Course Of Adolescent Development Research Articles

Student perceptions: How virtual student-led talking circles promote engagement, social connectedness, and academic benefit

Many expect upward trends in online college course enrollment to continue. Despite perceived improvements in online pedagogical practice and advantages afforded by virtual platforms, most students and professors still perceive social interaction, engagement, and overall learning to be more challenging online than in person. More than 3 in 10 college students are less willing to participate in discussions online compared to in person. More than 7 in 10 professors report needing help with strategies for keeping students engaged online. As such, we must identify strategies that cater to students’ academic, and social-emotional needs in an online environment. Breakout rooms have often been implemented to promote discussion and collaboration, however, when not well-structured, they often increase social discomfort instead. In this mixed methods study, using surveys, interviews and class observations, we examine student-led talking circles in an undergraduate adolescent development course ( N = 61), in which student discussion leaders prepared questions and facilitated small group conversations using structured turn-taking protocols. Nearly 95% of students felt talking circles increased peer connectedness, 92% felt they improved content learning, and 90% felt they increased engagement. Students largely attributed these benefits to specific elements of the talking circle format. Regression results revealed significant associations between peer connectedness and perceived academic benefit, after accounting for demographics, basic psychological needs, dispositional factors, and norms of communication.

Racial differences in legal socialization models across adolescence and emerging adulthood.

White and non-White adolescents report different experiences in the legal system. This disparity impacts their evaluations of, and attitudes toward, legal authorities such that non-White and older adolescents tend to perceive the legal system more negatively. Yet, many researchers assume that the process of legal socialization, which involves internalizing norms and information about the law and the legal system, is universal for all ages and races. We hypothesized that legal socialization models would change over the course of adolescent development and would differ by race. We used data from two longitudinal studies to examine racial differences in the integrated legal socialization model in early, middle, and late adolescence. Study 1 included 140 young adolescents (59% White, 41% non-White), and Study 2 included 296 midadolescents (82% White, 18% non-White) followed into late adolescence/emerging adulthood. Study 1 identified differences in the integrated legal socialization model for young White and non-White adolescents. Normative status predicted rule-violating behavior for White participants, whereas no predictors or mediators related to rule-violating behavior for non-White participants. In Study 2, legal and moral reasoning during midadolescence became relevant in the model for both groups. Enforcement status predicted rule-violating behavior for non-White youth, whereas normative status continued to predict rule-violating behavior for White youth. In late adolescence/emerging adulthood, differences in the model shifted toward the relation between reasoning and legal attitudes. Our findings suggest that legal socialization is a developmental process occurring and changing throughout adolescence and that this developmental process differs for White and non-White youth. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Conduct Problems As a Pathway From Childhood Adversity to Community Violence Exposure: The Protective Roles of Caregiver Knowledge and Involvement.

Exposure to community violence (ECV) poses a prevalent threat to the health and development of adolescents. Research indicates those who have more Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are at higher risk for ECV, which further exacerbates risk of negative mental and physical health impacts. Additionally, those with more ACEs are more likely to exhibit conduct problems, which has also been linked to risk for ECV. Despite the prevalence and impact of ECV, there is limited longitudinal research on the risk factors that precede this exposure as well as family-level factors that may prevent it. The current study examined conduct problems as a potential mediator between ACEs and future indirect (i.e. witnessing) ECV in adolescents. Additionally, this study included caregiver factors, such as caregiver knowledge about their adolescent, caregiver involvement, and caregiver-adolescent relationship quality as potential protective moderators. Participants included (N = 1137) caregiver-adolescent dyads identified as at-risk for child maltreatment prior to child's age four for inclusion in the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN). Conduct problems at age 14 mediated the relationship between ACEs from ages 0-12 and indirect ECV at age 16 (standardized indirect effect = .03, p = .005). Caregiver knowledge moderated the indirect relationship (b = -.40, p = .030), and caregiver involvement moderated the direct relationship between ACEs and indirect ECV (b = -.03, p = .033). Findings expand our knowledge about the longitudinal pathways that increase risk of violence exposure over the course of adolescent development, as well as the protective benefits caregivers can offer to disrupt these pathways and reduce risk of future traumatization. Implications are discussed for interventions that aim to address and prevent trauma and adverse outcomes among youth exposed to child maltreatment, household dysfunction, and community violence.

