Moral judgment depends critically on theory of mind, reasoning about mental states such as beliefs and intentions. People assign blame for failed attempts to harm and offer forgiveness in the case of accidents. Here we use fMRI to investigate the role of ToM in moral judgment of harmful vs. helpful actions. Is ToM deployed differently for judgments of blame vs. praise? Participants evaluated agents who produced a harmful, helpful, or neutral outcome, based on a harmful, helpful, or neutral intention; participants (...) made blame and praise judgments. In the right temporo-parietal junction, and, to a lesser extent, the left TPJ and medial prefrontal cortex, the neural response reflected an interaction between belief and outcome factors, for both blame and praise judgments: The response in these regions was highest when participants delivered a negative moral judgment, i.e., assigned blame or withheld praise, based solely on the agent's intent. These results show enhanced attention to mental states for negative moral verdicts based exclusively on mental state information. (shrink)

School connectedness is the leading protective factor against multiple at-risk behaviors for adolescents. Its far-reaching influence, however, is not widely known. This book provides valuable information about school connectedness, including strategies on how to strengthen life-saving ties with students.

ObjectivePrevious research has shown that adolescents in single-mother households are at heightened risk for adjustment problems. However, limited studies have investigated the mechanisms leading to adolescent problem behaviors in single-mother households. To address this research gap, this study applied the Family Stress Model to examine how single mothers’ material hardship is linked to adolescent problem behaviors, focusing on the mediating roles of mothers’ depression and mother-adolescent closeness. The moderating role of adolescent school connectedness in the relationships between mother-adolescent closeness (...) and school connectedness and between mothers’ depression and school connectedness was also investigated.Materials and methodsThe study analyzed data from 1,384 adolescents and their single mothers who participated in the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study at Wave 6. The associations between study variables were analyzed using structural equation modeling by decomposing the direct, indirect, and total effects of material hardship on adolescent problem behaviors. School connectedness’s interactions with mother-adolescent closeness and mothers’ depression were also examined.ResultsResults showed a significant indirect relationship between material hardship and adolescent problem behaviors through sequential mediation of mothers’ depression and mother-adolescent closeness. Mothers’ depression also significantly mediated the relationship between material hardship and problem behaviors. Lastly, school connectedness moderated the relationship between mother-adolescent closeness and adolescents’ internalizing behaviors. The association between mother-adolescent closeness and adolescents’ internalizing behavior was weaker for adolescents with higher levels of school connectedness.ConclusionThe results indicate the important indirect effect of economic strain on adolescents’ problems behaviors in single-mother households, which has been less emphasized compared to the effects in earlier childhood. High rates of material hardship and adolescent problem behaviors in single-mother families call for multifaceted interventions focusing on family processes and protective factors, including school environment. (shrink)

Adults report that moral characteristics—particularly widely shared moral beliefs—are central to identity. This perception appears driven by the view that changes to widely shared moral beliefs would alter friendships and that this change in social relationships would, in turn, alter an individual's personal identity. Because reasoning about identity changes substantially during adolescence, the current work tested pre- and post-adolescents to reveal the role that such changes could play in moral cognition. Experiment 1 showed that 8- to 10-year-olds, like adults, (...) judged that people would change more after changes to their widely shared moral beliefs (e.g., whether hitting is wrong) than after changes to controversial moral beliefs (e.g., whether telling prosocial lies is wrong). Following up on this basic effect, a second experiment examined whether participants regard all changes to widely shared moral beliefs as equally impactful. Adults, but not children, reported that individuals would change more if their good moral beliefs (e.g., it is not okay to hit) transformed into bad moral beliefs (e.g., it is okay to hit) than if the opposite change occurred. This difference in adults was mediated by perceptions of how much changes to each type of belief would alter friendships. We discuss implications for moral judgment and social cognitive development. (shrink)

Adolescents often create social relationships with their gaming peers who take on the role of offline friends and peer groups. Through collaboration and competition in the games, the social relationships of adolescents are becoming broader and thicker. Although this is a common phenomenon in online games, few studies have focused on the formation and roles of social capital among adolescent gamers. In particular, longitudinal research that examines the role of social capital in terms of influencing gaming time on (...) adolescent gamers’ psychosocial factors has been minimal. This study was designed to fill this gap to see the long-term effect of social capital among adolescent gamers. Specifically, by using the three-year longitudinal data involving 403 adolescents, we analyzed the effect of gaming time on psychological factors with the moderating role of social capital. Results showed that social capital played a crucial moderating role. In the higher social capital group, gaming time enhanced the degree of self-esteem and life satisfaction. However, a vicious circle was found in the lower social capital group: Gaming time increased the degree of depression but decreased self-esteem, which in turn led to increase in gaming time. These results indicate that games work as an important tool for social capital cultivation among adolescent gamers, which imply successful cultivation of social capital is a key to positive gaming effects. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. (shrink)

