Adolescent Exam 3
• Occupational Choice o The Development of Occupational Goals(Donald Super, 1992)
Crystallization - here is what I'm good at, how does that fit into a career. Starting to think about future careers. • 2, Specification - narrowing down what to prepare for. Starting to prepare for career • 3. Implementation - finishing training and starting career • 4. Stabilization - getting used to career • 5. Consolidation - getting better at career and advancing o Not everyone follows this linear path o Most of today's emerging adults will change career directions at least once o Women and increasingly men have to balance work and family goals o Most women in Western societies lead a dual-career life (in-home and out-of-home occupations) o Today in Western cultures, women have the main responsibility for child care
• Controversial Media: Television and Movies and Sex
o "boys will be boys and girls better be prepared" o Most TV shows watched by American adolescents contain sexual content (talk/behavior) o Typically no discussion of sexual risks or responsibilities; recreational orientation toward sex o Strong gender stereotypes o Through TV/movies adolescents learn: • Beliefs about male/female roles in sexual interactions • What is considered physically attractive • Appropriate sexual scripts o May be related to more permissive attitudes about sex o Pornographic movies that portray sexual aggression as pleasurable for the victim increase the acceptance of the use of coercion in sexual relations
• From School and Part-time Work to a "Real Job"
o *Adolescents who are not college bound- "The forgotten half" o Full timework in a "real job" comes after education is complete o The Transition for School to Work o Nearly 30% of adolescents begin full time work after high school o Loss of manufacturing jobs (good pay for unskilled workers) o Based on the most promising new jobs available to high school graduates today, what skills are necessary?...The new basic skills: • 1. Reading at 9th grade level or higher • 2. Doing math at a 9th grade level or higher • 3. Solving semistructured problems • 4. Communicating effectively orally and in writing • 5. Using a computer for word processing and other tasks • 6. Collaborating in diverse groups o Close to half of all 17 year olds cannot read or do math at the level needed to succeed at the new jobs
• Individual Factors in Risk Behaviors (5)
o 1. Aggressiveness o 2. Sensation Seeking o 3. Poor School Achievement is a predictor of delinquency (not just correlated) o 4. Low Impulse Control o 5. Low Optimistic Bias o Males more at risk than females
• Theories of Media Influence (2)
o 1. Cultivation Theory • Watching television gradually shapes a person's worldview, to eventually resemble the worldview most frequently depicted on TV • Mean World Syndrome o 2. Social Learning Theory • Vicarious learning - models perform behaviors that are rewarded o Both depict media consumer as relatively passive
• 5 Uses of Media by Adolescents
o 1. Entertainment o 2. Identity Formation • Ideal selves to emulate; feared selves to avoid • Gender role identity • Sexual scripts, romantic scripts o Why is it that physical appearance and relationships are virtually the only topics in magazines read by adolescent girls, but these topics scarcely exist in magazines read by adolescent boys?? o 3. High Sensation • High sensory and emotional intensity of certain music, films, games o 4. Coping • Relieve stress and negative emotions o 5. Youth Culture Identification
Changes in Schooling for Adolescents: Secondary School in America
o 19th century- for the wealthy, especially males; broad liberal arts o 1920- Framework for American high school as we know it today was established (comprehensive high school) - vocational as well as education in a variety of subjects o Mid-20th c- Expanding school population; curriculum expands to include family life, art, music, P.E. o 1980s- Back to Basics movement
• Social Networking Websites
o 2010 Rates of use: 73% among 13- to 17-year-olds, 72% among 18- to 29-year olds o Profiles are an arena for identity presentation, expressions of self o Adolescents and emerging adults use the sites mainly to keep in touch with friends and make new friends
• Characteristics of College Students in U.S.
