bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Nonparental Child Care
Authors: Shuey Elizabeth A. , Hetzner Nina Philipsen
Published: January 2020

A majority of young children in the United States experience some form of regular nonparental child care. Nonparental child care can support children's development and also allow parents to seek employment outside the home. There are many different types of nonparental care, including center‐based child care, family child care settings, and family, friend, and neighbor care. This entry describes these different types of settings as well as demographic patterns of nonparental child care use within the context of nonparental child care markets, policies, and dimensions of quality of nonparental child care.
Sole Parents
Authors: Malczyk Benjamin
Published: January 2020

Sole‐parent households are becoming increasing common compared to previous decades. Children born into or raised in sole‐parent households are more likely to exhibit problematic outcomes in myriad domains. Compared to children in two‐biological‐parent households, children in sole‐parent households are more likely to experience health challenges, perform more poorly in school, and exhibit more problematic emotional and behavioral outcomes. Explanations around such adverse child outcomes include structural explanations, economic explanations, exposure to stressful events, and selection theory. Sole‐parent households are on the rise and deserve additional attention from researchers and policy practitioners.
Stepparents and Blended Families
Authors: Andrade Gloria , van Eeden‐Moorefield Brad
Published: January 2020

The study of stepfamilies includes a rich history of research spanning decades. Although less attention has been paid to young children, there are a few findings that we have confidence in: interparental conflict between ex‐partners has the most potential to harm children well into adulthood, stepparenting is a lot more difficult than parenting as a biological parent and should develop slowly over time, and having all parents involved generally is related to much better outcomes for children over their life course. Ideally, a cooperative parenting alliance is established over time between all parents and stepparents.
Family Homelessness
Authors: Haskett Mary E. , Chatham Jenelle R. Shanley
Published: January 2020

Families without homes are the fastest‐growing segment of the homeless population and are a vulnerable and underserved group. Structural (e.g., availability of affordable housing) and psychosocial factors that contribute to homelessness at the family, community, and policy levels are highly complex and interwoven. Episodes of homelessness typically follow cumulative risks such as extreme poverty, partner violence, child maltreatment, neighborhood violence, and/or family separations. The loss of a home can create additional stress for fragile families as they live in cars, parks, and other dangerous locations or as they reside in shelters that can inadvertently retraumatize family members. A two‐generational approach to service delivery is optimal to address the complex needs of parents as well as their children. Mental health and public health professionals must consider these circumstances and offer an integrated and comprehensive range of service options to best serve families experiencing homelessness.
Children Reared in Sectarian Groups
Authors: Nilsson Sanja
Published: January 2020

A broad definition of what constitutes a sectarian group is social and theological deviance and/or innovation, often paired with some level of critique of and isolation or withdrawal from society. It is impossible to say how many children (under the age of 18) worldwide grow up in so‐called sectarian groups. There are primarily three reasons why such an estimation is problematic: the definitions of the terms
new religions
,
cults
, and
sectarian groups
vary according to time and location; the nature of sectarian groups tends to encompass withdrawal from society, which means that the beliefs of a group may not be known to wider society; and the groups are often wary about stating or have no knowledge of their own membership figures, sometimes due to unclear definitions of membership. This entry examines various impacts of the ways in which sectarian groups interact with socialization, education, health, and abuse, and the possible consequences for children reared in such groups.
Ecological Psychology and Development
Authors: Depeau Sandrine , Pol Enric
Published: January 2020

The child–environment relationship has many aspects worthy of consideration. The environment provides both a framework and a support on which (or thanks to which) human life develops. This relationship between the child and the environment has been interpreted in very different—sometimes complementary, sometimes contradictory—ways through the theories of development. To understand and demarcateecological psychology and development, we must define the concepts necessarily involved, beginning with what we understand by ecological psychology. The ecological approach gives a more central role to “in situ experience” and to the environmental conditions, thereby facilitating the activities that favor the child's development. On one hand, the ecological approach to development has evolved to reinforce the ecological validity of the development processes described and observed experimentally, and, on the other hand, it considers the role and the impact of public policies in actions taken to change social and urban contexts.
Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Theory
Authors: Tudge Jonathan , Rosa Edinete Maria
Published: January 2020

Urie Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory was developed between the 1970s and early in the 21st century. Although it has been most commonly thought of as a theory of the contexts of human development, from the start it was a theory of individual–context relatedness, fully justifying the use ofecologicalin its name. Despite the fact that three distinct phases can be seen in the development of this theory, its ecological foundation remains clearly in place.
Head Start
Authors: LaBrot Zachary C. , Ford Ryan T. , Pasqua Jamie L.
Published: January 2020

