In this paper the physical characteristics of community sites that are common gathering places for adolescents are described and recommendations are given for improving their use. It is suggested that there are some common factors in the society and in the organization of many towns and cities in the United States that contribute to the appearance…

Previous research on educational aspirations has focused almost exclusively on micro-level predictors of educational aspirations. Notably absent from these studies are measures reflecting the neighborhood context in which adolescents live. Drawing on Wilson's theory of neighborhood effects, the present study examines the extent to which…

A number of models have been proposed to explain the relationship between family structure and adolescent problem behaviors, including several that consider parent-child relations, family income, stress, and residential mobility. However, studies have not explored whether the different types of communities within which families reside affect the…

The new social studies of childhood point to the need for studies which explore young people's uses of technology. Multiplayer computer games provide an important site for exploring the role of new technologies in young people's lives, in particular in relation to issues of representation, identity, and community, and to the changing nature of…

An alternate approach in delivering mental health service to school systems is introduced. Rooted in preventive and community based principles, it switches the emphasis to primary preventive interventions as well as examining environmental and social system influences on children's development and adjustment. (Author/PN)

Discusses the computation and application of various epidemiological measures of effect in educational and developmental research. Reviews issues related to the use and interpretation of the risk-ratio, the odds-ratio, and the logistic regression odds-ratio and examines community-level measures of effect. (SLD)

Purpose: To examine substance use differences among African-American adolescents living in rural and more urban areas in Iowa and Georgia and factors thought to be related to those differences. Specifically, negative affect and perceived availability were examined as mediators of the relation between community size and alcohol, tobacco, and drug…

The Young People and Community Space Project documents the ways in which young people (aged 12 through 24 years) in New South Wales (Australia) use community space and explores ways in which conflicts in the use of community space can be addressed. Community space, for purposes of the study, includes privately owned places such as shopping centers…

Study researched the impact of the contextual characteristics of the community on self-reported 8th grade alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use. Results indicate that community disorganization is an important risk factor for ATOD use while family supports is an important protective factor. Greater economic constraints decreases, rather than…

Investigates changes in parents' use of restrictive and promotive management strategies from early to middle adolescence. Data included 50 African American adolescents and their parents living in a low-income school district. Findings suggest that increasing parents' use of promotive management strategies may be more beneficial in supporting the…

Analysis of aggregate- and individual-level data for a national sample of white women suggest that adolescent nonmarital sexual activity and contraceptive use are shaped by the local opportunity structure and normative environment. Social disintegration, socioeconomic status, and availability of employment opportunities for women emerged as…

Examines the sociocultural influences on risk of first sex among Hispanic teens living in Los Angeles County. Hispanic teens living in low-density Hispanic neighborhoods have significantly higher risk of sex than do teens living in neighborhoods with higher levels of ambient hazards. Results highlight the importance of characterizing sociocultural…

We assessed the importance of academic and practical intelligence in rural and relatively urban Yup'ik Alaskan communities with respect to Yup'ik-valued traits rated by adults or peers in the adolescents' communities. A total of 261 adolescents participated in the study; of these adolescents, 145 were females and 116 were males, and they were from…

In this study, the authors investigated community resilience from the perspectives of well-defined, geographically bounded neighbourhoods and in relation to factors within them that may mediate, either positively or negatively, child and youth health outcomes. Three socially contrasting neighbourhoods with heterogeneous child health outcomes were…

The authors used data from seven schools in a metropolitan region to explore continuity and change in adolescent cultures and status structures; they identified six major types of status structures and explained variation among them in terms of characteristics of communities and schools. A key feature of the study is comparison of school climates,…