Adolescent mourning: The sudden death of a peer

This paper examines adolescents who are mourning the traumatic death of peers. A psychodynamic model is employed in offering crisis intervention to individuals and groups of grieving adolescents within a school setting. Case vignettes highlight the psychological impact of the death of a peer on an adolescent's functioning and ego development.     

Ego Development,Ego Strengths,and Ethnic Identity Among First Nation Adolescents

Three conceptualizations of psychosocial development were investigated among Canadian First Nation adolescents. Loevinger's social cognitive model of ego development reflects the way in which an individual views the self and social reality. From Eriksonian theory, ego strengths refer to the emergent values or outcomes that represent resolution of the eight psychosocial stages of development, and ethnic identity is a domain of personal identity with special relevance for minorities. As expected, age and biological gender differences were found for ego development. Associations between ego development and ego strengths were supported as were age differences in ethnic identity status. Traditional students (strongly identified with indigenous culture) demonstrated greater ego strengths than bicultural (identified with both their own and mainstream cultures) adolescents.     

Ego identity of adolescent children of alcoholics

The study examines the issue of ego identity among adolescent sons of alcoholic fathers. Forty-four adolescent sons of alcoholic fathers, age of 15-18, constituted the sample. They were drawn from public alcohol treatment center in Israel. The control group included 60 adolescents none of their parents is known as an alcoholic, sampled from integrative schools in the same neighborhood and matched by age. Ego identity was measured by Tzuriel's "Adolescent Ego Identity Scale" (AEIS). It was hypothesized that adolescent children of alcoholics will show lower scores of ego identity and of its dimensions. The hypothesis was not confirmed. To the contrary, adolescent children of alcoholics reported higher scores of "ego identity-total" and of four of the seven ego identity dimensions. One possible explanation is that children of alcoholics are maturing early in age compared to their controls. They have developed different coping strategies that facilitate creating a more "stable" ego identity compared to their peers. Another explanation is that children of alcoholics apply defense mechanisms that enhance the development of an "adaptive self."     

Aggression and conduct disorder in former Soviet Union immigrant adolescents: The role of parenting style and ego identity

The study examined aggression, guilt feelings and conduct disorder (CD) in adolescent immigrants from the Former Soviet Union. One hundred and nineteen adolescents, including sixty six immigrants and fifty native Israelis from four residential schools, completed questionnaires assessing level of aggression, sense of guilt, ego identity, and parenting style. Objective assessments of CD were obtained from instructors at the residential schools, using the CBCL. Results indicate that diffused ego identity is the strongest predictor of aggression, guilt, and CD. A lack of positive parenting moderates the link between diffused ego identity and aggression and CD, while positive parenting promotes a sense of guilt, especially in the immigrant group. These results warrant cultural identity-sensitive interventions.     

Ego Development and Adolescent Academic Achievement

This study investigated ego developmental differences in adolescent academic orientations and academic achievement. A sample of 142 male and female high school students completed the Washington University Sentence Completion Test and self‐report measures assessing academic locus of control, learning orientation (LO), and grade orientation (GO). With increasing ego development, adolescents demonstrated increased internal academic locus of control, stronger LOs, diminished GOs, and higher class rank. Regression analysis indicated that ego level was a significant predictor of academic achievement after controlling for the effects of verbal intelligence and gender. Implications for fostering academic success through theoretically relevant interventions are discussed.     

The Role of Socialization,Effortful Control,and Ego Resiliency in French Adolescents' Social Functioning

The relations among effortful control, ego resiliency, socialization, and social functioning were examined with a sample of 182 French adolescents (14–20 years old). Adolescents, their parents, and/or teachers completed questionnaires on these constructs. Effortful control and ego resiliency were correlated with adolescents' social functioning, especially with low externalizing and internalizing behaviors and sometimes with high peer competence. Furthermore, aspects of socialization (parenting practices more than family expressiveness) were associated with adolescents' effortful control, ego resiliency, and social functioning. Effortful control and ego resiliency mediated the relations between parental socialization and adolescents' peer competence and internalizing problems. Furthermore, effortful control mediated the relations between socialization and adolescents' externalizing behavior. Findings are discussed in terms of cultural and developmental variation.     

Ego strength and achievement motivation in pathological gamblers

This paper argues that there area priori reasons to extract measures of ego strength and achievement motivation from the psychometric data base routinely collected from inpatient pathological gambers in order to clarify the meaning of these constructs and to evaluate their roles in personality organization. A sample of 57 subjects engaged in an inpatient treatment program for pathological gamblers was studied using Barron's Ego Strength Scale (ES) from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory and two measures of achievement motivation from the California Personality Inventory, Achievement via Conformance (Ac) and Achievement via Independence (Ai). Compared to the standardization group norms on these instruments, pathological gamblers are significantly deficient in both ego strength and one type of achievement motivation, Ac. Clinical impressions of gamblers in treatment suggest that narcissistic characteristics are a major problem in treatment and that future research should attempt further detailed studies of ego structure in order to refine treatment objectives.     