o 70% of recent high school graduates enter college o Females more likely to enter college o Ethnic group • 90% of Asian Americans enter college • 71% of whites • 60% of black and Latino o It takes average 5-6 years to obtain a "4-year" degree o Nearly half of students who enroll at 4-year colleges drop out before getting a degree
Improving the School Experience for Adolescents
o 8-4 plan may be best for self-esteem, extracurriculars o Other plans - bigger, more varied group of peers; greater diversity of classes; more independence o Negative effects may be more about the nature of the school experience • Less opportunity for close relationships with teachers • Teachers' increased emphasis on control is mismatched with early adolescents' increased abilities and desires for autonomy → undermines motivation and self-esteem
• Controversial Advertising: The Marlboro Man and Friends
o 90% of smokers begin smoking by age 18 o Age range when smoking initiation is most likely: 14-17 o Cigarette advertising campaigns have been directed at adolescents and have proven to be quite effective in influencing them to smoke o Tobacco advertising as well as cigarette smoking among young people has declined in recent years; now targeting developing countries
• New Media: The Internet
o 94% of adolescents from high SES families have a computer at home, but so do nearly 90% of low SES families, and nearly all have an Internet connection o Purposes of Internet Use(2010): • Girls more likely to use it for social purposes, boys for games and downloading music • But gender differences are NOT large o A positive or negative influence?? • Depends on what the content is and how it is used o Online victimization; sexual predators • 1 in 5 adolescents reported receiving a sexual solicitation (request for sex or sexual information) o Academic cheating o Social interactions, relationships • For most, the internet is more likely to relieve social isolation and promote social connections o Finding like-minded others
• Blogs
o A public internet journal, a personal account of their lives o 27% of adolescents have created their own blog; about half of adolescents read others' blogs o Content - daily activities, interactions with friends or family members, romantic relationships o Can connect to other blogs, post comments
• Risky Automobile Driving: Prevention
o A. Drivers Education • Does not seem to have an effect on crash involvement o B. Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) • Obtaining driving privileges gradually, contingent on a safe driving record • Restrictions: driving with a parent, driving curfews, not driving with teenage passengers, seat belt use, "zero tolerance" rule for alcohol use
• 2 Types of Problems
o A. Internalizing Problems • Primarily affect a person's internal world • Depression, anxiety, eating disorders • More common among females than among males o B. Externalizing Problems • Problems that affect a person's external world • Behavior problems, delinquency, substance use, risky driving, unsafe sex • More common among males
• Media and Globalization
o Adolescents around the world are increasingly familiar with the same TV shows, movies, music o In developing countries, social and economic change has been extremely rapid in the past 50 years o Young people growing up with Western media - parents, grandparents not familiar with it and competes with the songs/art of local culture o Western media and gender relations/gender roles • E.g., marry for love, not arranged; young women in professional occupations and unashamed of their sexuality; outward displays of affection • Leading to a desire for more autonomy, more variety in heterosexual interactions, more choice of a job and mate o Western media and physical appearance, body weight o Right now in most places, local media are coexisting with American media o
Secondary Education Around the World
o Adolescents attending secondary school: • Developed countries- virtually all • Developing countries- about 50% o Emerging adults attending College/University • Developed countries- about 50% • Developing countries- about 10%
• Adolescent Work in the 20th Century
o Age of Adolescence (1890-1920) - Laws restricting labor and requiring school (SLOW changes) o Beginning in the 1930s- Trend toward staying in school (& not working at all) o 1940: 70% of 14-17 year olds in school; most of the other 30% full time employment o 1950s-1990s- combining school with part-time job; numerous jobs in retail trade and service o 1990s- Over 80% of high school seniors worked part-time o 2000s- U.S. has the highest rate of adolescent employment in any other developed country
• Eating Disorders - extremely distorted thinking
o Anorexia • Cognitive distortion of body image • Extreme body ideal and body dissatisfaction o Eating disorders - cultural roots • More common in cultures that emphasize thinness • More common in middle to upper SES • Typically occur in females in teens and early 20s • Girls influenced by magazines o Individual factors - a general susceptibility to internalizing disorders
• Eating Disorders
o Anorexia nervosa • Compulsion to lose weight, coupled with certainty about being fat despite being 15% or more underweight • Amenorrhea - absence of a menstrual period o Bulimia • Binge eating combined with purging o Eating disorders more prevalent among White American girls o Eating disorder symptoms are more prevalent than clinical disorders (e.g. purging, diet products, laxatives)
• Treatment for Depression
o Antidepressant drugs o Cognitive-behavior Therapy (CBT) • Change the cognitive habits that are promoting depression • Negative attribution, irrational thinking, distortions of reality • Change behaviors (e.g. exercise, social interactions, self-talk, etc) • More long term benefits, less likely to relapse compared to drugs only
Work, Leisure, and School
o Beyond 10 hours a week the more adolescents work: • The lower their grades • The less time spent on homework • The more they cut class • The more they cheat on schoolwork • The less committed they are to school • The lower their education aspirations o Abundant leisure also interferes with school/homework • Unstructured socializing negatively related to academic performance • But organized activities may have positive effects o Asian Americans • Less time working, less time on socializing, more non-school time on academics (i.e. homework/studying) → highest levels of academic achievement of any ethnic group
Secondary Education in Developing Countries
o Developing countries • North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, India, China, Latin America o Common themes • Girls less likely to attend secondary school (&less likely to work outside of the home) • Rising enrollment rates for both genders • Many schools poorly funded and overcrowded • The wealthy can go to high quality private schools
