Body Dissatisfaction and Physical Development Among Ethnic Minority Adolescents

The present study examined the association between body dissatisfaction and adjustment, and the role physical development plays in this association, in an ethnically diverse sample of over 1100 urban, ninth grade boys and girls (M age = 14). More similarities than differences were found across ethnic groups: Caucasian, African American, Latino, Asian, and multiethnic boys reported similar areas of body dissatisfaction, levels of body dissatisfaction, and associations between body dissatisfaction and psychosocial maladjustment. For girls, only mean level differences were found with African American girls reporting lower levels of body dissatisfaction than girls from other ethnic backgrounds. Higher levels of body dissatisfaction predicted more psychological and social maladjustment for both boys and girls. For boys, faster development predicted stronger associations between feeling overweight and peer victimization. Feeling too small only predicted victimization if boys were actually low in physical development. For girls, physical development directly predicted less peer victimization, while perceived faster development predicted more victimization. Thus, it appears that physical development can protect both girls (directly) and boys (buffering against the negative effects of body dissatisfaction) from peer victimization, whereas perceived faster timing of development can exacerbate peer victimization.Adrienne Nishina conducted this research as an NIH postdoctoral fellow in the UCLA Department of Education. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Human and Community Development at UC Davis. She received her PhD in clinical psychology from UCLA. Her major research interests include mental health in schools, adolescent peer relations, and ethnic diversity.Natalie Y. Ammon is a graduate student in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Texas, Austin. Her major research interests are at-risk youth and academic achievement.Amy D. Bellmore is an American Psychological Association/Institute of Educational Sciences Postdoctoral Education Research Training fellow at the University of California, Los Angeles. She received her PhD in developmental psychology from the University of Connecticut. Her research interests include peer-directed aggression, ethnicity and ethnic contexts, and the development of interpersonal perception.Sandra Graham is a Professor in the Department of Education at the University of California, Los Angeles. She received her PhD degree in educational psychology from UCLA. Her major research interests are the academic motivation and social behavior of ethnically diverse adolescents in urban schools.     

The Peer Appearance Culture During Adolescence: Gender and Body Mass Variations

The purpose of this research was to examine gender and body mass, as factors linked to perceived experiences within the peer appearance culture. The sample included 215 girls and 200 boys who were either in 7th grade or 10th grade. Students provided self-reports on experiences in three domains: appearance culture among friends (appearance conversations and diet/muscle talk), peer evaluations (peer appearance pressure, appearance teasing, and vicarious peer teasing), and peer acceptance concerns (appearance-based acceptance, peer appearance comparison). The results indicated that although girls reported more appearance conversations, boys perceived more appearance pressure and teasing. Boys also admitted that they talked with friends about muscle building at a rate greater than girls talked about dieting. BMI showed distinct gender patterns. BMI was a key attribute that unified the experiences within the appearance culture for overweight girls. Among the boys, BMI was associated with differentiated experiences for underweight and overweight participants.Associate Professor in Educational Psychology at the University of Washington. She is a developmental psychologist specializing in the contributions of peers to body image and social-emotional well-being during adolescence. Research interests include body image during adolescence and gender differences.Doctoral student at the University of Washington in Human Development and Cognition. Her research focuses on the social-emotional development of adolescents, academic and appearance social comparisons, and issues related to gender and science. Research interests include body image during adolescence, gender differences, social comparison, and academic competence.     