TV Clubs as a Pedagogical Approach in an Undergraduate Adolescent Development Course: A Qualitative Evaluation During the COVID-19 Pandemic

TV Clubs as a Pedagogical Approach in an Undergraduate Adolescent Development Course: A Qualitative Evaluation During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Sleep pattern, aggressive behavior and substance use among school students of Manipur: A cross-sectional study.

Adolescence is a vulnerable period of growth and development. This is the time when habits are inculcated which will carry forward to adult life. Sleeping patterns among adolescents have an impact on their overall health. Early substance use initiation is a serious concern because it is associated with significantly increased risks for developing substance use disorders. In general, aggressive behaviors progress from less to more severe over the course of adolescent development. The objectives of this study are to determine the lifestyle behaviors of young adolescents focusing on sleep pattern, aggressive behavior, and substance use. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 739 students of Class VII and VIII in both government and private schools in Imphal West and Kangpokpi districts of Manipur between August 27 and September 25, 2017. A pretested, structured questionnaire was used, which included the modified version of Buss and Perry Aggression Questionnaire. The data were analyzed using the IBM SPSS software (IBM SPSS for Windows, Version 21.0. Armonk, NY, USA). Only 56.2% of the students had adequate sleep. The proportion of adolescents using alcohol, tobacco, cigarettes, and Ganja was 4.6%, 9.5%, 5.7%, and 1.6%, respectively. Aggressive behavior was shown by 35.3%. Male students were getting more sleep (60.7%), were more aggressive (38.8%), and were using tobacco and cigarettes (82.4%) more than female students. Around two-fifth of the adolescents were not getting enough sleep. The association between aggressive behavior and substance use was found but needs further investigation for its temporal relationship.

Scholarly Teaching Through Action Research: A Narrative of One Professor's Process

This article shares a first-hand account of an action research project conducted in a college-level early adolescent development course to better understand written and verbal reflection as learning tools, improve the author’s teaching effectiveness, and foster reflective habits in pre-service teachers. The article includes a brief overview of related literature and a description of several reflective activities and assignments used in the course before presenting and discussing the project’s results based on Ferrance’s (2000) 6-step action research process.

Contextualizing Change Points in Alcohol Use from Early Adolescence through Young Adulthood

Alcohol is the most widely used and abused substance among America’s youths. Understanding patterns of alcohol use over the course of adolescent development, including risk and protective factors related to variation in use, is a central goal of adolescent alcohol research. Authors of this article created a personalized graphic representation of individual drinking, as reported in seven waves of questionnaire data from an ongoing longitudinal study. The graphic served as the basis for a qualitative investigation of 12 young adults’ retrospective explanations for increases and decreases in their alcohol consumption during adolescence. A total of 45 changes were assessed: 26 increases and 19 decreases. Three themes for increased alcohol use emerged: (1) adult role modeling, (2) coping with stress or loss, and (3) desiring social inclusion. Five themes for decreased alcohol use emerged: (1) internal motivation, (2) involvement in meaningful activities, (3) prosocial relationships with nonparental adults, (4) increased use of another substance, and (5) becoming a mother. Positive youth development framework was applied to suggest how these findings may be used to inform strategies to reduce underage alcohol use.

