Exceptional giftedness in early adolescence and intrafamilial divergent thinking

Two groups of boys and their parents (N=54) were given five divergent thinking tests as one part of a longitudinal investigation on exceptional giftedness in early adolescence. One groups of adolescents was selected because their IQs were above 150, and the other group, was selected because of their outstanding math-science abilities. Canonical and bivariate analyses indicated that there was a strong correlation between the adolescents' divergent thinking test scores and their parents' divergent thinking test scores (Rc=.55). Additionally, there was some indication that these correlations differed in the two exceptionally gifted groups, with the high-IQ group having divergent thinking test scores related to those of both parents, and the math-science group having divergent thinking test scores related only to those of their mothers. These findings are very consistent with earlier investigations on exceptionally gifted adolescents.This research was supported by a grant to M.A.R. from the University Research Council of the University of Hawaii, and by grants to R.S.A. from the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation and the MacArthur Foundation.Received Ph.D. from Claremont Graduate School. Research interests include creative, gifted, and autistic children, and psychometrics.Received Ph.D. from Boston University. Research interests include child development, long-term family involvement, giftedness, and the achievement of eminence.     

Divergent thinking and self-esteem in preadolescents and adolescents

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between divergent thinking and self-esteem in preadolescents and adolescents. A second focus pertained to sex differences in the dependent variables. A total of 115 White middle class subjects ranging in age from 10–17 years responded to a personal data inventory, a self-esteem measure, and a taped auditory free-response exercise in divergent thinking. Subjects were categorized for data analysis into two age groups, preadolescents and adolescents. Scores were obtained for fluency, flexibility, and originality of thought, and for self-esteem. Adolescents were significantly more fluent and flexible than preadolescents. The two age groups did not differ significantly in orginality or self-esteem. Self-esteem correlated significantly with divergent thinking in preadolescents only. Female adolescents scored significantly higher on all dependent measures than adolescent males; there were no sex differences in preadolescents. Results are discussed from both an intra- and interstage developmental perspective on adolescence.Research assistant and doctoral canditate in human developmental and family studies at Cornell University. Major interests are adolescent and human life-span development.Received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin. Major interests are the study of creativity and the educational psychology of human life-span development.     

Impulsivity in Juvenile Delinquency: Differences Among Early-Onset, Late-Onset, and Non-Offenders

The present research investigated differences in levels of impulsivity among early-onset, late-onset, and non-offending adolescents. 129 adolescents (114 males, 15 females), of whom 86 were institutionalised (M age=15.52 years) and 43 were regular school students (M age=15.40 years) participated. Each participant completed the Adapted Self-Report Delinquency Scale, Stroop Colour and Word Test, Time Perception task, Accuracy Game, Risk-Taking Game, and the Eysenck Impulsiveness Questionnaire. Results suggest that adolescents who display rapid cognitive tempo, poor mental inhibitory control, and high impulsivity are more likely to be early-onset offenders. Offender and non-offender groups showed significant differences on several measures of impulsivity, which may suggest that late-onset offenders acquire or exacerbate impulse-related problems through social mimicry of early-onset offender peers. Potentially important implications for our understanding of delinquency and the design and provision of prevention programs are highlighted.Senior Lecturer in Educational Psychology at the School of Education, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. She received her PhD in educational psychology from The University of Western Australia. Her major research interests include at-risk behaviours of children and adolescents, self-regulation and goal setting, and developmental trajectories of antisocial and aggressive behaviours School of Education, The University of Queensland, Brisbane Q 4072 AustraliaDoctor of Clinical Psychology student within the School of Psychology at The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. Her research interests include at-risk children and adolescents, mental health in adolescents and adults, cognitive-behavioural interventions, and self-regulationMaster of Philosophy student within the School of Education, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. Her research interests include self-regulation, youth at-risk, Indigenous youth issues, and prevention and intervention approachesProfessor of Education and Head of the School of Education, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. He received his PhD in educational psychology from the University of Alberta, Canada. His research interests include cognitive educational psychology, classroom-based instruction, strategy training, problem solving, and at-risk youthProfessor of Education and Director, Centre for Attention and Related Disorders at the Graduate School of Education, The University of Western Australia. He received his PhD in educational psychology from the University of Birmingham, UK. His research interests include attentional disorders, severe antisociality in children and adolescents, emotion regulation, complex information processing and cognitive processes of at-risk adolescents Graduate School of Education, The University of Western, AustraliaProfessor of Psychology in the Department of Psychology, University of Strathclyde, United Kingdom. He received his PhD in developmental psychology, specialising in cognitive and communicative development in childhood and adolescence from Cambridge University, UK. His research interests include developmental psychology, at-risk children and adolescents, and the impact of media on children’s behaviour     