Correlates of Ideal Body Size Among Black and White Adolescents

Cultural differences have been found in body image perceptions among Black and White adolescents, however little is known about the factors associated with perceptions of an ideal body size (IBS). This study examined differences in correlates of IBS among 265 Black (116 girls and 62 boys) and White (63 girls and 24 boys) adolescents. IBS for White girls and boys was related to perceptions of how their parents wanted them to look, while IBS for Black girls was related to perception of how peers look and would like to look. IBS for Black boys was significantly related to perceptions of their current size, how peers would like to look, how parents think they look, and depressive symptoms. Findings suggest cultural differences in the factors related to body image perceptions and have implications for educational programs promoting healthy body image development among Black and White adolescents.Assistant Professor, Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of Kansas Medical Center. Received PhD in Counseling Psychology from University of Missouri-Kansas City. Research interests include environmental and cultural correlates of obesity, obesity prevention, nicotine and tobacco addiction, and health promotion interventions.Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota. Received medical degree from Christian Medical College, Punjab, India, and Master of Public Health from University of Kansas School of Medicine. Research interests include diet and physical activity behaviors, role of the environment in obesity and obesity prevention, especially among children and adolescents.Research Associate, Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of Kansas Medical Center. Completing PhD in clinical psychology from University of Kansas and Master of Public Health from University of Kansas School of Medicine. Research interests include obesity prevention, smoking cessation, and positive psychology.Assistant Professor and Director, MPH Program, Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of Kansas Medical Center. Received MPH from Boston University and PhD in epidemiology from the University of California/San Diego State University. Research interests include behavioral epidemiology of tobacco use among adolescents and ethnic minorities.Professor of Medicine and School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, Associate Director, Midwest Center for Health Services and Policy Research, Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Director, Section of Health Promotion Research, Department of Medicine, University of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago. Received PhD in clinical psychology from Long Island University. Research interests include obesity prevention, binge eating, and cultural differences in eating behavior.Medical Epidemiologist, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Received MD and MPH from Tongji Medical University, Wuhan, China and PhD from University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine. Research interests include the etiology, epidemiology, and prevention ofobesity, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes.Research Instructor, Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of Kansas Medical Center. Received MBBS from Allama Iqbal Medical College, Punjab University, Lahore, Pakistan and MPH from University of Kansas Medical Center. Research interests include smoking cessation, database design, implementation, data management and analysis, and use of information technology in health care settings.Professor Department of Medicine and Office of Clinical Research, University of Minnesota School of Medicine. Received MD/MPH from Tulane University and MS from Harvard School of Public Health. Research interests include disparities in healthcare; smoking cessation among underserved populations, specifically African Americans; diet, nutrition, obesity, and physical activity.     

Adolescent Boys and Body Image: Weight and Muscularity Concerns as Dual Pathways to Body Dissatisfaction

This research evaluated a dual pathway model for body dissatisfaction among adolescent boys. The study provides empirical support for the importance of distinguishing between weight and muscularity concerns in understanding male body image. A total of 128 boys from grades 8 and 11 completed a self-report questionnaire. Results indicated that weight and muscularity concerns each made unique contributions to body dissatisfaction and were associated with distinct individual and peer context characteristics. Weight concern was associated with elevated BMI and more frequent appearance conversations with friends. Muscularity concern was significantly greater among boys who reported more frequent muscle-building conversations, had lower BMI, and were older. The results support the importance of distinguishing between and assessing both muscularity and weight concerns in the development of body image dissatisfaction among adolescent boys.     

Body Image Concerns in Young Girls: The Role of Peers and Media Prior to Adolescence

Peer and media influences have been identified as important conveyors of socio-cultural ideals in adolescent and preadolescent samples. This study aims to explore peer and media influences in the body image concerns and dieting awareness of younger girls, aged 5–8 years. A sample of 128 girls was recruited from the first 4 years of formal schooling. Individual interviews were conducted to assess the aspects of body image, as well as dieting awareness by means of a brief scenario. A number of sources of peer and media influence were examined. It was found that by 6 years of age, a large number of girls desired a thinner ideal figure. Both peer and media influences emerged as significant predictors of body image and dieting awareness. Specifically, girls’ perceptions of their peers’ body dissatisfaction predicted their own level of body dissatisfaction and dieting awareness. Watching music television shows and reading appearance-focused magazines predicted dieting awareness. In particular, girls who looked at magazines aimed at adult women had greater dissatisfaction with their appearance. Thus, the present study highlights that girls aged 5–8 years of age are already living in an appearance culture in which both peers and the media influence body image and dieting awareness.Hayley Dohnt, B. Psych. (Hons.), is completing her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at Flinders University. Her major research interests are in the area of child psychology and the development of body image.Marika Tiggemann’s Professor of Psychology at Flinders University. Her major research interest is in media influences on body image. She is Associate Editor for the journal Body Image.     