The rapidly expanding universe of information, media, and learning experiences available through digital technology is creating unique opportunities and vulnerabilities for children and adolescents. These issues are particularly salient during the developmental window at the transition from childhood into adolescence. This period of early adolescence is a time of formative social and emotional learning experiences that can shape identity development in both healthy and unhealthy ways. Increasingly, many of these foundational learning experiences are occurring in on-line digital environments. These (...) expanding vulnerabilities and opportunities are being further amplified for young adolescents growing up in low resourced settings around the world. Cultural and contextual factors influence access, use, and appropriation of digital technology. Further, neurobehavioral changes associated with the onset of puberty often coincide with entry into social media and more autonomous use of technology. In low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs), disparities in access, use, and appropriation of digital media can amplify prevailing economic gaps, and compound gender inequalities during early adolescence. In LMICs, adolescents are often the early adopters of mobile technology and social media platforms. While the impact of social media on the well-being, particularly mental health, of young adolescents has been a focus of research in high-income countries (HICs), much less is known about the impacts of social media use on young adolescents in LMICs. In this paper, we review what is known about the interaction between digital media and early adolescent development. We highlight crucial gaps in the evidence in LMICs; and describe some hypotheses and areas for future research to address these compelling issues. (shrink)

This study investigates the underlying mechanisms of how young adolescents process social advertising (i. e., advertising on social networking sites which shows how many and which of the user’s friends have ‘liked’ the brand’s page). Particularly, two experiments examined the role of brand trust in adolescents’ attitude formation and how brand trust is predicted by theories of social proof and persuasion knowledge. In addition, the moderating role of brand familiarity and brand value is investigated. The first experiment (...) (N = 142) showed that higher brand trust was induced for social advertising for unfamiliar but not for familiar brands through the principle of social proof. This means that friends’ likes may reduce uncertainty and increase trust in unfamiliar brands through social advertising, something which enhances brand attitudes. Persuasion knowledge could not explain the effects of social advertising. The second experiment (N = 72) showed that social advertisements are more effective for brands that are symbolic (versus non-symbolic). Managerial and policy implications regarding social advertising targeting adolescents are discussed. (shrink)

Background and AimsEnd-of-life discussions can be difficult for seriously ill adolescents and young adults. Researchers aimed to determine whether completing Voicing My CHOiCES —a research-informed advance care planning guide—increased communication with family, friends, or health care providers, and to evaluate the experience of those with whom VMC was shared.MethodsFamily, friends, or HCPs who the AYAs had shared their completed VMC with were administered structured interviews to assess their perception of the ACP discussion, changes in their relationship, conversation quality, (...) and whether the discussion prompted changes in care. Open-ended responses underwent thematic analysis.ResultsOne-month post-completion, 65.1% of AYA had shared VMC completion with a family member, 22.6% with a friend, and 8.9% with an HCP. Among a sample of respondents, family and friends reported a positive change in their relationship with the AYA. Participant descriptions of the experience fell into five themes: positive experience, difficult experience, appreciated a guide to facilitate discussion, provided relief, and created worry/anxiety. Only 1 HCP noted a treatment change. Family, friends, and HCP did not think the AYA would have discussed EoL preferences without completing VMC.ConclusionsVMC has potential to enhance communication about ACP between AYA and their family and friends, though less frequently with HCPs. Participants reported a positive change in their relationship with the AYA after discussing VMC, and described experiencing the conversation as favorable, even when also emotionally difficult. (shrink)