What Works? Characteristics of Effective Schools
o Does size matter? o Larger schools • Less attachment to teachers and to the school as a whole • More diverse range of classes o Smaller schools • More attachment to teachers and to the school as a whole • Less diversity in extracurricular activities, but students are more likely to participate • More likely to be placed in positions of leadership and responsibility
• Education in Emerging Adulthood: College and University
o Dramatic increases in college enrollment o Time to explore various possible occupational futures
Engagement and Achievement in High School: Beyond the Classroom (define engagement, list 4 reasons for disengagement
o Engagement: the quality of being psychologically committed to learning • Being alert, attentive, trying to truly learn the material o A remarkably high proportion of adolescents are disengaged during their time in school o Why? • Possibly school climate • But the bigger problems seem to be: (1) family environments, (2) peer relations, (3) work and leisure patterns, (4) cultural beliefs
• The Developmental Psychopathology Approach
o Establish links between early precursors of problems and outcomes • Risk factors and protective factors • Biological, psychological, and social-cultural factors interact o Avenues for both prevention and treatment o Example protective factors: social competencies, commitment to learning, positive values, parenting (warmth, discipline, expectations, involvement), social support, constructive use of time
• Adolescent Work in Traditional Cultures: Globalization
o Expanding trade between countries and increasingly large-scale agriculture and manufacturing o The transition from preindustrial economy to the global economy o Adolescents (10-15 years old) doing industrial work in terrible conditions for miserable pay o 200 million children and adolescents are employed worldwide (95% are in developing countries) o Agricultural work is most common (e.g., commercial farms, plantations) o Factories, workshops o Adolescent prostitution is a pervasive and growing problem
• 2 Kinds of Delinquency
o Over three-fourths of adolescents commit at least one criminal act some time before the age of 20 (but a lot of it is minor) o 2 distinct types of delinquency • 1. Life-course persistent delinquents • Neuropsychological deficits lead to difficult temperament in infancy, likely ADHD, learning disabilities in childhood • High risk environment • 2. Adolescence-limited delinquents • Better prognosis long term
• Media and Adolescent Socialization
o Parents' influence on socialization is receding while the role of the media in socialization grows o Important identity-related aspects of socialization: developing values and beliefs, learning gender roles, occupational preparation o Broad socialization, freedom of speech - diverse media offerings, uncensored o Despite age restrictions, most adolescents can access the media they want o Media is market-driven - goal is to make money not to promote successful socialization (like other socializing agents) o Adolescents have greater control over the socialization source o Difficult for parents to enforce restrictions on media o Media may function as a super peer - providing information (e.g., about sexuality) o Some media content and uses are rebellious to parents/society but not all
• Influences on Occupational Goals o Personality Characteristics o Gender
o Personality Characteristics • People seek occupations that are consisten with their interests and talents • There is probably not just one personality type that is well suited to a particular job o Gender • Jobs held mainly by women - service sector e.g., teacher, nurse, secretary, child-care worker • Jobs held mainly by men - engineer, chemist, surgeon, computer, software designer • Tend to differ in pay and status • Young women may anticipate the challenge of balancing work and family - some jobs are highly demanding and time consuming • It is rare for young men to take time away from the workplace to raise young children • Technologies may allow for more work to be done at home or in flexible shifts
• Adolescent Work in Traditional Cultures
o Preparing for adult roles o Hunting and gathering cultures • Hunting, fishing - men/gathering - women • These cultures are rapidly changing in response to globalization o Farming and care of domestic animals • Care of animals- children and adolescents • Farming - fathers and sons • In all developing countries, the proportion of people in farming is declining - industrialization, advanced technology and equipment o Childcare and housework • Mainly women and girls • Pre-industrial cultures - housework, meal preparation is heavily labor intensive
Characteristics of Effective Schools: School Climate
o Quality of student-teacher interactions, what sort of expectations and standards they have for students, and what kinds of methods are used in the classroom o Teachers: • Supportive and involved with students; warm • Apply firm discipline when necessary • Clear communication • High expectations for students' conduct and academic performance o Students: • Higher attendance • Higher achievement test scores • Lower rates of behavior problems • Lower rates of depression • (*NOT due to differences in IQ or SES)
• Controversial Media: Music (2 main genres)
o Rap/Hip-Hop • Some of it has controversial themes: sexual exploitation of women, violence, racism • Sexuality as a man's successful assertion of power over a woman • May reinforce racial stereotypes - depict Black men as violent, women-hating, and sex-obsessed • Most popular among adolescents who have high rates of risk behavior (only correlation) • Some rap has positive messages o Heavy metal • Some of it has very violent themes • Heavy metal fans tend to have a dark view of the world, alienated from mainstream society • They also tend to be more reckless than other adolescents • May listen to the music to de-stress, distract from or calm anger
• Unemployment
o Refers to people who are not in school, are not working, and are looking for a job o In Europe and U.S., unemployment rate for emerging adults is at least twice as high as for adults beyond age 25 o Higher risk for depression, especially emerging adults who lack strong parental support o Over HALF of high school dropouts aged 18-21 are unemployed o Most new jobs require at least a minimal level of information skills (e.g., math, computer) o Recommendations... besides providing access to jobs, improve quality of education and school-to-work programs
• What factors are Involved in Risk Behaviors?
