Research suggests a link between precocious transitions to adulthood (e.g., high school dropout) and maladaptation, and this association is typically assumed to be uniform. We propose that this monolithic portrayal of precocious transitions as problematic for adult functioning is unwarranted, particularly across identities defined by gender,…

Adventure-based learning is used by behavioral health providers to connect clients to therapeutic activities outside traditional settings. These approaches often aim to build internal and external assets that support positive youth development. Here we evaluate the impact of an experiential learning curriculum on youth development and identify…

This study investigates the relation of young adult identities (ages 18-22 years), reflecting subjective age and psychosocial maturity, to educational and career attainment in young adulthood (ages 25-29 years). Add Health data show that having an older subjective age alone does not curtail attainment; the critical issue is the level of…

The unfolding of individual interests is reconstructed as part of a person's everyday experience in dealing with multiple goals. This is exemplified by referring to how adolescents cope with developmental tasks while striving for their ideal selves. Exploratory interaction with objects of potential interest is regarded as a central element that…

Establishing life purpose is a key developmental task; however, how it is linked to adolescents' everyday family, school, extracurricular, and leisure experiences remains unclear. Using daily diary data from 180 Asian American ninth and tenth graders (50% ninth; 58% female; 25% first generation), daily purpose was positively related to daily…

Adolescence is a time when children develop a need to reach a high level of self-fulfillment. Books are reviewed in which adolescent characters establish good social relationships and become more mature in communicating and understanding themselves. (DF)

Delineates specific psychosocial developmental demands placed upon middle schoolers and links these demands to the self-concept disturbance they typically feel. Offers a number of general recommendations useful to educators who are interested in considering the relationship between educational experiences and self-concept disturbance among early…

Drug experimenters and drug abstainers were compared on identity achievement at a traditional, conservative, independent college (N=155). Drug abstainers were found to be more foreclosed than experimenters; however, in contrast to previous research, abstainers were not more identity-achieved. Additional findings and results are discussed.…

Examined relationship between coping styles and psychological distress in nonclinical sample of 832 Hong Kong Chinese adolescents. Factor analyses suggest adolescents used relatively similar coping strategies. Four broad coping styles were identified. Avoidance/blaming was found to be a significant and moderately strong predictor of psychological…

Describes the development of a New Jersey adventure program for homeless teenagers. Discusses the developmental tasks of adolescence--separating from family, forging a healthy sexual identity, preparing for the future, and developing a moral value system--and the positive impacts of adventure on these tasks. Addresses the issue of closure and…

Summarizes research studies published since 1960 which provide comparative data on Black and White adolescents. Topics covered include academic achievement, development, creativity, achievement motivation, locus of control, self-concept, personality, aspirations, attitudes and beliefs, and mass media use patterns. (GC)

Attempts to integrate recent models of social systems based on age and cognitive personality research with research on adolescence. Presents a conceptual model of how adolescents set personal goals, construct cognitive strategies, and evaluate their success in an age-graded sociocultural context. Discusses future directions for research based on…

A Self-Concept Scale for Adolescents based on Havighurst's Developmental Tasks for Youth was constructed to reflect the adolescents' perceptions of their ability to achieve these tasks in relation to personal abilities, the abilities of others, and the criteria for successful task completion. A validity and reliability study showed the scale to be…

The relationship between grade point average, grade level, age, sex, social class, and self-concept as defined by Havighurst's Developmental Tasks for Youth was investigated. Subjects were 280 adolescents ranging in age from 13 through 18 and coming from a variety of social classes. Each subject completed a Self-Concept Scale for Adolescents,…

Erikson marked adolescence for the prime developmental task of identity achievement. An examination of 31 mothers, aged 25 to 45, revealed that foreclosure of identity development was the norm for this sample in adolescence and that, for those who had achieved identity, the subsequent status change was related to the liberating influences of…