Out‐of‐School Time and Behaviors During Adolescence

Although adolescents experience an array of out‐of‐school time (OST) settings, research has primarily focused on these settings in isolation. This study examined time in four OST settings (unsupervised time with peers, paid employment, sports, and nonsports organized activities) in relation to adolescent functioning at age 15 and the end of high school. Individual fixed effects analyses provided a more rigorous control of selection into OST activities by controlling for time‐invariant observable and unobservable characteristics. More unsupervised time with peers predicted increases in risky and externalizing behaviors, whereas increases in paid employment predicted gains in work orientation and self‐identity. Time in organized sports was associated with increased positive self‐identity, highlighting the value of expanding consideration of multiple OST contexts and selection effects.     

Synchronic and diachronic variation in the use of spatial frames of reference: An analysis of Japanese route instruction

By focusing on everyday use of spatial ‘frames of reference’ (FOR) in route instruction, we propose some possible explanations for the seemingly contradictory trends observed in FOR‐based and deixis‐based spatial expressions in Japanese. We examined the data obtained in a series of longitudinal surveys conducted in Japan over 50 years (1953, 1972 and 2008). Our GoldVarb analysis confirmed what is called a ‘retrograde’ lifespan change. This indicates that, first, synchronically, the preference for External FOR (that is, based on North‐South‐East‐West) increases as community members grow older. This means they shift toward the local norm through ‘age‐grading’. Secondly, diachronically, the preference for Internal FOR (based on Right‐Left‐Front‐Back) has gradually increased over the past century. There is, therefore, a ‘generational change’ motivated by the linguistic marketplace. In contrast, as a community‐wide preference for Internal FOR expressions prevails, there is an accompanying gradual decrease in the use of deictic expressions such as ‘here/there/over there’. This indicates a partially complementary relationship between deixis and Internal FOR.