Over the past half century, in the United States and other developed nations, children's free play with other children has declined sharply. Over the same period, anxiety, depression, suicide, feelings of helplessness, and narcissism have increased sharply in children, adolescents, and young adults. This article documents these historical changes…

An exploratory study investigated the relationship between loneliness, coping strategies, and cognitive styles in a sample of 52 gifted students from rural Nebraska (mean age 17.25 years). Assessment measures consisted of the Woodward Loneliness Inventory, the Kalyan-Masih Coping Inventory I, and the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT), which…

Canadian data from the 1998 Cross-National Survey on Health Behaviors in School-Aged Children were analyzed to examine the effects of school experiences on personal health (physical health, mental health, self-esteem, helplessness, and body image) and interpersonal relationships (number of close friends and making friends) among adolescents.…

The dynamic and emerging social reality of the liberal/capitalistic Western World has created a new type of personality, the characteristics of which the educational community must be aware. Although early capitalism stressed production, the present emphasis features consumption as the dominant activity. The acquisitive, hardworking individual has…

Ecological barriers like racism and discrimination can weigh heavily on the shifting emotions of adolescents. We investigated the relationship of racial socialization experiences to the depression symptoms of 160 Black adolescents, including lethargy, low self-esteem, cognitive difficulties, social introversion, irritability, guilt, pessimism, sad…