o Remember that adolescents are active participants in their socialization and make choices about their environment
Cultural Beliefs and School
o School methods and attitudes of parents/peers/adolescents are rooted in cultural beliefs about what is valuable and important o E.g., Asian cultures have a long tradition of valuing education - the focus on education often comes first, other aspects of life have a much lower priority o Americans value education but also want adolescents to be "well-rounded" • Organized activities, fun leisure time, sports, arts, etc.
• Adolescent Work before 1900
o Similar to what adolescents in developing countries are experiencing now o Before industrialization: farming, care of domestic animals, preparing food, running the household o Industrialization (18th and 19th centuries): many adolescents working in factories; some in coal mines, food processing plants • Low pay, long hours • Dangerous and unhealthy conditions (higher risk of injury, illness)
• College Experiences
o Students learn better in smaller classes that require active involvement and they enjoy those classes more • And students at large universities are often in classes of several hundred students o Still, a large majority of students are satisfied overall with the education they are receiving o Research has found a variety of intellectual benefits from attending college (verbal and quantitative skills, oral, and written communication skills, critical thinking) o Many nonacademic benefits, personal growth o Those who attend college tend to have considerably higher earnings, occupational status, and career attainment over the long run compared to those who do not attend
• Suicide
o The 3rd most common cause of death among young people ages 15-19, after automobile accidents and homicide o Suicide attempts often take place as the symptoms of depression appear to be subsiding o Females more likely to attempt suicide, but males more likely to actually kill themselves o Genetic susceptibility to depression and other mental illness o A family life that is chaotic, disorganized, high in conflict, and low in warmth; little emotional nurturance o Substance abuse o Family life may make them less able to deal with being rejected by peers, dumped by a romantic partner, school failure, or other stressful/painful events
• The Case in Favor of Adolescent Work
o The effects of work on adolescent development are complex and work does offer certain benefits to many adolescent
• Apprenticeships in Western Europe
o The focus on work preparation programs in Western Europe is on apprenticeships o An adolescent novice works with a master who is an expert in a profession (training takes place in the workplace) o E.g., in Germany more than 60% of all 16- to 18-year-olds are apprentices o Not just trades or killed labor but professional and managerial positions too o Typically entry at age 16, lasts 2-3 years o Continued part-time schooling (school curriculum closely connected to the apprenticeship training) o European system- career decisions have to be made by the mid-teens; not easy to change directions o American system- easy to change paths, but the specific educational path leading to a particular career is often not clear
• Delinquency and Crime (3 major types of crime)
o The majority of crime are committed by young males- between the ages of 12-25 o 3 kinds of criminal acts • Status offenses • Crimes only because they are committed by juvenile • Truancy in school, drinking underage • Index crimes • Violent crimes • Property crimes • Crimes regardless of age • Nonindex crimes • Less serious-public urination o Crimes committed by young men in their teens and early 20s usually take place in a group
• Controversial Media: Television and Aggressiveness
o The overwhelming majority of violent crimes all over the world are committed by young males aged 15 to 25 o Violent television and adolescents' violent behaviors are correlated o Aggressive adolescents prefer aggressive TV programs o Longitudinal studies have provided some evidence that violent television CAUSES aggression in children • TV inspires a lot of imitative behavior in children • Adolescents can reflect on what they are watching and decide whether to model that behavior or not • But it may be a causal factor for adolescents already at risk for violence o Stronger evidence - TV violence influences adolescents' attitudes toward violence • More accepting of violent behavior; less empathic toward victims of violence
• School to Work Programs in the U.S.
