Family life education for young inner-city teens: Identifying needs

Sexual decision making, perceptions of responsibility for birth control and pregnancy, and knowledge of contraception and the consequences of teenage pregnancy were assessed among 251 high-risk seventh- and eighth-grade black, inner-city adolescents to determine these young peoples' need for information. Survey results indicated that these adolescents were aware of contraceptive methods, but lacked practical information about requirements for obtaining them or method effectiveness. Many students were uninformed about the circumstances under which pregnancy can occur. Males indicated a willingness to have intercourse, regardless of the contraceptives used, if any, and believed responsibility for use of a birth control method belonged to females. Females believed themselves to be responsible for contraceptive utilization and preferred intercourse with adequate protection. Both genders endorsed the notion of mutual responsibility for an unplanned pregnancy and related decisions. Implications for school-based family life education programs for young adolescents are discussed.This research was supported by grants from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and the Pittway Charitable Trust, to the Center for Health Services and Policy Research of Northwestern University; the project was administered by the Ounce of Prevention Fund. Portions of this paper were presented at the 112th annual meeting of the American Public Health Association at Anaheim, California, November 1984. Conclusions or opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Center for Population Options, Northwestern University, or the State University of New York at Buffalo.Received Ph.D. from Loyola University of Chicago. Major interests include policy analysis and maternal and child health care.Received Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Major interests include evaluation of the effectiveness of maternal and child health services.     

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.     

A self-image questionnaire for young adolescents (SIQYA): Reliability and validity studies

This article describes a questionnaire measure of self-image designed for young adolescents. It represents a downward extension of the Offer Self-Image Questionnaire and utilizes nine scales from that instrument: Emotional Tone, Impulse Control, Body Image, Peer Relationships, Family Relationships, Mastery and Coping, Vocational/Educational Goals, Psychopathology, and Superior Adjustment. This 98-item questionnaire elicits responses on a 6-point Likert-type scale. The alpha coefficients for each scale are high, indicating a high degree of internal consistency among the items. The validity of this instrument is examined through factor analyses and through the association of these scales with other measures of self-image. The results suggest that this questionnaire provides a useful way to assess self-image among young adolescents.This research was supported by Grant MH 30252/38142 to Anne Petersen.Received Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1973. Research interest is biopsychosocial development in adolescence, with a focus on sex differences.Research interests are vocational development and contextual influences on development in early adolescence.Research interests are the influences of adolescent and parent development on family relationships.Received M.D. from the University of Chicago. Research interests are the psychology and psychopathology of adolescents.Current research interests are social cognition and peer relationships during early adolescence.     

Sex education for emotionally disturbed adolescents

Under investigation were effects of a course in sex education on a population of emotionally disturbed adolescents who were enrolled as day patients in a school program that is part of the Adolescent Treatment Program of the Institute of Pennsylvania Hospital. Subjects included 7 females, and 8 males, aged 15-18, with severe socio-emotional and educational problems. Pre-and posttesting were used to measure changes. Measures included a short form questionnaire assessing sexual knowledge and attitudes, the Draw-a-Person test, and behavioral observations by teachers, faculty, and Adolescent Treatment Program staff. The results of the study indicated that patients responded age appropriately and gained knowledge and an increased openness about sexuality issues. On the knowledge section of the questionnaire areas addressed in class, such as contraception, were the areas that students showed improvement in student response. The attitudes section revealed an increase in uncertainty about their own values, or conversely, an increase in establishing their values more firmly. In the Draw-a-Person test there was a greater degree of openness and less defensiveness in the posttest drawings. Most postcourse drawings also included more sexual signs and showed nudity. Behavioral changes were noted in the student's increased class contributions and participation, as well as in a more frequent focus of issues relating to sexuality and maturation. In addition, there was no regression or dysfunction as a result of the materials presented, and therapeutic and educational processes were not disrupted by the patient's involvement in the course. It was concluded that a sex education course is clinically and educationally useful on many levels within a therapeutic setting.     

