Program Outcomes for Youth
Social Competencies

Adolescent Relationships

Bibliography
Theory and Theoretical Perspectives:

Bandura, A. (1977). Social Learning Theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Social learning theory emphasizes the role of vicarious, symbolic, and self-regulatory processes in psychological functioning. It regards human behavior as a reciprocal, continuous interaction between one's cognitive, behavioral, and environmental determinants. This view neither casts the human being into a powerless role that is controlled by environmental forces nor as free agents that have the capacity to become whatever they choose. The environment and the person are reciprocal determinants of each other. People do not simply react to their environment. They select, organize, and transform the stimuli they come into contact with during the course of their everyday interactions. Bandura's book presents an overview of recent theoretical and experimental advances in the field.


Brown, B. B. (1990). Peer groups and peer culture. In S. Feldman & G. Elliott (Eds.), At the threshold: The developing adolescent. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

This article discusses what accounts for the emergence of adolescent peer groups and peer cultures. Some of the questions which form the focus of the chapter are: How do teenagers come to understand and find their place in their peer system? How do peer groups affect individual behavior and psychological well-being? Should adults or can adults attempt to structure adolescent peer cultures or manipulate an adolescents place within the peer culture? In addition the authors discuss such issues as debunking the myth of the youth culture; the emerging character of the adolescent peer groups; and finding one's peer group niche.


Eccles, J. S., Midgley, C., Wigfield, A., Buchanan, C. M., Reuman, D., Flanagan, C., & Mac Iver, D. (1993). Development during adolescence. American Psychologist, 48(2), 90-101.

Why is it that some adolescents experience high levels of "storm and stress" when passing through adolescence? The article advances the hypothesis that some of the negative psychological changes associated with adolescent development are the result of a mismatch between the needs of the developing adolescent and the opportunities afforded them by the social environments. The article provides examples of how this mismatch develops in the school and the home. In addition, linkage is provided to negative age-related changes in early adolescents' motivation and self-perceptions. Discussed are the possible creation of more developmentally appropriate social environments.


Honess, T. & Robinson, M. (1993). Assessing parent-adolescent relationships: A review of current research issues and methods. In S. Jackson and H. Rodriquez-Tome (Eds.), Adolescence and Its Social Worlds. Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum Assoc.

The authors indicate the similarities and differences in theoretical assumptions and research methods in parent-adolescent relationship research. The article provides a review of work representative of key researchers who consistently have added to the core of empirical findings. Discussed are related research techniques including consensus in the research. The works presented illustrate a range of theoretical, conceptual, and methodological influences. Finally, the authors provide possible directions for methodological and theoretical refinement and development necessary for the study of parent-adolescent relationships to continue its forward move.


Peterson, G. W. & Leigh, G. K. (1990). The family and social competence in adolescence. In T. Gullotta, G. Adams, & R. Montemayor (Eds.), Developing Social Competency in Adolescence. London: Sage Publications.

These authors examine the parent-adolescent relationship and the larger family system as contexts for the development of social competence. Dimensions of family process, structure, and communication that are drawn from systems perspectives are examined for their association with adolescent social competence. Attention is given to social -structure variables that have impact on parent-adolescent relationships.


Schinke, S. P., McAlister, A. L., Orlandi, M. A., & Botvin, G. J. (1990). The social environmental constructs of social competency. In T. Gullotta, G. Adams, & R. Montemayor (Eds.), Developing Social Competency in AdolescenLondon: Sage Publications.

Reviewed and critically examined are the social environmental constructs related to social competency during adolescence. Offered is a summary of recent theoretical and empirical research on social environmental constructs followed by a discussion of social networks, friendships, and role formulations that occur among adolescents. A research example is used to illustrate major points.