Independence and the creative potential of gifted and exceptionally gifted boys

A 16-item questionnaire concerning independence and three divergent thinking tests were administered to three groups of preadolescent boys and their mothers as part of an ongoing longitudinal investigation of exceptional giftedness. The subjects included one group of exceptionally gifted boys with IQs in excess of 150 (n=28), a second group of exceptionally gifted boys selected for their math-science abilities (also well within the 99th percentile;n=26), and a control group of gifted boys (n=37), with a mean IQ of 133). The three groups were compared with one another in terms of (a) their own independence ratings, (b) their mothers' independence ratings, (c) correlations of boys' and mothers' independence ratings, and (d) correlations of independence ratings with IQ and scores from the divergent thinking tests. Results indicated significant differences among the three groups of mothers, and significant differences between the two exceptionally gifted groups and the control group. In addition, mothers' and subjects' independence scores were moderately correlated with IQ and divergent thinking test scores. These results are discussed and placed in the context of the longitudinal project of which they are a part.This research was supported by a grant to Dr. Albert by the Arthur D. and Catherine T. McArthur Foundation.Preliminary results from this investigation were presented at the meeting of the Hawaii Psychological Association in Honolulu, Hawaii, November 1985.Received Ph.D. from Boston University His research interests include long-term family involvement in giftedness and achievement of eminence.Received Ph.D. from the Claremont Graduate School His current interests include the psychometrics and family background of creativity and exceptionality.     

Locus of control in severely disturbed adolescents: Loci for Peers,Parents, Achievement,Relationships, and Problems

The validity of a multifactor conceptualization of locus of control (LOC) in severely disturbed adolescents was investigated. Ninety-two adolescents (44 female, 48 male) from a private psychiatric hospital completed the Children's Nowicki-Strickland Internal-External Locus of Control scale 3 months following admission. Five factors were found by both principal components and common factor analyses; the factors were named Peers, Parents, Achievement, Relationships, and Problems. Factors items had minimum loadings of 40, numbered 4 to 8 per factor, and accounted for 36.8% of the variance in principal components analysis and 28.5% of the variance in common factor analysis. Whereas traditional LOC was significantly related only to Global Assessment Scale (GAS) scores at admission and 3 months later, and to initial Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (3rd edition, revised) diagnosis of psychosis, individual factors were significantly related to IQ; GAS at admission, 3 months, and 15 months following admission; externalized aggression prior to admission; and diagnoses of psychosis, depression, and conduct disorder.Received doctorate in psychology from Stanford University. Current research interests include cost effectiveness and cost-benefit analysis of mental health services and substance abuse treatment programs, and cognitive determinants of premature cessation of therapy.Received doctorate in clinical psychology from George Washington University. Her current interests include individual psychotherapy with children and adolescents and research on the effectiveness of home-based services.Received doctorate in clinical psychology from George Washington University. His research interests include comorbidity of depression and conduct disorder, and outcome studies of adolescent disorders.Received M.D. from Harvard Medical School and is the former Head of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Rochester, and former Chief, Child Research Branch, National Institute of Mental Health. Major interests are inpatient adolescent treatment, family therapy, and individual psychotherapy.     

Delinquency as a symptom of adolescents' orientation toward status and success

In this paper, we follow the premise that delinquency in adolescence is a by-product of struggles with developmental tasks. In an empirical analysis of a survey of 1717 West German adolescents aged between 12 and 16, we found evidence that delinquency was associated with adolescents' conformity to society's standards of prestige and success. Data are presented that show a relationship between delinquency and inability to succeed at school, on the one hand, and failure to achieve full recognition of status and prestige in the peer group, on the other hand. The findings provide evidence that difficulties and problems connected with the integration into the network of academic performance, as well as difficulties and problems connected with recognition within the peer group, are associated with delinquency.This research was supported by the Center for Prevention and Intervention in Childhood and Adolescence at the University of Bielefeld, funded by grants from the German Research Association (Deutsche Forschungs-Gemeinschaft).Received Ph.D. in social psychology, from University of Münster, Federal Republic of Germany. Research interests: developmental problems in adolescence and prevention of problem behavior.Received Ph.D. in sociology from University of Hanover, Federal Republic of Germany. Research interests: research methods and problem behavior in adolescence.     