Sex education for emotionally disturbed adolescents

Under investigation were effects of a course in sex education on a population of emotionally disturbed adolescents who were enrolled as day patients in a school program that is part of the Adolescent Treatment Program of the Institute of Pennsylvania Hospital. Pre- and posttesting of knowledge and attitudes and staff observation were used to measure changes. The results of the study indicated that patients responded age appropriately and gained knowledge and an increased openness about sexuality issues. In addition, there was no regression nor dysfunction as a result of the materials presented, and therapeutic and educational processes were not disrupted by the patients' involvement in the course. It was concluded that a sex education course is clinically and educationally useful on many levels within a therapeutic setting.Received M.S. from University of Pennsylvania. Research interests: Special education, Sex education.Received M.D. from Temple University School of Medicine. Research interests: Psychopathology of adolescence, treatment of seriously disturbed adolescents.Received Ph.D. from Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Research interests: Sexuality education.     

Risk and resilience in young adolescents

This exploratory study focused on the role of risk and protective factors in 179 adolescents from a middle and lower income northeastern school district. The protective factors examined were family cohesion, locus of control, mother/father communication, and relationship with a nonparent adult. The study found that the protective factors were powerful predictors of adaptation in their own right independent of risk. Protective factors were found to be highly context specific and there was no evidence of broadly applicable protective factors. Gender was found to be an important aspect of context, and there were significant sex differences. Most strikingly, the study did not find any significant interactions between protective factors and risk for girls or boys. Thus, these results support the growing view that researchers must identify specific rather than global protective factors that provide protection in the space of specific risks for youth in specific life contexts.A grant from the Boston University Graduate School provided initial support for this project.Received Ph.D. from Yale University in clinical psychology. Research interests include effects of risk, particularly sexual and physical abuse, and resiliency.Received M.A. from Boston University. Research interests include risk and developmental factors in psychopathology.Received Ph.D. in counseling psychology from Boston University Department of Psychology. Research interests include study of adolescence and risk factors.Received Ph.D. from Boston University.Received M.A. from Eastern Nazarine College, Quincy, MA.Received B.A. from Boston University Department of Psychology, Boston, MA 02215.     

Social skills training with young adolescents

It is hypothesized that young adolescents with social skills difficulties can be helped by group social skills training if a school setting is used and school staff are involved in selection and treatment. An intervention using group social skills training was run in a secondary school as part of the curriculum. The results of 9 treated subjects on three measures were compared with those of an equal number of subjects who had no treatment. Scores were computed before treatment, after treatment, and at follow- up. On two of the measures significant improvement was found in the case of the treated subjects, while there was no improvement in the case of the untreated subjects.Received B.A. from Pembroke College, Oxford, in 1966 and M.A. in 1983. Completed postgraduate professional training as a psychologist at the Tavistock Centre in 1971. He has previously worked as an educational psychologist and currently works as principal clinical psychologist at Peterborough District Hospital, Peterborough, PE3 6DA, United Kingdom. He has published papers in a number of clinical areas. Currently his main research interest is in social skills.He was previously associated with the Institute of Psychiatry at the Maudsley Hospital in London. His research interest is in person-centered therapy and in testing assumptions derived from the theories of Carl Rogers. He has published extensively in this area and is currently developing research into the process of psychotherapy.     

suicidal adolescents: Family dynamics and the effects of lethality and hopelessness