The personality correlates of differential verbal and mathematical ability in talented adolescents

This paper describes the personality correlates of differential verbal and mathematical ability in very bright adolescent boys (N=182). The results indicate that there are few mean personality differences between two groups of boys formed on the basis of high scores on measures of either verbal or quantitative ability. On the other hand, within each of these groups there are dependable personality correlates of differences between verbal and quantitative ability. In particular, boys with high verbal relative to their quantitative scores seem independent, rational, reflective, and mature, regardless of their vocational or academic preferences.Work on this paper was supported by a grant from the Spencer Foundation, Chicago, Illinois.Received her Ph.D. in psychology from the Johns Hopkins University. Major interests are personality theory and medical psychology.Received his Ph.D. in psychology from the Johns Hopkins University. Major interests are education and developmental psychology.Received his Ph.D. in psychology from the University of California at Berkeley. Major interests are personality theory and moral development.     

The Contribution of Emotion Regulation to Body Dissatisfaction and Disordered Eating in Early Adolescent Girls

To understand whether difficulties in emotional functioning distinguish between body dissatisfaction and disordered eating, a set of emotion regulation (i.e., negative emotion, emotional awareness, coping), demographic (i.e., age), and physical (i.e., BMI (Body Mass Index)) factors were assessed in 234 early adolescent girls, grades six to eight. Compared to younger girls, older girls had higher BMI and reported increased body dissatisfaction. Age, BMI, and negative affect predicted body dissatisfaction, whereas BMI, body dissatisfaction, and lack of emotional awareness predicted disordered eating. Further, girls who reported high levels of disordered eating reported experiencing increased levels of negative affect, greater difficulties with emotional awareness, and more difficulty coping constructively with negative emotion than girls who reported low levels of disordered eating. Results support the contention that body dissatisfaction, combined with difficulties in emotional awareness are related to disordered eating.Leslie Sim is an assistant professor at the Mayo Medical School, a Senior Associate at the Mayo Clinic, and Clinical Director of the Mayo Inpatient Eating Disorders Program. She received her Ph.D. from University of Maine in Developmental and Clinical Psychology. Her research interests include eating disorders, self-injurious behavior, and emotion regulation skills in children and adolescents.Janice Zeman is an associate professor at the College of William and Mary. She received her Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University in Developmental and Clinical Psychology. Her research interests include children's and adolescents' emotion regulation skills particularly as they relate to maladaptive functioning with other research interests in parental and peer socialization of emotion.     

Internalizing Symptoms in Latinos: The Role of Anxiety Sensitivity

Latin American youth in the United States tend to report more internalizing symptoms than white non-Latino youth, yet little is known about the factors that may contribute to such differences. The present study examined the role that anxiety sensitivity, gender, and ethnic minority status may play in the expression of internalizing symptoms across Latin American adolescents (n = 116) and white non-Latino adolescents (n = 72) in the United States and Colombian adolescents in Colombia (n = 163). Results provide evidence that because fear of anxiety related phenomena and physiological symptoms of anxiety in particular may be normative in Latino culture anxiety sensitivity does not amplify somatic complaints for Latin American and Colombian youth as it does for white non-Latino youth. Results further suggest that anxiety sensitivity and being female predicted anxiety and depressive symptoms independent of cultural background. Implications of the findings to our understanding of cultural variability in internalizing symptoms are discussed. R. Enrique Varela, PhD, is an assistant professor of psychology at Tulane University. He received his PhD from the University of Kansas Clinical Child Psychology Program. His research interests are cross cultural manifestations of childhood anxiety and parenting practices in Latin American families. He is also interested in adherence issues in chronically ill children. Carl F. Weems, PhD, is an associate professor of psychology at the University of New Orleans. He received his PhD from Florida International University and did post doctoral work at Stanford Medical School. His research focuses on the developmental psychopathology of anxiety and depression. In particular, his research integrates developmental, cognitive, biological and behavioral theories in attempting to understand the etiology and course of internalizing disorders in childhood. Special areas of interest include the assessment and treatment of childhood anxiety disorders, the role of cognitive behavioral development, brain function, and cognitive processing in anxiety and depression. Steven L. Berman, PhD, is an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Central Florida. He received his PhD from Florida International University. His research interests are identity development including associated anxiety and distress, cross-national comparisons, and the development of identity interventions. Lauren Hensley, MS, is a graduate student in psychology at Tulane University. Her main research interest is anxiety development, with a focus on anxiety sensitivity and children’s responses to traumatic events. Maria Clara Rodriguez de Bernal, MS, is an assistant professor of psychology at Universidad de la Sabana, Bogota, Colombia. Her research interests are in the area of program evaluation dealing with anxiety disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder in particular.     