o There is currently no system in place to coordinate the requirements of the workplace with the educational efforts of schools o Some small-scale apprenticeship programs for high school students o Job-training programs for emerging adults • Job-corps - educational and occupational training • Currently serves about 60,000 people ages 16-24 each year • Higher earnings, improved reading and math skills
• Characteristics of College Students in U.S. (cont)
o Tuition rates were over 4 times higher in 2007 than they were in 1982 (taking inflation into account) o Retention is positively related to students' family SES Ethnic Differences in Financial Support for College "In high school, I knew that if I wanted to go to college, it would be possible for me to find financial support either from my family or from scholarships, loans, or other programs Whites 86% strongly agree, 0% strongly disagree Black 9% strongly agree, 42% strongly disagree Latinos 9% strongly agree, 33% strong disagree
Influences
o Twin and adoption studies provide evidence of genetic influences o What sort of stresses/environmental conditions? • Family • Emotional unavailability of parents; low support • High family conflict; parental divorce • Economic difficulties • Peers • Less contact with friends and more experiences of rejection • Poor peer relationships tend to be self-perpetuating • Cumulative effect of multiple stressors
• Substance Use types
o Types • Alcohol use among 15 year olds, weekly use • American adolescents are relatively low • Cigarette Smokin among 15 year olds, at least once a week • American adolescents are relatively low • Marijuana use among 15 year olds, at least once a week • American adolescents are relatively high in marijuana use • Substance use rates typically rise in high school
• Mobile Phones and Text Messaging
o U.S. (2010) 69% of 11- to 14-year-olds and 85% of 15- to 18-year-olds own a mobile phone o Texting - quiet, quick, don't have to go through the niceties of greetings, less social pressure o Constant contact; the world of friends can be a constant presence o Similar trends in other developed countries
Culture and Risk Behavior
o U.S. has highest rates of violent crimes o At least partly due to higher rates of poverty o Growing up in a low SES family - greater likelihood of delinquency for adolescents of all ethnic backgrounds • African American and Latino adolescents more likely to come from a low SES family
• Work in Emerging Adulthood
o What do I really want to do? What am I best at? What do I enjoy the most? How do my abilities and desires fit in with the kinds of opportunities that are available to me? o Unlike adolescents, most emerging adults are looking for a job that will turn into a career o A focus on identity questions o The Average American holds 7 or 8 different jobs between the ages of 18 and 30 o Many emerging adults express a sense that they did not really choose their current job..."just fell into it"
o High School Dropouts
• (2010) only 8% of young Americans had not obtained a high school diploma (or GED) by age 24 • Ethnic differences - Latino have the highest dropout rate • In all ethnic groups except Asian Americans, males are more likely than females to dropout
o Tracking
• 1. Upper- college-prep • 2. General - average student • 3. Remedial/Special Education • Advocates • All students are engaged in schoolwork that is best suited to their varying levels of ability and achievement • Not all students plan to attend college • Critics • Students in lower tracks get a second-rate education o Teachers, materials, requirements • Students in lower tracks continue to fall further behind; difficult to ever get out of a low track
substance abuse frequency
• 40% alcohol • 31% binge drinking • 19% cigarette use • 23% marijuana use o Substance use in adolescence highest among Native Americans • Followed by White and Latino adolescents • African American and Asian American students lowest in substance use o Frequent use of other substances (i.e. amphetamines, inhalants, hallucinogens, cocaine, ectasy) among American adolescents are rare (3% or less in the past month use)
o Preventing Substance Use
• A variety of drug use prevention programs have been used in schools • Method? - target self-esteem, or peer pressure, or increase knowledge of health dangers • More successful programs have focused on • Family functioning • Parental monitoring
• Learning Disability
• Achievement is substantially below that expected for age, schooling, and level of intelligence • Have the potential and ability to do well but achievement in a particular area are extremely low o Discrepancy of more than 2 standard deviations (DSM) • Not the result of physical disabilities, mental retardation, emotional disorders, or environmental disadvantages • Diagnoses: Reading Disorder (most common), Mathematics Disorder, Disorder of Written Expression • Boys are about twice as likely • African Americans and Latinos more likely • High risk for dropping out • Interventions school be introduced as soon as children enter school
o E. Religious Beliefs and Religious Participation
• Acts as a protective factor • Also consider self-selection (who is likely to be interested in religious involvement?)