Head Start is a federally funded national early childhood program that provides children from low‐income families with a safe, educational, and nurturing environment. Head Start's overarching mission is to provide low‐income families with comprehensive services to promote social competence. Research has demonstrated that the services provided by Head Start are beneficial for improving child and family outcomes across a variety of domains. This entry discusses Head Start, with a focus on its history, the types of services it provides, and the research support for the benefits it provides to children and families.
Teacher–Student Relationships
Authors: Cornelius‐White Jeffrey H. D. , Harbaugh Adam , Turner Jon S.
Published: January 2020

That teacher–student relationships are important for children's development and academic achievement is substantiated with meta‐analyses involving nearly half a million children. Teacher–student relationships are increasing in importance over time given the changes in demographics of 21st‐century classrooms in terms of diversity and technology. Components of positive and negative relationships as well as ethical concerns are also discussed.
Cooperative Group Work
Authors: Gillies Robyn M.
Published: January 2020

Interest in cooperative group work gained momentum in the early 1980s with the publication of the first meta‐analysis on the effects of cooperative, competitive, and individualistic goal structures on students' achievement and productivity. The results showed that cooperation is significantly more effective than interpersonal competition and individualistic efforts, and these results were consistent across all subject areas, for all students from elementary school to college, and for all tasks involving conceptual understanding, problem solving, categorizing, and reasoning. This entry discusses the background research on cooperative group work and the factors that help to explain its success as an instructional strategy that has been shown to have a positive effect on student learning and socialization. The entry also discusses the key role teachers play in creating learning environments in their classrooms that promote cooperation and learning, and the linguistic tools that can be used to facilitate group discussion.
Music Education
Authors: Hallam Susan
Published: January 2020

Music education has as its focus the learning and teaching of music. Internationally, nationally, and locally it takes many forms that may or may not complement each other. It takes place in the home, in school classrooms, and in a range of extracurricular venues. It can consist of classroom music, instrumental lessons, ensemble activities, or informal activities, and can take place on one's own, with peers, or through media sources. The most successful music education provides opportunities for all children to pursue their own interests in a coherent way.
Recess, Breaktimes, and Supervision
Authors: Baines Ed , Blatchford Peter , Golding Kelly
Published: January 2020

School breaktimes, or recess, are an important context for understanding children's development.
Breaktime
or
recess
is normally a break within the school day where children get to play and to socialize with peers. Although there is little international understanding of the nature and position of recess in schools across the globe, the limited research available suggests that they are being eroded. However, there is good evidence that these times are enjoyed by the vast majority of children and that they provide an important context for children to develop relationships and friendships with peers. These times also offer significant opportunities for the development of social and cognitive skills that are important for current and future academic and social functioning.
Breaktimes/recess
can be conceived of as important sites of scientific interest because they offer a window into children's social lives and their social development, and how these may relate to learning in, and adjustment to, school.
Pretend and Sociodramatic Play
Authors: Vasc Dermina , Lillard Angeline
Published: January 2020

Pretend play, in which children intentionally transform reality and partake in a hypothetical world, is one of the most emblematic occupations of early childhood. This entry first defines pretend play and then describes the main developmental theories used to explain it. It next discusses the developmental course of pretend and sociodramatic play, focusing on advances in children's play from its emergence until its peak between 3 to 5 years. The last section gives an overview of some of the main issues addressed by current research on pretense, namely children's distinction between reality and fiction, the developmental origins of pretend play, and the role of pretend play in children's development.
Prosocial Behaviors in Children
Authors: Miller Jonas G. , Hastings Paul D.
Published: January 2020

This entry provides an overview of our current understanding of prosocial development, with a particular focus on early childhood. First, it discusses the personal benefits experienced by children who perform prosocial behaviors, as recent research suggests that children thrive in a number of domains when they do good to others. Second, it examines the origins and developmental changes in our earliest capacities to be prosocial in infancy, toddlerhood, and early childhood. Third, it describes some of the environmental and biological factors underlying individual differences in prosocial development, and discusses recent approaches to studying how environment and biology work together.
Physical and Verbal Aggression
Authors: Vassilopoulos Areti , Reitman David
Published: January 2020

