A differential survey of the problems of privileged and underprivileged adolescents

The problems of adjustment during the midadolescent years were examined in 1298 privileged and underprivileged adolescents from the Sydney Metropolitan Area, Australia. Girls reported more problems than boys in all areas of adjustment and underprivileged adolescents more problems than the privileged group; however, a significant interaction effect was also found. Whether high-income or low-income group, the overwhelming number of problems were associated with educational adjustment and were interpreted as the reaction to pressures to achieve imposed on adolescents of this age.Received her M.A. (Hons.) and Ph.D. from Macquarie University. Member of Australian Psychological Society. Principal research interests are child psychopathology and psychology of adolescence.Received his M.A.(Hons.) and Ph.D. from Sydney University. Fellow of Australian Psychological Society. Principal research interest is psychology of adolescence.     

Self-recognition of the body and its parts during late adolescence

Male and female student volunteers were photographed nude in three orientations: front, side, and rear. One month later, they were asked to identify their bodies or bodily parts from an array of seven photographs grouped according to height and linearity. Thirty judgments of the full body, multiple parts, and single parts were made, including the head, thorax, abdomen, arms and legs, as well as the torso and top and bottom halves of the body. Females took significantly longer to identify themselves than did males and frontal identifications were carried out quicker than rear identifications, which in turn were judged quicker than side orientations. The breasts were found to be the most important secondary sexual characteristic for females, and bodily hair for males. The genitals were judged quickly and accurately by males. The results are discussed in terms of ego involvement, narcissism, and the increased attention given to the body during adolescence.This research was supported by a grant from Rothmans of Pall Mall (Aust.) Ltd. to the Centre for the Study of Youth and Adolescence at Macquarie University, North Ryde, New South Wales, Australia.Received M.A. (Hons. I) and Ph.D. at University of Sydney. Fellow of the Australian Psychological Society, Chairman (Sydney Branch) of the Australian Psychological Society. Current research interest is the psychology of adolescence.     

Recognition accuracy,stereotypic preference,aversion, and subjective judgment of body appearance in adolescents and young adults

Accuracy of body image, stereotypic preference, and aversion to body types were investigated in two studies. Using line drawings of 19 somatotypes in three orientations, 160 subjects in four age groups selected preferred, least preferred, and self-estimates of their own body types. Five independent ratings were made by judges of the subjects' body type. Females underestimated and males tended to overestimate their body dimensions. Both sexes overwhelmingly chose the endomorph as the least preferred somatotype. The consensus among females was to prefer slim figures and among males to prefer a medium muscular physique. In the second study three aspects of body image were studied by adjusting one's image on a television monitor that displayed a whole continuum of self-images from ectomorphy to endomorphy. Subjective body images were found to lie between the objective somatotype and the ideal.Received M.A. (Hons I) and Ph.D. from University of Sydney. Fellow of the Australian Psychological Society. Principal research interest is psychology of adolescence.Received B.A. (Hons) from Macquarie University; now a postgraduate student at Macquarie University. Principal research interest is clinical psychology.     

Self-recognition of the face: A study of adolescent narcissism

Two adolescent groups and an adult group were given a self-recognition task involving the tachistoscopic presentation of inverted photographs of their faces. Measures of narcissism, certainty of response, and response strategy were recorded. The young adolescent group was found to be more successful than either the late adolescent or adult groups. The former were also the most narcissistic. No sex difference was found, nor was there any difference when the faces of known or unknown peers were used as distractors. Age and narcissism were found to be equally good predictors of both self-recognition and certainty of response. Young adolescents tended to use the complete gestalt of the face more often as a recognition strategy than older adolescents or adults, who seemed to use idiosyncratic facial features. The results are discussed in terms of integrated approach to the development of body image and how the internal representations of the body are gradually built and modified by perceptual, cognitive, and personality functioning.Received M.A. (Hons 1.) and Ph.D from University of Sydney. Fellow of the Australian Psychological Society. Principal research interest is psychology of adolescence.Received B.A. (Hons.) from Macquarie University; now a doctoral candidate at Macquarie University. Principal research interest is child and adolescent psychotherapy.     