Atopic dermatitis in children: management of pruritus

Children with chronic atopic dermatitis (AD)-related itch require a comprehensive treatment approach that addresses the underlying cause of pruritus, as well as symptoms and complications that extend beyond the physical domain. In small children and infants, the short-term complications of quality of life disturbance and sleep dysfunction are closely associated with the course of adolescent development. In addition, the physical damage that results from uncontrolled pruritus and scratching can lead to disease chronification. Therefore, the rapid relief of acute pruritic flares, followed by the long-term maintenance of symptom-free skin, should be prioritized in AD treatment, in an effort to avoid the emotional, social and physical chronic manifestations described above. Alleviation of AD symptoms with fourth-generation topical anti-inflammatory agents like methylprednisolone aceponate is an appropriate choice of therapy for children and infants, due to its optimized therapeutic index and versatility in formulation. Especially in AD, supplemental disease management education should be considered, to address the psycho-social needs of children (and their families) suffering from pruritus.

Service-Learning in an Adolescent Development Course: Students' Assessments and Reflections

Service-learning is an instructional method in which students learn course content by actively participating in thoughtfully organized service experiences related to the content. Effectively linking service-learning to course content not only offers students a powerful opportunity to maximize academic learning, but also promotes their personal growth and instills a commitment to lifelong, civic engagement. Service-learning was integrated into an upper level undergraduate course, Adolescent Development. In addition to completing the traditional course work, students also completed a service-learning experience at a community agency that served adolescents. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the service-learning component, students were surveyed at the end of the semester about their service-learning experiences. Almost all students agreed they had learned more about course concepts as a result of their service-learning experience, and the majority felt their service-learning activity provided a needed service to the agency and community. KEYWORDS service-learning; assessment; pedagogy; civic engagement

Child and Adolescent Development for Medical Learners: Developmental Perspectives of Emotions and Illness

Abstract This module, Developmental Perspectives of Emotions and Illness, discusses the impact of development on a child's understanding and experience of illness. Cognitive developmental influence...

Fluoxetine and aripiprazole treatment following prenatal immune activation exert longstanding effects on rat locomotor response

AimStudies characterizing treatment interventions in a naturalistic setting suggest that antidepressant and antipsychotic medications may be equally effective in improving clinical outcome in individuals at high risk for first-episode psychosis. Of interest, both beneficial as well as potentially adverse effects have been observed following fluoxetine treatment in a mouse prenatal immune activation model of relevance to psychosis prevention. We sought to extend those findings by examining the effects of fluoxetine, as well as the antipsychotic medication aripiprazole, in a rat prenatal immune activation model. MethodsPregnant Sprague–Dawley rats were injected with poly I:C or saline on gestational day 14. Offspring of poly I:C and saline-treated dams received fluoxetine (10.0mg/kg/d), aripiprazole (0.66mg/kg/d), or vehicle from postnatal days 35 to 70. Locomotor responses to novelty, saline injection, and amphetamine (1 and 5mg/kg) were determined at three months, i.e., 21days following drug discontinuation. ResultsBoth fluoxetine and aripiprazole had beneficial effects on behavioral response to amphetamine (1mg/kg) at 3months, ameliorating the impact of prenatal immune activation on offspring of poly I:C-treated dams. Significantly, both drugs also exerted effects in offspring of control (saline-treated) dams on locomotor response to injection. ConclusionsFluoxetine and aripiprazole pretreatment of poly I:C offspring from postnatal days 35 to 70 stabilized response to amphetamine exposure persisting through 3months of age, similar to earlier findings in mice that fluoxetine treatment following prenatal immune activation prevented altered locomotor response to amphetamine. The current data also confirm earlier findings of potential adverse behavioral effects in offspring of control dams following treatment with fluoxetine and antipsychotic medications, highlighting the potential for both therapeutic as well as safety concerns with exposure to preventive pharmacological treatments over the course of adolescent development. Further study is needed to determine clinical and epidemiological consequences of these pre-clinical findings.