Aggression is a behavior that has the intentional potential for harm that is aversive to the victim while stimulating for the aggressor. While a certain amount of conflict is typical of childhood peer relations, time‐withstanding aggression may negatively impact typical, healthy youth development. These verbally or physically aggressive behaviors may be interpersonal, serve a secondary or primary function, be independently initiated or provoked, and be direct or indirect in nature. In this entry, the development of aggressive behaviors in children is examined through an ecological systems model. Child psychopathology associated with these behaviors is noted, as are interventions for these behaviors.
Relational Aggression
Authors: Ostrov Jamie M. , Perry Kristin J.
Published: January 2020

Relational aggression has increasingly been examined as an aggression construct. This entry reviews its definition, related constructs, and historical and intellectual context as well as the role of gender and relational aggression's developmental manifestations and trajectories. In addition, it discusses the changing methodology and role of theory with an eye toward future developmental research. Finally, it introduces promising interventions and future directions.
Cyberbullying in Childhood
Authors: Guckin Conor Mc , Corcoran Lucie
Published: January 2020

Cyberbullying is similar to, but distinct from, traditional bully–victim problems. In this continuously evolving area of interpersonal communication for children and young people, it is important to explore three important and interrelated issues. First, the developing nature of knowledge in the area and continuous technological developments require careful attention to how the subject is defined. Second, successful prevention and intervention approaches need to be evidence informed and to be developed within robust methodological frameworks. Third, further research regarding coping is required—from national and international responses to responses from technological providers, to responses at the school, family, and personal level. Research and applied practice in the area is maturing. It is time for those involved in the area to summarize known successes to date, and to refocus on the issues that will lead to a safer environment for children and young people so that they can enjoy the undoubted benefits of information and communication technologies.
Neighborhood Effects
Authors: Ricciardi Courtney , Williams Angelique , Winsler Adam
Published: January 2020

Neighborhoods are geographical areas within a town or city that encompass or define a community. Neighborhoods are complex systems that affect individuals in many important ways. Every aspect of a child's development is influenced by various neighborhood factors, such as poverty level, violence, access to grocery stores, social cohesion, and the quality of the public schools and even the drinking water. The effects of neighborhoods on child development are far reaching, varied, and robust across a variety of different research methods. More work needs to be done in this area but currently all signs point to a major impact of neighborhoods, and to promising results for early‐age transitions to more affluent neighborhoods. It is important to acknowledge the role that policy and legislation have played historically in creating neighborhoods and the spaces in which people live. Neighborhoods are themselves heavily influenced by a history of racial segregation and discrimination, some of which has been institutionalized, particularly in the United States.
Media Marketing to Children
Authors: Blades Mark , Oates Caroline , Blumberg Fran C. , Sinclair Madeleine
Published: January 2020

Children are exposed to thousands of marketing messages annually. Many of the messages aimed at children are for inappropriate products, particularly unhealthy foods and drinks. Therefore the effect of such messages is a major concern. This entry considers when children develop the ability to identify marketing messages, when they understand the persuasive nature of such messages and their effects (e.g., on unhealthy food consumption), and measures that may help defend children against the negative effects of marketing. These issues have been investigated mainly with reference to traditional television marketing. Few researchers have examined contemporary types of marketing (especially internet advertising) that are aimed at children. The entry highlights some of the limitations in the research relating to marketing aimed at children, and future directions for that research.
Development of Leisure Reading in Childhood
Authors: Teravainen‐Goff Anne , Clark Christina
Published: January 2020

This entry discusses leisure reading behavior in childhood. It shows that leisure reading has consistently been linked not only to reading outcomes but also to other educational, social, and emotional outcomes. It also shows that, while generally children aged 8–13 engage in positive leisure reading behavior, it decreases as children get older. Moreover, changes in leisure reading behavior are particularly prominent at the time of transition from primary to secondary school. However, not all these changes are negative, which may suggest simply shifting preferences in children's leisure reading behavior as they get older.
Games
Authors: Gobet Fernand
Published: January 2020

Games play an important role in childhood. They can be defined as play activities that are structured, rule based, and goal directed. After reviewing Piaget's analysis of games, the entry discusses how board games have contributed to our understanding of cognitive development. It then reviews gender differences and how games have been used in education, both for teaching specific content, such as mathematics, and for developing overall cognitive ability, such as intelligence. Given their popularity with children, video games are discussed at some length with regard to cognition, aggressive behavior, and obesity. Finally, the entry discusses the use of games in psychotherapy.
Adolescence in Ancient and Medieval Times
Authors: Feixa Carles
Published: January 2020