Gender differences associated with young people's emotional reactions to sexual intercourse

The differences between male and female adolescents' emotional reactions to their most recent occasion of sexual intercourse were examined. The sample included 932 sexually active Australian secondary school students who completed a self-report questionnaire concerning their sexual behavior. The majority of young people reported that they felt happy or good following their most recent occasion of sex. Females were more likely than males to report negative emotions such as feeling bad and used, but there was no difference between the percentage of males and the percentage of females who reported feeling guilty. Girls were more likely to feel bad, used, or guilty last time if they were drunk/high or had sex with someone who was not a steady partner. Boys who had sex with someone other than a steady partner last time were more likely to feel guilty. Peer and parental influences were also associated with feelings of guilt. Girls who were more confident that they could talk to one of their parents/guardians about sex, and boys who believed that most of their peers were sexually active, were less likely to have felt guilty.Received B.A. (Hons) from University of Queensland. Research interests include adolescents mental and sexual health.Received B.A.(Hons) from University of Queensland. Interested in the areas of sex roles and sexual behavior among adolescents.Received Ph.D. from Murdoch University. Research interests include population studies of sexual behavior and mental health.Received M.B.B.S., M.D. from University of Sydney. Research interests include adolescent health, psychological response in disasters, coping with grief and loss and living with HIV/AIDS.     

Moral judgment and sex role orientation as a function of self and other presentation mode

Gilligan's concern for a negative bias in assessing moral reasoning based on feminine interpersonal orientations and corresponding positive bias in favor of masculine orientations of justice and equity was explored. Bem's Sex Role Inventory provided a psychological index of orientation rather than only biological sex. College men and women completed Rest's moral dilemmas (DIT) in the usual manner-other condition-or assumed the role of the central character-self condition. The latter procedure augmented affective dimensions assumed to underlie orientation differences. Males in the other condition scored higher on the DIT than those in the self condition; females revealed the opposite pattern. Using the sex role categories, it appeared that androgynous males had higher DIT scores in the self condition than in the other condition, in direct contrast to the overall results for males. For females who were androgynous or masculine in orientation, the self condition resulted in higher DIT scores than the other condition. Generally, the greater affective demands in the self condition produced a higher frequency of Stage 3 use for men and women regardless of sex role orientation. The other condition showed a higher percentage of Stage 4 use among males and females independent of sex role orientation. Sex role orientation and affective arousal were discussed in terms of Gilligan's view of moral judgment development.Portions of this paper were presented at the biennial meetings of the Society for Research in Child Development, Baltimore, MA, April 1987.Received Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison Current research interests are logical concept development and moral and political development.Received Ph.D. from Purdue University. Current research interests are moral development and life-span changes in cognition.Received Ph.D. from Syracuse University. Current research interests are moral development and adult cognition.     

Adolescent dating intimacy: Norms and peer expectations

Both dating behavior and peer expectations, in 317 adolescents, were examined during the first date, after several dates, when going steady, and when some commitment to marriage was undertaken. The results showed an initial tendency for the behavior of males to be more intimate than that of females. Female behavior approached that of males as the commitment in the affectional relationship increased. Generally, both males and females conformed to their peer expectations for less intimate behaviors but not for the deeper forms of sexual embrace, where they imagined their peers to be more experienced.Received his M.A. (Honours I) and Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Sydney. Fellow of the Australian Psychological Society. Main area of interest is psychology of adolescence.     

Motivational maturity and helping behavior

This study was undertaken to examine the independent influences of conative development (the Maslow needs hierarchy) upon behavioral aspects of prosocial orientations. It provides a behavioral demonstration of conative effects in a helping paradigm, among college-age men. A comparison of the conative data across the ages of 15–22 provided a cross-sectional view of conative development itself. Conative maturity was found to be predictive of greater helping among college-age men. Situational demands were demonstrated which tended to mask, but not override, these predispositional influences on helping. The cross-sectional data on conative development point to probable movement to early esteem concerns among high school men who have reached the conative level of love and belonging. On the other hand, the stability across the years of 15–22 of proportion of safety concerns suggests fixation of such concerns in those exhibiting them in high school. Results are discussed in terms of conative growth for development of prosocial orientations.Ordering of author's names was determined by random procedure and is not indicative of disproportionate contribution to the overall research.Received his Ph. D. from the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle, specializing in developmental psychology. Current interests are child, clinical, and the development of prosocial behavior.Received his Ph.D. specializing in human development from the University of Chicago, Faculty of Educational Psychology. Current interests are the investigation of cognitive developmental approach to moral education, statistics, and prosocial behavior.     

Attitudes toward the sale and use of drugs —A cross-sectional analysis of those who used drugs

Drug users from samples of six specific groups (both students and adults) were intensively surveyed on their differential attitudes toward the use of eight drug types. Resulting comparisons between groups, drugs, and attitudes provide a relative picture of the attitudes on drug use held by those who were users of drugs.Current research interest: Director of SUNY at Stony Brook Psychological Center, concerned with drug use among students on campus and its interaction with drug use by secondary school students in the community surrounding campus. Educational background: Received Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the University of Illinois (Urbana) —particular emphasis in community mental health problems.     