• Academic Achievement in High School: Individual Differences o Ethnic Differences
• Asian American adolescents > White adolescents > African American & Latino adolescents o Social Class o Parental expectations • Asian American parents & adolescents tend to believe that academic success is due mainly to EFFORT (other groups - ability) o Fridays' attitudes toward education o Perception of prejudice and discrimination • Value of education • Perceptions of the consequences of NOT succeeding academically
• Factors involved in Risk Behavior o A. Family factors
• Authoritative parents → least likely to participate in risk behavior • Related to substance abuse problems: parents who are permissive, disengaged, or hostile; high levels of family conflict and family disorganization; parents' lenient attitude toward substance use • Similar factors related to delinquency - discipline is inconsistent or lenient • *Lack of PARENTAL MONITORING • "You need to be in your kid's life: know their friends, what their friends do, who their friends' parents are" - R. Blum, lead researcher of Add Health
• Media Practice Model... (application of the uses and gratification approach)
• Each adolescent's identity motivates the selection of media products • Paying attention to certain media products leads to interaction with those products (evaluation, interpretation) • Adolescents engage in application of the media content - they may incorporate this content into their identities
o Gender Differences (Characteristics of College Students in U.S.)
• Females more likely to major in education, psychology • Males and females about equal in biological sciences, business, premed, and prelaw • Males more likely to major in computer science and engineering • Women earn • 34% of dentistry degrees (1% in 1970) • Half of M.D. degrees (8% in 1970) • Half of law degrees (5% in 1970) • Nearly half of MBA degrees (4% in 1970) • Across fields, women earn 57% of post graduate degrees
o Gender Differences
• From primary school to high school, girls tend to get higher grades • Girls less likely to have learning disabilities, be held back a grade, drop out of high school • Girls more likely to attend college and to graduate • Girls tend to enjoy the school environment more • Positive experiences; favorable relationships with teachers • Adolescent girls are more likely to feel supported by their parents academically (and in other areas)
• What leads to dropout?
• History of school difficulties (low grades, behavior problems, low scores on achievement and intelligence tests) • Dislike school • Sometimes aggressive, active, sensation-seeking personalities • Learning disabilities • Parents o Dropped out themselves o Poverty... poor quality schools, life stresses, parental support not available o Single-parent families • Substance use, psychological problems • Unemployment or low paying jobs • Interventions should be implemented as EARLY as possible
o Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
• Inattention, hyperactivity, impulsiveness • Restless, distractibility • Functional impairment in more than one context • Boys are 4 times more likely to be diagnosed • Causes? • At least partly inherited • Environmental factors - prenatal period through childhood • Combination of medication and behavioral therapy is more effective • Operant conditioning techniques, parent training, classroom interventions • Stresses and strains with parents, peers
o Emerging adulthood is a key period for the expression of resilience
• Military service, romantic relationships, higher education, development of religious faith, work opportunities
o D. Neighborhood and Community Factors
• Neighborhood identity, cohesion • High rates of residential mobility related to high rates of crime • Community norms regarding drug use and availability of drugs
o C. School Factors
• Poor school performance is associated with various risk behaviors • School climate • A substantial proportion of bright and achievement oriented students • The school's prevailing belief system (value school work, fair but firm discipline, rewards for good performance)
o Use and Abuse
• Purposes of substance use • Experimental • Social • Medicinal (self-medication) • Addictive (they have become addicted and need to fill withdrawal) • Young people who engage in experimental or social substance use are healthier psychologically than those who are frequent users (medicinal and addictive) • Frequent users also more likely to have problems in school, at home, with peers, and more likely to engage in delinquent behaviors
o Use trends in substance use
• Rates of most types of substance use (past month) declined from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, rose through the rest of the 1990s, then declined further during 2000s • Use in past month statistics • Alcohol: 70% in 1975, 40% in 2011 • Cigarettes: nearly 40% in 1975, 19% in 2011 • Marijuana: 37% in 1975, 23% in 2011 • Sequence of substance use • Typically a sequence of 4 staged o Beer, wine o Cigarettes, hard liquor o Marijuana o "hard drugs" (cocaine, heroine, amphetamines) • Research supports the gateway drug theory - adolescents who try one type of substance are more likely than adolescents who have not tired it to more along the sequence o Theory that those who use hard drugs, tried in this order o Not destine to go on to next level
o B. Friends' Influence
• Selective association and influence each other • "Socialized Delinquency" • Socialized delinquents - only commit crimes in a group • Unsocialized delinquents- commit crimes alone • The first risk factors for delinquency begin in infancy - an infant temperament that is aggressive and difficult • Some parents respond with harsh, inconsistent, or permissive parenting • Childhood- impulsive and low self-control • Can only befriend the other aggressive, rejected kids • These groups become delinquent in adolescence
o Use by Age
• The peak of substance use comes in emerging adulthood (peak in early 20s, decline in late 20s) • Substance use, esp. alcohol, is highest among emerging adults who are college students • Deviant behaviors may be explained on the basis of propensity (motivation) and opportunity • Friends around constantly, no parents around • A lot of time spent in unstructured socializing
Class size
• Variation within typical range (20-40 students) may not matter much • Small class better for students with academic difficulties o Reducing class size → greater cost to school
o 3. Uses and Gratification Approach
• What sort of uses motivate young people to watch a TV show, go to a movie, listen to a song, read a magazine, or use the Internet? • What sort of gratifications or satisfactions do they receive from the media they choose? • 2 key principles • People differ in numerous ways that lead them to choose different media • People consuming the same media product will respond to it in a variety of ways, depending on their individual characteristics