Adolescents’ and young adults’ practical moral judgments about two interpersonal moral dilemmas, which differed in their moral complexity, were examined using two philosophical frameworks (deontological and consequentialist principles) as tools for psychological analysis. A sample of 234 participants (ages 14–16, 18–19, and 20–21) reasoned about two moral dilemmas, which had been experienced by a subset of adolescents in a pilot study, in two forms: Participants 1) provided open-ended decisions and justification from the perspective of an imagined moral (...) agent and 2) selected a choice from nine fixed reasoning alternatives (half advocating one course and other half advocating the other course of action, plus a relativistic reasoning). The participants’ open-ended responses served as a foundation of coding systems and were analyzed using log-linear analyses, chi-square tests, and a binominal logistic regression. The combination of qualitative and quantitative methods uncovered unexpected but nuanced young people’s moral thinking. Results indicated that female participants were more likely than males to show a unique decision style: “restructuring” of the moral dilemmas/situations, and moral relativism emerged only when asked to select a choice from nine reasoning alternatives and was primarily evidenced among the younger (aged 18–19) female college students. (shrink)

Adolescence is a valuable phase of life, not just because it is the phase of learning in school and preparing for a working life. During the COVID-19 pandemic it became clear that the rights, experiences, and lifeworlds of adolescents are considered less important than the needs of school, work, and productivity. However, there is an ethical claim for people to have a good adolescence, and this means that the losses of social contact, experiences, time, and space demanded of (...) class='Hi'>adolescents, in order to protect older and vulnerable groups during the COVID-19 pandemic, should be taken seriously. A distinctive quality of adolescence is that it cannot be repeated, nor can these experiences be replicated as adults. First experiences of independence, friendship, love, informality, recklessness, and youthful exuberance are intrinsically valuable and cannot be substituted for later in life. It is therefore not surprising that adolescents have sought and found their own spaces during the pandemic, some of them forbidden, because lock downs and closed social spaces have relegated them to the confines of their childhood bedrooms. In this paper, I explore an ethic of a good adolescence, which was impacted on by the COVID-19 pandemic, and consider what can be learned from this situation. Adolescents are to be taken seriously, their experiences are no less valuable than those of adults, and the losses they have suffered for the benefit of others should be honored. As far as possible, young people should be supported to have a voice in public discourse and in finding spaces to be adolescents. (shrink)

In the present article, we review the theory and research on religious deconversion with a focus on adolescence and young adulthood. First, we present the relevant terminology (e.g. religious deconversion, religious disaffiliation, and religious deidentification) and statistical trends (e.g. the prevalence of religious Nones and Dones). We define religious deconversion as any movement away from religion. Religiosity decreases across adolescence and into young adulthood, and these developmental periods also have heightened rates of religious deidentification, at least in many (...) Western cultures. Second, we review the theory and research on processes, predictors, and outcomes of religious deconversion. Deconversion is discussed both in terms of individuals becoming less religious and possibly deidentifying from religion. In terms of processes of deconversion, we discuss various theoretical models and self-expressed reasons for deconversion. Religious deconversion tends to progress in phases, often initiated by religious and spiritual struggles. In terms of predictors, we identify predictors at the level of the individual (e.g. demographics, personality, norm-violating behavior, and dimensions of religiosity), family (e.g. parent and family religiosity, family dynamics such as parenting styles, and religious socialization), peers (e.g. peer religiosity and religious conversations with peers), religious communities (e.g. supportiveness, engagement, and dialogue), formal education, and social media. In line with developmental systems perspectives, religious deconversion is a complex and dynamic process involving numerous individual and contextual factors. In terms of outcomes of deconversion, we identify potential individual and relational outcomes that are considered both negative and positive. Finally, we outlined 10 promising future directions for research on religious deconversion. (shrink)

Adolescents are often an overlooked clinical population. Among school-based practitioners, there is a natural inclination to focus the delivery of mental health services, assessment measures, and intervention plans on younger children, and there is a strong research base to support these programs. On the other hand, the waiting rooms of most practitioners in private practice are filled with young and middle-age adults, couples, or families with young children. Because most therapists do not specialize in working with teens, (...) who might make up only a small portion of their overall caseload, there is a need for high quality, easily implemented activities to help engage with adolescent clients.This book provides an overview of the principles of therapeutic storytelling, developmental issues of adolescents and young adulthood, and their strengths-based model, before moving into a series of chapters devoted to specific issues. Commonly encountered topics such as sexuality, parent & peer relationships, substance abuse, violence & gangs, bereavement, and cultural and religious issues are covered within the chapters. (shrink)