Lonelines in pre-through late adolescence: Exploring the contributions of a multidimensional approach

A multidimensional loneliness measure was administered to 444 subjects in the 11–17 age range. The four-scale instrument probes for loneliness in relationships with parents and peers, and for aversion to and affinity for aloneness. All subscales were shown to exhibit high reliability and excellent factorial validity. With regard to age effects, a marginally significant increase was found for parent-related loneliness, accompanied by a sudden drop at the seventh-grade level. A decreasing age trend emerged in both peer-related loneliness and aversion to aloneness. A set of variables pertaining to subjects' social integration (number of friends, quality of friendships) and psychological functioning (outlook on the future) accounted for a sizable portion of the variance in all four scales, particularly in peer-related loneliness. Implications of these findings are discussed and suggestions for future research are outlined.Portions of this paper were presented at the annual meeting of the Belgian Psychological Society, May 1985.Received his Ph.D. from that university in 1973. Current interests include loneliness in children and adolescents and life-span psychology.Current interests are cognitive development in adolescence and its concomitants in the social and personality realms.Current interests include adolescent loneliness.     

Sex,sex roles,and self-image

The purpose of this research was to compare the self-images of male and female children in order to determine whether females were at a particular disadvantage and, if so, why. A random sample of 1988 children from grades 3–12 were interviewed in Baltimore in 1968. Findings show more disturbance among White adolescent females than among White males or Black females: White girls become much more self-conscious and show greater self-image instability and somewhat lower self-esteem. Three sets of factors appear to explain part of these differences: (1) attitudes toward present and future sex role, (2) peer relationships in general and opposite sex relationships in particular, and (3) attitudes toward changing looks in adolescence.The work of the first author is currently supported by a Research Development Award from the National Institute of Mental Health, No. 5-K1-MH-41, 688-03. The work was also partly supported by USPHS Grants 1-F3-MH-41, 688-01 and MH-197541-01.The data were collected in 1968.Received her Ph.D. from Columbia University and has been interested in the social determinants of the self-image and in studies of the social psychological consequences of organ transplantation.Received her Ph.D. from the University of Maryland and is interested in social psychology in general and sex roles in particular.     

Like-Sex Versus Opposite-Sex Effects in Transmission of Gender Role Ideology from Parents to Adolescents in Israel

The study examined whether transmission of gender role ideology is more prevalent among parents and children of the same sex (like-sex effect) than among parents and children of the opposite sex (opposite-sex effect). Gender role ideology was assessed on the basis of 2 factors: gender role stereotypes and occupational sex-typing. The research sample consisted of 134 fathers, 134 mothers, and 134 Israeli adolescents (equally divided among girls and boys). Moderate correlations (ranging from 0.22 to 0.58) were found between parents and children, which indicate a partial like-sex effect. Specifically, father–son correlations in gender-role attitudes were higher than father–daughter correlations. Regarding occupational sex-typing, the same pattern was found only for attitudes toward masculine occupations. As far as mothers were concerned, no like-sex effect was found for either aspect of gender role ideology. Mothers were found to have the most liberal gender role attitudes, while children expressed less liberal attitudes, and fathers expressed the most traditional attitudes. As far as occupational sex-typing is concerned, mothers expressed the most liberal attitudes, while no significant differences were found between fathers and children. All family members expressed more traditional attitudes toward in-home roles than toward outside roles, and maintained more stereotyped perceptions of masculine tasks than those of feminine tasks.     

Career-marriage orientations in college youth: An analysis of perceived personal consequences and normative pressures

The present research was designed to examine factors associated with career and marriage orientations in male and female college students. The first phase of the research identified qualitatively different factors associated with variations in life structure. Respondents completed an open-ended questionnaire which elicited the perceived consequences and normative pressures concerning three life structure alternatives: (a) emphasizing career, (b) emphasizing marriage, and (c) placing equal emphasis on career and mariage. A set of 24 concerns was identified, and sex differences on several of these dimensions were noted. In general, the data were consistent with previous analyses of value structures in adults. The second phase of the research used a quantitative approach to examine the three life structure alternatives. Males and females did not differ in the relative emphasis they intended to give to career and marriage. However, sex differences in the perceived consequences of the life structure alternatives were noted.This research was conducted while the first author was a National Research Service Award (NIMH) trainee, Grant No. 1 T32 MH14593. A modified version of this paper was presented at the 87th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, New York, september 1979.Current research interest is psychosocial development during the adult years.Received Ph.D. from the University of Illinois, 1976. Current research interest is attitude theory and measurement.     

