Cognitive development,egocentrism, self-esteem,and adolescent contraceptive knowledge,attitudes, and behavior

The relationship of cognitive development, egocentrism, and self-esteem to adolescent contraceptive knowledge, attitudes, and behavior was investigated in 300 high school and college students (101 males and 199 females) 14-19 years old. There was general support for the study's hypothesis that students with higher levels of cognitive development and self-esteem and lower egocentrism would be more knowledgeable about contraception, be more likely to use birth control, and have more positive attitudes about contraception. Cognitive development was positively associated with all of the knowledge variables and with self-reported condom use. Self-esteem was linked to two of the four knowledge variables, self-reported condom use, and positive attitudes toward contraception. There was an inverse relationship between egocentrism and contraceptive use, but, contrary to expectations, a positive association between egocentrism and knowledge of contraceptive effectiveness. Gender-specific analyses revealed that male students had significantly higher scores than females on the cognitive development and self-esteem measures, while female students scored higher on items measuring knowledge of contraceptive methods and attitudes toward their use. The association of cognitive development with knowledge variables suggests that the ability of adolescents to retain information is related to their capacity to reason and generate alternatives. Overall, these findings suggest a need for attention to the goodness of fit between sex education curricula and the level of cognitive development of the intended audience.     

Gay,Lesbian, and Bisexual Youths: Separation-Individuation,Parental Attitudes,Identity Consolidation,and Well-Being

The study examines separation-individuation during adolescence and young adulthood for gay, lesbian, and bisexual youths, and evaluates the consequences of parent-youth relationships for well-being and sexual orientation identity development. Seventy-two youths completed interview and questionnaire measures of relatedness, autonomy, and conflictual independence in relation to mothers and fathers, along with self-reports of parent attitudes, identity consolidation, and well-being. When youths perceived that their parents had relatively accepting attitudes regarding sexual orientation they demonstrated closer relatedness and greater conflictual independence with parents, but not greater autonomy. Both accepting parental attitudes and greater separation-individuation predicted more positive well-being for the youths, though only parental attitudes predicted greater consolidation of sexual orientation identity. Although mothers were generally closer and more supportive than fathers, relationships with both parents were important, independent predictors of personal adjustment. The discussion proposes mutual influences among separation-individuation, perceived acceptance by parents, identity consolidation and well-being.     

温雅畅融弘粹通远:青少年人文素养建构的文化印证

中国传统文化所崇尚的淳化民风、升华民智、启迪民心、治国兴邦、崇奉文明、英武凡世的生命法宝具有划时代的价值意义,并对现代青少年人文教育的民主化、大众化、愉悦化的历史进程提供了诸多审美观照。为此,青少年人文素养的建构,应推崇对人的生命、尊严、价值、趣味的感知体认,并使之养成自由、完整、健康、高尚的人格范式,最终步入未来绚丽多姿的人生佳境。     

The Female Body,Work, and Reproduction in Deland,Cather, and Dreiser

After the turn of the century and in large part motivated by the Suffragist movement, women in America were working both to support families at home and for surplus spending money, as Nan Enstad documents. Census reports from the time reveal women working at everything from menial labor to banking and canalboat captaining (Albertine 240-49). Correspondingly, the popular literature of the early twentieth century tells the stories of working- class women in which work, instead of men, becomes the seductive force from which young women must be rescued (Hapke 6). In spite of the popularity of these dime-novels, contemporaneous works like Margaret Deland's The Iron Woman (1911) and Willa Cather's O Pioneers! (1913) also exist that show working women as executing important leadership work, instead of factory work or domestic labor, that was not typically assigned to women at the time. Furthermore, in going beyond the common turn-of-the-century tale of the oppressed factory girl, these works instead show an important and unique relationship between women and work that has yet to be considered by scholars of American literature.     

Who,What, Where,When, and Why: Demographic and Ecological Factors Contributing to Hostile School Climate for Lesbian,Gay, Bisexual,and Transgender Youth

This study examines how locational (region and locale), community-level (school district poverty and adult educational attainment), and school district-level (district size and ratios of students to key school personnel) variables are related to indicators of hostile school climate for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth. Indicators of hostile climate included frequency of homophobic remarks and victimization regarding sexual orientation and gender expression. We used data from a national survey of LGBT secondary school students (N = 5,420; 57.6% female; 65.5% White; mean age = 15.9). Results from regression analyses demonstrated that LGBT youth in rural communities and communities with lower adult educational attainment may face particularly hostile school climates. School district characteristics contributed little to the variation in LGBT youth’s experiences. Findings highlight the importance of considering the multiple contexts that LGBT youth inhabit, particularly as they pertain to educational experiences.     

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.     

Television,teenagers, and health

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which multiple health and lifestyle variables differ among 406 adolescent males classified according to average duration of daily television viewing. Cattell's 16PF Questionnaire, Form C, and Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale were employed to assess psychological health, and the Physical Performance Test for California was used to measure six dimensions of physical fitness. Participants also completed a questionnaire requesting general demographic data, and information regarding lifestyle and average amount of time spent watching television per day. Results indicated that the well-being of the boys was related significantly to the extent of television viewing. Light television viewers were more physically fit, emotionally stable, sensitive, imaginative, outgoing, physically active, self-controlled, intelligent, moralistic, college bound, church oriented, and self-confident than their counterparts, especially heavy television viewers. Furthermore, light television viewers were less troubled, frustrated, and shrewd, and used drugs less frequently, particularly alcohol, than moderate and heavy television watchers, especially the latter.Larry Tucker, Associate Professor, received his Ph.D. from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale in Health Education. His research interests include adolescent health behavior, particularly self-destructive behaviors and achieving high-level wellness.