Conflicts of interest. None to report Healthcare is a context where individuals with disability confront important ethical and social challenges. Adolescents and young adults with cerebral palsy (CP) seem to face additional challenges but we have little insight into their perspectives. This qualitative study aimed to identify and better understand such challenges. We interviewed 14 participants with CP aged 18 to 25. Participants described a range of challenges experienced when using health services, including: lack of long-term follow-up, shortcomings (...) in physical access to infrastructures, and situations of injustice. Challenges specific to medical consultations were reported (e.g., rude attitudes, belittlement, inadequate communication, lack of consideration). We discuss and explain further that: (1) the ethical principle of respect for persons needs to be concretely specified to improve current practices; (2) respect for autonomy calls for further direct empowerment of individuals with CP and, (3) gaps in dedicated healthcare resources for CP and the long-term needs associated should be addressed. (shrink)

Advance care planning (ACP) is a process that seeks to elicit patients’ goals, values, and preferences for future medical care. While most commonly employed in adult patients, pediatric ACP is becoming a standard of practice for adolescent and young adult patients with potentially life-limiting illnesses. The majority of research has focused on patients and their families; little attention has been paid to the perspectives of healthcare providers (HCPs) regarding their perspectives on the process and its potential benefits and limitations. (...) Focus groups were conducted with 15 physicians as part of a larger study of adolescent and young adult ACP in hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) patients. This study identified two categories important to the utility of ACP in pediatric HSCT patients; (1) the temporal context of ACP and decision making and (2) the limitations of pediatric ACP, with subcategories identified as (a) embodied and witnessed knowing, (b) the impact of clinical cascades—when the treatment of one organ system creates complications in another system that needs to be treated—and a creation of a “new normal” following complications of illness and its treatment in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), (c) the balancing of adolescents’ autonomy with their capacity to make informed medical decisions, and (d) the epistemological frames that differ between HCP and patients and their families. These findings support ACP in adolescent and young adult HSCT patients, with a number of implications for practice as this process becomes more common. (shrink)

This paper analyses the development of the specialism of adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer care via a Foucauldian lens to consider how knowledge and awareness have grown since questions were first raised about unmet needs of AYAs with cancer. The AYA specialism has gathered momentum over the last 30 years in the United Kingdom (UK) and is fast gathering pace internationally. Fundamental to this process has been the combined contribution from nursing and other health professionals, researchers, policy‐makers and (...) philanthropists. From an initial process of problematisation, through a gradual growth in empirical knowledge and resultant shifts in health policy, a new nexus of expertise has emerged that enabled AYA cancer care to become recognised as distinct from either child or adult oncology. Different stakeholders contributed to the discourses that have underpinned this development—a process likely to continue as it expands further. This paper draws on examples from the growth of the AYA specialism, the emergence of new professional roles and a growth in research. It illustrates how the coalescing of multiple perspectives allowed new discourses and, ultimately, new practices to be established that now have global impact. (shrink)

Adolescent young carers (AYCs) are a sub-group of young carers who carry out significant or substantial caring tasks and assume a level of responsibility which would usually be associated with an adult. They are a potentially vulnerable group of minors because of the risk factors associated with their caring role. AYCs face a critical transition phase from adolescence to adulthood often with a lack of tailored support from service providers. The recently completed European funded ‘ME-WE’ project, which forms (...) the focus of this paper, aimed to change the ‘status quo’ by advancing the situation of AYCs in Europe, via responsive research and knowledge translation actions. This paper outlines the participatory, co-creation approach employed in the project to optimise AYC’s involvement. It describes the ethical framework adopted by the project consortium to ensure the wellbeing of AYCs within all project activities. Ethical issues that arose in the field study work in all six countries are presented, followed by a discussion of the level of success or otherwise of the consortium to address these issues. The paper concludes with lessons learned regarding ethically responsible research with and for AYCs that are likely transferable to other vulnerable research groups and pan-European projects. (shrink)

Social anxiety is highly prevalent in adolescents and is often associated with great individual suffering and functional impairment. Psychiatric comorbidity is common and further adds to this burden. The purposes of this study were: (1) to describe the occurrence of diagnosed and self-reported social anxiety among 8,199 Norwegian adolescents aged 13–19 years who participated in the population-based Young-HUNT3 study (2006–2008); (2) to examine associations between sociodemographic characteristics and different subgroups of social anxiety; and (3) to describe the (...) psychiatric health comorbidities among adolescents diagnosed with social anxiety disorder (SAD). In total, 388 (5.9%) of the adolescents screened positive for SAD and were invited into a diagnostic interview, performed by professional nurses, using Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule for DSM IV: child version (ADIS-C) (response rate = 54.6%). A SAD diagnosis was indicated in 106 individuals (50% of the interview subjects), and more than two-thirds of the adolescents diagnosed with SAD had one or more comorbid psychiatric disorders. Higher mean scores of self-reported social anxiety symptoms, poor self-rated health, sleep problems, poor family economic situation, low physical activity, and having sought professional help within the last year were associated with higher odds of being in the screening positive subgroup. Screening positive subjects who did not meet for a diagnostic interview did not differ notably from the rest of the screening positive group in terms of these sociodemographic characteristics. Based on our results and the fact that individuals with social anxiety often fear interview situations, the use of ADIS-C, screening questions and self-reports seem to be sufficient when aiming to identify epidemiologically representative cohorts of adolescents at risk of social anxiety. (shrink)

