This cohort-sequential study assessed family and university environment on identity formation and ego strength. Findings indicated few developmental changes over 2 years. Intellectual and supportive academic departments and democratic family life predicted ego strength. The effect of intellectual and supportive academic departments on psychosocial…

Explored how perceptions of social support changed during first semester of university, and how social support, coping strategies, and adjustment were interrelated among freshmen in China. Found that overall social support did not change significantly. Support from different sources (parents, peers, teachers, siblings) showed distinctive change…

Explored the extent to which variations in social initiative relate to adolescents' history of interpersonal relationships. Found that positive aspects of the parent- adolescent relationship predicted adolescent social initiative 2 years later directly or indirectly. Differences in variance accounted for in two age cohorts suggested that the…

Examined relations among maternal depression, family dysfunction, emotional autonomy, and early adolescent adjustment. Found that among offspring of depressed mothers, higher emotional autonomy predicted increased internalizing and externalizing problems; among offspring of nondepressed mothers, higher emotional autonomy predicted decreases in…

Examined whether attachments to family and school reduced five forms of adolescent deviance (smoking, drinking, marijuana use, delinquency, and violent behavior). Found that adolescent attachments to family and school reduced overall frequency, prevalence, and intensity of deviant involvement, regardless of community context, gender, or ethnic…

Longitudinal studies published between 1980 and 2001 (N = 10) are reviewed for evidence that the religiosity of adolescents is causally related to their sexual behaviors. Results indicate that religiosity delays the sexual debut of adolescent females. Findings are mixed for adolescent males. Although only half of the studies examined the effects…

The present study was conducted to determine if participation in extracurricular activities predicts multiple positive outcomes such as attending college, voting in national and regional elections, and volunteering for community and religious organizations. From analyses of the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988, a nationally…

Middle-class African American adolescents' and parents' (n = 82 families) everyday conflicts were examined longitudinally over 2 years. The number and frequency of conflicts did not change from early to middle adolescence, but mothers rated conflicts as less intense and adolescents rated conflicts as more intense over time. Conflicts over…