Search

A process evaluation was conducted to determine the effectiveness, usability, and barriers and facilitators related to the Better OutcOmes & Successful Transitions for Autism (BOOST-A[TM]), an online transition planning program. Adolescents on the autism spectrum (n = 33) and their parents (n = 39) provided feedback via an online questionnaire. Of these, 13 participants were interviewed to gain in-depth information about their experiences. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. Four themes were identified: (i) taking action to overcome inertia, (ii) new insights that led to clear plans for the future, (iii) adolescent empowerment through strengths focus, and (iv) having a champion to guide the way. The process evaluation revealed why BOOST-A[TM] was beneficial to some participants more than others. Trial registration #ACTRN12615000119594, Author(s): Megan Hatfield [sup.1] [sup.2] , Marita Falkmer [sup.1] [sup.2] [sup.3] , Torbjörn Falkmer [sup.1] [sup.2] [sup.4] , Marina Ciccarelli [sup.1] [sup.2] Author Affiliations: (1) School of Occupational Therapy and [...]

Byline: Stacey S. Horn (1), Joseph G. Kosciw (2), Stephen T. Russell (3) Author Affiliation: (1) University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA (2) GLSEN, New York, NY, USA (3) University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA Article History: Registration Date: 16/05/2009 Online Date: 06/06/2009

Data from the Household Economic Survey (HES) are used to examine the activities undertaken by New Zealand youth from 1985 to 2004. Evidence is presented on both labour market and education activities and the intersection of the two. The paper begins by examining cross-sectional patterns in youth activity. It then extends this analysis by examining the activities of particular birth cohorts over time. Throughout, results are broken down by gender and ethnicity and compared to similar findings for Australia to provide a rich picture of youth activity in New Zealand during the past two decades. Keywords: youth; New Zealand; employment; education; inactivity; Australia JEL Classifications: I21; J22; J24, 1. Introduction In their teenage years and twenties, young people progress from a stage where education is the main focus of their life to one where most are employed and/or [...]

This study investigated the relationship between reading comprehension development of 389 adolescents in their dominant language (Language 1 [L1], Dutch) and a foreign language (Language 2 [L2], English). In each consecutive year from Grades 8 through 10, a number of measurements were taken. Students' reading comprehension, their linguistic knowledge (vocabulary and grammar knowledge) and processing efficiency (speed of word recognition and sentence comprehension) in both languages, and their metacognitive knowledge about reading were assessed. The relative strengths of the effects of these components of reading were analyzed to distinguish among 3 hypotheses about the relationship between L1 and L2 reading comprehension: the transfer hypothesis, the threshold hypothesis, and the processing efficiency hypothesis. The transfer hypothesis predicts a strong relationship between L1 and L2 reading comprehension and a strong effect of metacognitive knowledge on L2 reading comprehension, whereas the threshold and processing efficiency hypotheses predict a more important role of language-specific knowledge and processing skills. Results support the transfer hypothesis, although language-specific knowledge and fluency also contribute to L2 reading performance. Keywords: L1 reading comprehension, L2 reading comprehension, componential analysis, adolescent development, longitudinal analysis

Despite excellent community-based interventions for court-referred adolescent boys, low rates of retention in the initial phase of treatment often lower overall effectiveness. This study assessed the contribution of mentoring towards improving compliance with a community-based intervention for court-referred adolescent male Persons in Need of Supervision (PINS). Charts on 79 court-referred adolescent boys (mean age = 14.28; SD = 1.37) admitted to a community based intervention in a large metropolitan area were systematically reviewed for patterns of service utilization (mentoring and group treatment), familial history, and substance use and psychopathology. Male adolescent PINS who utilized mentoring were ten times more likely to remain in the community-based intervention during the initial 6 months. Following the initial 6 months period, utilization of group treatment, but not mentoring, was associated with retention in the community-based intervention and positive outcome. Community-based intervention for court-referred adolescents might include mentoring during the initial 6 months of treatment to improve compliance. KEY WORDS: Mentoring; PINS; High-Risk Youth; Community intervention.