The article offers a theoretical analysis of the incorrect overlapping of the terms competence and value, value and belief, the confusion in using the terms value and value orientation and, as a result, the definitions of the concepts value and value orientation are proposed. The study aims to determine the dynamic and specifics of value manifestation in contemporary adolescents and young people in pre-pandemic and pandemic situations. The main part of the article is dedicated to the presentation of (...) obtained experimental data research received by four instruments used to get the most complex data regarding values and value orientations held by subjects. The focus of this article is on specificity of values held/maintained by contemporary adolescents and young people, relationship between terminal and instrumental values, significance of value differences in adolescents and young people, the changes that occurred in the value orientations during the pandemic period. (shrink)

BackgroundWhereas many adolescents and young people with HIV require the transfer of care from paediatric/adolescent clinics to adult ART clinics, this transition is beset with a multitude of factors that have the potential to hinder or facilitate the process, thereby raising ethical challenges of the transition process. Decisions made regarding therapy, such as when and how to transition to adult HIV care, should consider ethical benefits and risks. Understanding and addressing ethical challenges in the healthcare transition could ensure (...) a smooth and successful transition. The purpose of this study was to analyze the ethical challenges of transitioning HIV care for adolescents into adult HIV clinics.MethodsData presented were derived from 191 adolescents attending nine different health facilities in Uganda, who constituted 18 focus group discussions. In the discussions, facilitators and barriers regarding adolescents transitioning to adult HIV clinics were explored. Guided by the Silences Framework for data interpretation, thematic data analysis was used to analyze the data. The principles of bioethics and the four-boxes ethics framework for clinical care (patient autonomy, medical indications, the context of care, and quality of life) were used to analyze the ethical issues surrounding the transition from adolescent to adult HIV care.ResultsThe key emerging ethical issues were: reduced patient autonomy; increased risk of harm from stigma and loss of privacy and confidentiality; unfriendly adult clinics induce disengagement and disruption of the care continuum; patient preference to transition as a cohort, and contextual factors are critical to a successful transition.ConclusionThe priority outcomes of the healthcare transition for adolescents should address ethical challenges of the healthcare transition such as loss of autonomy, stigma, loss of privacy, and discontinuity of care to ensure retention in HIV care, facilitate long-term self-care, offer ongoing all-inclusive healthcare, promote adolescent health and wellbeing and foster trust in the healthcare system. Identifying and addressing the ethical issues related to what hinders or facilitates successful transitions with targeted interventions for the transition process may ensure adolescents and young people with HIV infection remain healthy across the healthcare transition. (shrink)

This article serves as an introduction to the special issue on Contemporary Issues in Religious and Spiritual Development in Adolescence, Young Adulthood, and Beyond. First, we give an account of the history of research on religious and spiritual development in adolescence and beyond. Although religion and spirituality have a long history in psychology, it is still an emerging area of research. Second, we summarize the current body of work on religious and spiritual development in adolescence and beyond. Most research (...) in this area has focused on outcomes, particularly religion and spirituality as a protective factor against negative youth outcomes. Some work has also looked at individual and contextual predictors of religion and spirituality. Less is known about processes and trajectories of religious development, particularly in terms of changes in religious identification. Third, we recommend directions for future research in this area. We focus on the need for research to look at the role of religion and spirituality in positive youth development, the religious and spiritual experiences of religious minority youth, religious and spiritual challenges faced by sexual minority youth, and processes and predictors of religious deconversion. Fourth, we outline the four review papers on contemporary issues in religious and spiritual development featured in the special issue. These papers provide literature reviews on four important directions for future research. (shrink)