Body Dissatisfaction Among Adolescent Boys and Girls: The Effects of Body Mass,Peer Appearance Culture and Internalization of Appearance Ideals

Body image dissatisfaction is a significant risk factor in the onset of eating pathology and depression. Therefore, understanding predictors of negative body image is an important focus of investigation. This research sought to examine the contributions of body mass, appearance conversations with friends, peer appearance criticism and internalization of appearance ideals to body dissatisfaction among adolescents. The sample was comprised of 239 (54% female) adolescents, with a mean age of 16 years. Self-report questionnaires were completed on body dissatisfaction, peer appearance conversations and criticism, internalization of appearance ideals, height and weight. For girls and boys, body mass, appearance conversations with friends, peer appearance criticism and internalized appearance ideals emerged as significant predictors of body dissatisfaction. Gender moderated the effect of body mass on body dissatisfaction. Internalization mediated the relationship between peer appearance conversations and criticism, and body dissatisfaction. These findings suggest that while body mass exerts a differential risk for body dissatisfaction among boys and girls, internalisation may represent a key psychological process that underpins body dissatisfaction among both boys and girls.     

What Friends are for: The Relationships Between Body Image, Substance Use, and Peer Influence Among Finnish Adolescents

The study investigated the relationships between substance use, body image, and peer influence among Finnish adolescents. The participants (N=488, 240 boys and 248 girls), were eighth-grade high school students. The data were gathered using a questionnaire. In addition to background information, the study covered risk behaviors frequency, body satisfaction, and peer relationships. The results indicated that the levels of body satisfaction among the adolescent girls studied were lower than those among the adolescent boys. It was found that the girls engaged in more discussion with peers than the boys concerning both intimate and general matters. Moreover, having an intimate relationship with one's peers was associated with a greater tendency to drink purely in order to get drunk. However, a slightly more distant relationship with friends was associated with a greater risk for smoking. In general, dissatisfaction with one's physical appearance seemed to relate to substance use. By highlighting the relationships between adolescents’ body image, substance use, and peer influence the study gives pointers for further research, and may be suggestive in terms of the kinds of social policies that ought to be pursued in the future.MA (Educational Sciences) from the University of Turku. Research interests include substance use and the life processes of adolescents.Docent (Educational Sciences), PhD from the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm.     

Correlates of depressive symptoms in adolescents

The relationship between a number of social and cognitive variables and depressive symptomatology was evaluated in a sample of public middle-school and high-school students. The variables measured included stressful life events, locus of control, causal attributions, and means-ends problem-solving abilities. Higher levels of depression were found to be associated with a more external locus of control and a tendency to attribute outcomes to causes which are internal, stable, and global. Parental divorce and socioeconomic status were also found to be associated with higher levels of depression. No relationship was found to exist between either amount of life stress or problem-solving ability and depression. The implications of these results for delineating the underlying dimensions of depression in adolescents are discussed.Previously Dr. Siegel was in the Department of Clinical Psychology at the University of Florida. Received his Ph.D. from Case Western Reserve University in 1975. Major interest is stress reactivity and coping processes in children and adolescents.Clinical psychology intern at the Dallas V.A. Medical Center and doctoral student in clinical psychology at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Major interest is adolescent psychopathology and self-esteem.     