Adolescence is the stage in an individual's life between physiological puberty, which is a natural condition, and his or her attaining adult status, which is a cultural construction. It has been regarded as a universal condition, a stage of human development to be found in all societies and across history. Nevertheless, anthropological findings across space and time reveal a more complex picture. In preindustrial societies, three models of adolescence can be distinguished:
pubers
in primitive stateless societies;
ephebes
in ancient states; and
boys and girls
in preindustrial rural societies. This entry presents a series of ethnographical examples to illustrate the enormous plasticity of adolescence in both the past and the present.
Social Constructionist View of Adolescence
Authors: Hung Suet Lin , Fung Kwok Kin
Published: January 2020

Focusing on the social construction of reality or knowledge, the social constructionist perspective exhibits characteristic features, including the critical role played by language; the social process involved in reality construction; the different levels of meaning making; individuals' agency; the co‐construction of social reality; power and knowledge construction; a pragmatic orientation to knowledge; and a preference for qualitative research. Social constructionism challenged the dominance of positivism in knowledge production. In relation to adolescence, social constructionist studies have examined how adolescence as a social category is constructed and how adolescents themselves form their identities and understand the social world. The perspective questions dominant discourses such as the developmental and peer group influence discourses; deepens our understanding of family dynamics and the various social discourses within which meaning making takes place; exposes the discursive power in disciplining different teenager groups; unravels the different meanings and identities that adolescents hold; and promotes their agency.
Freudian Theories
Authors: Britzman Deborah P.
Published: January 2020

Sigmund Freud's “Three Essays on Sexuality” (1905) inaugurated psychoanalytic attention to adolescence, in tandem with drive theory which specified psychical development as the conflict between biology and meaning, pleasure and unpleasure, and self and other. As pubescent resurgence of infantile sexuality,
Strum und Drang
characterized the adolescent mind and interest in changing the world. After World War II, Freudian theories considered development as shock, upheaval, and reorganization, mirroring the devastation and rebuilding of society. In the 1960s, as adolescent revolt influenced cultural life, development signified transformations of ego and superego through object relations, identifications, mourning, and identity. In 21st century, emotive selfhood, its mental representations of bodily boundaries, and themes of intersubjectivity took precedence through conflicts between authority and autonomy, love and hate, and meaning and meaninglessness. The drive for identity and social belonging gained complexity through cultural changes in education, along with social movements such as those for civil rights, feminism, antiracism, and homosexual freedom.
Eriksonian Theory
Authors: Côté James E.
Published: January 2020

This entry examines Erik Erikson's pioneering theory of psychosocial development during adolescence, with a focus on his neo‐Freudian principles of ego development underlying identity formation. These principles include ego identity, defined as the sense of temporal–spatial continuity; the identity stage that optimally culminates in a coherent adult identity; the psychosocial moratorium during adolescence that provides the time needed to resolve conflicts and to experiment with adult roles; and the identity crisis that can occur when resolving conflicts and experimenting with roles. The cross‐cultural applications of Erikson's theory are outlined and criticisms of his work discussed.
Humanistic Approaches to Adolescent Development
Authors: Behr Michael , Murphy David , Cooper Mick , Cornelius‐White Jeffrey H. D.
Published: January 2020

Humanistic theories provide a fluid, motivational basis for understanding adolescent development, not defined by “stages” or “developmental tasks.” They reject storm‐and‐stress perspectives and view the formation of the self as an ever‐changing process. Based on humanistic axioms—including Maslow's hierarchy of needs and Rogers's actualizing tendency—the humanistic approaches have developed a model of suboptimal development based on incongruences between self‐construct and experiences. This is seen as leading to difficulties with self‐worth, mental health issues, and limited capacities for self‐exploration. Based on the capacity for postformal thinking, however, it is proposed that adolescents can engage with a self‐exploratory and self‐acceptance process, paving the way to greater well‐being in adulthood.
Positive Youth Development: Theory and Perspective
Authors: Burkhard Brian M. , Robinson Kathleen M. , Murray Elise D. , Lerner Richard M.
Published: January 2020

Positive youth development (PYD) emerged in the 1990s as a response to the deficit model of adolescent development that had been predominant throughout the 20th century. Whereas this deficit model viewed youth as “problems to be managed,” the strengths‐based PYD perspective instead views adolescents as “resources to be developed.” This entry provides an overview of the major theoretical models of PYD and provides examples of effective PYD programs. The continued integration of research and practice will support ongoing efforts to attempt to answer complex questions pertaining to the promotion of PYD and efforts to optimize positive development among all youth.
Qualitative Methodology in Adolescent Research
Authors: Tilleczek Kate C.
Published: January 2020