Relationship and Attachment Theory:

Many developmental theorists argue that infant attachment, as developed by Bowlby and extended by Ainsworth, have implications for the development of healthy functioning in adolescent and adult relationships. The articles presented here are indicativonly a small sample of the attachment theory literature available. Some present the theoretical background of infant attachment, while others extend this theory towards a better understanding of adolescent functioning within parent and peer relationships. These theories suggest for the most part that the ability to form attachment bonds occur in infancy. It would appear likely that adolescent programs might not be able to change an adolescent's already developed attachment disposition. However, it could be that those adolescents without strong bonds may benefit more from programs that connect them with adults.

Ainsworth, M. S., Blehar, M. C., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of attachment: A psychological study of the Strange Situation. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Posited are three major patterns of attachment in children: secure attachment, wherein the child is able to use their caregiver as a secure base when distressed; anxious-ambivalent attachment, wherein the child responds to separation with intense distress; and avoidant attachment, wherein the child exhibits avoidance, disinterest, and detachment in the presence of their caregivers during periods of distress. Over the course of repeated interactions, individual differences emerge based on the child's expectations of caregiver responsiveness and dependability. Attachment style is closely related with favorable or unfavorable developmental history and relationship functioning and as such has serious implications for adolescent functioning in relationships.


Baumeister, R. F. & Leary, M. R. (1995). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117, 497-529.

The authors propose that the need to belong, i.e., a need to form and maintain at least a minimum quantity of interpersonal relationships is innate and therefore nearly universal. It presumably has an evolutionary basis as a desire to form and maintain social bonds would have both survival and reproductive benefits. The need to belong contains two main features. The first feature is that people need frequent personal contacts or interactions with other people and these interactions should be free from negative effect. Secondly, people need to perceive that there is an interpersonal bond or relationship marked by stability, affective concern and continuation into the foreseeable future. The need to belong is something more than just a need for affiliation or for intimate attachment. Article reviews a variety of empirical findings to support their theory including the formation of social bonds, not breaking bonds, cognition, emotion, and consequences of deprivation.


Bowlby, J. (1988). A secure base: Parent-child attachment and healthy human development. New York: Basic Books.

Attachment theory posits that humans and other primates have evolved a behavioral system that is designed to maintain proximity between an infant and their primary caregiver. When the primary caregiver is perceived as sufficiently responsible and available, they then function as a secure base permitting the infant to explore the environment with confidence. When the primary caregiver is perceived as undependable, unresponsive or insufficiently available, attachment behaviors are activated to restore proximity. Styles of attachment are argued by many developmentalists to have far reaching developmental consequences that can inhibit or facilitate relationship development during adolescence and adulthood.


Chu, L. & Powers, P. A. (1995). Synchrony in adolescence. Adolescence, 30(118), 453-461.

The interactive model of synchrony studied in early parent-child relationships suggests that a mutual and responsive interaction between the child and the caretaker is essential to the development of secure attachment, sense of autonomy, and social competence in a child. A life-span view of development allows the concept of synchrony to be extended to the adolescent providing insights to how developmental mismatches, i.e., when social environment does not change to meet the adolescent's needs for independence, self-determination, and participation in decision making, occur between the adolescent and parent.


Kerns, K. & Stevens, A. C. (1996). Parent-child attachment in late adolescence: Links to social relations and personality. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 25(3), 323-342.

This article examines personality and social relations between adolescents' and their parents in terms of attachment. Results indicated that that attachment to the mother was related to the quality and quantity of daily interactions while attachment to the father was related to quality only. It was further found that loneliness was related to mother-child and father-child attachment but not to friendship quality. Discussed is the idea, based on various findings within this study, that it might be beneficial to examine adolescent's attachments to specific attachment figures.


Patterson, J., Pryor, J., & Field, J. (1995). Adolescent attachment to parents and friends in relation to aspects of self-esteem. Journal of Youth & Adolescence, 24(3), 365-376.

Adolescent perceptions of attachment relationships with parents and friends were examined using 3 measures of self-esteem. Also measured were the utilization of emotional support and proximity and the quality of effect. The results suggest that self-esteem is more strongly associated with the quality of affect toward parents and friends than the utilization of those figures for support and proximity.