Romantic Relationships and Body Satisfaction Among Young Women

In the present study we examined associations between young women's romantic relationships and their body image. Ninety-five heterosexual couples (women's mean age=22.46 and men's mean age=24.38) participated in this study. We examined young women's satisfaction with their own bodies, their perceptions of their significant others’ satisfaction with their bodies, and their significant others’ actual satisfaction with their bodies using the Contour Drawing Rating Scale women's weight status was assessed using body mass index (BMI). Relationship constructs examined included relationship quality and the length of couples’ romantic relationships. Results indicated that females were more dissatisfied with their bodies than they perceived their significant others to be and were more dissatisfied than their significant others actually were. Analyses further indicated that the longer women had been in a relationship with their significant other, the more likely they were to incorrectly believe that their significant other wanted them to look thinner.Assistant Professor at Rutgers University. She received her PhD in psychology from the University of California at Riverside in 2002. Her research focuses on the development of body image and dieting behaviors and on understanding relations between personality and health.Assistant Professor at Villanova University. He received his PhD in psychology from the University of California at Riverside in 2002. His research focuses primarily on interpersonal theory.     

Individual and Sociocultural Influences on Pre-Adolescent Girls’ Appearance Schemas and Body Dissatisfaction

Appearance schemas, a suggested cognitive component of body image, have been associated with body dissatisfaction in adolescent and adult samples. This study examined girls’ weight status (BMI), depression, and parent, sibling, peer, and media influences as predictors of appearance schemas in 173 pre-adolescent girls. Hierarchical regression results indicated that appearance schemas scores were associated with girls’ level of depression, perceptions of parental influence on weight concerns, appearance related interactions with other girls, and awareness of media messages; perceptions of sibling influence on weight concerns and BMI were not independent predictors. In addition, appearance schemas were associated with girls’ level of body dissatisfaction. One implication of these findings is for prevention programs to focus on reducing the importance and value that girls place on appearance by targeting social influences, particularly parental influence, in order to reduce risk for adolescent body dissatisfaction and related risk behaviors.Doctoral candidate in Human Development and Family Studies at the Pennsylvania State University. Her research interests are the development of disordered eating and body dissatisfaction from middle childhood through adolescence.Distinguished professor of Human Development and Family Studies at the Pennsylvania State University. Her research interests are child and adolescent eating behavior.     

A Longitudinal Investigation of the Development of Weight and Muscle Concerns Among Preadolescent Boys

The study examined the impact of body mass index (BMI), negative affect, self-esteem, and sociocultural influences in the development of weight and muscle concerns among preadolescent boys. Body dissatisfaction, importance placed on weight and muscles, weight loss strategies, and strategies to increase muscles were evaluated. Participants were 237 boys aged between 8 and 11 years who were tested at three assessment periods 8 months apart. The main predictor of boys’ body change strategies was their perceived pressures to modify weight and muscles from parents, peers, and the media. The other main predictor of boys’ body change strategies and the sole predictor of body dissatisfaction was BMI. Self-esteem and negative affect were found to be weak and generally nonsignificant predictors of boys’ body image concerns and body change strategies. Additional studies that examine the risk and protective factors associated with boys’ weight and muscle concerns are needed to assist in the development of prevention programs for preadolescent boys.Lina Ricciardelli is an Associate Professor at Deakin University. She received her PhD in 1990 from the University of Adelaide, Australia. Her research interests are body image concerns, disordered eating and substance abuse among youth.Marita McCabe is a Professor at Deakin University. She received her PhD in 1981 from Macquarie University, Australia. Her research interests are in body image across the lifespan, sexuality, and chronic illnessJess Lillis is graduate student at Deakin University, She completed her undergraduate work in 2000 at Deakin University, Her research interests are body image concerns and negative affect among youthResearch Fellow at Deakin University, She received her D Psych in 2000 from Deakin University, Her interests are in disordered eating and depression among adolescents     

