Data from current study suggest adolescents worry about what other people think because there are real personal and social consequences. Such concerns are seen as being based in social reality and are not imaginary as suggested by Elkind. Advocates new methodologies which place young people at the center of analysis. (Contains 34 references.)…

Evaluates the self-report method in the assessment of attitudes and behaviors. Self-report factors from 42 problem youth were compared against parental report factors and police and school records. Significant relationships were found only for self-report factors that contained more positively oriented items. Implications of these findings are…

Notes that intergenerational theories of family functioning sparked interest in empirical investigations that test intergenerational relationships. Presents test of difference scores enabling researchers to compare related and unrelated dyads, thus creating comparison group when using only two generations. Contrasts procedure with correlational…

In this pilot study, 14 adolescents kept diaries for 6 consecutive weeks during their pregnancies. Diary entries were analyzed for affective tone, emotional lability, and contextuality. Findings question psychometric properties of data gathered using one time, self-report measures with pregnant adolescents because of their fluctuating mood states.…

Tested the validity of self-reports of socially undesirable adolescent behavior using a bogus pipeline procedure with students (N=291) in grades seven through nine. In the context of a school-based study in which confidentiality was assured, adolescents' self-reports of alcohol use and misuse were not significantly affected by a bogus pipeline…

Presents methodology designed to evaluate validity of retrospective self-report inventories. Applied technique to college student, twin, and sibling data to demonstrate reliability and validity of retrospective self-report questionnaire on timing of pubertal onset. Support provided by four main findings is discussed. (Author/NB)

Compared the family relationships of lower class youths perceived by neighbors as being either problems or promising (N=59). Results of questionnaires and interviews with the youths showed no significant differences between the two groups in terms of family relationships, suggesting opportunity theory might be a better predictor of delinquency.…

Reviews the literature on covictimization and discusses methodological issues that plague covictimization research. Examines correlates of covictimization within the Shakoor and Chalmers framework, comprising emotional, cognitive, and behavioral domains. Outlines a developmental-contextual approach toward studying covictimization, and from this…

Describes the development of a nonparticipant observer role in research on youthful drug use. While dual functions of research and interventionist complemented each other, they presented personal role conflicts that had to be resolved. By assuming the role of nonparticipant in the deviant behavior itself, the researcher could avoid many dilemmas.…

Examined the eidetic imagery, verbalization, and social interaction related to adolescents' smoking behavior in a high school environment. Interventions aimed at helping adults stop smoking were considered applicable to teenagers. (Author/DB)

Among the 160 students studied, demographic, cognitive moral development level and college environment variables interacted in highly complex patterns to influence the student's choice of premarital sexual standard. This suggests that a general systems approach, rather than univariate analysis, is needed to fully study complex moral phenomena.…

Reviews six articles which appear to be representative of the past 15 years during which researchers have focused on early adolescent egocentrism. Describes each article in chronological order and compares its research findings to those of the other articles. Finds a lack of consistency among findings. Reviews methodological problems and raises…

This paper describes procedures that resulted in a 90 percent return in a random sample survey of inner-city youth. Included are: selection of interview sites; recordkeeping; call-backs; techniques for dealing with reluctant interviewees; and composition of interview teams, including sex and ethnic matching with sample members. (SJL)