Variables influencing the dating adjustment of university students

The author wished to determine the effect of selected variables on dating adjustment. Questionnaires were administered to 200 males and 130 females in introductory social science classes at a midwestern university. The results of stepwise regression indicated that the variables of frequency, commitment, and age of initial dating were the strongest influences on the dating adjustment of both sexes. Social orientation was found to be significant for the dating adjustment of males but not of females.Received his Ph.D. in sociology from Iowa State University. Current interest is the sociology of adolescence, particularly dating and sexual relations.     

Older adolescents' engagement in casual sex: Impact of risk perception and psychosocial motivations

The relationship between attitudes for casual sex and casual sex behavior was investigated for a group of older adolescents between the ages of 17 and 19. In addition, factors that influence casual sex orientations were studied. Models of behavior that emphasize disease issues as a primary determinant of casual sex behavior were compared with models that emphasize a broader range of social-psychological motivations. Results showed that the relationship between attitudes and behavior was stronger for females than males. In addition, disease-related variables were found to be correlated with behavior in a direction opposite to what traditional disease models would predict. The results were interpreted in the context of a behavioral inference model. It was found that casual sex behavior is more heavily influenced by a broad range of social-psychological motivations as compared to disease-based variables. Implications for educational interventions were developed.Received Ph.D. in education from Stanford University. Major research interests are in self-efficacy and adolescent sexual risk behavior.Received Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Illinois, Urbana. Major research interests are in parent-adolescent communication and quantitative methods.Received M.A. in psychology from the University at Albany, State University of New York. Major research interests are in attitudes and attitude change.     

The role of parental perspectives in the school adjustment of innercity black children

This study investigated the relative influence of parent attitudes and behaviors on the scholastic and social adjustment of 729 low-income, black sixth graders in the Longitudinal Study of Children at Risk. Data were collected from parent questionnaires on attitudes toward education, expectations for children's educational attainment, and several indicators of behaviors with or on behalf of their children. Results indicated that parents had generally positive attitudes toward their children's schooling, had high expectations for their educational attainment, and were moderately involved in their education at home and in school. Multiple regression analyses indicated that only parents' educational expectations and satisfaction with the quality of schooling were significantly associated with reading achievement, math achievement, and teacher ratings of competence and problem behaviors above and beyond family/child background factors (e.g., parent education and SES, family structure, employment status, sex). Attitudinal factors also contributed significant variance (2.4%–9.1%) to differences in cognitive and social adjustment outcomes and, to lesser degrees, changes in social adjustment from Grades 4–6 (2.2%–5.7%). Behavioral measures had negligible influences on school adjustment outcomes. Findings suggest that affective characteristics of parents deserve special attention in educational reform and intervention efforts.Received Ph.D. from University of Illinois at Chicago. Research interests include children at risk, family and school influences.Received M.S. from Punjab Agricultural University. Research interests include family processes, early childhood education.     

Contraceptive behavior in adolescence: A decision-making perspective

The contraceptive behavior of adolescent girls was viewed from a decision-making perspective. A semistructured interview protocol was used in interviewing 120 girls aged 12–19 in three clinics (Teen Family Planning, Prenatal, Pediatric Acute Care) at Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center on (1) demographic in formation; (2) sexual and obstetric history; (3) contraceptive and sexual knowledge, attitudes, and practices; (4) environmental pressures; (5) personality factors; and (6) decision-making style. We found that the girls were generally poor contraceptors. They viewed the costs of contraception (in terms of safety) to be high; and they positively valued physical intimacy, opportunities for which come up unexpectedly and sporadically. These factors, along with their ambivalent views toward pregnancy and childbearing seemed to encourage their risk-taking behavior. Once pregnancy occurred, it was carried to term because of the strong internal and external pressures they felt to have and keep the baby. The peer-led intervention program that we are developing based on the survey findings will focus on (1) the teenagers' lack of accurate and complete knowledge about birth control and conception, (2) their limited sense of options concerning birth control and pregnancy outcomes, and (3) their poor understanding of and lack of insight into what motivates their behavior.This study is part of the investigation being conducted by the YADMAC (Young Adult and Adolescent Decision Making About Contraception) Project at Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center, 2959 South Cottage Grove, Chicago, Illinois 60616. The authors are all members of the YADMAC research team.Received Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. Current interests are human sexuality and reproductive behavior. Currently at Department of Psychology, St. Xavier College.Received M.D. from the University of Michigan. Current interests are liaison child psychiatry and adolescent sexuality.Received Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. Current interests are early adolescent development issues.Current interests are puberty and sex differences.B. A. candidate in social work, Roosevelt University. Current interests are adolescent sexuality and contraceptive behavior.     