Gender Differences in Peer and Parental Influences: Body Image Disturbance,Self-Worth,and Psychological Functioning in Preadolescent Children

The connections between body image disturbance and psychological functioning have been well established in samples of older adolescent girls and young women. Little is known, however, about body image in younger children. In particular, little is known about possible gender differences in preadolescent children. The current study explored self-reported body image disturbance and psychological functioning in relation to peer and parental influences in 141 elementary school-aged girls and boys aged 8–11. Results suggest that girls are more concerned about dieting and are more preoccupied with their weight than are boys. Girls also reported a greater drive for thinness and a higher level of family history of eating concerns than did boys. Correlations suggested that girls' experiences of body image concerns (body dissatisfaction, bulimia, and drive for thinness) were related to a number of factors (such as family history of eating concerns, peer influences, teasing, depression, and global self-worth) whereas boys' experiences of body image concerns were related to fewer factors. On the basis of these findings, the assessment and treatment of body image concerns in preadolescent children (especially girls) are of great importance. Implications for intervention and prevention programs are discussed.     

Body image satisfaction,dieting beliefs,and weight loss behaviors in adolescent girls and boys

Body image and weight loss beliefs and behaviors were assessed in 341 female and 221 male high school students. Estimates of body dissatisfaction varied depending on the measurement strategy used. Despite having similar weight distributions around the expected norm, girls were significantly more dissatisfied with their bodies than boys. Body Mass Index was positively related to body dissatisfaction in girls and boys, while higher exercise levels were related to higher body satisfaction in boys. Nearly two-thirds of girls and boys believed being thinner would have an impact on their lives, but the majority of girls believed this would be positive while the majority of boys believed this would be negative. Thirteen percent of female subjects reported using one or more extreme weight loss behavior at least weekly. Beliefs regarding the effectiveness of different weight loss measures were assessed. Weight loss behaviors in this Australian sample appear similar to comparable U.S. samples.Received Ph.D. from University of Tasmania. Main research interest in body image, weight loss behaviors, and eating disorders.Received Ph.D. from University of Connecticut. Main research interest in body image, eating disorders and weight loss behaviors.Dietitian degree from Melbourne University, Melbourne. Main research interest in eating practices and clinical outcome.M.D. from University of Melbourne, D.P.M. from U.K. FRC Psych. Main research interests in eating disorders.B.B.Sc.(Hons.) received from La Trobe University, Melbourne, B.A. received from University of Minnesota, Duluth. Main research interest in attitudes and attributions.B.A. Received from University of Minnesota, Duluth. Main research interest in adolescence and eating disorders.     

A Prospective Study of Extreme Weight Change Behaviors Among Adolescent Boys and Girls

This study examined changes in extreme weight change attitudes and behaviors (exercise dependence, food supplements, drive for thinness, bulimia) among adolescent boys and girls over a 16 month period. It also investigated the impact of body mass index, puberty, body image, depression and positive affect on these attitudes and behaviors 16 months later. The participants were 847 young adolescents (411 boys, 436 girls). Participants completed questionnaires evaluating the above variables on three occasions, eight months apart. Girls obtained higher scores on exercise dependence, drive for thinness and bulimia. Changes in depression and body image importance were the strongest predictors of changes in these extreme attitudes and behaviors among boys; changes in depression, body dissatisfaction and body image importance were the strongest predictors for girls. The need for gender specific educational and intervention programs for adolescents are discussed.Marita McCabe PhD, Professor in Psychology in the School of Psychology, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia. She has completed her PhD in 1981 on adolescent development, and has been completing research on various aspects of adolescent adjustment for 30 years. To whom correspondence should be addressed at 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, Victoria 3125, Australia;Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychology, Deakin University, Melbourne Australia. She completed her PhD in 1990 on Childrens Language Development. In the last 10 years she has been researching body image concerns in adolescents and children     