Whilst previous observational studies have linked negative thought processes such as an external locus of control and holding negative cognitive styles with depression, the directionality of these associations and the potential role that these factors play in the transition to adulthood and parenthood has not yet been investigated. This study examined the association between locus of control and negative cognitive styles in adolescence and probable depression in young adulthood and whether parenthood moderated these associations. Using a UK prospective population-based (...) birth cohort study: the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, we examined the association between external locus of control and negative cognitive styles in adolescence with odds of depression in 4,301 young adults using logistic regression models unadjusted and adjusted for potential confounding factors. Interaction terms were employed to examine whether parenthood moderated these associations. Over 20% of young adults in our sample were at or above the clinical threshold indicating probable depression. For each standard deviation increase in external locus of control in adolescence, there was a 19% higher odds of having probable depression in young adulthood, after adjusting for various confounding factors including baseline mood and different demographic and life events variables. Similarly, for each SD increase in negative cognitive styles in adolescence, there was a 29% higher odds of having probable depression in the adjusted model. We found little evidence that parenthood status moderated the relationship between external locus of control or negative cognitive styles in adolescence and probable depression following adjustment for confounding factors. Effect estimates were comparable when performed in the complete case dataset. These findings suggest that having an external locus of control and holding negative cognitive styles in mid- to late adolescence is associated with an increased likelihood of probable depression in young adulthood. (shrink)

Individuals diagnosed with conduct disorder (CD) in childhood and adolescence are at risk for increasingly maladaptive and dangerous behaviors, which unchecked, can lead to antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) in adulthood. Children with CD, especially those with the callous unemotional subgroup qualifier (“limited prosocial emotions”/dsm‐5), present with a more severe pattern of delinquency, aggression, and antisocial behavior, all markings of prodrome ASPD. Given this recognized diagnostic trajectory, with a pathological course playing out tragically at the individual, familial, and societal level, and (...) lack of effective remediation via current standards of care, we posit an alternate treatment approach; case‐specific compulsory moral habilitation aimed at rectifying the undeveloped affective domain of adolescents and young adults suffering from these disorders. We begin with a brief historical overview of response to mental illness, review CD and ASPD diagnostic criteria and treatment limitations, and posit a unique neurohabilitative approach that focuses on the absent affective moral development of these populations. Next, we invoke a public health safety argument to justify case‐specific compulsory moral habilitation, discuss neurotechnologies to be considered in treatment, and conclude with ethical considerations and suggestions for further research. (shrink)

Specialists on issues of sexual abuse in religious institutions unanimously stress that this kind of experience significantly affects the victims’ spirituality. Particularly devastating and distorting for their spirituality is sexual abuse committed by clergy. In order to explore this issue for the first time in Poland, the authors conducted a qualitative study in the form of semi-structured interviews with five women who had experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy and/or religious in adolescence and young adulthood. The interviews were analyzed (...) using the interpretative phenomenological analysis and narrative methodology. The results showed that four respondents experienced or had experienced religious struggles in three areas: interpersonal, intrapsychic, and relationship with God. These struggles are complex and intense enough to be referred to as “spiritual trauma”, “religious trauma”, or “spiritual violence”. The results of the study may be of importance for people helping or having any other kind of contact with victims of clergy sexual abuse. (shrink)

Summary In her highly publicised polemic, All Must Have Prizes (1996), Melanie Phillips launches a scathing attack upon the British educational establishment and various facets of policy and practice during the past three decades. She is especially critical of progressivism and approaches to teaching and learning supposedly predicated upon relativist principles (e.g. multicultural education). Our own research on primary?school children's constructions of British identity (Carrington, B. & Short, G. (1995): What makes a person British? Children's conceptions of their national culture (...) and identity, Educational Studies, 21, pp. 217?238) is singled?out for criticism. We begin this paper with a rejoinder to Phillips. Among other things, we take issue with her defence of an assimilationist approach to the curriculum. In the second part of the paper, we present the findings of a recently completed case?study of 12? and 13?year?olds? constructions of their national identity, which replicates the earlier work (criticised by Phillips) with 8? to 11?year?olds. We show that the young adolescents, in common with their counterparts in primary schools, tended to adopt a pluralist viewpoint. Once again, there was an almost complete dearth of comments that were racist or nationalistic. We conclude by briefly exploring the policy implications of the findings. [1] Paper presented to the 1997 Conference of the Association for Moral Education: The Voices of Care and Justice?enhancing dialogue among theorists, researchers and practitioners, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA. (shrink)