Age of Adolescence (1890-1920)
(1890-1920) state laws requiring school attendance through the early teens o A similar trend in other Western countries
• Culture and Risk Behavior o Schlegel and Barry
(1991) analysis of 186 traditional cultures • For boys, adolescence is the time when antisocial behavior most often occurs, if it occurs at all • Found evidence of adolescent antisocial behavior is less than half of the cultures studied
Ideal school size for adolescents
500-1000 students
anorexia treatment
Anorexia - hospital based program • Family therapy • About 10% of anorexics eventually die from starvation or physical problems caused by weight loss
Developing Countries: schooling
adolescents' labor is usually needed by their families o If economy is not industrialized, school-based knowledge may be of limited use o As economic development continues in developing countries, the number of adolescents receiving education will continue to rise
• Depression o Gender Differences
greater risk for females • Little evidence that biological differences can explain it • Female gender roles? • Gender intensification during adolescence; body image concerns • Girls' responses to pubertal changes • Rumination • Differences in responses to stress and conflict • Distress turned inward OR outward
International Comparison
o (2012) 8th grade tests of reading, math, science o Key influence on academic performance: the country's level of economic development
Junior High, Middle School, or Neither?
o 6-3-3 plan: primary; Junior high; high school o 5-3-4 plan: primary; middle school; high school o 8-4 plan: primary, high school o The first year of middle school or junior high is a difficult time o School transitions taking place in early adolescence are likely to coincide with a variety of other changes • Puberty, growth spurt, body shape, acne, peer relations o Also changes in school experience • Larger, more impersonal setting • More difficult academic work; grades are more serious o 8-4 plan might be better for self-esteem, student engagement
Secondary Education in Developed Countries
o USA, Canada, Japan • The comprehensive high school o European Countries • College preparatory • Vocational school • Professional school o Some European countries also have apprenticeship systems o *European system - earlier decision making about career direction o *American system -greater flexibility; but, everyone in same school/classes with widely divergent educational and occupational interests and abilities
• Volunteer Work - Community Service
o Work provided to the community without monetary compensation o Americans are more than twice as likely as people in other Western countries to take part in volunteer work o What effect does it have on adolescents? • High sense of personal competence, tend to have higher educational goals and performance • More likely to volunteer if parents volunteer • Want to help others and gain personal satisfaction • Become more concerned about political and social issues; more conscious of themselves as members of the society
• Work and Adolescent Development
o Working more than 10 hours/week • More reports of psychological symptoms • Amount of sleep declines as work ours increase • Disrupts eating and exercise habits o Work and problem behaviors • More likely to smoke, use alcohol and other drugs • Casual or correlational? o More money to spend on leisure, maybe substance use • Very little goes to their family's living expenses or saving for future education
o Emerging adults who volunteer for military service
typically motivated by: patriotism, the prospect of receiving money, educational support, & job training • often benefits self-confidence, self-discipline, leadership skills, and ability to work with others
o Diathesis-stress model of mental disorders:
• Begin with a diathesis (preexisting vulnerability) • Expression of that vulnerability requires a stress (environmental condition)
Family Environments and School
o Expectations • If parents have high expectations, adolescents tend to live up to those expectations o Parent Involvement in adolescent's education • Relates to adolescent's engagement and academic achievement o Authoritative parenting (high demandingness, high responsiveness) • Highest levels of engagement in school and school success • Adolescents more persistent, responsible o Neglectful parenting - worst outcomes o Parents tend to be less involved in education as child gets older • E.g. knowing what the adolescent is doing in school, attending school programs o Family Social class • Family SES is positively correlated with adolescents' grades and achievement test scores. • Family SES also positively correlated with higher level of education ultimately attained o BEFORE entering school, middle-class children score higher than working-class and lower-class children on tests of basic academic skills; and the gap continues to widen as they age o Social class represents other family characteristics that relate to achievement • IQ; nutrition and health care; major stresses and day-to-day stresses o Middle-class parents more likely to be authoritative and actively involved in adolescent's education
• Preventing Crime and Delinquency
o Few delinquency prevention programs have been very successful • They are usually being forced to participate • Programs typically take place in adolescence when problem behaviors are already well established o Multisystemic Approach • Intervene in the home, school, and neighborhood
• Resilience (proactive factors)
o Good outcomes in spite of serious threats to adaptation and development o Protective factors overcome risk factors • High intelligence, parenting that is both warm and controlling, a caring adult mentor outside the family • Strong ethnic identity • High prosocial behavior, low risk behavior • Religiosity • Realistic goal setting, self-control, emotion and behavioral regulation
• Treatment Approach
o How to minimize risk and maximize protection? o For example, anti-poverty programs • Services for children (academics, social skills, college, and job planning) • Services for adults (mental health, job searches, job skills, health insurance) • Teach parents to be responsive and attentive to their children's needs; make children feel safe and emotionally connected • "There are millions of times that children are doing things that parents are missing or misreading, and there's no joy or delight in their parenting. We want delight! Delight is protective. When a child feels loved and values by a parent, it buffers the circumstances. We can't fix poverty but we can buffer the stresses."