Longitudinal Association Between Parenting Practices and Early Sexual Risk Behaviors among Urban African American Adolescents: The Moderating Role of Gender

A sample of 274 African American families, living in impoverished neighborhoods with high HIV rates, participated in a longitudinal study of adolescent sexual development when children were in the 4th or 5th grade. Self-report and observational measures of parental warmth and parental behavioral control were collected from adolescents and parents at Time 1, and youth reported if they had initiated intercourse at Times 1 and 2. Regression analyses suggested that gender moderated associations between parental behavioral control and engagement in adolescent sexual behaviors. More generally, findings suggested that boys reared in low control/high warmth (i.e., permissive) homes and girls reared in high control/low warmth (i.e., authoritarian) homes were particularly at risk for early sexual behaviors. Clinical implications and directions for the future research are discussed.Doctoral Candidate in Clinical Psychology at Loyola University Chicago. Received her B.S. in Psychology and African & African American Studies from Duke University and her M.A. in Clinical Psychology from Loyola University Chicago. Her major research interests include the role of family and mental health factors in HIV risk exposure among urban African American adolescents.Professor, Department of Psychology, Loyola University Chicago. Received his Ph.D. in 1987 from Virginia Commonwealth University. His major research interests are family relations during adolescence, physical disabilities, pediatric psychology, developmental psychopathology, and statistical applications in psychologyAssociate Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry, Institute for Juvenile Research, University of Illinois, Chicago. Received her PhD in Child Psychology from the Institute of Child Development at the University of Minnesota in 1987. Her current research interests include developmental transitions during adolescence, as well as from pre-school to middle childhood, among typically developing children as well as children with special needs     

A Longitudinal Investigation of Associations Between Boys’ Pubertal Timing and Adult Behavioral Health and Well-Being

To extend research linking pubertal timing and adolescent health outcomes, this study examines boys’ pubertal timing and subsequent interpersonal success and health behaviors in mid adulthood. Past research has shown that boys’ pubertal timing is associated with both positive and negative developmental outcomes in the short term, and so it is unclear how pubertal timing is consequential for adjustment across the long term. Data from 460 boys from the Terman Life-Cycle Study were examined over a 39-year period to relate age of pubertal onset to later marital success, career success, and adult health behaviors. Boys who reached puberty earlier than their peers achieved greater success in their careers and experienced more satisfaction in their marriages. Early-developing boys were not found to be more likely than their peers to smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol as adults. Findings are discussed in terms of the importance of pubertal timing for life-span development.Keiko Taga is a doctoral student at the Department of Psychology at University of California, Riverside. Her major research interests are social and psychological predictors of health and longevityCharlotte Markey is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Rutgers University. She received her Ph.D. from the University of California at Riverside in 2002. Her research focuses on social and personality influences on healthHoward S. Friedman is Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Riverside, where he directs a large project on health and longevity across the life-span. He has authored or edited ten books, with a focus on health psychology, personality, and nonverbal charisma     

Transcultural comparisons of self-image in German and United States adolescents

Based on the Offer Selfimage Questionnaire (OSIQ), the selfimage of German and United States adolescents was compared. The German study was based on OSIQ protocols from 365 adolescents in West Berlin while the American sample comprised adolescents drawn from seven cities in the United States. With respect to three scales, United States adolescents report better adjustment than do the German adolescents. These scales were Mastery of the External World, Vocational and Educational Goals, and Superior Adjustment. In general, these two Western societies share more similarities than differences in the selfimages of their adolescents.Received M.D. and Ph.D in Psychology from the University of Hamburg, Germany. Research interests are high-risk studies, child psychiatric epidemiology, and adolescence.Received M.D. from the University of Chicago. Major interests are concepts of mental health and the developmental psychology of adolescence.Received J. D. from the University of Chicago School of Law; received Ph.D. in Human Development from the University of Chicago. Research interests are adolescence and delinquency.Received Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Chicago. Major interests are psychotherapy research and adolescence.