The present pair of studies investigated the assessment, correlates, and evaluation of ?moral rebels? who follow their own moral convictions despite social pressure to comply. In Study 1, self, peer, and teacher ratings of adolescents' tendencies to be a moral rebel were positively intercorrelated. In Study 2, young adults' tendencies to be a moral rebel were associated with relatively high self-esteem scores and relatively low willingness to engage in minor moral violations and need to belong scores. Both (...) class='Hi'>adolescents and young adults reported relatively favorable attitudes toward a morally rebellious peer, especially when they themselves had heightened ratings on this characteristic. (shrink)

Growing up in the shadow of the women's movement dramatically influences how young women think about their life course transitions. Although prior research has examined the objective markers of adulthood, we know little about how young women themselves perceive these markers. This article examines the subjective meanings of the transition to adulthood among 42 young women who were part of the Youth Development Study. While interviewees saw becoming a parent and becoming financially independent as reflecting an adult (...) orientation, completing schooling was tied to class-differentiated views of growing up. In addition, respondents did not see beginning full-time work and getting married as associated with growing up. Three key themes emerged as young women discussed their lives: independence/self-reliance, self-development, and uncertainty. These themes suggest that young women are partially “living feminism” as they make the transition to adulthood. (shrink)

Both unipolar and bipolar depression have been linked with impairments in executive functioning. In particular, mood symptom severity is associated with differences in common EF, a latent measure of general EF abilities. The relationship between mood disorders and EF is particularly salient in adolescence and young adulthood when the ongoing development of EF intersects with a higher risk of mood disorder onset. However, it remains unclear if common EF impairments have associations with specific symptom dimensions of mood pathology such (...) as blunted positive affect, mood instability, or physiological arousal, or if differences in common EF more broadly relate to what is shared across various symptom domains, such as general negative affect or distress. To address this question, bifactor models can be applied to simultaneously examine the shared and unique contributions of particular mood symptom dimensions. However, no studies to our knowledge have examined bifactor models of mood symptoms in relation to measures of common EF. This study examined associations between common EF and general vs. specific symptom dimensions using structural equation modeling in adolescents and young adults with varying severity of mood symptoms. A General Depression factor capturing shared variance across symptoms statistically predicted lower Common EF. Additionally, a factor specific to physiological arousal was associated with lower Common EF. Anhedonia-specific and Mania-specific factors were not significantly related to Common EF. Altogether, these results indicate that deficits in common EF are driven by, or reflect, general features of mood pathology that are shared across symptom dimensions but are also specifically associated with physiological arousal. (shrink)

The majority of the studies underlined how adolescent and young adult Cancer Survivors had no significant differences in their well-being and quality of life compared with a control group of healthy counterparts, although French et al. found less years of education among cancer survivors. The present study aimed at comparing AYA cancer survivors and a control group of peers who had no history of serious illness, in terms of well-being, cognitive functioning, and perceptions of life. Participants in this study (...) were 205 AYA cancer survivors, 126 males, off therapy from a mean of 10.87 years, with a mean age of 18.96, recruited during follow-up visits and healthy counterparts, matched for age and gender. They all completed self-report questionnaires: Ladder of Life, BSI-18 and Cognitive problems. Paired t test evidenced significant differences between survivors and controls in perceptions of quality of life regarding 5 years before the current time [t = −3.39; p = 0.001], with a lower level for childhood cancer survivors. Specifically, Hierarchical regression identified a shorter time since the completion of treatment and a trend of stem cell transplantation experience as factors associated with negative perception of precedent quality of life. The AYA cancer survivors reported lower cognitive difficulties than controls [t = −3.41; p = 0.001]: in memory [t = −4.52; p = 0.001], in concentration [t = −4.66; p = 0.001] and in mental organization skills [t = −2.56; p = 0.01], even if they had a lower educational attainment [X2 = 131.28; p = 0.001]. They showed similar satisfaction with their psychological well-being and their lives as healthy counterparts, except for past life perceptions associated with the cancer period. Important recommendations for future research and clinical suggestions could be given. (shrink)

