Erikson (1950) contends that the physical changes associated with puberty serve as a catalyst for adolescents to question childhood identifications and to consolidate these with current self-conceptions, personal ideologies, interpersonal values, and future aspirations. Erikson describes the adolescent identity crisis as the developmental period…

This article explores the experiences of adolescent males in Cambodia who, simultaneous to their maltreatment and marginalization within the family and community, have reduced opportunities to produce identities of sociomoral value through access to cultural capital. It draws on ethnographic data gathered from adolescents boys aged 9 to 16 in Siem…

Young Black women continue to be at high risk for HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). However, little is known about the risks specifically to young Black women who primarily have sex with women (YWSW). As part of a larger sexual health project, in-depth qualitative interviews were completed with 14 Black women ages 16-24, who…

The authors argue that the recent increase in poker play among adolescent males in the United States was primarily attributable to high-status male youth who are more able to organize "informal" gambling games (e.g., poker and sports betting) than are low-status male youth who are left to gamble on "formal" games (e.g., lotteries and slot…

Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, this article examined how early maternal characteristics, an adolescent's family environment, and the adolescent's own attitudes and behaviors were associated with the odds of a nonmarital teenage birth among youth born to teenage mothers. Multivariate analyses indicated that these domains…

Adolescents with unusually sized or shaped bodies may experience ridicule, rejection, or exclusion based on their negatively valued bodily characteristics. Such experiences can have negative consequences for a person's image and evaluation of self. This study focuses on the relationship between bodily deviations and body image and is based on a…

This article discusses violent male youth culture in Northern Ireland within the context of a society emerging from a prolonged period of political violence toward peacebuilding. Specifically, the article focuses on the findings from a qualitative study carried out by the Centre for Young Men's Studies with 130 marginalized young men aged 13 to 16…

A randomly selected cross-sectional survey was conducted with 880 youth (16 to 24 years) in Nha Trang City to assess relationships between alcohol consumption and sexual behaviors. A timeline followback method was employed. Chi-square, generalized logit modeling and logistic regression analyses were performed. Of the sample, 78.2% male and 56.1%…

This study examines whether experiences of familial victimization and aggression are potential risk factors for dating violence in male and female teenage relationships. The authors compare 471 adolescents aged 12 to 19 in the care of a youth protection agency and from a community sample. Results show that adolescents carry negative childhood…

Using data from the 1994-1998 waves of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth merged Mother and Young Adult file, this article examines the relationship between depressive symptoms and body mass index (BMI) in adolescence. The authors also examine whether this relationship varies by race and gender. Their findings indicate that over a 4-year…

Few studies exploring the association between adolescent self-esteem and crime have considered whether the early adolescent self-esteem has any enduring consequences for young adult crime. Inspired by the life course and developmental criminology approaches, Arnett's notion of emerging adulthood, and Kaplan's self-derogation theory, this article…

Transition to adulthood is increasingly complex, extended, and challenging. Working-class Brown and Black young men face very difficult transitions, as they are overrepresented in the justice system, poverty, foster care, special education, and among victims of violence. What effects do these developments have on young people's places in free…

This qualitative study discovers teenage boys whose connections to Judaism and Jewish life offered them resilience and contextual opportunities for identity development. Those who have active, positive Jewish identities describe adaptations that are more independent of adolescent peer norms and freer, in terms of masculine pressures, than less…

Building on theories of youth identity transitions, this study maps a process of negotiated identity among incarcerated young men. Data are drawn from ethnographic study of three juvenile correctional institutions and longitudinal semistructured interviews with facility residents. Cross-case analysis of 10 cases that finds youth offenders adapted…

The effects of religious attendance, religious importance, and gender on well-being, substance use, and academic engagement were examined among early adolescents (N = 683) from rural schools. Results indicated that females viewed religion as more important than males, although the frequency of religious attendance did not differ for males and…