Few studies examine how the macro context shapes ethnic or racial identity development during early adolescence. This analysis draws on interview data from 40 African American, Chinese American, Dominican American, and European American middle school students (6th through 8th grade) to explore how stereotypes inform adolescents' ethnic and racial…

Cellular telephones have become an increasingly prevalent feature of contemporary American life, with usage often beginning during early adolescence. With this in mind, twenty 7th graders and their mothers participated in separate qualitative interviews regarding early adolescents' use of cell phones as well as perceived risks and benefits of such…

Public policy efforts to restrict children's access to electronic games with violent or sexual content are often predicated on assumptions about parental concerns. As an initial step in determining whether those assumptions are accurate, the authors conduct focus groups of 21 adolescent boys and 21 of their parents or guardians to explore parents'…

Numerous policies have been proposed at the local, state, and national level to restrict youth access to violent video and computer games. Although studies are cited to support policies, there is no published research on how children perceive the uses and influence of violent interactive games. The authors conduct focus groups with 42 boys ages 12…

This investigation describes the joint goal-directed series of actions, or joint friendship projects, of 19 mothers and their adolescents. Data were collected through videotaped conversations, video recall interviews, and self-report logs collected over an 8-month period. Qualitative analysis of the data revealed joint projects characterized by…

Two studies addressed age- and gender-related patterns in early adolescents' and emerging adults' conceptions of intimacy in friendships. Forty-one early adolescents and 96 emerging adults in Study 1 and 174 emerging adults in Study 2 described a time when they felt especially close to a friend. Narratives were coded for intimate behaviors and…

This longitudinal school-based study examined school connection and family support as protective factors for adolescent mental health in the context of exposure to violence. After controlling for seventh grade functioning, recent exposure to violence uniquely predicted worsening of functioning from seventh to eighth grade across multiple self- and…

The open-ended responses of 701 7th to 12th graders to the question "What does democracy mean to you?" were analyzed. In logistic regressions, age, parental education, political discussions, and participation in extracurricular activities distinguished youth who could define democracy (53%) from those who could not. Case clustering revealed three…

This research evaluates the contributions of three dimensions of appearance culture (appearance magazine exposure, appearance conversations with friends, and peer appearance criticism) and body mass index (BMI) to internalization of appearance ideals and body image dissatisfaction. Four hundred thirty-three girls and 347 boys in Grades 7 through…

Relations between adolescents' reports of parental management of peer relationships (consulting, mediating, and autonomy granting in regard to peer relationships) and positive friendship quality, friendship conflict, delinquent activity, and drug use were examined in an ethnically diverse sample of 322 7th and 8th graders. Regression analyses…

Interview data from a sample of 262 poor African American single mothers and their 7th-and 8th-grade children were used to investigate the relations between neighborhood conditions and adolescents' educational values and school effort. The model tested incorporates both subjective and objective assessments of neighborhood quality and controls for…