Schneider, B. H., & Younger, A. J. (1996). Adolescent-parent attachment and adolescents' relations with their peers. Youth and Society, 28(1), 95-108.

This study looks at attachment with emphasis on the adolescent. It was hypothesized that adolescents who reported more secure attachments with their parents should display higher levels of interpersonal competence than adolesce' who reported less secure attachments to their parents. Participants were 63 10th grade adolescents from two high suburban high schools in predominately middle-class, English speaking neighborhoods. Data was collected using the Inventory of Parent Attachment (IPA) and the Interpersonal Competence Questionnaire. Additional information was obtained by having the parents complete a week-long log of their child's extracurricular activities with their peers. Results indicated little correspondence between parent-child attachment and the positive aspects of adolescent social competence. Implications and limitations are discussed.


Relations

The relationship literature has been divided into five main categories: family relations and peer relations each contains literature that focuses primarily within the confines of the family or within the confines of peers. The combination section of family and peer relations contains literature selections concerned with the interconnection and influence that exists between family and peer relationships. Mentoring relations has gained attention by those concerned with prevention of risk behaviors. And social relations focuses primarily on those aspects of relationships that pertain to our social world but whose influence may differ from the immediate influence of intimate family and peer relationships.

Family Relations:

Blake, P. C. & Slate, J. R. (1993). A preliminary investigation into the relationship between adolescent self-esteem and parental verbal interaction. School Counselor, 41(2), 81-85.

Outlined is a preliminary investigation into the effects of parental verbal interactions on the self-esteem and self-concept of adolescents. The authors speculated that while such abuse is not as obvious as physical abuse it can be as devastating to scents. Data were collected on 97 students by means of the Coopersmith Self-esteem Inventory and the Verbal Interaction Questionnaire. Results indicate that the quality of parental verbal interaction as perceived by adolescents is related to adolescent's self-esteem levels.


Furstenberg, F. F. Jr. & Condran, G. A. (1988). Family change and adolescent well-being: A reexamination of U. S. trends. In Andrew J. Cherlin (Ed.), The changing American family and public policy. The changing domestic priorities series. Washington, DC: Urban Institute Press, 117-155.

The authors review evidence of the changing patterns of teenage behavior and the possible link between this behavior and the rates of divorce and parental employment. They suggest that the evidence does not support the link between behavior and maternal employment. Discussed is an explanation for the decline in well being of youth and the erosion of the parent-child bond due to increases in maternal employment and marital instability.


Jacob, T. & Seilhamer, R. A. (1985). Adaptation of the areas of change questionnaire for parent-child relationship assessment. American Journal of Family Therapy, 13(2), 28-38.

This article introduces a parent-child version of the Areas of Change Questionnaire for the assessment of parent-adolescent relationships. They describe the potential utility of this instrument in clinical and research efforts, as well as for initial psychometric evaluations. They conclude that the parent-child version used in this study has both discriminate and concurrent validity.


Kellerhals, J., Montadon, C., & Gaberel, P. (1992). Social stratification and the parent-child relationship. In Ulla Bjornberg (Ed.), European parents in the 1990s: Contradictions and comparisons. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers. 103-119.

This book focuses on social stratification and the parent-child relationship and presents an empirical study of the styles of socialization as related to families with different socioeconomic status. The authors argue it is possible to analyze the relationship between social class and style of education from the level of parental resources and the style of family cohesion. Their conclusion is based on research conducted upon a sample of Swiss families who were responsible for the education of an adolescent child.


Long, J. (1983). Being there for adolescents: Parent guidelines for help and hope. Pointer, 27(3), 37-41.

Discussed is the apparent paradox of the adolescent's simultaneous desire for the security of their parents while at the same time wanting the parents to remain at a distance. Presented are various suggestions designed to help parents cope with adolescents experiencing stress due to their search for identity, body changes, sexual feelings, and need to establish independence. Further discussion focuses on suggestions for listening, communicating, setting limits, and spending time together.


