How is Civic Engagement Related to Personal Identity and Social Identity in Late Adolescents and Emerging Adults? A Person-Oriented Approach

Adolescence and emerging adulthood are periods in life when individuals both question and define their place in society and form their identity. Meanwhile, active youth civic engagement represents a challenge for each democracy. The purpose of this study was to analyze the different forms of civic engagement among late adolescents and emerging adults and how they are related to personal identity and social identity, while adopting an integrative perspective through the lens of a person-oriented approach. The participants were 1217 (62.3% female) 16–24 year-old French students (M _age ?=?19.17; SD _age ?=?1.83). First, derived from cluster analyses, the findings emphasized diversity in civic engagement, from strong civic participation (in different formal and informal ways) to various forms of passivity. Diversity was also highlighted for personal identity and social identity profiles. Second, a Configural Frequency Analysis revealed a typical pattern associating passivity in civic engagement, personal carefree diffusion and rejection of social identity. Overall, these findings highlight an absence of general youth disaffection and provide a meaningful specific pattern for the understanding of passivity in political and civic matters in late adolescence and emerging adulthood.     

Is My Femininity a Liability? Longitudinal Associations between Girls’ Experiences of Gender Discrimination,Internalizing Symptoms,and Gender Identity

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - Gender discrimination is a common experience for adolescent girls and has implications for their mental health and identity development. Guided by...     

The Associations between Substance Use,Sexual Behavior,Deviant Behaviors and Adolescents’ Engagement in Sexting: Does Relationship Context Matter?

While prior research has identified multiple associations between engagement in sexting and risky behaviors, most existing studies do not take into account the contexts in which sexting occurs. The present study extends prior research by examining whether the associations between adolescents’ sexting behavior and engagement in substance use, sexual behaviors, and deviant behaviors differ depending on the relational context (within or outside of a romantic relationship) in which young people engage in sexting. Results from a survey of 1187 secondary school students (61.3% girls, n?=?728) between 16 and 22 years old (M?=?17.82 years; SD?=?0.88) revealed that sexting with a romantic partner is not a significant marker of engagement in risk behaviors. However, single youth who engage in sexting outside of a romantic relationship are more likely to report substance use, relative to their non-sexting counterparts. These findings underscore the need to use more nuanced measures to investigate sexting and for sexual education initiatives to integrate messages about substance use.     

Schools Influence Adolescent E-Cigarette use,but when? Examining the Interdependent Association between School Context and Teen Vaping over time

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - Schools are important contexts for adolescent health and health-risk behaviors, but how stable is this relationship? We develop a conceptual model based on...