This entry provides an overview of emergent ways of doing qualitative youth research. It is derived from a review of English‐language international literature and from working and publishing in the field of youth research for two decades. Research across content areas of digital media, well‐being, and education is used to exemplify important turns. Participation and empowerment of youth are core principles of youth‐attuned qualitative research, which takes many forms such as youth‐led participatory action research and other methodologies with, for, and by youth. For instance, decolonized methodology and its foundational concepts of ethics, agency, and power inform emerging qualitative methods in youth research. Many of these methodologies borrow from humanities‐infused methods that collect photographic, film, arts, visual, narrative, storied, and/or digital data. These foundations build upon the important wisdom of Indigenous worldviews. They are also embedded in the principles guiding UNICEF's current research with adolescents.
Mixed Methods Adolescent Research
Authors: Tilzey Sarah E. , Stephens Taylor N. , Patel Sita G. , Bunge Eduardo L.
Published: January 2020

The aim of this entry is to define and accentuate the importance of mixed methods research in the context of studying adolescence. First, it discusses why mixed methods research is a particularly advantageous approach when studying adolescence, and the numerous implications it has for increasing scientific understanding of this complex developmental period. It then provides an overview of mixed methods research, defining different methodologies commonly used in mixed methods studies, including quantitative and qualitative approaches in addition to other unique “methods,” such as technological interventions. It explains how these different methods are combined into a single research study to draw balanced conclusions, and highlight the strengths and account for the limitations of different research approaches. Case examples are presented to provide a realistic and practical perspective on the process of conducting mixed methods research with adolescents.
Epidemiological Research in Adolescence
Authors: Bedard Chloe , Cairney John
Published: January 2020

Epidemiology is a powerful tool in the study of development and health. The study of adolescence, however, is complex and requires some specific additional considerations in terms of design. The choice of study design should always be based on the research question, and the question should be grounded in theory. The ecological systems model provides a useful framework that guides both our understanding of adolescent development and the design of studies that consider multiple interacting systems. This entry reviews and appraises various epidemiological studies that have helped to shape our knowledge of adolescent health and development.
Adolescence in Intercultural Context
Authors: Schwartz Seth J. , Petrova Mariya
Published: January 2020

This entry reviews two of the major intercultural contexts in which adolescents find themselves—international migration and globalization. The nuances of international migration, including types of migrants and the distinctions between more versus less desirable migrants, are discussed. Globalization is discussed in the context of the spread of Western culture through social media, dress styles, movies, and other influences. Biculturalism, which can emerge through both migration and globalization contexts, is reviewed along with some of its common manifestations (such as language brokering for parents). The entry highlights some of the strengths and challenges for adolescents involved in intercultural contexts.
Culture and Adolescent Development
Authors: Delany Danielle E. , Cheung Cecilia S.
Published: January 2020

Adolescence is a time in development that comes with many changes. This entry provides an overview of the significant achievement and challenges that occur during adolescence and discusses variations in the developmental processes across cultures. Major cultural theories on adolescent development are delineated, and three specific areas of adolescent development—cognitive, social, and psychological adjustment—are explored to illustrate how culture shapes adolescents' development. The unique roles of parents and of schools are also discussed.
Stages in Adolescence
Authors: Moshman David
Published: January 2020

Stage theories of development propose that individuals make progress through qualitatively distinct developmental stages over some portion of the lifespan. The most influential stage theory of the past century has been Piaget's theory of cognitive development, in which formal operations, the final stage of development, marks the transition from childhood to adolescence. Formal operational reasoning involves the rigorous analysis of hypothetical possibilities and logical necessities. Some stage theorists have proposed postformal stages more powerful than formal operations. Others have proposed complementary sequences of adolescent stages in epistemic cognition, perspective taking, moral judgment, self‐conceptions, and identity. Adolescents and adults often reason at levels beyond the capacity of children but research shows major individual differences in the rate and extent of development beyond early adolescence. Stage transition is generally explained as the construction of a higher‐level structure to overcome problems identified at the present stage.
Adolescent Religious Rites of Passage: An Anthropological Perspective
Authors: Alcorta Candace S. , Sosis Richard
Published: January 2020

Adolescent religious rites of passage occur in nearly three‐quarters of societies throughout the world. These rites vary widely in composition, frequency, duration, and intensity, yet all share a common structure and purpose. At a proximate level, adolescent rites of passage transform children into adults through the transmission of sacred knowledge. This transformation is both social and psychological. Neurophysiological changes occurring during adolescence render this anexperience expectantperiod for emotionally weighting social and symbolic stimuli. Moreover, adolescent rites of passage publicly communicate the transfer of statuses within a given social structure and provide an institutionalized mechanism for affecting political change. In recent decades evolutionary anthropologists have viewed these rites, as well as religion itself, as costly signals that serve to create and cohesify cooperative social groups. Experimental and cross‐cultural research offers support for this model.
Spirituality and Adolescent Development
Authors: King Pamela Ebstyne , Vaughn Jennifer Medina , Merola Christine
Published: January 2020

