Objective: To identify the determinants of fruit and vegetable consumption in urban Beninese adolescents and elements to develop a school-based fruit and vegetable program. Design: Sixteen focus groups conducted with a key word guide. Setting and Participants: Two private and 2 public secondary schools in Cotonou, Benin. One hundred fifty-three…

This article describes and highlights the potential contributions that the constructs multifinality, work hope, and possible selves make for designing career counseling interventions and for better understanding possible career-related factors associated with academic engagement and achievement among urban minority youth. Multifinality may serve…

Objective: This study examined the association between maternal drug abuse history, maltreatment exposure, and functioning, in a clinical sample of young children seeking therapy for maltreatment. Methods: Data were collected on 91 children, mean age 5.3 years (SD 1.0). The Preschool and Early Childhood Functional Assessment Scales (PECFAS) was…

This research investigates the role of repeat offending and spatial contagion in juvenile delinquency recidivism using a database of 7166 male juvenile offenders sent to community-based programs by the Family Court of Philadelphia. Results indicate evidence of repeat offending among juvenile delinquents, particularly for drug offenders. The…

Postcode Criminals was the second phase of an international participatory community arts project challenging negative stereotypes of urban youth. Concerned with the impact of zero tolerance community policing strategies in the UK and USA, artists Joann Kushner and Dread Scott developed an art-based project with a social justice agenda. To give…

Background: Urban youth are often exposed to compounded risk factors which make them more vulnerable to negative outcomes. Research examining promotive factors which may reduce vulnerabilities to poor psychosocial adjustment among this population is limited. Objective: The current study addresses this limitation by examining the impact of…

Youth's free time is an opportunity for profound development of skills, attitudes and behaviors. Research on this topic has focused on middle class or White communities. The current study, conducted with an urban, low-income sample of 138 African American adolescents, examined associations between parental monitoring, support of autonomy and…

Although some evidence indicates that religiosity may be protective against substance use in the urban youth population, limited research has investigated the effects of multiple dimensions of religiosity on substance use in this population. In this study, a sample of 301 urban adolescents was used (a) to test the effects of three dimensions of…

In a sample of urban youth (N = 1,070), we examined the links between primary caregiver affect (i.e., warmth and hostility) and two measures of sexual behavior in adolescence--early sexual initiation and sex with multiple partners. We also examined the extent to which neighborhood disadvantage moderated associations between caregiver affect and…

This article presents a review of "Lost youth in the global city: class, culture and the urban imaginary," by Jo-Anne Dillabough and Jacqueline Kennelly. In many ways the "juke-box boys" would today form a stratum of the "lost youth" that Jo-Anne Dillabough and Jacqueline Kennelly discuss in their thoughtful account…

A ghetto land pedagogy begins with two axioms that align it with land education more broadly, and that distinguish it from the general umbrella of environmental education. First, ghetto colonialism is a specialization of settler colonialism. Second, land justice requires decolonization, not just environmental justice. A ghetto land pedagogy thus…

This study examined the developmental trajectories of maladaptive perfectionism over a 7-year period among African American youth living in an urban setting (N = 547). In particular, the study attempted to determine whether two maladaptive aspects of perfectionism (socially prescribed and self-critical) changed over time and could be distinguished…

High-quality after-school programs devoted to science have the potential to enhance students' science knowledge and attitudes, which may impact their decisions about pursuing science-related careers. Because of the unique nature of these informal learning environments, an understanding of the relationships among aspects of students' content…

Depression is a serious mental health concern among adolescents. Violence exposure is a potent risk factor for depression. Social support may help reduce depression risk, even when adolescents are exposed to violence. Using a compensatory model of resilience, we investigate the influence of violence exposure and social support on depression over…

This paper looks at the perspectives of 22 young adults concerning their upbringings and life experiences, experiences in inner city and suburban schools, after leaving school, and later in a privately funded urban GED preparation facility in a large southern city. Specifically it addresses the conceptions students have about school and their…