Youth status and national development: A global assessment in the 1980s

Using a data set of 123 countries, the global status of youth is assessed by examining the relationship between national development and a youth-adult ratio, or the number of youth relative to the number of adults in a nation. First, the size of the population of youth in comparison to the size of the adult population is determined, where it becomes evident that the majority of nations have high or very high numbers of youth relative to adults. Second, the opportunities nations provide their young people are evaluated by looking at the range and average levels of economic, political, social, and educational development within the modern world system. Third, a strong relationship is found between relative size of the youth population and national development, with youth ratios most closely associated with educational and political development. The results of this study demonstrate the existence of inter-age and intra-age stratification throughout the world, which has important implications for the future well-being of youth as well as the world system of nation-states.This paper was presented at the 81st annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, New York, New York, August 30–September 3, 1986.Ph. D. in sociology from Pennsylvania State University. Research interests include generational politics, youth movements, and political sociology.Ph. D. in psychology from Syracuse University. Research interests include aging and politics, social psychological aspects of health care, gerontology, and life-course development.     

The Role of “Very Important” Nonparental Adults in Adolescent Development

Two hundred one adolescents of diverse ethnic backgrounds (mean age = 16.7 years) reported whether they considered any adult other than their parents to be a very important person (VIP) in their lives, and described various attributes of the VIP and their relationship with this individual. Perceived VIP characteristics—especially perceived involvement of the VIP in behavior that is uniformly illegal (e.g., theft) or illegal for adolescents (e.g., alcohol use)— were robust predictors of boys' self-reported misconduct and had modest links with their level of self-reported depressive symptomatology. In contrast, VIP attributes showed their strongest linkages to girls' depressive symptoms, with perceived VIP warmth and acceptance related to a lower incidence of depressed mood. Regression analyses indicated that these VIP attributes contributed uniquely to the explanation of misconduct and depressive symptoms even when analogous parental and friend attributes were included in the models. In view of the findings of this exploratory study, several future research directions are suggested, including research on the mechanisms through which VIP effects may be transmitted.     

Measuring Attitudes toward the United States Supreme Court

It is conventional in research on the legitimacy of the U.S. Supreme Court to rely on a survey question asking about confidence in the leaders of the Court to indicate something about the esteem with which that institution is regarded by the American people. The purpose of this article is to investigate the validity of this measure. Based on a nationally representative survey conducted in 2001, we compare confidence with several different measures of Court legitimacy. Our findings indicate that the confidence replies seem to reflect both short-term and long-term judgments about the Court, with the greater influence coming from satisfaction with how the Court is performing at the moment. We suggest a new set of indicators for measuring the legitimacy of the Court and offer some evidence on the structure of the variance in these items.     

Criminology and genocide studies: Notes on what might have been and what still could be

Scholars of genocide and mass killings have proposed several theories explaining how the behaviors of governments, political leaders, and ordinary citizens contribute to extreme violence. Many of the explanatory constructs developed in these theories bear a striking resemblance to core concepts of criminology or could be readily integrated with criminological ideas. As examples, this paper briefly describes the ideas of Herbert Kelman, Daniel Jonah Goldhagen, and R.J. Rummel from the perspective of criminology and examines their applicabilitythe recent genocides in Bosnia and Rwanda. The conclusion is that criminology, by largely ignoring the crime of genocide, has missed opportunities to both contribute to the field of genocide studies and to improve the specification of its own ideas.     

Reviews

The Absence of lzanagi By Kei Takei Performed at La MaMa E.T.C., New York June 22–25, 2000

Otome Bunraku performs two Japanese classics Japan Society, New York September 13–16, 2000

Towa—Part I—Kanojo (Eternity—Part I—She) By Kishida Rio Performed at Kinokuniya Southern Theatre, Tokyo August 31‐September 9, 2000

Toothless By Kazuko Hohki Performed at Battersea Arts Centre, London June‐July 2000

Hagi‐ke no San‐Shimai (Three Sisters of the Hagi Family) By Nagai Ai Performed at Theatre Tram, Setagaya Public Theatre, Tokyo November 4–19, 2000

Women's Gidayū and the Japanese Theatre Tradition. By A. Kimi Coaldrake. 1998. London and New York: Nissan Institute, Routledge Japanese Studies Series. Xxix+262. With nine‐track CD.

Takarazuka: Sexual Politics and Popular Culture in Modern Japan. By Jennifer Robertson. 1998. University of California Press, Japan. Xvi+278.

Angura: Posters of the Japanese Avant‐Garde. David G. Goodman. 1999. New York: Princeton Architectural Press. Viii+91.

About Face: Performing Race in Fashion and Theater. By Dorinne Kondo. 1997. New York and London: Routledge. xiii +277.     

Defining Mediator Knowledge and Skills

A two-year collaboration among researchers, practitioners, and advisers from the major national organizations of mediators produced a job analysis relevant to mediators involved in interpersonal disputes (i.e., divorce, community, formal parent-child mediation, etc.). One byproduct of the job analysis is an extensive list of the knowledge areas and skills important to effective job performance. This essay defines the knowledge and skill areas that emerged from the analysis.     

Experiences of Racism,Racial/Ethnic Attitudes,Motivated Fairness and Mental Health Outcomes Among Primary and Secondary School Students

While studies investigating the health effects of racial discrimination for children and youth have examined a range of effect modifiers, to date, relationships between experiences of racial discrimination, student attitudes, and health outcomes remain unexplored. This study uniquely demonstrates the moderating effects of vicarious racism and motivated fairness on the association between direct experiences of racism and mental health outcomes, specifically depressive symptoms and loneliness, among primary and secondary school students. Across seven schools, 263 students (54.4 % female), ranging from 8 to 17 years old (M = 11.2, SD = 2.2) reported attitudes about other racial/ethnic groups and experiences of racism. Students from minority ethnic groups (determined by country of birth) reported higher levels of loneliness and more racist experiences relative to the majority group students. Students from the majority racial/ethnic group reported higher levels of loneliness and depressive symptoms if they had more friends from different racial/ethnic groups, whereas the number of friends from different groups had no effect on minority students’ loneliness or depressive symptoms. Direct experiences of racism were robustly related to higher loneliness and depressive symptoms in multivariate regression models. However, the association with depressive symptoms was reduced to marginal significance when students reported low motivated fairness. Elaborating on the negative health effects of racism in primary and secondary school students provides an impetus for future research and the development of appropriate interventions.