Roehling, P. V. & Robin, A. L. (1986). Development and validation of the Family Beliefs Inventory: A measure of unrealistic beliefs among parents and adolescents. Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology, 54(5), 693-697.

The Family Beliefs Inventory measures unreasonable beliefs regarding parent-adolescent relationships. 30 distressed and 30 non-distressed families, each having a 12-17 year old adolescent, completed the inventory. Results indicated that distressed adolescents displayed more unreasonable beliefs concerning ruination, unfairness, and autonomy than non-distressed adolescents did. Support was found for the contribution of cognitive factors to parent-adolescent relationship problems and the validity of the Family Beliefs Inventory. Suggestions for further research are discussed.


Scheer, S. D. & Unger, D. G. (1995). Parents' perceptions of their adolescence: Implications for parent-youth conflict and family satisfaction. Psychological Reports, 76(1), 131-136.

The authors investigate the possibility of a relationship between parents' perceptions of the stress of their own adolescence and their relationship with their adolescent children. The results indicate that parentwho had experienced a greater amount of turmoil and stress as an adolescent, tended to have more conflict in the relationships with their adolescent children and, overall, were less satisfied with their families in general.


Family and Peer Relations:

Aseltine, R. H. (1995). A reconsideration of parental and peer influence on adolescent deviance. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 36(2), 103-121.

The influence of parents and peers on delinquency and marihuana use was investigated. Results indicate that friends were likely to be the primary source of influence on adolescent's behavior. However, estimates of the adolescent's own influence were believed to be overstated. Additional results indicate that parental supervision and attachment were only weakly related to subsequent delinquency and drug use. They argue that both selection and socialization influences play important roles in the formation of drug-using peer groups.


Bennett, L. & Westera, D. (1994). The primacy of relationships for teens: Issues and responses. Family & Community Health, 17(3), 60-69.

Highlighted are select findings pertinent to the relationship structures of adolescents found in a broad-based survey of teen attitudes, values, beliefs, and behaviors. Adolescents placed top priority on peer and dating relationships and valued family life and parental approval. However, adolescents were less positive in the assessment of their relationships with other adults. The study provides a comprehensive database for the development of meaningful youth programs that take into account relationship issues for adolescents.


Bracken, B. A. & Newman, V. L. (1994). Child and adolescent interpersonal relations with parents, peers, and teachers: A factor analytic investigation. Canadian Journal of School Psychology, 10(2), 108-122.

These authors investigated the factor structure of the Assessment of Interpersonal Relations Scale using a nationwide representative sample of 2,501 adolescents. This scale assesses 15 relationship characteristics on the five interpersonal relationships most important to children and adolescents: relationships with mothers and fathers, male and female peers, and teachers. Results, using a principal components factor analysis with Varimax rotation, found support for the theoretical structure of the subscales. The authors discuss the importance of not grouping parents and peers into a single relationship category. Rather, each should be considered separately when considering adolescent relationships.


Edwards, C. P. (1992). Cross-cultural perspectives on family-peer relations. In R. Parke & G. Ladd (Eds.), Family-peer relationships: Modes of linkage. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 285-316.

Considered in this article are the linkages between family and peer relations in diverse cultures and the peer relations of adolescents. The socializing functions of childhood peer relations are considered by examining both culturally universal and specific elements.


Fasick, F. A. (1984). Parents, peers, youth culture and autonomy in adolescence. Adolescence, 19(73), 143-157.

Examined is the potential discontinuity in the socialization of adolescents due to the emphasis on continued dependence by the high school system and the rise of the market economy with its emphasis on economic independence. Further, the author discusses adolescent coping by the transference of allegiance from parents and some parental values to peers and associated youth cultures as a transitional phase in achieving full independence. It is argued that close relationships with peers represent an extension of the emotional bonds rather than transference of those bonds from the parents.


