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Rates of youth firearm exposure and carriage are well-established, but less work has examined how exposure to police violence and firearm violence, as victim or witness, may be associated with beliefs in gun ownership for society or access to guns. This study used survey data from a multiracial sample of 276 youth living in New Orleans, Louisiana (M age = 17.76) to examine these associations. Results from binary logistic regressions confirmed a significant association between higher belief in gun ownership for safety and all violence exposures, directly and indirectly. We did not find support for an association between gun access and any violence exposures. The findings shed light on pathways to firearm violence risk and provide critical information on youth firearm attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In tracing two Chinese rural middle school classes for 3 years, this study found the positive impact of adopting the algorithm-based mobile short video platform Douyin on rural adolescents' intrinsic motivation. The application's broad adoption has reshaped the social processes supporting adolescent users' intrinsic motivation and spontaneous pursuit of life possibilities. In the online interaction based on algorithms, the rural adolescents discover and govern themselves during the algorithms-driven exploration and expression; they also conduct informational and emotional reciprocity with an algorithmic collectivity emerging from clustering technologies. In the offline interaction with the living community, the platform-state digital economy agenda has intervened and coordinated the local cultural attitudes towards youth development with an entrepreneurial solutionism. This study adds to the previous less empirically addressed issue of the rising algorithmic short video service and intrinsic motivation, and puts forward an ecological explanation concerning the national policy, platform business, and the user's self-consciousness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building upon literature that considers social network influences on health attitudes and behaviors among youth experiencing homelessness, this study assessed associations regarding social norms of pregnancy, perceived by youth experiencing homelessness (ages 13–25; N = 304) as endorsed by their network members, and youths' pregnancy attitudes. Multivariate results revealed that youth who perceived their street peers as more objecting to (versus encouraging of) them becoming involved in a pregnancy were 51% less likely to endorse pro-pregnancy attitudes (OR = 0.49, p <.01). Youth who perceived their serious partners as more objecting to their pregnancy involvement were 74% less likely to endorse pro-pregnancy attitudes (OR = 0.26, p <.01). Results suggest utility in exploring peer-based and dyadic approaches to prevention efforts with this group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although school violence statistics indicate that schools are safe places, anxiety over school shootings continues to influence school safety reform to the extent that security measures in American public schools include the arming of schoolteachers. Furthermore, not only have youths' perceptions of school security been relatively unexplored, existing research points to racial inequalities in the use of and the effects of school security practices. This study uses data from high school students across multiple school districts in a Midwestern county to examine how race and perceptions of fairness intersect to influence attitudes on arming teachers. The results suggest that, relative to White students, Black students are less supportive of arming teachers and anticipate greater decreases in safety if teachers are armed. In addition, perceptions of fairness mediate the effect of race on support and feelings of safety. Implications for policy and future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Eastern Uganda, 201 adolescents aged 11- to 17-years old (48% girls; M age = 14.62) answered close- and open-ended questions about gender stereotypes of domestic and recreational activities and gender-role attitudes about women's behavior, rights, and roles. Adolescents answered questions such as "who is more likely to...?" assessing descriptive stereotypes (i.e., stereotype knowledge) and questions such as "is it ok for women to...?" assessing prescriptive stereotypes (i.e., stereotype endorsement) about gender roles. Data were analyzed via descriptive statistics, correlations, and thematic coding. Findings indicate that Ugandan adolescents were fairly egalitarian in some domains (e.g., leisure and recreation) but were non-egalitarian in other domains (e.g., marital and domestic roles). Adolescents held a mix of gender-stereotyped and non-stereotyped views about domestic and recreational activities as well as attitudes about women. Findings present reasons for hope and for continued work toward gender equality in Uganda. Results may inform interventions that foster gender egalitarian attitudes in youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focusing on youth attitudes during a time of political upheaval in Catalonia, we study 1,438 high school students, aged 15 to 16, nested within 30 high schools. Using multilevel analyses, we examine their perceptions of the importance of voting across different election types (independence referendum, local, subnational, national, supernational) and intent to vote regularly upon turning 18. Results show a matching effect of perceived voting importance with levels of municipal, Catalan, Spanish, and European identification. Notably, voting importance across different elections also relates to the extent students perceived their social studies teacher as open to debate and the expression of student opinions within the classroom. This study also highlights differences between the importance that students place on voting in a possible independence referendum compared with conventional elections. For example, socioeconomic status and political dialogue with parents are not associated with perceived voting importance concerning the referendum but are with other election types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative study explored how 24 youths’ behaviors during deployment were influenced by their perceptions of their non-deployed parents. Interviews were conducted with youths of previously deployed National Guard parents. Analysis of interviews suggests that the youths’ interactions with their non-deployed parents strongly influence their behaviors during deployment. Examined through the lenses of family systems and symbolic interaction, youths appear to base their behaviors upon perceptions of their non-deployed parents’ abilities to cope and manage the changes brought about during deployment. The majority of youths report reacting in ways intended to help their parents and families—whether by stepping up and assisting their non-deployed parents, or withdrawing physically or emotionally to reduce the emotional strain on