Students as Practitioners in a Service Learning Context

IntroductionMentoring and teaching content can be powerful ways to enhance understanding and retention of course material for students (Amaral & Vala, 2009); however, developing useful mentoring experiences that incorporate course content can be challenging in a university context. As such, this article focuses on the use of students as mentors to adolescents through the incorporation of family life programming within traditional undergraduate instruction. Specifically, we present a case example of an advanced adolescent development course where students had the opportunity to collaboratively develop and lead a prevention program curriculum for at-risk youth. The class was designed to provide an in-depth study of adolescent development extending over an existing three-semester life course development sequence for students with a particular interest in adolescence. A careful review of peer-reviewed empirical research on adolescent development, and a translation of those concepts into practical elements of providing services to adolescents are fundamental components of this course. Service learning is employed as a way to provide services to the local community, while giving students the opportunity to implement the curriculum that they developed as part of the course. Here, we present the theoretical and empirical bases for using service learning, and in particular the strategy of mentoring, to enhance course understanding and application of course concepts. Finally, we present a case example illustrating the strategies employed, lessons learned, and evaluation of the reflective observations of the students.Kolb's Model of Experiential LearningOver the past several decades, Kolb and Kolb (2005) have developed and refined models of experiential learning that argue for the balance of content and experience alongside reflection and action. The goal of adult learners, they argue, is to become integrated into the profession by developing an ability to access both components of each these dialectic processes. Integrated learning, that which combines experience with conceptualization, has been found to improve adaptive flexibility to both experience based and concept based learning situations (Mainemelis, Boyatziz, & Kolb, 2002). Complementary dialectics balance the tension between conceptualization and experience with the tension between reflection and action. Individuals with learning styles that balance these dialectics have been found to have improved flexibility, and thus, are viewed as more sophisticated learners (Mainemelis, et al., 2002). Transactions between the individual and the environment establish and maintain learning styles (Kolb and Kolb, 2005). Accordingly, the duty of education would be to provide transactions that facilitate the development of balanced learning strategies. Service learning, which typically incorporates reflection, is an educational strategy that promotes experience to complement academic concepts, and reflections that situate actions in a social and academic context. Thus providing service learning experiences that integrate active reflection has the potential to stimulate more sophisticated learning for students.Using Kolb's model of experiential learning (Kolb and Kolb, 2005), Ethridge and Branscomb (2009) chronicled the active learning processes of children and adults by having university students implement an anti-bias curriculum with young children. Service learning is grounded in experiential learning, and provides a natural opportunity to use experiential education to expand on course information and use advanced cognitive skills. In fact, experiential education has been found to be an important component of guidance and teaching personal skills and development (Roaten & Schmidt, 2009). When students develop experiential activities they learn the value of using such a strategy and become comfortable with experiential processes. Students in Ethridge and Branscomb's (2009) study reported that development and leadership of experiential anti-bias program sessions helped to facilitate not only their understanding of the content but also the process of active learning for students, and reflection on their own biases. …

Assessing Service-Learning in a College-Level Adolescent Development Course

Service-learning is an instructional method in which students learn course content by actively participating in thoughtfully organized service experiences related to the content. Effectively linking service-learning to course content not only offers students a powerful opportunity to maximize academic learning, but also promotes their personal growth and instills a commitment to lifelong, civic engagement. Service-learning was integrated into an upper level Family and Consumer Sciences Adolescent Development course. In addition to completing the traditional course work, students also completed a service-learning experience at a community agency that served adolescents. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the service-learning component, students were surveyed at the end of the semester about their service-learning experiences. All agreed they had learned more about course concepts as a result of their SL experience, and the majority felt their service-learning activity provided a needed service to the agency and community.

Understanding parental monitoring through analysis of monitoring episodes in context.