Fuligni, A. J. & Eccles, J. S. (1993). Perceived parent-child relationships and early adolescents' orientation toward peers. Developmental Psychology, 29(4), 622-632.

The purpose of this study was to examine links between perceptions of the manner in which adolescents and their parents adjust their relationship during early adolescence and early adolescent's orientation toward parents and peers. The discussion focuses on the importance for adjustment of parent-child relationships to early adolescents' changing developmental needs. The implications of early adolescent peer orientations on later development are addressed.


Furman, W. & Buhrmester, D. (1992). Age and sex differences in perceptions of networks of personal relationships. Child Development, 63, 103-115.

The authors compare and contrast the characteristics of different kinds of relationships that occur in children'' social networks. They found that parents were turned to most often for affection, enhancement of worth, as sense of reliable aid, and instrumental aid. Grandparents were the next most turned to by adolescents seeking affection and enhancement of worth. Friends were found to be the greatest source of companionship. The discussion centers on the bases for the children's differentiations of their relationships and the implications for understanding social networks.


Hoelter, J. & Harper, L. (1987). Structural and interpersonal family influences on adolescent self-conception. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 49,129-139.

Developed is a model linking several structural and interpersonal family variables with self-concept variables of self-esteem and son/daughter salience for use on adolescents. Family support was found to have the largest effect on the self-concept variables. Father's education, a control variable, was found to affect family support positively among girls but to have a negative effect on the salience of the daughter identity. Implications for these findings are discussed.


Sibereisen, R. K. & Todt, E. (1994). Adolescence in context: The interplay of family, school, peers, and work in adjustment. New York: Springer-Verlag.

This book consists of an interdisciplinary group of contributors who discuss the development of adolescents as it takes place in various contexts. Discussed are instigative personal attitudes and contextual features conducive to adolescent development and the interaction among contexts that provide opportunities in their own right. The various chapters, which are well referenced, contain studies by the contributors and concentrate on the continuum of positive adjustment to maladaptive outcomes that can occur during adolescence. This continuum taps no only setting-specific behaviors, but also attitudes, beliefs, and values that give actions direction. The main sections target: introduction, social contexts and the development of orientations for life, the impact of cultural and ethnic contexts, the family-work nexus, the interplay between school and work, and the sample case of aggressive behavior.


Warr, M. (1993). Parents, peers, and delinquency. Social Forces, 72(1), 247-264.

Discussed in this article is whether parental influence is capable of countering the influence of delinquent peers. An analysis of data from the National Youth Survey revealed that the amount of time spent with family is indeed capable of reducing and even eliminating peer influence. However, attachment to parents apparently has no such effect.


Youniss, J. & Smollar, J. (1985). Adolescent relations with mothers, fathers, and friends. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

This book was written using a sociological and psychological perspective as a way of presenting the more typical ways in which relationships with parents and friends prepares the adolescent for the transition into adulthood. The authors argue there are clear differences with regards to the roles of mothers and fathers. In addition, peer friendships are not often given enough credit for the positive influence they exert. Presented in the book are two types of material: the first is the adolescent's own descriptions of relationship interactions, and the second area pertains to the theory of what these relations are and how they contribute to development. Includes a summary, theoretical basis, and framework for this and previous work by the author whose perspective is derived from the works of Piaget ([1932] 1965) and H. S. Sullivan (1953).


Mentoring Relations:

Blechman, E. A. (1992). Mentors for high-risk minority youth: From effective communication to bicultural competence. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 21(2), 160-169.

Presented is a contextually based social-learning formulation for successful mentoring programs with emphasis on mentors who are bi-culturally competent. Mentoring programs have become viewed by many as an effective way to build resiliency against delinquency, school dropping out, teen pregnancy, unemployment, and overall feelings of alienation in adolescents. The author defines mentoring as a process whereby an experienced individual transmits knowledge to a protégé. Mentors can include teachers, social workers, or religious and community volunteers. They may also be recruited from conventional programs such as the Big Brother or Big Sister programs. Effective communication and coping skills help promote bicultural competence. An adolescent who is bi-culturally competent has a chance for the best of both worlds. Discussed are mentor selection, the administration of mentoring programs, supervision of mentors, and measuring the mentors' impact. Additional comments are made with reference to mentoring single mothers, the integration of family-skills training, classroom achievement, and peer communication training with mentoring.