The purpose of this study was to develop a profile of the family dynamics of suicidal adolescents regarding the constructs of overprotection, enmeshment, rigidity, and conflict avoidance. The relationship of the family dynamics, and adolescent's degree of hopelessness, and the lethality of the suicidal behavior were also examined. The Structural Family Interaction Scale, Marital Satisfaction Inventory, Hopelessness Scale, and lethality rating were utilized to assess the families and groups. The total sample (N=49) was comprised of two groups: the families with suicidal adolescents groups (N=34), and the nonsuicidal, symptomatic adolescents group (N=15). Results supported hypotheses that the families were similar in overprotection and enmeshment, and that suicidal families were more rigid and conflict avoidant. Hopelessness and lethality were not significant, although lethality contributed to the variance in the perceptions of marital relationships in suicidal families.Private practice in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Graduate student, currently completing a Ph.D. in counseling and human development, at The University of Iowa. Research interests include marriage and family therapy and adolescents.Received a Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York. Main research interests are in family stress, and the impact of physical illness on family organization and dynamics.     

Delinquency and family life among male adolescents: The role of ethnicity

This study addresses the role of ethnic and racial diversity in the relationship between family processes and delinquency. The study evaluates the overall role families play in the etiology of delinquency across different ethnic/racial groups, and investigates the relative role of specific issues such as family involvement, family attachment, and family control among Hispanic, African American, and white male adolescents. This analysis utilizes two waves of data from the Rochester Youth Development Study, a longitudinal project investigating the causes and correlates of delinquency among a high-risk urban sample of youth. Results of this study indicate that family variables as a group are more important in constraining delinquency for Hispanic adolescents. In addition, the relative influence of particular family processes on delinquent conduct appears to differ among diverse populations. We also find that living in a single-parent home has less impact on family processes than living in a situation of economic hardship.Prepared under Grant No. 86-JN-CX-0007 (S-3) from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, Grant No. 5 R01 DA05512-02 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and Grant No. SES-8912274 from the National Science Foundation. The authors would like to thank Terence P. Thornberry and Alan Lizotte for their helpful comments. Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the funding agencies.Received Ph.D. from University at Albany. Research interests include the family etiology of delinquency and the impact of the social context on parenting.Received Ph.D. from Florida State University. Research interests include adolescent substance use and juvenile delinquency.     

Negative affect and hormone levels in young adolescents: Concurrent and predictive perspectives

The purpose of this study was to test hypotheses regarding (1) relations among negative affect and hormones of gonadal and adrenal origin in young adolescents, at three times of measurement, over a one-year period; and (2) stability of negative affect. The sample consisted of 10- to 14-year-old boys (N=56) and 9- to 14-year-old girls (N=52). The adolescents were assessed three times at 6-month intervals over one year. Serum levels of gonadotropins, gonadal steroids, adrenal androgens, and cortisol were assessed, as well as stage of pubertal development (Tanner criteria). The negative affect assessments consisted of self-report questionnaire and interview measures of anxiety and depressive affect, as well as mother reports of internalizing behavior problems. In the concurrent (cross-sectional) analyses, boys reporting higher levels of negative affect tended to be those at higher genital stage or older age, with lower testosterone and cortisol levels and lower dehydroepian-drosterone sulphate levels. In the longitudinal analyses, negative affect, and to a lesser extent hormone levels at the first time of measurement predicted negative affect 12 months later. The findings suggest that puberty-related hormone levels should be considered along with psychological characteristics in examining the processes involved in the development of negative affect during the pubertal years.Received Ph.D. from The Pennsylvania State University. Research interests include hormone-behavior interactions and emotional development.Received Ph.D. from The Pennsylvania State University. Research interests include neuroendocrinology and adolescent depression.Recieved M.D. from Athens University. Research interests include hypothalamic releasing factors and stress.     

