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In this study, the authors examined the relations of Indonesian adolescents' socioemotional functioning to their majority--minority status and the presence of cross-religion friendships and whether sex moderated these relations. At Time 1, 1,254 7th graders and their peers in Bandung, Indonesia, reported on their friendships, prosocial behavior, and peer likability; months later, a selected sample of 250 youths and their teachers and parents rated the youths' social functioning and (mal)adjustment. When controlling for socioeconomic status and initial sociometric status, girls were generally higher in measures of adjustment, whereas majority children were lower in externalizing problems and, for boys, loneliness. For minority children's social competence and prosocial behavior at school, there was evidence of a buffering effect of having a cross-religion friend. Keywords: Indonesian adolescents' socioemotional functioning and adjustment, majority--minority status, cross-religion friendships

In this study, the authors investigated the degree to which a family investment model would help account for the association between family of origin socioeconomic characteristics and the later educational attainment of 451 young adults (age 26) from 2-parent families. Parents' educational level, occupational prestige, and family income in 1989 each had a statistically significant direct relationship with youths' educational attainment in 2002. Consistent with the theoretical model guiding the study, parents' educational level and family income also demonstrated statistically significant indirect effects on later educational attainment through their associations with growth trajectories for supportive parenting, sibling relations, and adolescent academic engagement. Supportive parenting and sibling relations were linked to later educational attainment through their association with adolescent academic engagement. Academic engagement during adolescence was associated with educational attainment in young adulthood. These basic processes operated similarly regardless of youths' gender, target youths' age relative to a near-age sibling, gender composition of the sibling dyad, or gender of parent. Keywords: educational attainment, academic engagement, parenting, sibling relations, SES

This article examines the influence of the living conditions of urban poor on their health taking into account the environmental and neighborhood characteristics in The City Stress Inventory model. Results indicate long-term effects of coping with urban poverty undermines health due to chronic psychological stress and low socioeconomic status.

Examination of the influence of socioeconomic conditions on adjustments during early adolescence, at the beginning of the school year and at follow-up seven months later, shows that life stress and social support influence the psychological distress, conduct problems, and their control during follow-up. Socioeconomic disadvantage conditions lead to poorer academic standards and greater discipline problems in school. Youth having experience in different conditions of socioeconomic disadvantage exhibit high vulnerability to stressful events and greater potential to benefit from social support.