Abstract A model of monitoring interactions was proposed that is based on behavioural principles and places episodic parent-adolescent interactions at the centre of analysis for monitoring. The processmonitoring model contends that monitoring is an interactive process between parents and their adolescents, nested within a social setting. In the model it is proposed that monitoring occurs in discrete episodes that change over the course of adolescent development. To explain monitoring interactions it is essential to expand research to include a functional assessment of monitoring exchanges between parents and adolescents and to also measure the quality of parent-adolescent relationships, consider adolescent age and development, parental characteristics, and the context of the family. Keywords: parental monitoring, adolescent problem behaviour, parent-adolescent relationships ********** Parental monitoring is a hypothetical psychological construct that has been used to explain a composite of parenting practice variables including awareness, communication, concern, supervision, and tracking of adolescent behavior. Poor monitoring is consistently associated with antisocial behavior in both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies (Patrick, Snyder, Schrepferman, & Snyder, 2005; Patterson, Capaldi, & Bank, 1991; Patterson, Reid, & Dishion, 1992; Patterson & Stouthamer-Loeber, 1984; Patterson & Yoerger, 1997). Problem behavior has strong associations with deviant peers, and there is a flow on effect of further reducing monitoring (Ary, Duncan, Duncan, & Hops, 1999; Dishion, Patterson, Stoolmiller, & Skinner, 1991; Smetana & Daddis, 2002). Poor monitoring is also consistently associated with alcohol use, tobacco and substance use, higher sexual risk taking, poorer contraceptive use, lowered safe sex practices, and unwanted sex (Barnes & Farrell, 1992; Barnes, Reifman, Farrell, & Dintcheff, 2000; DiClemente et al., 2001; Li, Feigelman, & Stanton, 2000; Luster & Small, 1997; Metzler, Noell, Biglan, Ary, & Smolkowski, 1994; Reifman, Barnes, Dintcheff, Farrell, & Uhteg, 1998; Thomas, Reifman, Barnes, & Farrell, 2000). Poorly monitored adolescents are also more likely to report depressive symptoms, lowered self-esteem, and poor academic achievement (Crouter, MacDermid, McHale, & Perry-Jenkins, 1990; Gil-Rivas, Greenberger, Chen, & Lopez-Lena, 2003; Hartos & Power, 2000b). Despite the many studies that have shown poor monitoring is associated with problem behaviors in adolescents there are very few clinical studies reporting on interventions to improve monitoring. Of note is the work of Dishion and colleagues (2003) who recently demonstrated that it is possible to change parental monitoring and reduce problem behavior. More of this type of experimental intervention research is needed. Patterson and colleagues (Patterson & Bank, 1987; Patterson et al., 1992; Patterson & StouthamerLoeber, 1984) developed the parental monitoring construct in their seminal work with the Oregon Youth Study. Presently there are two prominent monitoring definitions in the research. The original definition of monitoring is stated as: parental awareness of the child's activities, and communication to the child that the parent is concerned about, and aware of, the child's activities (Dishion & McMahon, 1998). The important aspect of this definition is that monitoring is a broad term that covers both structuring of the adolescents' environment, and tracking their activities. The alternative definition comes from research by Kerr and Stattin (Kerr & Stattin, 2000; Kerr, Stattin, & Trost, 1999; Stattin & Kerr, 2000) and purports that monitoring is defined by parental knowledge of adolescent activity and that knowledge depends on adolescents' willingness to disclose. This knowledge definition is narrower and focuses on parental knowledge of adolescent behavior during freetime. …

Authorized Crib Cards Do Not Improve Exam Performance

We experimentally investigated the effect of authorized crib cards on undergraduates' multiple-choice exam performance for lower order and higher order questions and on anxiety levels in an upper division child and adolescent development course. Students ( N = 54) in 2 sections could use crib cards during 2 of the 4 exams. Despite student expectations that crib cards would greatly improve performance and reduce anxiety, their use did not improve performance for either the higher order or lower order exam questions, nor did they reduce student anxiety. The failure of authorized crib cards to improve exam performance even for factual material suggests that instructors ought to weigh seriously the decision to allow such cards on exams.