Adolescent-Mother Agreement about Adolescent Problem Behaviors: Direction and Predictors of Disagreement

Correlations between adolescent and parent reports of adolescent problems are low in magnitude. In community samples adolescents tend to report more problems than parents and in clinical samples adolescents tend to report fewer problems than parents. Indices of agreement may be biased if some adolescents in a given sample report more problems and others report fewer problems than parents. In the current study, order and mean agreement between adolescent and maternal reports of adolescent internalizing and externalizing problems, taking into account the direction of disagreement, was examined in a community sample of 133 young adolescents and their mothers. Two-thirds to three-quarters of adolescents reported more problems than mothers. Accounting for the direction of discrepancies resulted in improved agreement between adolescents and mothers and differing patterns of predictors of discrepancies. Additionally, the results demonstrate the need to control for relations between adolescent-reported problems and discrepancies when exploring predictors of discrepancies. Erin T. Barker received her Ph.D. in Applied Developmental Psychology from the University of Alberta. Her research interests include internalizing and externalizing problems in adolescence and emerging adulthood. Marc H. Bornstein received his Ph.D. in Psychology from Yale University. He has contributed scientific papers in the areas of human experimental, methodological, comparative, developmental, cross-cultural, neuroscientific, pediatric, and aesthetic psychology. Diane L. Putnick received her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from George Washington University. Her research interests include child and family processes across cultures. Charlene Hendricks received her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from George Mason University. Her research interests are in the areas of early adolescent development and adjustment and families by adoption. Joan T. D. Suwalsky received her M.S. degree in Human Development from Cornell University. Her research interests include parent-child interaction and child development in at-risk populations, including families by adoption.     

Paired-associate learning and formal thinking in adolescence

The development of paired-associate (PA) learning and formal thinking during adolescence was investigated with 78 sixth and tenth grade students. Group-administered tests of formal and divergent thinking were given in the tracked, classroom setting. The augmented PA treatment provided, and the minimal PA treatment did not provide, verbal and pictorial prompts. The percentages of children showing formal thinking increased and converged to the 40% mark for both high and average achievers. While the augmented treatment scores were significantly better than the minimal treatment ones, the evidence was ambiguous concerning whether there was a developmental improvement in spontaneous elaboration skills for high achievers. The hypothesis predicting PA learning to be positively related to divergent thinking, and negatively related to formal thinking, was not supported.Received his Ph.D. in educational psychology from Mississippi State University. Research and writing interests are in cognitive development, mental retardation, and behavior therapy.     

Are Developmental Processes Affected by Immigration? Family Processes, Internalizing Behaviors, and Externalizing Behaviors

The current study compared levels of family processes, internalizing behaviors, and externalizing behaviors as well as developmental processes, namely the associations among family processes and measures of internalizing or externalizing behaviors, in native Swiss, 2nd and 1st generation immigrant adolescents (N=3,540). Findings provided evidence that both 2nd and 1st generation immigrant youth experienced higher rates of internalizing symptoms (depression and anxiety) than native Swiss youth. Comparisons of how individual family processes were associated with internalizing and externalizing behaviors provided evidence of few differences across groups. Thus, developmental processes were largely invariant by immigrant status. Although the immigration process may increase the risk for internalizing and some externalizing behaviors, it does not seem to affect how key family processes are associated with measures of adolescent adjustment.Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Auburn University. His research interests include etiological risk factors in adolescent problem behaviors, deviance, and delinquency, criminological theory, and the cross-cultural/cross-national comparative method in the study of human development and behavior. Some of his recent publications have appeared in the Journal of Research on Adolescence, Journal of Quantitative Criminology, and Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency. Vazsonyi is the editor of The Journal of Early Adolescence and an editor of the forthcoming Cambridge Handbook of Violent Behavior. Doctoral student in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at Auburn University. Her current interests include the importance of parenting and family processes on the etiology of internalizing and externalizing behaviors as well as risky sexual behaviors in youth, with a particular emphasis on Hispanic immigrant populations.Doctoral student in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at Auburn University. Her current interests include criminological theory and the etiology of crime and deviance. She is particularly interested in the emerging problems related to crime and deviance in China.     

