Body Size Estimations,Body Dissatisfaction,and Ideal Size Preferences in Children Six Through Thirteen

Results of the second year of a 3-year longitudinal study on children's body size estimations are reported. Participants were 216 male and female children age 6 through 13. Body size estimations were measured using a TV-video methodology. Three psychophysical procedures measured perceived body size, idealized size, and body dissatisfaction. Self-esteem, body esteem, birth order, number of siblings, and parents' socioeconomic status (SES) were measured. Children were accurate in estimating body size, with no gender, age, or ethnic differences. Individual estimations varied greatly over the 1-year test-retest interval. Children had a slight bias to report that their body size was distorted too wide. Both genders wanted to be thinner, with females wanting to be increasingly thinner as they became older. Females were also more dissatisfied with their body size. Taller and heavier children with high SES fathers wanted a thinner idealized body size. Taller, thinner children had less body size dissatisfaction. Children with a larger number of siblings who were one of the first born were more dissatisfied with their body size. Children who gained weight during the previous year without a concomitant growth in height were also more dissatisfied with their body and wanted to be thinner. Body size estimation is viewed as an important aspect of one's body image and is mediated by many different variables, each of which individually explains only a small part of the variance.     

Constructing Counseling Through Narrating Adolescence

In this paper we analyze personal narratives of school counseling students so as to better understand how they perceive the influence of their own adolescence on their present views regarding adolescence and counseling. Through the textual analysis of the narratives, we map their perceptions of adolescence and counseling. We consider if and how traditional adolescence views are replicate in the students’ narratives, and reflect on the students’ characterizations of the school counselor’s roles and tasks. The sample includes 34 female respondents aged between 25 and 47 years old. We show that many of the issues raised in the narratives seem to point to a perception of the participants of a need to radically change the school (institutional) culture. We conclude by pointing at the potential confluence between the narratives’ discourse and traditional conceptualizations in sociology and anthropology regarding the organization and practices of informal social spheres.Dr. Zvi Bekerman, teaches anthropology of education at the School of Education and The Melton Center, Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His main interests are in the study of cultural, ethnic and national identity, including identity processes and negotiation during intercultural encounters and in informal learning contexts. He has also recently become involved in the study of identity construction and development in educational computer-mediated environments. He is one of the editors of the soon to be published “Learning in Places: The informal education reader” (Peter Lang).Dr. Moshe Tatar, Senior Lecturer with Associate Professor and Head of the Division of Counseling, School of Education, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Received Ph.D. in Psychology from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His major research interests are adolescent help-seeking behaviors and attitudes, counseling adolescent immigrant populations, and parental perceptions of schools     

Psychosocial Aspects of Body Mass and Body Image Among Rural American Indian Adolescents

This study examines the psychosocial risks associated with body weight (BMI) and body image in a southeastern, rural Lumbee American Indian community. A total of 134 adolescents (57% female) were surveyed over 2 years at ages of 13 and 15 years. On average, boys (55%) were more likely to be overweight or obese than were girls (31%). BMI was related to a variety of weight control efforts including onset and frequency of smoking, dieting, and body dissatisfaction. Body dissatisfaction was associated with peer relations, self-esteem, anxiety, depression, and somatization in adolescence. Longitudinally, psychological health, peer competence, and ethnic identity were associated with positive body image. In boys, early ethnic identification was associated with the development of later body image. Implications of findings for ethnic- and gender-specific interventions are discussed.On faculty at Tulane University. Received PhD in clinical and developmental psychology from the University of Minnesota. Major research interests are developmental psychopathology and personality, and diverse topics in American Indian mental health.Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida. A graduate student in the developmental psychology. Received BS in psychology from Tulane University in 2004. Major research interests include developmental psychopathology, emotion regulation, and biological responses to stress.Department of Psychology, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana. A doctoral student in developmental and school psychology at Tulane University. Received MS in psychology from Tulane University and BA in psychology from CUNY Hunter College. Major research interests are social and personality development, developmental psychopathology, minority mental health, and the impact of hearing loss on social and cognitive development.     

Developing Responsible Youth Through Youth Participation

The article comments on the emptiness of the adolescent role in modern western societies and argues that youth participation provideds a bridge between adolescence and adulthood, between schools and the communities they serve.     

论丘逢甲的爱国主义思想

丘逢甲是中国近代杰出的爱国志士,卓越的教育家和著名诗人。他毕生为救亡图存,为维护祖国领土完整,为唤醒民众,奔走呼号。在其一生中,爱国主义贯穿始终。文章主要从丘逢甲的成长环境、人生阅历和实践活动等去阐述他的爱国主义思想的形成原因、具体表现和现实意义。     

Reaching Black Adolescent Parents Through Nontraditional Techniques

Despite considerable attention in the literature given to Black adolescent fathers by human service professionals (Hendricks, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983), efforts to document how workers might reach out to them more have been few (Hendricks, 1983). Even less is available on how to reach Black adolescent fathers through nontraditional techniques, for new approaches are needed. As a step toward alleviating this nagging gap in the literature, this chapter utilizes data from studies conducted In Tulsa, Chicago, Columbus, Ohio, and Washington, DC to provide suggestions for reaching out to Black male adolescent parents through nontraditional means. Major issues include but are not limited to the following: (1) needs of Black male adolescent parents; (2) nontraditional techniques for reaching this group of parents; (3) planning the initial assessment meeting, including possible barriers to the process andfactors that contribute to its success; (4) do's and don'ts for helping Black adolescent fathers stay in treatment or in a counseling relationship; and (5) ways young Black fathers may be helpful not only to themselves but also the mothers and their children.     

青年思维力的培养路径探索

人的辩证思维在青年时期开始得以确立,具有明显的批判性、创造性、主体性、敏捷性。青年时期,正是人进行创新创造的关键时期,思维力使青年在创造性活动中能更好的发现问题、分析问题和解决问题。同时,思维力对于青年智力技能系统和操作技能系统有着重要的作用。因此,要以创造性教育为主渠道,以营造开放的社会、校园、家庭环境为关键点,以坚持对青年进行持久的思维训练为重要方法来培养和提高青年的思维力。