The protective role of coping and social resources for depressive symptoms among young adolescents

Early adolescence is a period of the life course involving high levels of challenge that are stressful for some, perhaps resulting in depressive symptoms. In this study, adolescents were divided into four groups based on indices of depression and negative life events. Group differences in coping style, mastery, optimism, and social resources as well as group differences in patterns of change were investigated. Participants were 458 adolescents in sixth and seventh grade from a rural working class community. Subjects were assessed twice over a one-year period. Analyses revealed that the four groups were characterized by different levels of coping and social resources. Asymptomatic youth reported higher levels of optimism, mastery, active coping, and more positive relationships with parents and peers than did symptomatic adolescents. These same characteristics distinguished the resilient adolescents from the vulnerable adolescents, suggesting potential stress-buffering effects. One year later, the adolescents who were low on both depressive symptoms and negative life events continued to report more individual and contextual resources than the adolescents in the other groups.This research was supported by a grant from the William T. Grant Foundation (8912789) to Anne C. Petersen, Principal Investigator. The writing of this article was supported by The National Institute of Mental Health Research Training Grant 5 T32 MH18387-06 in Child Mental Health/Primary Prevention.Received Ph.D. from the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at Pennsylvania State University, and did a postdoctoral fellowship in prevention research at Arizona State University. Research interests include adolescent development, prevention, and community psychology.(on leave to the National Science Foundation). Received Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. Research interests include biopsychosocial development at adolescence, adolescent depression and interventions to prevent it, gender issues, and developmental methodology.     

Family profiles of adaptability,cohesion, and communication for learning handicapped and nonhandicapped adolescents

The family functioning of 30 nonhandicapped and 30 learning handicapped adolescents and their parents was examined. Measures of adaptability, cohesion, and communication were taken from the parent and the adolescent perspectives. Parent and adolescent perspectives on these areas of functioning were analyzed with a cluster analytic technique, which resulted in five distinct profiles of family functioning. These statistical groupings were confirmed by information gathered through participant observation from an accompanying investigation. The nature of the five clusters confirmed the existence of similar family functioning across the nonhandicapped and learning handicapped groups. Additionally, variations in reaction and adjustment to the amount of structure in the family environment by different families was documented. The importance of considering adolescent and parent perspectives separately was highlighted.Received degree from University of California, Riverside. Research interests are in the area of the social development of at-risk or mildly handicapped children and adolescents in school and family settings.Received degree from Teachers College, Columbia University. Research interests in social competence and family relations of learning handicapped populations as well as the development of family, community, and school partnerships.     

Family processes and the competence of adolescents and primary school children

Associations were examined between 12 measures of family process and 6 measures of personal and social competence for 102 adolescents aged 15–16 and 99 children aged 8–9. Canonical correlations analysis revealed that general competence among primary school children was associated with high levels of support from parents, a high allocation of household responsibility, a high level of parental control, and a low level of parental punishment. Among adolescents, general competence was associated with a high level of support from parents, a low level of parental control, a high allocation of household responsibility, parental use of induction, a low level of parental punishment, high-quality sibling relationships, and high family cohesion. The findings suggest that as children enter adolescence, general competence becomes more closely bound up with the quality of sibling relations and the degree of parental control, and less closely bound up with support from parents.The data reported herein were collected as part of the Children in families Study, designed by Gay Ochiltree (fellow) and Don Edgar (director) of the Australian Institute of Family Studies. This article is based on a paper presented at the Second Australian Family Research Conference, November 1986, Melbourne, Australia.Paul R. Amato obtained his Ph.D. in psychology from James Cook University in Australia. His interests lie in social psychology, socialization, and family interaction.     

The use of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale in adolescents and young adults

The existence of depression in children and adolescents is well established, but debate remains about the phenomenology of the depressive syndrome in the young. In order to discover possible age differences in rates and etiology, the definition and measurement of depression must be comparable across the ages to be studied. A widely used self-report depression symptom scale, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) Scale, was administered to convenient (and not necessarily representative) samples of high school and college students. The scores and patterns of responses to the 20 symptom items of the scale were compared with already existing data from junior high school students, from depressed patients, and from a representative community sample of adults and young adults. The results of the analyses suggest that the CES-D Scale is acceptable and reliable in all the groups studied. The scores of the junior high school group may be inflated by an excess of transient symptoms and should be interpreted with caution, but the scale seems to be very suitable for the high school and older groups.     