Coping styles of learning disabled adolescents and their parents

The study compares coping styles of 50 learning disabled and nonlearning dis-abled adolescents and their parents. Analyses indicate that learning disabled adolescents show less ability to appraise a source of stress and seek information in the various domains with which they are expected to cope. Also, they reveal a higher level of pessimism about problems in academic-related domains. Coping patterns of parents of learning disabled adolescents do not show clear differences from parents of nonlearning disabled. Yet mothers of learning disabled adolescents tend more to seek and accept help. Learning disabled adolescents' coping is clearly related to coping or more specifically to difficulties in coping of their parents. Results are discussed in the context of the special difficulties of the learning disabled during adolescence and the role their parents play during this developmental stage.Received Ph. D. from Bar Ilan University. Research interests include developmental and family processes in normal and pathological adolescents.Received Ph.D. from University of Minnesota. Main interests are developmental and family processes in adolescence.Received M.A. in counseling from Tel Aviv University.Received M.A. in counseling from Tel Aviv University.     

General,social, and academic self-concepts of gifted adolescents

Seven hundred seventy-two male and female adolescents (between the ages of 12 and 15) participated in a study concerning the identification and socioemotional situation of various subgroups of gifted students (N=94). In this article only the results concerning general, social, and academic selfconcepts of gifted adolescents are reported. A distinction is made between four groups: two groups of gifted achievers (one with high (N=22) and another with below average creativity questionnaire scores (N=45), a group of gifted underachievers (N =27), and a control group (N=74). The multiple and hierarchical model of self-concept by Shavelson et al.serves as a framework for our approach. The most striking differences are found between gifted achievers and gifted underachievers. The latter demonstrate very low academic self-concept and high test anxiety scores, an external locus of control, and low scores on school well-being and motivation. A positive self-concept in all areas seems to be the driving force for achievements, which are in accordance with high potential intellectual aptitudes. Similar results were reported by Feldhusen.Received M.A. from University of Nijmegen. Research Interests: cognitive development of adolescents, giftedness, and sociometric status.Received Ph.D. from the University of Bonn, Germany. Research interests: early indicators of giftedness, gifted education, and developmental processes of gifted children and adolescents.     

Developmental Differences in Adolescents’ and Young Adults’ Use of Mothers, Fathers, Best Friends, and Romantic Partners to Fulfill Attachment Needs

Adolescents and young adults (three age groups: 12–15, 16–19, and 20–28 years) reported their use of parents, and peers to fulfill attachment functions (proximity-seeking, safe haven, and secure base.) The use of each target figure varied with age and attachment function. Mothers were an important source of security across this age range. They were used as secure base consistently more than fathers or peers for all age groups, and regardless of whether or not participants had romantic partners; but were used less for proximity and safe haven by the two older groups. Best friends were used most and more than others as a safe haven; but were used less by young adults (vs. early adolescents) and by older adolescents with romantic partners. Romantic partners were used most and more than others for proximity; but were used less by early adolescents than by older participants. Fathers were selected less than other targets for all attachment functions. Those with romantic partners turned to them more than to others, and young adults selected their romantic partners as much as friends for safe haven. Those insecurely attached to mother turned to her less and to romantic partners more than did those securely attached. Implications for developmental changes in adolescent attachments are discussed. Professor of Psychology and Applied Human Sciences, Concordia University. Received PhD in social psychology from Ohio State University. Research interests include close interpersonal relationships and adjustment. Received MA in social/developmental psychology from Wilfrid Laurier University. Research interests include attachment and well-being in adolescence Received PhD in developmental psychology from Stanford University. Research interests include parenting, attachment, and adjustment in adolescence Received BA in Psychology (Honors) from Concordia University. Research interests include romantic relationships in adolescence     

Why do adolescents use drugs? Age,sex, and user differences

This paper makes four points: (1) There is substantial substance use among adolescents in our large rural southwestern sample. (2) Adolescents explain their drug use with five kinds of reasons (i.e., Belonging, Coping, Pleasure, Creativity, and Aggression). (3) Different reasons for using drugs are related to frequency of substance use. (4) There are age, gender, and user differences in the reasons adolescents have for their drug use. After summarizing traditional ways of thinking about drug use, we describe an alternative way for examining such behavior. We use this approach to study relationships between drug use reasons and age, gender, and substance use in 2637 6th–12th-grade students. We then discuss prevention and treatment implications of this research.Received Ph.D. from University of California at Berkeley in personality psychology. Research interests include school dropouts, substance use, delinqueccy, personal commitments, health, and identity.Received Ph.D. from University of California at Berkeley in personality psychology. Research interests include at-risk youth, substance use, delinquency, narcissism, and identity.Received Ph.D. from University of California at Berkeley in personality psychology. Research interests include moral development and personality.     

