Involvement in civic and community activities is a core part of positive youth development. Adolescents involved in voluntary civic activities have greater academic engagement, enhanced well-being, less involvement in problem behaviors, and they are more likely to value connections to their community than those who are not involved. The current…

American adolescents spend a significant portion of their time in leisure activities, but little research has been done on adolescent extrafamilial leisure activities, either alone or with peers. This paper examines adolescents' own accounts of such activities. As part of a longitudinal study of rural youth development, semistructured interviews…

A study examined characteristics common among young offenders from rural communities who were involved in multiple-fatality school shootings. Data on six cases involving eight offenders revealed six common offender characteristics: verbal threats, peer rejection, interest in violent media, previous violent behavior, suicidal ideation, and violent…