parents. Implications of findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With increasing diversity and multiculturalism, there is a greater need to understand ways to foster positive intergroup interactions. In this study, youth ages 14 to 18 from three different regions in the United States (N = 21) were given camera phones and instructed to take pictures of what multiculturalism meant to them and how it played a role in their life. Interviews and focus groups were conducted and transcribed, followed by thematic coding. Generally, youth had ideal views and attitudes about multiculturalism, but they also expressed, to varying degrees, a lack of institutional support (i.e., educational opportunities) that encouraged acquiring knowledge about diversity and multiculturalism. Youth suggested that schools should formally incorporate dialogue about multiculturalism in the school curriculum, as a way to reduce misunderstandings among different groups which in turn may facilitate greater empathy and positive intergroup relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This exploratory study assessed the associations of age, gender, and a school climate of solidarity and pride with adolescents’ endorsements of democratic regime change. Middle- and high-school students (N = 273) in the United States responded to three vignettes concerning how a society should transition from dictatorship to democracy and specifically, what should happen to the leaders, supporters, and opponents of the (former) dictatorship. Open-ended responses were coded for references to reconciliation, retribution, and reward. Older students were more likely to provide codable responses and the majority endorsed reconciliation for the leaders, supporters, and opponents of the old (dictatorship) regime. Males were more likely than females to endorse retribution against the leaders. Students were more likely to endorse reconciliation if they perceived that group solidarity and pride characterized the climate at their school. Discussion focuses on the potential of schools to develop feelings of membership and commitments to democratic norms in younger generations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article, based on empirical research from Northern Ireland and Bosnia and Herzegovina, explores how young people conceptualize reconciliation and examines the meaning this concept holds for them. Qualitative data are collected through one-to-one interviews with young people aged 16 to 18 living in Northern Ireland ( N = 15) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (N = 15). Results indicate that young people’s conceptualizations of reconciliation are largely relationship based. In terms of their role in the reconciliation process, young people see themselves as both potential peacemakers and potential troublemakers. They feel that politicians and the older generations have a significant impact on whether the role of young people in the future would be constructive or destructive. The research finds that a lack of political and economic change was one of the major factors that negatively influenced the potential for reconciliation, as did the lack of intergenerational dialogue. The research also indicates that it is vital to include young people in the debate about reconciliation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Through a comprehensive review of existing literature, this article documents young people’s experiences of policing during the period of political transition and extensive reform of the structures of policing in Northern Ireland since the publication of the Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland (The Patten Report) in 1999. The article explores the nature and context of these relationships and provides a commentary of how young people’s experiences and perceptions of policing have been shaped by their social, economic, and community backgrounds. Furthermore, a number of ideas and activities that have been developed with the aim of improving the attitudes of young people toward the police, the attitudes of police officers toward young people, and the interactions between the two are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Since welfare reform in 1996, marriage has been promoted as a means to reduce welfare dependency and out-of-wedlock childbearing. Despite extensive public and academic discourse surrounding marriage promotion, a basic factor preceding and predicting marriage—expectations to marry—has received little attention. Using insights from the life course perspective and data from the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, we explore the relationship between out-of-wedlock fertility and youths' expectations to marry within 5 years. We also consider the effect of economic activity (school and work) and cohabitation. We find that experiencing an unwed pregnancy or birth significantly increases youths' expectations to marry, as does being employed, out of school, and in a cohabiting relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why are some young people actively involved in political parties, community groups, or associations? What do they have in common? These are some of the questions that underlie a qualitative research project on involvement carried out among 50 young Canadian activists residing in the province of Quebec. In this article, the author discusses the activist trajectory followed by these young adults and explains the characteristics and meaning of their involvement. For all of them, the cause is more important than the group, as are the more practical aspects of politics. Their viewpoint is similar to that of young people in general who wish to reinforce direct democracy and bring elected officials and citizens closer together. As a whole, the author demonstrates that their involvement practices correspond with a search for ethical consistency (that) aims to give meaning to the values that are adhered to both individually and collectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research has identified a discreet set of subjective markers that are seen as characterizing the transition to adulthood. The current study challenges this coherence by examining the disparity and variability in young people's selection of such criteria. Four sentence-completion cues corresponding to four different contexts in which adult status might be contested were given to 156 British 16- to 17-year-olds. Their qualitative responses were analyzed to explore patterns whilst capturing some of their richness and diversity. An astonishing amount of variability emerged, both within and between cued contexts, The implications of this variability for how the transition to adulthood is experienced are explored. The argument is made that markers of the transition to adulthood are not merely reflective of the bio--psycho--social development of young people. Rather, adulthood here is seen as an essentially contested concept, located within the discursive interactional environment in which young people participate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]