Bernard, B. (1992). Mentoring programs for urban youth: Handle with care. Western Regional Center for Drug-Free Schools and Communities, Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, Portland, Oregon.

Mentoring, which evolves from the theory of social capital, has emerged as a popular intervention strategy in the last decade. The author of this article reviews the literature on the mentoring movement focusing mainly on disadvantaged urban youth and the rationale for this particular approach. She then reviews the characteristics of effective mentoring relationships and programs, and the implications and issues that surround this strategy for risk and prevention policy. Mentoring has found popularity due to demographic shifts that indicated that the traditional providers, i.e., family and community, are not longer able to provide what is termed social capital for the adolescent population. An effective mentoring relationship is one where the adult attitude is such that they view adolescents as resources to be nurtured and not as a problem to be fixed. Included are clear and specific guidelines for developing planned mentoring programs.


Rhodes, J. E. (1994). Older and wiser: Mentoring relationships in childhood and adolescence. The Journal of Primary Prevention, 14(3), 187-196.

Reviewed and synthesized is the literature of several fields with respect to mentoring. Mentoring is ususally defined as a relationship between an experienced, older mentor and a younger, unrelated protegee. Mentors typically provide guidance, instru, and encouragement with the goal of building competence and character in the adolescent or protegee. It is suggested by some that mentor relationships can substitute for the absence of strong parental bonds. Included is a brief review of the literature on social support and resilience followed by conceptual and programmatic issues. Natural mentoring which emerges from the adolescents' social networks is distinguished from assigned mentoring programs such as those found in some schools and religious communities.


Peer Relations:

Bishop, J. A. (1995). Peer acceptance and friendship: An investigation of their relation to self-esteem. Journal of Early Adolescence, 15(4), 476-489.

Examined is the relationship between peer relations and self-esteem. The results indicated no significant difference in self-esteem scores across sociometric groups. However, it was found that adolescents with at least one reciprocal friend had higher self-esteem scores than subjects without a reciprocal friend. The author discusses the importance of friendship to the development of self-esteem and the implications for intervention programs for those children who lack a close friendship.


Buhrmester, D., Furman, W., Wittenberg, M. T., & Reis, H. T. (1988). Five domains of interpersonal competence in peer relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 55(6), 991-1008.

These authors use data from three studies to investigate the utility of distinguishing among different domains of interpersonal competence in peer relations. The dimensions of competence studied were initiating relationships, self-disclosure, providing emotional support, asserting displeasure with others' actions, and managing interpersonal conflicts. During Study 1 the questionnaire used in the investigation was developed. The findings suggest the utility of distinguishing among these domains.


Cauce, A. M. & Srebnik, D. S. (1989). Peer networks and social support: A focus for preventive efforts with youths. In L. Bond & B. Compas (Eds.), Primary prevention and promotion in schools. Primary prevention in psychopathology, Vol. 12. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, 235-254.

The authors investigate and attempt to demonstrate that peer support is a distinct component of a child's social support network. They present data suggesting that peer group relationships, by the support they provide and the values they promote, influence an adolescent's social adjustment and display of competence.


Ennett, S. T. & Bauman, K. E. (1993). Peer group structure and adolescent cigarette smoking: A social network analysis. Journal of Health & Social Behavior, 34(3), 226-236.

Applied social network theory is used in an examination of whether those adolescents who fill various social positions characteristic of peer group structure differ in their smoking prevalence. Results indicated that the odds of being a current smoker were greater for isolates (those not attached to the group structure) than for those who were clique members.