Peers, Friends, and School
o In high school, friends' influence can be greater than parents' influence in: • How consistently adolescents attend class • How much time they spend on homework • How hard they try in school • Grades o Friends' influence may be positive; support and encouragement for doing well in school o By middle school, many adolescents are concerned with hiding high-achievement orientation from their peers o Having friends who belittle/bad mouth school tends to be related to lower school success
• Risky Automobile Driving: Why does this happen?
o Inexperience o The way young people drive and the kinds of risks they take • More likely: speeding, follow too closely, violate traffic rules, take more risks in lane changing and passing, allow too little time to merge (especially males) • More likely to drive under the influence of alcohol • Less likely to wear seat belts o Parental involvement and monitoring of adolescents' driving behavior o Friends' influence promotes risky driving o A sensation-seeking personality type o The optimistic bias
Cultural Focus: Japanese High Schools and Colleges
o Japan is often at or near the top in international comparisons of academic achievement o More school days a year o Focus on rote learning and memorization o Cultural beliefs - all children are capable of learning • Most people in Asian countries believe that success or failure in school depends on EFFORT • Americans typically believe that ability matters more o National system of entrance exams to high school and college - intense pressure • "cram schools" after school or private tutoring
• Externalizing Problems: Risky Automobile Driving
o Leading cause of death among adolescents and emerging adults → automobile accidents o This group (ages 16-24) has the highest rates of auto accidents, injuries, and fatalities compared to all other age groups
• Internalizing Problems: Depression
o Major Depressive Disorder • 1. Depressed mood • 2. Reduced interest or pleasure in activities • 3. Significant increase or decrease in appetite or weight • 4. Insomnia or oversleeping • 5. Psychomotor agitation or retardation • 6. Low energy or fatigue • 7. Feelings of worthlessness or inappropriate guilt • 8. Problems thinking or concentrating • 9. Recurring thoughts of death or suicide o Rates of depressed mood rise steeply from age 10 to about age 15-17, then decline in the late teens and 20s
• Controversial Media: Electronic Games and Aggressiveness
o Most American adolescents have played electronic games - some harmless entertainment; many of the most popular ones are violent o Active role-playing o Report experiencing fantasies of power and fame, competitions, explore exciting new situations, stress release o Violent games related to heightened aggressiveness, hostility, anxiety; and may cause aggressive behavior o But individuals already at risk for violence behavior are more likely to be affected by (and attracted to) the violent games o Desensitization to violence; attitudes, empathy
• The Adolescent Workplace
o Most common first jobs • Girls-babysitting/boys-yard work o For older adolescents, the work is different and time commitment is usually greater • Restaurant work and retail sales most common • On average: employed high school sophomores work 15 hours/week and seniors work 20 hours/week • Work usually repetitive, monotonous • Not likely to prepare them for the work they will do as adults
• Media and Young People's Development - American Adolescents
o Music - 4 hours/day and TV - 2 hours/day o Over 70% have a TV in their bedroom o 70% of adolescent girls report regular magazine reading o Over 90% have access to computers both at home and school o 75% own a digital device (internet) o American adolescents spend about 7 hours per day using media o What are the potential effects of media on this age group? • Drugs? Unsafe sex? Aggressive and violent behavior? • Stereotyped gender beliefs? Eating disorders? • Declined social skills? Social isolation?