A nuanced understanding of spiritual development considers a young person's experience with the sacred or transcendent and consequential personal transformation, both attitudinal and behavioral, that may or may not be connected to religious traditions. However, when pursued within a social network, spirituality can provide an abundance of additional resources otherwise unavailable through lone pursuit. Relational developmental systems perspectives are sensitive to this interconnection as well as the various sociocultural influences during adolescence that can contribute to spiritual growth over time. Ideological, social, and transcendent resources in particular play prominent roles within spiritual contexts and influence the development of identity, purpose, values, and meaning systems that motivate action. Further, the concept of reciprocating spirituality posits that just as others influence adolescents in their spiritual development, adolescents also influence those around them. In this way, spirituality may contribute to positive and negative outcomes during this pivotal period of development.
Religious Acculturation
Authors: Güngör Derya
Published: January 2020

Acculturation refers to the adaptive processes that are necessary for living in a multicultural world. Religious acculturation refers to the ways in which religious‐minority adolescents negotiate their religious identity, beliefs, and practices as they live in a multicultural context that includes different religious or secular groups. Studies on religious identity development, on the one hand, and its link to multiple cultural allegiances, on the other, highlight the central role that religiosity plays in the acculturation experiences and relationships of minority adolescents with an immigrant background. Empirical evidence suggests that religious identity is transmitted and reinforced in immigrant families through processes similar to those of ethnic identity; there is little support for the common assumption that religiosity per se precludes identification and integration of minority adolescents with mainstream cultures and groups. Acculturation framework contextualizes minority adolescents' religiosity and its development by identifying social–cultural influences and intergroup processes that affect the continuity, reaffirmation, and decline in religiosity over generations and across situations in which acculturation occurs.
Stages of Adolescent Moral Development
Authors: Gibbs John C.
Published: January 2020

As they become adolescents and adults, children grow beyond the superficial in their friendships, their understanding of moral values, and their social decisions. Beyond exchanging favors or blows with peers, emerging adolescents generally begin to develop relationships of mutual emotional sharing and trust. Adolescents' reasoning concerning the importance of moral values and ideals correspondingly gains depth and breadth. A number of scholars have characterized this social, cognitive, and moral growth beyond the superficial in adolescence and adulthood in terms of qualitatively new and mature levels or stages—and have found that a delay in reaching mature stages constitutes a risk factor for problem behaviors such as delinquency. This entry reviews the cognitive–developmental perspective on morality with a focus on the adolescent period. Of particular note is a program designed to remedy moral developmental delay as well as treat associated problems such as self‐serving cognitive distortions among adolescents with antisocial behavior problems.
Diagnosis of Adolescent Mental Health Disorders
Authors: Hawes David J.
Published: January 2020

It is now understood that the epidemiology, expression, and causes of psychopathology in the period of adolescence are in many ways unique. Historically, research concerned with characterizing and conceptualizing mental health disorders among adolescents has been relatively scarce compared to that focused on younger children and adults. In recent years, however, such research has grown considerably, driven in large part by the principles of developmental psychopathology. These principles emphasize the importance of understanding how the features of psychopathology seen at particular ages differ from, and relate to, normative development, as well as the need to consider psychopathology within the ecological contexts in which it is expressed. The evidence base that has emerged around adolescent development and mental health has had a profound impact on psychiatry and related fields, contributing to a focus on this period as a priority for early intervention and public health policy. This entry provides an overview of this evidence, with a focus on current developmental accounts of mental health disorders across this period.
Assessment of Adolescent Mental Disorders: Cross‐Cultural Issues
Authors: Lo Barbara Chuen Yee , So Wai Yan , Yang Jacquelyn Hin Tung , Ng Tom Kwong Chun
Published: January 2020

This entry reviews common methods for assessing adolescents' mental disorders, including interviews, questionnaires, and observation methods. Cultural issues regarding application of these assessments across ethnic groups are discussed. These cultural considerations include (1) how differences in cultural values may affect the experience and expression of psychopathological symptomatology, (2) how assessment items are framed and understood in specific cultural contexts, (3) how social norms and cultural values may generate specific response biases depending on the response options offered, and (4) concern over the translation and cross‐cultural adaptation of assessment instruments.
Resilience
Authors: Burt Keith B. , Rosenberg Elyse R.
Published: January 2020

