Chinese Adolescent Immigrants: Factors Related to Psychosocial Adjustment

Chinese adolescent immigrants from the People's Republic of China (P.R.C.) are a rapidly growing and understudied group of minority youth. This study examined several factors related to the psychosocial adjustment of 113 Chinese youth who had immigrated to the U.S. from the P.R.C. The study was designed to delineate the relationship between psychosocial adjustment and several demographic variables, family functioning variables, English language proficiency, and value orientation (collectivism vs. individualism). Results indicate the following: (1) participants who received higher family conflict scores, lower family organization scores, and higher authoritarianism scores reported lower levels of psychosocial functioning; (2) participants who preferred to use English reported more individual psychosocial adjustment problems than those who preferred to use Chinese; and (3) the relationship between language preference and adjustment was mediated by value orientation. Results indicated that Chinese adolescent immigrants who preferred English were less collectivistic and that lower collectivism scores were linked to lower levels of psychosocial functioning.     

Toward analysis of the relations among the youth counterculture,telephone hotlines,and anonymity

During the 1960s, there emerged a youth culture which had two major orientations: the Counterculture and the Movement. We are well informed about this youth culture, its social values, social norms, and emergent social roles (e.g., hippie, freak, radical, dropout). Part of these social and political movements was the creation of alternative, counterculture, or radical human service programs. Early examples were free medical clinics, drop-in centers, and telephone hotlines. Among the actual differences in these programs compared to older, established human service agencies was (is) the prominent position of the social value of client anonymity. This notion of client anonymity is examined in the attempt to understand its role in the relations among themes of the Counterculture, individual youth, their peers, and youth-serving agencies.Holds degrees in social work and public health and is currently completing a report of a national survey of hotlines and youth crisis programs and working with others in editing papers for a monograph from a conference on evaluating hotlines. The survey data will appear in that publication.     

Who stays? who leaves? an examination of sex differences in staying and leaving

This article examines some of the major variables associated with the staying and leaving process, particularly as it operates similarly or differentially for male and female adolescents. Sixty attitude statements about aspects of school, parents, peers, teachers, and value orientations were obtained from 796 adolescents and factor analyzed. This subset of independent variables, together with a set of personality and ability measures, was then used to predict staying or leaving status. The discriminant analysis was undertaken using leaving status and sex (LVSEX) as the dependent variable. Using a stepwise solution method of discriminant analysis, two significant functions were identified-the first suggesting a sex dimension, the second a stayer-leaver dimension.Received Ph.D. from La Trobe University. Current research interest is adolescent development.Received Ph.D. from University of N.S. W. Current research interest is mathematical reasoning in adolescence.     

A measure of risk taking for young adolescents: Reliability and validity assessments

Researchers often define adolescent risk taking in terms of individual behaviors such as alcohol and drug use, early sexual activity, and reckless driving. It is not clear whether these behaviors defined by adults as risky have the same meaning for adolescents. This paper describes the development and preliminary testing of an instrument to assess risk taking among young adolescents. The six item scale was constructed by asking small groups of eighth grade boys and girls to describe things that teenagers your age do for excitement or thrills. The measure was then used in a longitudinal study of 758 young adolescents from three rural counties in Maryland. The scale shows good reliability, as indicated by coefficient alpha and factor analyses. Eighth-grade scores on the scale are associated with the initiation of sexual activity and substance use in ninth grade among virgins and nonusers of alcohol, marijuana, cocaine and pills in eighth grade.     

Was Mead wrong about coming of age in Samoa? An analysis of the Mead/Freeman controversy for scholars of adolescence and human development

This paper presents an analysis of the Mead/Freeman controversy with a focus on Mead's claim that coming of age in 1920s Samoa was accomplished with relative ease. It is concluded that, while Mead appears to have engaged in some inappropriate generalizations to the rest of Samoa from the small island of Ta'u, Freeman's counterevidence to support his claim that adolescence on Ta'u would have been problematic is weak and easily dismissed. Accordingly, Freeman's claim to have refuted Mead's findings is based on evidence that itself is easily refuted. Thus, Mead's pioneering study, which was the first to argue that adolescent storm and stress is not universal, continues to stand the test of time.Received Ph.D. in sociology from York University, Toronto, Canada. Research interests include the empirical investigation of Eriksonian theory, cross-cultural and historical analyses of youth and adolescence, higher education and personal development, and gender roles.     