The learning disabled adolescent: Eriksonian psychosocial development,self-concept,and delinquent behavior

Using a developmental perspective, this study contrasted learning and nonlearning disabled adolescents on three variables: Erikson's stages of psychosocial development, self-concept, and delinquent behavior. It was predicted that learning disabled adolescents would show significantly less resolution of Erikson's fourth state, industry versus inferiority, manifest lower overall self-concept, and report more delinquent behavior than their nondisabled peers. The results indicated that the learning disabled subjects, due to years of failing at school tasks, were unable to develop a sense of industry and competence. While these adolescents felt unpopular and inferior about their academic skills, the overall self-concept of the learning disabled sample was not significantly different than that of the comparison subjects. Finally, among nonadjudicated youths, learning disability was not found to be significantly associated with juvenile delinquency. Taken together, the results of this study show the utility of a developmental framework for a better understanding of the psychosocial adjustment of adolescents with learning handicaps.Recived Ph.D. from the California School of Professional Psychology, Berkeley, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Menninger Foundation, Topeka, Kansas. Current research interests include psychological testing and prediction of psychology in hospitalized adolescents and adults.Received Ph.D. from the University of Kentucky. Current research interests include psychotherapy methods and psychometrics     

Construct Validity of the Offer Self-Image Questionnaire and Its Relationship with Self-Esteem,Depression, and Ego Development

Construct validity of the Offer Self-Image Questionnaire (OSIQ) was studied in a sample of 194 normal Finnish adolescents from 14 to 16 years of age. Confirmatory factor analysis provided support for the hierarchical structure of adolescents’ self-image with 5 lower-order factors loading on a single higher-order factor. Lower-order factors were Personally Anxious Self, Social Relationships, Sexual Attitudes, Family Relationships, and Social Conscience. The relationships between the self-image areas of the OSIQ, global self-esteem, depression, and ego development were also examined. The results support the construct, convergent, and discriminant validity of the presented structure of the OSIQ.He received M.A. from University of Helsinki. Major research interest concern adolescent psychological developmentHe received Ph.D. from University of Helsinki. Major research interests include psychosocial health risks and organizational behavior.He received M.D. from Lausanne University and Ph.D. from Helsinki University. Major research interests include attachment issues, fatherhood, and foster parenting.He received his Ph.D. in psychiatry from the University of Helsinki. Major research interests are developmental theory of adolescence and personality development of adolescents in chronic illness.He received Ph.D. from University of Cambridge. Major research interests concern personality and developmental psychology.     

Risk and Protective Factors Associated with Alcohol,Cigarette, and Marijuana Use During Adolescence

The purpose of this study was to increase the knowledge base of adolescent substance use by examining the influences of risk and protective factors for specific substance use, namely alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana. Participants included 271 adolescents and their primary caregivers referred for mental health services across North Carolina. A series of hierarchical multiple regressions showed that the relative influences of risk and protective factors differed depending on the target substance in some cases. History of parental felony predicted use of all 3 substances, although the direction of association was substance specific. Parental behavioral control (how families express and maintain standards of behavior) was predictive only of cigarette and marijuana use, not alcohol use. The different links among risk factors, protective factors, and specific substance use are discussed, and recommendations for both mental health and substance use professionals are offered.She received her M.A. in Psychology from Wake Forest University and is currently a doctoral student in Clinical Psychology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Her major research interests include developmental pathways to aggressive behavior among females.An evaluator for the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, her major research interests include system of care intervention programming.She received her PhD in Clinical Psychology from Purdue University. Her major research interests include developmental psychopathology and early intervention.His research interests focus on youth violence and youth involved with the juvenile justice system.She received her PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Her research interests focus on early intervention with young children.     