Abstinence and Birth Control Among Rural Adolescents in Impoverished Families: A Test of Theoretical Discriminators

This was a study of 357 adolescents who resided with AFDC families in ten rural counties in Arkansas. The study examined predictors of birth control from sociodemographic variables, control, strain and differential association theories. This was the first theoretically-based investigation of abstinence and birth control among adolescents living with families on welfare in impoverished rural communities. Bivariate analyses indicated that all of the study factors, with the marginal exception of attachment to father, showed significance variance between the three groups of adolescents who had not had sexual intercourse, those who always used birth control, and those who did not always use birth control. The first function of the discriminant analysis discriminated between youth who had not had sexual intercourse and those who were sexually active, and indicated that the former (in order of discrimination) were younger, had fewer sexually active friends or family members, were more religious, had more fear of giving birth if sexually active, and had stronger beliefs in the moral validity of societal laws and norms. The second function discriminated between those who always used birth control and youth who did not always use birth control. The significant discriminators (in order of discrimination) showed that adolescents who always used birth control attended church more often, were more likely to be persons of color than Caucasian, had closer attachments to their mothers, and presently did not desire a baby to love. Social work implications of these findings are discussed from an ecological perspective.     

Romantic Relationships among Immigrant Adolescents1

We examine the importance of the family and friendship group as two crucial developmental contexts for adolescent relationship experiences. We focus particularly on immigrant adolescents who make up an increasing proportion of the youth population and who come from cultural contexts with stronger family traditions than native‐born adolescents.  Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we model the characteristics associated with having romantic relationships and participating in sex‐related activities within relationships for immigrant adolescents, children of immigrants and adolescents in native‐born families.  First generation adolescents are less likely to enter romantic relationships than adolescents in native‐born families, but those who do participate engage in similar sex‐related activities as native‐born youth.  This evidence suggests that immigrant youth who enter romantic relationships are selective of the more assimilated to native adolescent norms of heterosexual behavior.  The peer group is especially important for immigrant adolescents because it provides opportunities for romantic relationship involvement.     

Adolescents' Satisfaction with Contact in Adoption

The current investigation drew from the second wave of data collected from the Minnesota-Texas Adoption Research Project (MTARP). Adolescents involved in adoptive arrangements in which there is contact with birth parents were compared to adolescents who do not have contact with their birth parents in terms of satisfaction with adoption openness. ANOVA results indicated that adolescents who have contact with their birthmothers maintain higher satisfaction with contact status than those who do not have contact. No effects for gender or age were noted. In terms of contact with birthfathers, adolescents with contact maintained higher satisfaction with contact status than those who do not have contact. Significant effects for age were also noted, insofar as satisfaction with contact increases with age. Implications of these findings for adoption professionals are put forth, as well as directions for further research.     

Phobias and related symptoms: Some social sources

Data from samples of undergraduates, adolescents, and simpler societies show phobic symptoms to be correlated with patterns of social organization that both foster and forbid their participants' pursuit of personal and special interests rather than common interests. Some evidence is given showing that the social correlates of phobias are different from those for hysteric and obsessional symptoms.     

Nonresident Fathers' Contributions to Adolescent Well-Being

Using data from 453 adolescents in Wave 2 of the National Survey of Families and Households, we examine how multiple dimensions of nonresident father involvement are associated with different dimensions of child well-being. Father-child relationship quality and responsive fathering are modestly associated with fewer externalizing and internalizing problems among adolescents. The quality of the mother-child relationship, however, has stronger effects on child well-being. Nevertheless, even if adolescents have weak ties to mothers, those who have strong ties to nonresident fathers exhibit fewer internalizing problems and less acting out at school than adolescents who have weak ties to both parents. Adolescents are worst off on a range of outcomes when they have weak ties to both their mothers and nonresident fathers.     

Cultural Contributors to Ego‐Resiliency and Associations with Depressive Problems in Midwestern Latino Youth

Ego‐resiliency is an enduring psychological construct reflecting how individuals‐adapt to environmental stressors, conflict, and change which is linked to positive adjustment. Ego‐resiliency has not been examined in Latino youth, despite their high risk for mental health problems; nor have cultural precursors to ego‐resiliency been examined. Given these gaps, we examined whether familism values (supportive, obligation, and referent) were associated with ego‐resiliency and, in turn, depressive problems in Latino adolescents across two time points (N = 123, mean age = 11.53). Results indicated that supportive familism was associated positively with ego‐resiliency and negatively with depressive problems. Ego‐resiliency negatively predicted depressive problems across time, controlling for prior levels, suggesting that ego‐resiliency may have long‐term effects on depressive problems in Latino youth.     