Resilience refers to competence (positive adaptation in age‐salient developmental tasks) despite a history of experienced adversity. The study of adolescent resilience is core to developmental psychopathology and involves a variety of research designs, populations, and theoretical questions. A major focus of this work is on the identification of protective factors—variables that predict positive adaptation among an at‐risk group. Recent adolescent work has identified protective factors at multiple levels of analysis including that of the individual (e.g., self‐regulation, cognitive abilities, executive functioning, ethnic identity, temperament, emotional intelligence), family (e.g., positive parenting, parental monitoring, parent mental health, family cohesion, socioeconomic status), and community (e.g., neighborhood safety, nonparental adult support, community religious involvement). Prevention and intervention programs have increasingly leveraged this research to promote competence via the targeting of selected protective processes. Future research is likely to further employ experimental and quasi‐experimental designs to untangle complex causal processes, and to continue the integration of neurobiological and genetic information with variables assessed at broader levels of analysis.
Service‐Learning
Authors: Billig Shelley H.
Published: January 2020

Service‐learning is a teaching and learning approach that has been widely adopted in K–12 schools and higher education throughout the world. Participants in service‐learning engage in structured learning opportunities that have been designed to meet an authentic community need. Typically, participants identify a genuine community need; engage in planning and action; reflect on their experiences in terms of personal growth, academic learning, and societal issues associated with the need; and demonstrate what they have learned and/or their impact on the community to peers, educators, or the public. Student participants in service‐learning have been found to benefit academically, personally, socially, and civically. Growth is greatest when the service is meaningful to the participant, when the service is aligned with the curriculum or academics to be learned, when the student has voice and choices, and when the participants engage in in‐depth reflection. This entry addresses the definition of the approach and variations in service‐learning context, prevalence, motivation to serve, underlying theories, effective practices, outcomes for participants, and issues, as well as future directions for the field.
Life Satisfaction
Authors: Antaramian Susan P.
Published: January 2020

Life satisfaction has been identified as an essential component of psychological health and well‐being in adolescents. Viewed as the cognitive component of subjective well‐being, life satisfaction provides a key indicator of individuals' perceived quality of life. This entry provides an overview of research on life satisfaction in adolescence, including its measurement and link to advantageous outcomes. Correlates and determinants of adolescent life satisfaction are reviewed, including demographic, intrapersonal, academic, experience‐related, family, and interpersonal factors. Methods for life satisfaction promotion and intervention are also discussed.
Piagetian Theory of Cognitive Development
Authors: Kazi Smaragda , Galanaki Evangelia
Published: January 2020

According to Piaget, the attainment of formal operational thought (between the ages of 12 and 15 years) is the final stage of cognitive development, preparing the adolescent to efficiently adapt to the adult world. Piaget regarded formal thinking as propositional, abstract, hypothetico‐deductive, combinatory, and reflective, allowing for the conception of both the possible and the real. This entry discusses the fundamental mechanisms that lead to the acquisition of formal thought, along with its specific manifestations. Finally, it presents an overview of the criticism of the Piagetian theoretical standpoint.
Environmental Influences on Intelligence
Authors: Rowe Ellen W. , Marchesini Elpiniki
Published: January 2020

Understanding the factors that underpin intelligence in humans and their comparative influence is essential to the task of providing for optimal cognitive development of humans worldwide. Primarily, this review summarizes many of the notable environmental influences, including biological environmental influences such as malnutrition, exposure to pollutants, and drugs, as well as social–environmental influences, such as education, early interventions, and socioeconomic status. Much of the research on the relationship between intelligence and the environment is mixed; it is evident that the relationship between environmental factors and intelligence is likely to be highly complex and transactional in nature. While the environment clearly has the capacity to alter intelligence among humans, continued research is needed in order to meet the methodological challenges that often arise in this critical topic.
Critical Thinking in Adolescence
Authors: Ellerton Peter
Published: January 2020

Thinking critically requires a range of understandings and cognitive abilities. Some of these are still developing in adolescence, and identifying them helps to inform expectations regarding adolescent thinking and provides some guide as to how they may be further developed educationally. One of these factors is the relationship between epistemology and metacognition. Epistemological positions may vary. For example, knowledge may be regarded as external and fixed or as contextualized and tentative; knowing may be thought of as passive reception or as active construction. The opportunities for developing skills associated with metacognition increase with increasing epistemological sophistication. Argumentation provides a structure around which epistemological assumptions and metacognitive thinking can coalesce and which contextualizes reasoning skills, making them more relevant and meaningful to adolescents.
Creativity and Cognitive Development in Adolescence
Authors: Lilly Frank R.
Published: January 2020