Gender differences in adolescent interpersonal identity formation

Gender differences in adolescent interpersonal identity formation were investigated in 41 male and 42 female high school juniors and seniors. Subjects were interviewed and assessed on progress toward interpersonal identity achievement in friendship and dating relationships. Differential patterns of correlation for each sex were examined for measures of vocational identity, psychological masculinity and femininity, and achievement motivation. Results indicated that young women were significantly more identity achieved than men in the friendship domain; no differences emerged in the dating domain. The processes of interpersonal and vocational identity formation appeared to be more interrelated for females than males. For both young men and women, expressive attributes of psychological femininity were positively related to interpersonal identity exploration. Different gender achievement orientations were revealed by positive correlations between several interpersonal identity ratings and mastery for males and lack of correlation between interpersonal identity and mastery for females. In addition, commitment to a conception regarding friendships was positively correlated with competitiveness for males and negatively correlated with competitiveness for females. Results are discussed in terms of Gilligan's (1982) theoretical work, which contrasts achievement of identity through separateness and autonomy with achievement of identity through connectedness and relationships.Doctoral candidate in counseling psychology, with special interest in sex roles and adult development.Received Ph.D. in child psychology from the University of Minnesota. Main interest is the influence of the family on adolescent personality development, especially identity and vocational interests.     

Adolescents view their mental health

A new 40-item behavioral checklist, the Adolescent Life Assessment Checklist (ALAC), was devised to be used with patient and nonpatient samples. A comparable form obtains information from a parent or guardian. Responses of 356 adolescents from three sources were analyzed for differences attributable to race, sex, age, sample source, and their interactions. A factor analysis was carried out on the average within-race-sex-source subgroup correlation matrix, resulting in seven meaningful and six usable oblique factors. Subscales were developed and corrections were computed to remove estimated differences due to race, sex, and age. Corrected scales significantly differentiate the three samples.This study was supported in part by MCHS Grant No. MC-R-390201, the Adolescent Clinic Foundation, and USPHSMH Fellowship Grant No. 0597921.Received her Ph.D. in psychology from Washington University, St. Louis; received a Foundations Fund for Research in Psychiatry interdisciplinary research-teaching grant, 1959–1965. Current research interests include test development, evaluation, and personality research.Received her M.D. from Medical College of Georgia at Augusta; her medical internship was at Michael Reese Hospital, Chicago, Illinois. Current research interests include stress, coping, and adaptation in children and adolescents.She is a licensed psychologist with the State of Ohio, with an M.A. from the University of Cincinnati. Current research interests include verbal behavior, psychotherapeutic efficacy, and dream research.Received his M.D. from College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati; his medical internship was with Boston City Hospital, and he is the founder of the Adolescent Clinic, Cincinnati General Hospital. Current research interests include growth and development and medical/social problems at adolescence.     

Age differences in adolescent future-oriented goals,concerns, and related temporal extension in different sociocultural contexts

The aim of this study was to investigate the extent to which differences in agegraded sociocultural contexts influence adolescent future-oriented goals, concerns, and related temporal extension. Ninety-five 13–14-year-old Australian boys and 104 girls, 87 16–17-year-old Australian boys and 81 girls, 67 13–14-year-old Finnish boys and 86 girls, and 56 16–17-year-old Finnish boys and 107 girls were investigated. Half of the subjects in each group came from an urban environment and half from rural regions. The subjects filled in the Hopes and Fears Questionnaire measuring the content and temporal extension of goals and concerns. Overall, the results showed that adolescent goals, concerns, and related temporal extension reflected the major developmental tasks of their own age and early adulthood. However, interesting cross-cultural, gender, and urban rural differences were also found, reflecting variation in societal options and cultural values. For example, Australians were more interested in leisure and more concerned about their own health and global issues. Later school transitions meant that in older age groups the Finnish adolescents expected goals related to their future education and occupation to be actualized later than Australian youths did. Because of a lack of career options, interest in a future occupation decreased with age among adolescents living in rural regions.Received Ph.D. from University of Helsinki. Research interests are adolescent development and cognitive and attributional strategies as pathways to problem behavior. To whom correspondence should be addressed.Received Ph.D. from La Trobe University. Research interests are higher education policy, research management, women and careers, and adolescence.Received M.A. from University of Helsinki. Research interests are identity development and problem solving.