A Model For Promoting Active Learning And Information Literacy Skills In Large And Small Classes

Collaboration between Education and Library Instruction faculty resulted in technology being integrated into the Adolescent Development course curriculum taught at SUNY Fredonia’s School of Education, fulfilling information literacy competency requirements. Our paper presents a model for the practical application of implementing information literacy components required for each SUNY campus. Our goal for an Adolescent Development course was to instruct students in the most efficient methods of library research while incorporating active learning strategies within large and small lecture classes. Collaboration between two different disciplines yielded the formulation of student exercises on subject-specific research within ERIC and PsycINFO databases. A Research Integration Project required students to compare resources, identify, and evaluate studies. By utilizing peer-assisted teaching strategies, this method fostered active learning through cooperative groups and promoted critical thinking skills. Workshop effectiveness and the Library Instruction assessment tool are discussed.

Responding to the Demise of Adolescent Artmaking: Charting the Course of Adolescent Development in an Exceptional Art Classroom

Adolescent artistic developmental potential is often underestimated, ignored, or dismissed as irrelevant. This article argues that the deliberate cultivation of artistry is neglected and the task of developing mastery in any visual language is rarely attempted. By adolescence, most children give up the visual arts as a means of understanding or expression. Although drawing is accepted as a fundamental skill in most secondary art programs, there are different opinions on how to teach drawing, and to whom drawing should be taught. Endpoints of development and the role of cultural influences are two areas that invite different points of view. This study explores questions about adolescent artistic development by examining the experiences of six art students in a classroom designed to cultivate mastery of traditional drawing skills. The narrative of their developing artistry suggests that artistic growth involves a complex weaving of cultural influences, personal choices, and carefully mediated instruction.

The dynamics of alcohol and marijuana initiation: patterns and predictors of first use in adolescence.

This study, guided by the social development model, examined the dynamic patterns and predictors of alcohol and marijuana use onset. Survival analysis and complementary log-log regression were used to model hazard rates and etiology of initiation with time-varying covariates. The sample was derived from a longitudinal study of 808 youth interviewed annually from 10 to 16 years of age and at 18 years of age. Alcohol initiation rose steeply up to the age of 13 years and then increased more gradually; most participants had initiated by 13 years of age. Marijuana initiation showed a different pattern, with more participants initiating after the age of 13 years. This study showed that: (1) the risk of initiation spans the entire course of adolescent development; (2) young people exposed to others who use substances are at higher risk for early initiation; (3) proactive parents can help delay initiation; and (4) clear family standards and proactive family management are important in delaying alcohol and marijuana use, regardless of how closely bonded a child is to his or her mother.

Sharing Stories: A Teacher Educator Accounts for Narrative in Her Teaching

Abstract Currently, there is strong interest in narrative and story and their role in learning how to teach. As a teacher educator working with students, not yet teachers, I became interested in my use of story in my teaching. This study examines the use of story in an adolescent development course. The article reviews the methodology employed, the problematics of storytelling in teaching, and three patterns of storytelling that emerged. The patterns of discourse reflect the underlying purposes of teacher education and highlight the relationship of teller and audience. The discussion highlights the role of storytelling as a way of expanding experience and the analysis of experience for beginning teachers.

Cigarette Smoking and Adolescent Psychosocial Development

The major goal of the present paper is to examine the acquisition of cigarette smoking within the context of normal social development in adolescence. The study employed a cohort-sequential design and investigated the following variables: parent and peer smoking, parent and peer attitudes toward smoking, motivation to comply with parents and peers, and parent and peer supportiveness and strictness. The results indicated that adolescence is a time of increasing peer orientation. However, this increase in peer influence is not at the expense of parental influence, casting doubt on a hydraulic model of social influence during adolescence. A second important finding concerned the course of adolescent development toward increased deviance proneness. Finally, the current study answered specific questions about the antecedents and consequences of adolescent cigarette smoking. Peer and parent attitudes were related to the initial onset of smoking but not the later transition to regular smoking. This suggests ...