Current contradictions in adolescent theory

This article points out two contradictions in current adolescent theory. The first is between the classical point of view, espousing the notion of storm and stress, and the empirical view, supporting a concept of adolescence as relatively peaceful and harmonious. The latter approach, however, creates a second contradiction because it does not explain how young people cope with the major adaptations demanded as a result of changes in their physical, social, and emotional spheres of life. The article examines the status of concepts such as the generation gap and identity crisis and concludes with the formulation of a focal theory of adolescence which attempts to resolve the contradictions discussed earlier.Received his B.A. from McGill University, Montreal, and Ph.D. from University College, London. Is both a developmental and clinical psychologist. Major interests include adolescence and the preschool years.     

“Comorbidity” of behavioral, emotional, and cognitive problems in adolescence

The purpose of this study was to examine in a sample of 11,516 secondary school students the extent to which different behavioral, emotional and cognitive problems (a) reflected one or more underlying common factors; (b) actually cooccurred; and (c) were single problems. Principal Component Analyses were performed and percentagewise techniques were used. PCA demonstrated that one or more general syndromes could not by far account for all of the variance of the variables. The results suggest the existence of adolescent subgroups with divergent comorbidity patterns: those who primarily report one single symptom; those who report concurrent symptoms either exclusively in the category of behavioral problems or exclusively in the category of emotional and cognitive problems; and those who report concurrent symptoms in both categories. This distinction between different subgroups has important theoretical, diagnostic, and treatment implications.     

Culture,Biology, and Evolution: The Mead–Freeman Controversy Revisited

Derek Freeman argues that the central issue in the Mead–Freeman controversy is evolution. He views Margaret Mead's Coming of Age in Samoa as not only misleading about Samoa but as a sacred text that promoted an antievolutionary paradigm among American cultural anthropologists. A review of Mead's writing on culture, biology, and evolution demonstrates that contrary to Freeman's claim, Mead favored an evolutionary approach throughout her career. Moreover, while Mead's book was a popular text and a bestseller, it was not a sacred text among anthropologists. Freeman's misrepresentation of the historical record concerning Mead's views and the place of Coming of Age in anthropology raises major questions about his scholarship.     

Depression,Suicidal Ideation,and Substance Use Among Continuation High School Students

This study examines the structural relationships among depression, suicidal ideation, gateway substance use (including cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana), and hard substance use (including cocaine, stimulants, and inhalants) in a sample of continuation high school students at high risk for drug abuse. When the model was examined separately by ethnic group (Latino and Caucasian) and gender, significant differences among the factor correlations emerged. Compared to Latinos and females, Caucasians and males, respectively, demonstrated a greater number of significant relationships among the factors. For Latinos and females, only the depression and suicidal ideation factors were significantly correlated with each other, as were the gateway and hard substance use factors. For Caucasians and males, four of the six factors were significantly intercorrelated. One implication is that mood enhancement may be a particularly important reason for hard substance use among Caucasian and male adolescents.     

Comparison of applicants and nonapplicants to human relations training laboratories

Students who applied to participate in a human relations training laboratory were compared with a group of students who did not apply by means of the administration of several relationship assessment instruments. Statistical analysis of the results indicated that the two groups were not significantly different in the manner by which they evaluated their relationship styles. The findings also imply that few if any psychological differences exist between applicants and nonapplicants to human relations training laboratories.Received Ph.D. in College Student Personnel from The University of Iowa in 1970. Interests are the use of remedial and developmental groups with college students and mental health programs for rural areas.     

Work and leisure relationships: An exploration of life possibilities during adolescence

This study explored the relationship between leisure preferences and work/occupational aspiration for adolescents in Singapore and Australia. Three hypothesized relationships between the domains of spillover, compensation, and segmentation were investigated. Except for females in the Australian sample, it appeared that adolescents saw leisure preferences and occupational aspirations as two independent spheres of their personal futures, supporting the segmentation hypothesis.Received Ph.D. from La Trobe. Research interests include adolescence and youth.Received Ph.D. from University of Sydney. Research interests include longitudinal data analysis.     