IntroductionThe present study aims at analysing how social support received and provided by parents of children, adolescents and young adults (AYA) diagnosed with cancer, as well as their sociodemographic and clinical variables, affect those parents’ stress levels and life and family satisfaction.Materials and MethodsA total of 112 parents of children and AYAs who had been diagnosed with cancer and who received treatment in Malaga participated in the study. In the study, participated all parents who voluntarily agreed to fulfil (...) the questionnaire. The main inclusion criterion was that their child had cancer. Instruments used were Questionnaire on the Frequency of and Satisfaction with Social Support (QFSSS), Paediatric Inventory for Parents (PIP), Life Satisfaction Scale and Family Satisfaction Scale.ResultsIn the mean difference analyses, male parents showed 3.38 (SD = 0.56) in social support received and female parents showedM = 3.08 (SD = 0.72). Conversely, in social support provided, female parents showed 3.22 and male parents showedM = 3.55 (p = 0.020). Significant differences were also found in family satisfaction, where female parents (M = 3.64) feel more satisfied than male parents (M = 3.06;p = 0.027). Parents of children aged between 0 and 14 years (M = 3.06) feel more stress than those parents of children aged 15–21 (M = 2.61;p = 0.021). The correlation analysis shows that there is a negative and significant relation between stress levels experienced by parents when facing different situations related to the child’s disease and both types of support, receivedr = −0.411,p < 0.001 and providedr = −0.282,p < 0.01. There is also a positive and significant relation between life satisfaction and social support receivedr = 0.292,p < 0.01, and social support providedr = 0.409,p < 0.001. There is a positive and significant relation between family satisfaction and social support receivedr = 0.330,p < 0.01, in the same way as with social support providedr = 0.222,p < 0.05. The regression analysis related to stress levels of parents indicates that social support received predicts levels of stress significantlyp < 0.001, with the variable of number of children being the one that showed to be significantp < 0.05. Social support provided showed the most significant resultsp = 0.001, meaning that social support provided increased life satisfaction. Social support received explains family satisfaction (p = 0.50), as it increases the family satisfaction of parents of children with cancer.DiscussionAnalysing social support received and provided, as well as sociodemographic and clinical variables, allowed us to broaden the knowledge on the effect social support has on stress levels, life satisfaction and family satisfaction in parents of children and AYAs diagnosed with cancer. This may have relevant practical implications for the design of interventions that would improve parents’ lives. (shrink)

Physical activity is important for managing the side effects and long-term outcomes of cancer treatment, yet many adolescents and young adults diagnosed with cancer are not meeting PA guidelines. Body image and social support are two factors that can influence PA behavior and require further attention in this population. The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between body image, social support, and PA among AYAs. An online cross-sectional survey administered through the Research Electronic Data Capture (...) platform was used to assess self-reported body image, social support, and PA in AYAs. Based on findings from path analyses, body image and social support were directly associated with PA. Social support was also directly associated with body image. However, there were no indirect effects. These findings provide preliminary support for the influential role of appearance and fitness body-related emotions and cancer-specific social support on PA. The results have important implications for the development of targeted strategies aimed at improving body image and social support, with the overall goal of increasing AYAs’ PA. (shrink)

Adolescence is a stage characterized by many biological and psychosocial changes, all of which may result in a decrease in subjective well-being. It is therefore necessary to identify those factors that contribute to increased life satisfaction, in order to promote positive development among young people. The aim of this study is to examine the dynamics of a set of variables that contribute to life satisfaction. A total of 1,188 adolescents completed the Perceived Social Support from Family and Friends (...) and Perception of the School Environment Questionnaires, the Trait Meta Mood Scale, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale-10, and Satisfaction with Life Scale for social support, emotion regulation, resilience, and life satisfaction. By applying structural equation modeling, the results reveal a direct prediction of family support, emotion regulation, and resilience on life satisfaction. Support from friends and emotion regulation was also found to explain resilience, and support from family and teachers was found to predict emotion regulation. In conclusion, emotion regulation and social support were found to indirectly affect life satisfaction among adolescents through resilience. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed. (shrink)

This study assessed self-reported health-related quality of life and psychological adjustment in 43 adolescents and young adults with congenital melanocytic nevi and examined associations with sociodemographic variables, characteristics of the CMN, perceived social reactions, and cognitive emotion regulation strategies. Outcome measures included the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory™ 4.0 and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Findings suggest impaired psychosocial health and psychological adjustment in youth with CMN compared to community norms. Impairments were associated with higher age of participants, (...) lower socioeconomic status, visibility of the skin lesion, perceived stigmatization, poorer perceived social support, and maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies, but not with sex of participants, extent of the skin lesion, and surgical removal of the nevus. Implications for clinical practice and future research are discussed. (shrink)