victims, and rarely-involved bully-victims in an urban context. We also investigated risk of past 30-day use of alcohol, cigarettes, and inhalants by bullying behavior status. Compared to non-involved youth, rarely-involved bully-victims were more likely to use alcohol, bullies were more likely to engage in alcohol and cigarette use, and bully-victims were more likely to use alcohol, cigarettes, and inhalants. In contrast, victims were not significantly at risk of substance use compared to non-involved youth. Chronic bullies and bully-victims are particularly at risk for substance use, with chronic bully-victims reflecting the greatest risk of using multiple substances. Prevention and early intervention programs aimed to reduce bullying can also work to decrease other risky behaviors, such as substance use, and should attend to the growing ethnic diversity among youth.     

Social services for sexual minority youth: Preferences for what,where, and how services are delivered

As part of an internet-based study to investigate experiences of sexual minority youth in the U.S., 544 youth, ages 14–19, were surveyed about their need for services, where they preferred to receive these services, and their preferred method of service delivery. The survey was anonymous and youth were recruited from LGBTQ-specific listservs and venues as well as through social networking sites as a way of reaching youth often not represented in LGBTQ surveys. Youth highly endorsed many types of services, settings, and modes of delivery. Some subgroup differences emerged. Transgender youth and those uncertain about their gender identity expressed stronger interest than others in services to address stress, family issues, and self-defense, and in receiving support and guidance from LGBTQ adults. Few differences in service preferences along demographic lines such as race/ethnicity emerged; however, African American youth were more likely than others to prefer services offered in a place of worship. Contrary to predictions, geographic and community variables were not related to service type, delivery format, or location preferences.     

Constructing Clean Dreams: Accounts,Future Selves,and Social and Structural Support as Desistance Work

This article investigates the discourse individuals use when talking about desisting from criminal offending. I analyze the links between offenders’ accounts of past negative behavior, their construction of their possible “clean” future selves, and the social and structural conditions in which they were raised and continue to be embedded. Applying Scott and Lyman's (1968) framework on accounts and Markus and Nurius's (1986) framework of possible selves to interview data with twenty‐eight criminal offenders, I illustrate how excuses for past behavior provide a way for people to distance themselves from their past selves in attempts to preserve or re‐create a possible self that is still worthy to be redeemed in the future. This discourse becomes one mechanism that motivates individuals to change their lives—but it can be short‐lived. The analysis highlights how limited structural opportunities influence individuals’ lifestyles and behaviors, how individuals approach the desistance process even in the face of structural deprivation, and how they attempt to sustain this desistance process.