Fried, J. L. (1994). Women and young girls: High-risk populations for tobacco use. Health Values: The Journal of Health and Behavior, Education and Promotion, 18(1), 33-40.

The article reviews smoking among women and the effects of tobacco use on women. Those factors influencing initial use among girls, i.e., social acceptability and parental and peer influence, were explored. In addition, the maintenance of smoking behavior among young women was investigated. Offered are recommendations for the development and implementation of intervention programs for young women.


Urberg, K. A., Degirmencioglu, S. M., Tolson, J. M., & Halliday-Scher, K. (1995). The structure of adolescent peer networks. Developmental Psychology, 31(4), 540-547.

Mapped are the structural aspects of school-based peer networks of 6th to 12th grade adolescents in 3 school systems. The results indicate females, more so than males, are more connected to the peer network. Additionally, it was shown that peer networks became more exclusive with increasing grade and that best friends are highly embedded in friendship groups, but neither friendship group nor best friendship were highly embedded in social crowd. Discussed are the implications due to the complexity of adolescent relationships, the necessity for attention to contextual variables, and the need for replication in more than one system.


Social relations:

Galbo, J. J. (1986). Adolescents' perceptions of significant adults: Implications for the family, the school and youth serving agencies. Children and Youth Services Review, 8, 37-51.

This paper updates recent reviews of the finding for family, the school, and youth servicing agencies on perceptions of significant adults. Parents are the most often mentioned significant adult, but their significance tends to be situational. Implications are explored which discuss the possible relationships between the level of cognitive development of adolescents and the degree and quality of adolescent's interaction with significant adults.


Hoffman, M. A., Levy-Shiff, R., & Ushpiz, V. (1993). Moderating effects of adolescent social orientation the relation between social support and self-esteem. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 22(1), 23-31.

This particular study was designed to assess whether the impact of social support on self-esteem is moderated by the adolescent's orientation toward the source of aid. Correlational analysis revealed that heightened orientation toward parents was associated with higher levels of perceived parental support. Heightened orientation toward peers was associated with higher levels of peer support and lower parental support. These findings suggest the adolescent have an active role in selectively seeking out and filtering external social influences.


Jackson, S. & Rodriguez-Tome, H. (1993). Adolescence and its Social Worlds. Hilsdale, USA: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates

Compiled is a collection of works traceable to a 1988 workshop on adolescence attended by 30 European researchers in Paris. However, it is stressed that the greatest amount of the material presented here is new material written specifically for this book. The primarily focus is on how the adolescent transverses his or her social world. For example, one presumes that how one evaluates differences and changes in different social worlds are in some way related to a complex of cognitive processes and the implications to this are discussed. Among the topics presented are social behavior in adolescence, assessing parent-adolescent relationships, variation in maturational timing and adjustment, dating and interpersonal relationships, developmental tasks, relationships with peers, grandparents, and family, stress and coping, loneliness and solitude, and institutional relationships.


Mboya, M. M. (1989). The relative importance of global self-concept and self-concept of academic ability in predicting academic achievement. Adolescence, 24(93), 39-46.

Investigated was whether the relationship between self-concept of academic ability and academic achievement was correlated more strongly than the relationship between global self-concept among adolescent high school students. The results indicated that global self-concept and self-concept of academic ability correlated positively with academic achievement. Discussed is the likelihood of educational intervention strategies being more successful if they focus on enhancement of the self-concept component of academic ability rather than on global self-concept.


Phelan, P. (1994). Navigating the psychosocial pressures of adolescence: the voices and experiences of high school youth. American Educational Research Journal, 31(2), 415-447.

Discussed are the various conditions and circumstances in the adolescent's family and peer relationships, and in the school world that are perceived as creating those pressures and stresses powerful enough to divert their attention and interest away from school. Described is the Student's Multiple Worlds Model and Typology composed of four student types. Results include the descriptions of the particular concerns of students listed within each category.



Measures

Bibliographies


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