Personal support networks of immigrants to Spain: A multilevel analysis

Immigrant flows to Spain have increased greatly in the last decade, but little is known about the composition and role of their personal support networks. Our research questions are: (1) Which factors are associated with ties between immigrants and ‘Spaniards’ (the more settled resident Spanish population), compared with immigrants and non-Spaniards (other immigrants)? (2) Do the support roles of Spaniards and non-Spaniards differ? We analyse personal network (ego-net) survey data. Multilevel logistic regression models are applied, in which the unit of analysis is the undirected tie between an immigrant (ego) and an alter and the dependent variable is whether this tie is to a Spaniard alter, as opposed to a non-Spaniard. We determine the characteristics that are most strongly associated with the probability of a tie between an immigrant and a Spaniard, compared with a non-Spaniard, and consider characteristics of the immigrants (ego), the alters, the relative characteristics of ego-alter, support roles, and local geographical factors. We find a tie to a Spaniard alter is more likely if the immigrant’s country of birth is Portugal or Eastern Europe; if the alter is a work colleague or neighbour; if alter is older than ego. There is geographical variation in the probability of ties to Spaniards, partly explained by the local area presence of co-nationals from the same country of origin as the immigrant. A tie to a Spaniard alter is less likely for immigrants from North Africa (Maghreb); those with no previous contact with Spain; those who are not the first of their peer group/family to immigrate; if ego and alter both work in agriculture. Material help is more likely to be exchanged with a Spaniard alter. Non-Spaniard alters are more likely to exchange help with accommodation and information. ‘Finding a job’ is equally associated with Spaniard and non-Spaniard alters. A tentative conclusion is that some combinations of these characteristics, where a tie to a Spaniard is less likely, may be associated with higher levels of prejudice. Conversely, those characteristics that are positively associated with a tie to a Spaniard may indicate situations where integration of the immigrant population with Spaniards is successfully taking place, and where prejudices are lower, or non-existent. These findings may therefore be helpful for targeting resources to reduce such prejudices. The different types of support exchanged between immigrants and Spaniards and immigrants and non-Spaniards, may indicate current shortfalls in this process, as well as indicating where this support is successfully being exchanged.     

Hidden and actual dropout from the education system among adolescents of Ethiopian origin in Israel

ABSTRACT

This paper examines aspects and predictors of actual and hidden dropout among immigrant students in general, and among Israeli students of Ethiopian origin, in particular. A hidden dropout is a student who is often absent from school or physically in class but is passive and does not actively take part in the learning process. The subject of this study derives from research evidence showing that the dropout rates of Israeli adolescents of Ethiopian origin are higher than those of their peers who are not of Ethiopian origin. We investigated differences between normative learners, hidden dropout youth and adolescents who are disengaged from the educational system. The predictors included perceived discrimination, social support and collective identities; 374 adolescents of Ethiopian origin completed self-report questionnaires. The major findings show that the hidden dropouts group was characterised by a pattern of high parental encouragement but a lack of support from teachers. Implications of the results, both for theory and for practice, are discussed, followed by suggestions for future research.     

Peer Behaviors and Co-occurring Disorders Among Adolescents

The complexity of co-occurring substance use disorders and mental health problems among adolescents challenges both researchers and practitioners. The purpose of this study was to further disentangle those relationships and examine the role that peers who engage in deviant activities plays in that relationship. A subset of variables from a larger study of adolescents referred for substance use assessment was analyzed in this study. The results suggest that as the severity of substance use and mental health problems increases so does the number of peers who engage in deviant activities; peers partially mediates the relationship between those two variables. Implications for social work practice and other professionals are discussed.     

Relationship building as a retention strategy: linking relationship attitudes and satisfaction evaluations to behavioral outcomes

The practice of public relations historically has focused on managing communications. Within the past 5 years, however, an increasing number of scholars have started to conceptualize the practice of public relations as relationship management, and have centred their research efforts on examining the factors that affect organization–public relationships. Recent research has shown that effectively managed organization–public relationships affect key public member attitudes, evaluations, and behaviors. In the current investigation, 122 participants were surveyed to determine whether student–university relationship attitudes and satisfaction evaluations distinguished those who returned to a university from those who did not. The results show that respondent relationship attitudes differentiate those who returned to the university from those who did not, which provides a quantitative illustration of the benefits of incorporating a relationally-based grounding for the practice of public relations. Implications of the findings, suggestions for managing organization–public relationships, and limitations to the investigation also are presented.     

Putting social preferences to work: Can revealed preferences predict real effort provision?

This paper presents a model of real effort provision in conjunction with rational social preference theory to predict how individuals exert effort to replace an exogenously determined “state of the world” with a preferred social outcome. Binary dictator games and real effort tasks are used to examine whether individuals exert effort in a manner that is consistent with their revealed preferences. The analysis of controlled laboratory experiments suggest that while individuals’ effort provisions are generally consistent with the theory, those who reveal relatively pro-social preferences fail to procure their “preferred” outcomes too frequently when the state of the world is highly inequitable in their favor. Consideration is given to alternative theories, namely ego depletion and cognitive dissonance, as potential explanations of social outcomes. There is evidence to suggest that dictators, on average, experience ego depletion which leads to a reduction in pro-social behavior through time.