Moving Forward with Research on Adolescence: Some Reflections on the State of JRA and the State of the Field

Over the past 5 years the scientific study of adolescence has continued to grow in volume and sophistication. Drawing on recent articles published in the Journal of Research on Adolescence, I take this opportunity to comment on some common understandings about the nature of adolescent development and behavior, recurrent tensions in the research, and promising directions or special challenges for future investigations. The journal also has changed in significant ways over this period, thanks to the outstanding contributions of scholars and journal/publisher support staff. This editorial pays homage to their efforts.     

Bridging the Ethnic Divide: Student and School Characteristics in African American,Asian‐Descent,Latino, and White Adolescents' Cross‐Ethnic Friend Nominations

Based on the revised social contact theory, correlates of cross‐ethnic friend nomination among 580 African American, 948 Asian‐descent, 860 Latino, and 3986 White adolescents were examined. Socioeconomic and academic disparities between ethnic groups differentiated cross‐ethnic friend nomination between schools for all groups but African Americans. For all groups, cross‐ethnic friend nomination was less likely among students who preferred same‐ethnic friends. Academic orientations were associated with cross‐ethnic friend nomination positively for African American and Latino, but negatively for White participants. Longer family residence in the U.S. and English language facility was associated positively with cross‐ethnic friend nomination for Asian‐descent and Latino participants. Results point to the need to differentiate hypotheses by ethnic group, and to consider individual‐in‐context models in cross‐ethnic friend nomination.     

Period analysis of variable stars by robust smoothing

Summary.  The objective is to estimate the period and the light curve (or periodic function) of a variable star. Previously, several methods have been proposed to estimate the period of a variable star, but they are inaccurate especially when a data set contains outliers. We use a smoothing spline regression to estimate the light curve given a period and then find the period which minimizes the generalized cross-validation (GCV). The GCV method works well, matching an intensive visual examination of a few hundred stars, but the GCV score is still sensitive to outliers. Handling outliers in an automatic way is important when this method is applied in a 'data mining' context to a vary large star survey. Therefore, we suggest a robust method which minimizes a robust cross-validation criterion induced by a robust smoothing spline regression. Once the period has been determined, a nonparametric method is used to estimate the light curve. A real example and a simulation study suggest that the robust cross-validation and GCV methods are superior to existing methods.     

Commitment and performance of nonprofit board members

Boards of nonprofit organizations are entrusted to oversee and ensure that the organization remains true to its mission, functions within the confines of state and federal laws, and operates in a financially responsible manner. This critically important oversight is carried out by volunteers. This study examined the relationships between board member commitment and individual performance. Commitment was assessed using Meyer and Allen's Three‐Component Model of Commitment: Affective, Continuance, and Normative (1991). The population in this study was volunteer board members of midsized, social service nonprofit organizations in the Orange County, California, area. The strongest findings were between affective commitment and performance in board roles. Committed board members reported more involvement and are perceived by the executive to be more engaged and valuable. Analysis revealed that executive judgments of participation are based on both board member behavior and Affective commitment expressed by the board member.     

Assessment of Teen Pregnancy Prevention Interventions Among Middle School Youth

The purpose of this study was to examine outcomes for students enrolled in two teen pregnancy prevention programs: the Youth Asset Development Program (YADP); and the Postponing Sexual Involvement Program (PSIP) and identify possible areas for program refinement. The study design consisted of two sets of comparisons: (a) sixth-grade students who completed the PSIP versus the control school; and (b) the YMCA Success Centers where the YADP was introduced versus the control school. Two hundred thirty-seven students were selected to participate in the study. Students who participated in the prevention programs had significantly (p < .05) higher academic achievement, participation in school related activities, and enjoyed school much more than students from the control school. However, no statistically significant differences were found between program participants and the control group when they were compared on personal orientation and judgments about teenage parenthood. Implications for program modification and program effectiveness are discussed.     

“Even if I Don't Know What I'm Doing I Can Make It Look like I Know What I'm Doing”: Becoming a Doctor in the 1990s*

Les processus de socialisation des médecins documentés dans Boys in White et d'autres textes classiques n'ont guère changé, 40 ans plus tard, malgré une population étudiante manifestement plus variée. La plus grande différence se trouve dans la façon dont les étudiants d'aujourdhui intègrent leur identité professionnelle naissante au moi établi avant l'école de médecine. L'identité professionnelle pourrait moins bien correspondre au moi quand les étudiants sont des femmes, plus âgés, de la classe ouvrière, homosexuels ou de groupes minoritaires. Pourtant, ces étudiants pourraient posséder une certaine capacité de résistance à la socialisation professionnelle. The processes of medical professional socialization documented in Boys in White and other classics remain remarkably unchanged 40 years later, despite a markedly more diverse student population. The greatest difference lies in how students today integrate their emerging professional identities with the selves they were before medical school. The professional identity may “fit” less easily when students are women, older, working-class, gay or lesbian, or from visible minority groups. Yet these students may also enjoy a particular ability to resist professional socialization.     

Listening to learn: “Inactive” publics of the arts as exemplar

This exploratory study offers a research methodology by which organizations can more effectively listen to their publics. Using a dialogic interface, the methodology allows informants to relate how their intersections with organizations make sense to them on their own terms.     

An Interview with Stanford M. Forrester, Editor and Publisher of bottle rockets

A little haiku zine / from Connecticut / who would have guessed? This installment of “They Might Be Giants” focuses on bottle rockets, a small haiku journal from, that's right, Connecticut. Stanford M. Forrester, publisher and editor of bottle rockets, talked briefly with Michael Brown about poetry, fireworks, and why he does what he does. Serials Review 2003; 29:321–324.     

Gender, Educational Credentials, Contributions and Career Advancement: Results of a Follow-up Study in Hospital Pharmacy*

La présente étude sur les pharmaciens en milieu hospitalier démon-tre que, depuis 20 ans, ce que l'on qualifie de «perspectives d'avenir>> présentées par ce secteur en pleine expansion attire un nombre disproportionné de femmes, dont la plupart sont tenues à l'écart lorsqu'il s'agit d'avancement professionnel. Même si les détentrices de qualifications postbaccalauréats ont accédéà de meilleurs postes de premier échelon, elles ont néanmoins perdu l'avantage pendant la première décennie de leur carrière, ce qui correspond aux résultats de recherches préalables réalisées sur les professions non féminisées. Cette situation semble indiquer que ce sont des facteurs liés au sexe, et non à la productivité, qui influent de façon négative sur les per-sonnes qui sont en mesure d'accorder les avancements; de la même manière, au moment de l'embauche pour des postes de premier échelon, ce sont les qualifications plutôt que la productivité qui influent sur leurs décisions.
This study of hospital pharmacists shows that the "opportunity" presented by this rapidly-expanding field over the past 20 years differentially attracted women, most of whom became ghettoized in terms of career advancement. Those women who acquired post-baccalaureate educational credentials obtained better entry-level positions, but, consistent with previous research on less-feminized professions, lost this advantage over the first decade of their careers. The pattern of advancement suggests that gender-related factors serve as a "negative signal" to gatekeepers, irrespective of productivity, just as credentials serve as a signal or proxy for productivity in hiring for entry-level positions.