Evaluation of a Psychoeducational Program to Help Adolescents Cope

Over 20% of a sample of 706 young adolescents identified themselves as experiencing difficulties and being in need of specific help in coping. A psychoeducational Program Helping Adolescents Cope was offered to 112 of those. This was adapted, with permission, from the Coping with Stress Course, devised by Albano et al. (1997). Participants progress was monitored and evaluated using qualitative and quantitative measures. The psychoeducational Program was found to be significantly effective in reducing participants depression scores, in reducing their reliance on unproductive means of coping and overall in helping them cope. This article presents the methodology used, key results and discusses the implications of this work for professionals working with adolescents in the area of prevention and coping.Claire Hayes is a clinical and educational psychologist who has recently moved from her post of lecturer in the National University of Ireland Maynooth to develop the Break through Anxiety service as a private practitioner. She received her PhD in Education/Psychology from Dublin City University, Ireland. Her major research interests are in how psychological theories, such as cognitive behavioural theory, can be taught as a means of prevention and copingMark Morgan is Head of Education in St. Patricks College, Drumcondra, Dublin 9, which is part of Dublin City University. He received his PhD in social psychology from the London School of Economics. His research has mainly been in the area of literacy, educational disadvantage and substance use, particularly the evaluation of prevention programmes.     

Body type,body esteem,school, and leisure: A study of overweight,average, and underweight adolescents

This study considered the characteristics, sports and leisure involvement, and social relations of approximately 1000 15- to 16-year-old pupils categorized as overweight, underweight, or average in terms of ponderal index scores. Academic attainment, social class and physical education teachers' perceptions were also considered. While results showed that pupils with average physiques were superior to the other two groups in fitness, the main and consistent contrasts among groups revolved around teachers' perceptions, body image, and peer group involvement. Thus overweight and underweight adolescents appeared at some disadvantage in certain social and educational encounters.Received his Ph.D. from the University of Aberdeen. Main research interests include social factors influencing education, adolescence, sports psychology, community education, and social psychology.Currently completing her M.S. in community health at the University of Nottingham, after which she will take an appointment with the Scottish Health Education Unit in Edinburgh. Received her M.Ed. from the University of Aberdeen. Main interests are handicapped children and sex education.     

The Role of “Very Important” Nonparental Adults in Adolescent Development

Two hundred one adolescents of diverse ethnic backgrounds (mean age = 16.7 years) reported whether they considered any adult other than their parents to be a very important person (VIP) in their lives, and described various attributes of the VIP and their relationship with this individual. Perceived VIP characteristics—especially perceived involvement of the VIP in behavior that is uniformly illegal (e.g., theft) or illegal for adolescents (e.g., alcohol use)— were robust predictors of boys' self-reported misconduct and had modest links with their level of self-reported depressive symptomatology. In contrast, VIP attributes showed their strongest linkages to girls' depressive symptoms, with perceived VIP warmth and acceptance related to a lower incidence of depressed mood. Regression analyses indicated that these VIP attributes contributed uniquely to the explanation of misconduct and depressive symptoms even when analogous parental and friend attributes were included in the models. In view of the findings of this exploratory study, several future research directions are suggested, including research on the mechanisms through which VIP effects may be transmitted.     

Efficacy of psychiatric inpatient hospitalization for adolescents as measured by pre- and post-MMPI profiles

The efficacy of inpatient hospitalization on emotionally impaired adolescents was investigated using present and past MMPI data. The results indicated that there is a flattening of the profile toward normalcy from time of admission to discharge time. Further statistical analysis revealed that of the 9 clinical MMPI scales, the Depression scale showed greatest change toward improvement.Received Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Major interests are behavior therapy and adolescent psychology.     