Attachment to Parents,Best Friend,and Romantic Partner: Predicting Different Pathways to Depression in Adolescence

Research indicates that insecurely-attached adolescents are at risk for depression, but little is known about factors that may influence or explain this vulnerability. The present study focuses on close relationships during adolescence and their association with depression. Specifically, the objectives were to investigate (1) the role of working models of specific attachment figures (i.e., mother, father, best friend, and romantic partner) in the prediction of depression; and (2) the existence of target-specific pathways to depression following relational stress. It was expected that the paths to depression would differ depending on the attachment figure under consideration. A total of 134 adolescents (n = 88 girls; Mage = 16.95 years; SD = .74) completed attachment questionnaires, a depression inventory, and a computer task consisting of hypothetical interpersonal vignettes and questions. Insecure attachment relationships with romantic partner, and for girls only, with mother, were uniquely predictive of depression. Insecurely-attached adolescents' tendency to make negative attributions in response to stresses fully mediated the attachment–depression association. These adolescents were found to ruminate when confronted with stresses involving romantic partner, which was also associated with depression. Results underscore the link between attachment, negative attributions, and depression. Staff Psychologist, Child Psychiatry Department at the Jewish General Hospital. Received PhD in clinical psychology from Concordia University. Research interests include attachment and adolescent adjustment. Professor of Psychology and Applied Human Sciences, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H4B 1R6. Received PhD in social psychology from Ohio State University. Research interests include close interpersonal relationships and adjustment. Professor of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H4B 1R6. Received PhD in developmental psychology from Stanford University. Research interests include attachment and parenting in adolescence.     

Introspectiveness and adolescent development

This study introduces a measure of introspectiveness for adolescents aged 12–18 and investigates its association with several aspects of adolescent development. Introspectiveness—the tendency to deveote diffuse attention to thoughts and feelings about the self—increased during adolescence, and may be stimulated by discontinuities associated with adolescent development, other kinds of discontinuities, and parental introspectiveness. Also, introspectiveness was positively associated with depression, anxiety, and physical symptoms, and may help explain the increase in symptom reporting during this developmental period. Highly introspective adolescents participated in more artistic activities and spent more time alone than those low on introspectiveness. Finally, highly introspective college students chose self-oriented academic majors, which may have implications for future occupational development. Together these results suggest that the concept of introspectiveness may increase our understanding of several important aspects of this developmental period.This research was supported by grants from the William T. Grant Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and NIMH Grant No. 39590. An earlier version was presented at the 1984 annual convention of the American Sociological Association in San Antonio, Texas.Research interests include medical sociology and health and illness behavior among adolescents and older adults.Received a Ph.D. from Stanford University. Research interests include medical sociology, health care policy, and aging research.Received an M.A. from Rutgers University. Research interests include adolescent development and therapy.     

The Contribution of Organized Youth Sport to Antisocial and Prosocial Behavior in Adolescent Athletes

In this study, we investigated the contribution of organized youth sport to antisocial and prosocial behavior in adolescent athletes. The sample consisted of N=260 male and female soccer players and competitive swimmers, 12 to 18 years of age. Multilevel regression analysis revealed that 8% of the variance in antisocial behavior and 7% of the variance in prosocial behavior could be attributed to characteristics of the sporting environment. Results suggested that coaches who maintain good relationships with their athletes reduce antisocial behavior, and that exposure to relatively high levels of sociomoral reasoning within the immediate context of sporting activities promotes prosocial behavior. These results point to specific aspects of adolescents’ participation in sport that can be used to realize the educational potential of organized youth sport. She is currently writing her Ph.D. thesis on sports and education. Interests include moral development, behavioral adaptation, and delinquency. Associate Professor of Special Education at the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. His research interests include socio-emotional development and moral education. Professor of Educational Theory in the School of Education and life long learning, University of Exeter, UK. His research focuses on the role of communication in education. Professor of Special Education at the Free University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. His research interests concern socio-emotional development and developmental psychopathology, especially within the framework of attachment theory. She is working on a Ph.D. thesis on dyslexia. Her interests include socio-emotional development and learning problems. Free University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Assistant Professor at the Department of Developmental Psychology of Free University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Interests include methods of developmental research and multilevel modeling. University of Amsterdam, Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Department of Education     

Rural and Non-Rural African American Youth: Does Context Matter in the Etiology of Problem Behaviors?

The current study provides new information on the etiology of adolescent problem behaviors in African American youth by testing the importance of known predictors, namely parenting measures (monitoring, support, and communication), peers, and neighborhood characteristics across rural and non-rural developmental contexts. More specifically, the study examined whether rural versus non-rural developmental contexts moderated the relationships between known predictors and a variety of problem behaviors (alcohol use, drug use, delinquency, and violence). Data were collected from N = 687 rural and N = 182 non-rural African American adolescents (mean age = 15.8 years). Findings indicate that both parenting constructs and peer deviance had significant effects on problem behaviors and that these effects were consistent across rural and non-rural developmental contexts. The study results are discussed in terms of their implications for ecological frameworks for testing problem behavior etiology.