The notions that creativity develops spontaneously and effortlessly, is innate, occurs solely in the arts, and is rare are myths. Creativity hinges on cognitive development within a domain of interest, occurs after hours of critical thinking (i.e., learning and practice) within the domain, where trial and error (i.e., risk) lead to problem solving and problem finding, in turn leading to failure, perseverance, resilience, and the possibility of successful outcomes. Critical and creative thinking are supported by the sociocultural contexts of education and family systems. These systems hinge on socioeconomic and sociopolitical support, which either restrain or promote idea generation or conformity. Creativity can occur in academic and artistic pursuits. Adolescence is an ideal time for the expression of creativity because adolescents are beginning to practice cognitive synthesis, analysis, and abstract thought. This key developmental period includes concurrent physical, affective, and cognitive growth, which guide an individual's identity development.
Social and Cultural Influences on Academic Achievement
Authors: Scholes Laura
Published: January 2020

Social and cultural experiences impact on adolescent student academic achievement at school. Traditionally there was a belief that social, emotional, and cognitive learning were separate and that intellectual learning was more important. Increasingly there is recognition that cognition, memory, and other psychological constructs develop within particular social and cultural environments. A range of prominent psychologists and social researchers have articulated the interplay between psychological and sociocultural domains. In response, there have been changing perspectives in psychology with a move from individualistic developmental explanations of achievement toward theories that consider the impact of sociocultural influences on neurological cognition in the learning process. The brain is an interdisciplinary mechanism and students learn through their relationships, through their emotions, and by making sense of their world.
International Differences in Secondary Education
Authors: Allen Bill
Published: January 2020

Secondary schools throughout the world exhibit many common features that distinguish them from other sectors of formal education. These include their relative size; distinct phases; curriculum; teachers' subject specialization; transitions; pastoral care; setting and streaming; school‐based and external assessments; the impact of international benchmarking exercises; specialist and selective secondary schools; alternative types of secondary schools; and secondary school leadership. Complete commonality is rare across all systems, but the features are still considered significant, even if a jurisdiction determines not to apply them. However, globalization and international benchmarking exercises result in increasingly common patterns of secondary school systems across the world.
Special Education
Authors: Forbringer Linda
Published: January 2020

Special education involves creating an individualized education program that is specifically designed to meet the unique needs of a student with an identified eligible disability. The special education program may include instructional interventions, social–emotional interventions, vocational or functional training, and supports or related services. Core principles of special education are outlined in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which forms the legal basis for special education in the United States. Researchers have identified a number of interventions that are especially effective with students with disabilities, and experts recommend that these high‐leverage practices form the foundation for special education teacher preparation and classroom programs. Additional practices such as tiered supports, universal design for learning, and differentiated instruction support all learners, but are especially beneficial for those receiving special education services.
Giftedness in Adolescence
Authors: Sak Ugur
Published: January 2020

Definitions and conceptions of giftedness have been constantly changing since the first definition appeared in the scientific literature. The genetics‐based and single‐score conceptions have evolved to become psychosocial and multifaceted conceptions. Contemporary theories of giftedness address biological, sociological, and psychological foundations of giftedness and describe composition, development, and types of giftedness. This entry includes a review of contemporary conceptions of giftedness and the development and characteristics of gifted and talented children and adolescents and special groups among gifted children and adolescents, such as prodigies, savants, and gifted underachievers.
Physical Activity and Exercise
Authors: McMaster Natalie
Published: January 2020

As the global burden of noncommunicable diseases increases, the importance of physical activity and exercise in childhood and adolescence has never been more significant. In 2010, the World Health Organization recognized physical inactivity as a global health hazard, identifying adolescence as a critical time for disengagement from physical activity. Recent worldwide studies estimate that four of every five adolescents participate in fewer than the recommended 60 minutes of moderate‐to‐vigorous physical activity per day. Adolescence is an ideal time in which to engage youth in physical activity and exercise so as to develop physically active behaviors and establish lifelong participation in physical activity. Participation in physical activity is a complex behavior, influenced by sociodemographic, environmental, personal, and behavioral variables. Current research suggests that global interventions should focus on community strategies, valuing physical activity participation, and the creation of lifestyles that are inclusive of physical activity and exercise.