The ways in which preadolescents engaged in different interactional approaches to whiteness in racially distinct summer camps is explored. It is thus found that the racial composition of a context is a key to encourage recognition that white racial subjectivities as the racial subjectives of color.

Byline: Rashmi Garg (1), Carol Kauppi (1), John Lewko (1), Diana Urajnik (1) Keywords: academic aspiration; structured equation model; personal/educational self-schema; parental involvement Abstract: The purpose of this study was to develop and test a model to predict educational aspirations of Canadian adolescents. Participants were a national sample of 4,034 students from grades 8--13 (2,037 males, 1,973 females). Results of a modified structural model included three sets of influences: a) a background factor comprised of parental occupation and education b) a family involvement factor consisting of parental personal and school-based involvement with adolescents and c) a personal factor with school marks, school and course perceptions, extracurricular reading and parental educational expectations as indicator measures. Educational aspirations was the main outcome variable. Results indicated that the personal factor had a strong direct influence on educational aspirations ([beta] = 1.17, p &lt .001, R.sup.2 = .76). The effects of the background and family involvement factors on educational aspirations were mediated through the personal factor. Additional analyses performed in order to test the relationships obtained in the model, revealed several significant interactions amongst the three predictor factors and educational aspirations. The findings emphasize the importance of efforts to enhance the educational aspirations of adolescents through targeted change of modifiable environmental and personal factors. Author Affiliation: (1) Psychology Department, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, P3E 2C6 Article History: Registration Date: 12/10/2004

Most sexuality education curricula developed the past 20 years were not thoroughly evaluated. This study provides results from a content analysis of 10 sexuality education curricula for junior and senior high school students. Nine nationally available sexuality education curricula and one curriculum guide comprised the sample. The basis for analysis was the Guidelines for Comprehensive Sexuality Education, developed by the Sex Information and Education Council of the U.S. (SIECUS) and an instrument developed to measure bias in the curricula. Trained coders found that Sex Respect and Teen Aid addressed less than half the topics suggested by the SIECUS guidelines. Several of the curricula contained gender and sexual orientation bias. Certain key concepts, such as 'Sexual Behavior' and 'Society and Culture' were not adequately addressed by most of the curricula. Findings indicate that of 10 curricula, only six are considered acceptable for educating junior and senior high school students. (J Sch Health. 1994.64(8):328-333), How effective is sexuality education in changing adolescent sexual risk-taking behaviors? For years now, the paucity of answers to this basic question has haunted sexuality and health educators, parents, school [...]

Modern youth community service programs infuse the daily lives of their participants with goals and purpose. They may also provide useful job training, scholarship money, opportunities to mix with other [...]

This article describes the experiences of 215 young birthmothers who placed their infants for adoption through 30 maternity residences and agencies in 13 states. The prebirth services they received, their immediate postbirth experiences, and several characteristics of their adoption arrangements are described. A bivariate analysis revealed that several service-procedural variables are related to social-psychological outcomes for the birthmothers at six months after the birth. Policy implications are presented., The organization and content of adoption services in the United States has changed dramatically in recent years and continues to reflect divergent views regarding which policies and procedures best serve [...]

School leaders need to make good decisions about sexuality education - decisions based on reliable and valid information. Thus the authors present the 17 arguments most frequently put forth by [...]

Effects of the African Youth Alliance (AYA) program on the sexual behavior of young people aged 17 to 22 in Uganda is assessed. Aside from facilitating advocacy and policy, the AYA program enforced behavior-change communication and youth-oriented clinical services between 2000 and 2005. AYA influenced young females in using contraceptives or in having fewer sexual partners.

The relationship among family, peer and school factor on delinquency among Chinese adolescents is explored. Negative peer influence is the most salient predictor of delinquency.

The deep rift between the older Black Power generation of men and the younger Hip Hop generation is discussed and an attempt is made to understand the cause of the rift and promote healing dialogue. It is felt that the ties that bind are stronger than issues that separate the generations.

The relationship between gasoline lead exposure and increased youth violence and teenage pregnancy is examined. Nevin (2000) contends that the intelligence levels (IQs) of children born between 1960 and 1970 were adversely affected due to increased exposure to toxins from gasoline lead exposure.