Educational trajectory and “action orientation”: Grade and track differences

A life-span developmental perspective suggests that variations in social context will lead to differences among individuals in their action orientations. An action orientation is defined by an individual's values, control beliefs, goal orientation, and decision-making perspective. To investigate differences in the action orientations of adolescents embedded in different contexts, 83 sophomore and senior high school students on either a vocational training or college-preparatory trajectory participated in the study. A discriminant function analysis of action orientations showed that the action orientations of vocational training and college-preparatory students differed: College-preparatory students had a career preparation action orientation and vocational students had an adult preparation action orientation; also, sophomores may have had a socializing orientation. The findings are discussed in terms of the developmental tasks facing students in different grades and on different life-course trajectories. Received Ph.D. from West Virginia University. Research interests are cognitive and social cognitive development in cultural and institutional contexts.Received Ph.D. from the University of Iowa. Research interests include adult developmental and problem solving.     

Acting out of character: Window on the identity crisis

An autobiographical account of acting out of character at a life turning point is presented as a window on a young person's identity crisis. Analysis of that account reveals (1) that the play of the tentative identities reflects the concurrent crisis in the character of that person's society, (2) that the story the person now has to tell sets forth the range of the psychosocial issues active in his life, (3) that the mysteries generated identify for the person the specific issues at crisis, (4) that the novelty of the event itself catalyzes called for changes, and (5) that the metaphor of the out of character actions serves to preview the ultimate resolution.Received M.D. from Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, in 1964, and psychiatry training at Yale. Interests lie in the area of psychotherapy with disturbed youth, careers of young people who become psychiatric aides in mental hospitals, and group homes for adolescents.     

The high school “Junior Theme” as an adolescent rite of passage

This paper examines high school research projects as an adolescent transitional episode that demarks acquisition of a capacity for prolonged creative effort. Whereas tests of courage are important in many subsistence societies, in ours a valued quality of adulthood is the ability to think and act on one's own. Self-report data from 154 students working on a Junior Theme are employed to illustrate the psychological significance of this kind of rite. The students report a range of emotional states that are well out of their normal school experience. Many go through a process of personal involvement and self-searching that resembles an identity quest. As a result of the project students feel they have acquired a new status, one that separates them from the uninitiated and puts them closer to the status and power of an autonomous adult.Received his Ph.D. in Behavioral Sciences from the University of Chicago. Research interests include adolescent emotional development, the ecology of daily life, and gerontology.     

A Moving Target: Reasons Given by Adolescents for Alcohol and Narcotics Use, 1984 and 1999

Previous studies have investigated adolescents' reasons for alcohol and narcotics use, but have tended to neglect changes in the reasons over time. This study investigates the reasons given by Finnish adolescents for their own alcohol use, and for the use of alcohol and narcotics by others. In 1984, a questionnaire on reasons for alcohol and narcotics use was administered to a sample of adolescents aged 14–16 (N = 396). The questionnaire was administered again to a similar sample (N = 488) in 1999. An increase was found in reasons involving inner subjective experiences, referring to the good feeling and fun resulting from alcohol and narcotics use. In addition, the goals of alcohol consumption were increasingly perceived as drinking to get drunk, and for its own sake. The results suggest that adolescents' attitudes have become more liberal towards alcohol and narcotics use, and that prevention campaigns may be aiming at a moving target of culturally held opinion.     

Evidence for Social and Behavior Problems in Low-Income,Urban Preschoolers: Effects of Site,Classroom, and Teacher

Teacher ratings of 336 preschool children (mean age = 48 months) attending two urban Head Start programs were collected to examine the influence of contextual variables of teacher training, classroom, and site on the prevalence of significant problems. The prevalence of externalizing behaviors in the problem range was higher than expected and fewer children were rated in the well-adjusted range on social competence measures. Psychometric characteristics of the ratings indicated that teachers in this urban setting were less consistent in their ratings of internalizing problems, calling into question the lack of elevation of such problems in this population. Ratings by teachers and teacher assistants of the same children showed low agreement; the level of ratings was not affected by differences in training but did vary across classrooms. Hierarchical linear modeling analyses of the entire sample showed significant effects of classroom and site on problem behaviors and social competence. These results reveal the wide variation in problem frequency across classrooms, which needs to be considered in the implementation and evaluation of evidence-based interventions. Further, these results point to the importance of studying possible lasting effects on children exposed to these differing contexts.