Perceptions of controllability and other stressor event characteristics as determinants of coping among young adolescents and young adults

Young adolescents (N=146, mean age=11.35, 54% female, 81% Anglo) and young adults (N=166, mean age=20.73, 68% female, 82% Anglo) completed questionnaires assessing appraisals of and efforts to cope with three common stressful events, conflicts with mother, a friend, and a failure. For each event, participants rated appraisals of event controllability, including control over event outcomes, event predictability, and perceptions of causal locus (self-culpable, other culpable, and unknown). Additional appraisals rated included event meaningfulness, duration, frequency of occurrence, and stakes/concerns (concerns about one's or another person's well-being). Employment of five coping strategies was rated for each event. Analyses revealed significant correlations among the appraisal and coping variables across the three events. Aggregate variables were computed and significant age differences emerged from analyses of variance. Results of hierarchical multiple regressions suggest that coping is multiply determined. Perceptions of control may be significant predictors for young adolescents, and concerns about other people may be predictive of young adults' responses.Obtained Ph.D. from The Pennsylvania State University in Individual and Family Studies. Major research interest is social and emotional development in children and adolescents.     

Family interaction patterns among families with normal,disturbed, and drug-abusing adolescents

The relationships between family interaction patterns and the symptomatology of the individual family member are central to many therapeutic approaches. This study was designed to determine whether family interaction patterns differ significantly among three groups of families defined according to the adolescent offspring's symptoms. Thirty families were evaluated in a one-hour interview while three observers behind a one-way mirror rated verbal behavior and the quality of interaction between father, mother, and adolescent. Assessed behaviors included the ability to reach a decision, decision time, scapegoating, and double-bind messages. In addition, the quality of the family's interaction was assessed at four different times during the interview. The results established that the three family groups did not differ demographically. A comparison of the two disturbed family groups yielded no significant differences, with the exception of the adolescent's presenting problem and behaviors. The normal group was significantly different from the other two groups in frequency of scapegoating of the adolescent and the ability to reach a decision. Additionally, the normal families displayed clearer communication, more freedom of expression, more cooperation, and greater sensitivity among members. Several variables did not discriminate the normal group from the disturbed family groups.Received her Ph.D. from Bryn Mawr College. Research interests are adolescent psychopathology as it relates to family, group psychotherapy with adolescents, and use of the therapeutic milieu.     

The life space and socialization of the self: Sex differences in the young adolescent

In this conclusion we examine the implications of the special issue findings for the development of the self. We discuss how well the young adolescent experiences in schoolwork, maintenance, talk, and leisure provide bases for an evolving adjstment to the adult roles of work, love, and play. Gender differences clearly emerged in the experience of daily life; children entered adolescence with differences in how time is experienced already firmly established, and by midadolescence these differences were intensifying. Our data support the three heuristics of communion versus agency, gender intensification, and the public versus private dichotomy. Concern is raised as to the viability of traditional sex role socialization when adult roles may demand more egalitarian behavior.     

Relationship of life events and social support with psychological dysfunction among adolescents

Relationships among major life events, perceived social support, and psychological disorder were assessed in a sample of older adolescents. Negative life events and satisfaction with social support were significantly and independently related to a range of psychological symptoms. Further, the relationship between negative events and disorder was moderated by gender, the types of events experienced, and anticipated change in the psychosocial environment. The importance of the use of standardized and psychometrically sound measures of life events, social support, and psychological disorder is highlighted.Received his Ph.D. from UCLA in 1980. An assistant professor, he is currently investigating stress and coping among children and adolescents.Received her Ph.D. from the University of Vermont in 1985. An assistant professor, she is currently studying social support.Received Ed. M. from Harvard Universtiy. He is a doctoral student in clinical psychology interested in the role of social support in coping with stress during adolescence.Received her BA from the University of Vermont. She is a doctoral student in clinical psychology.