Suicide, which is a serious problem among adolescents, is systematically reviewed and studied. The ten suicide intervention studies involving adolescents are reviewed.

Development of close social relationships depended directly on the experiences the child had with primary caregivers. The result also suggested that not all adolescents have mutually supporting close friends and this could partly be based on differences in attachment organization.

A case study of Lawrence Welk, a town kid and John Wooden, a farm kid, two Midwestern youths who conserved and propagated the values with which they were brought up and which were time tested and true for them is discussed. Through this study the importance of place in people's lives that provides the setting for socialization process and established parameters within which one can act is highlighted.

The 'Youth Electoral Study' would involve interviews with thousands of young people in order to establish the reasons behind their enrolment to voting and their attitudes to voting itself. Andy Becker, Electoral Commissioner stated that the aim of the research was to discover reasons behind nonparticipation of young people in the past and the how to more engage them in the future.

A study that examined the help seeking behavior of rural adolescents having emotional and behavioral problems, is presented. Many factors like demographic characteristics, use of informal helpers and other factors contributed in their help seeking behavior was observed in the study.

The video game habits of adolescents in America and the level of parental monitoring of adolescent game use are documented and the associations among violent video game exposure, hostility, arguments with teachers, school grades and physical fights are examined. The results obtained from the general aggression model shows that exposure to video game violence would be positively correlated with trait hostility.

The influence of the religion and religious change, that influence the change in reducing the vulnerability of low-risk youth to drinking, drug use, delinquency, problems in school, and poor grades are investigated. The findings and the considerable variable influence of religion on youth are discussed.

The adolescents perceived that their disability had always restricted them in making social relations with their peers and that their disability was the reason why peers saw them as different. An adolescents-centered approach is presented, which stresses the importance of communicating with disabled adolescents about their perceptions of important relationships to peers and adults.

The gender differences in views about the likes and dislikes of using computers at schools are analyzed. It was observed that girls used computers for accomplishing tasks while boys approached it for play and mastery.

An assessment of suicidality and psychopathology amongst adolescents is done with the help of psychiatric interviews. Results show that juvenile delinquents have higher rate of suicidal ideations.

A study was conducted, with the community sample of adolescents, to examine the rural/urban differences in the self-reported stress, coping and behavioral problems. The result reveals that the levels of stress and ways of coping were similar in rural and urban adolescents.

Peer relationships and the role that they play in the development of social skills and personal feelings required for personal growth and life-long adjustment that are a key factor in the development of personal identity and independence from the family circle is discussed. Acceptability of children and adolescents by their peers receive more social reinforcement that improves their adaptation not only in social areas but also in personal and school ones.

The Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) that was administered to a sample of 26 high school-aged adolescents to test the utility of the BART as a behavioral measure of risk-taking propensity is presented. The data indicated that risky ness on the BART was related to self-reported engagement in real-world risk-taking behaviors.

A study that investigated explanations of health and illness among adolescents from three socio-economic backgrounds in Sao Paulo, Brazil is presented. The findings revealed that adolescents from different socio-economic conditions draw upon similar explanatory models to make sense of health and illness.

A study was undertaken to find the social support systems for youth. It proved that youth perceived family and friends as the primary sources of social support, which provide qualitative and quantitative insight into the capital that youth accumulate through supportive relations.

The role of Nazi's youth group such as the Bund Deutscher Madel (BDM or League of German Maidens) in training and socialization of girls is examined. The analysis of BDM training manuals and the guidelines indicate that norms, values and political ethos of the organization diffused German girls with the National Socialist Weltanschauung.

A project that is employed to maximize retention in the longitudinal study of alcohol use in adolescents between fifteen to seventeen years of age is discussed. Various strategies used to minimize attrition in this project are explained.

The effects of drug-use initiation and conduct disorder (CD) among adolescents are investigated. The results show the importance of better understanding the progression of drug-use, treatment utilization and psychiatry comorbidity among adolescents with substance abuse problems.

The sexual health of teenagers is researched to design intervention programmes to enhance HIV preventive behaviours and reduce unwanted pregnancies. The methods used to carry on this research and the results thereof are presented.