Although there has been evidence for some time of a sex difference in depression, relatively little research has examined the developmental process by which women come to be at greater risk than men for depression. In this paper, the developmental pattern of depressed affect is examined over early and middle adolescence, with a special focus on the patterns of boys as compared to girls. In addition, a developmental model for mental health in adolescence is tested for its power in explaining the emergence of gender differences in depression. Longitudinal data on 335 adolescents randomly selected from two school districts were used to test the hypotheses. Results revealed that girls are at risk for developing depressed affect by 12th grade because they experienced more challenges in early adolescence than did boys. The sex difference in depressed affect at 12th grade disappears once early adolescent challenges are considered.
Individual interviews with 21 high-functioning adolescents diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder and their parents were used to assess postsecondary educational aspirations and thoughts concerning obstacles and resources that shape educational achievement of this group. The results from these semistructured interviews revealed that both the adolescents and their parents have clear postsecondary educational goals but have significant concerns about the readiness of postsecondary institutions to meet the adolescents' needs. The special significance of social challenges and the ways that families frame educational aspirations are noted. Results from this analysis have direct application to both educational and family settings.
As part of a larger longitudinal study of psychosocial development, 148 girls and 130 boys were administered a series of questions regarding a close friend during their eighth-grade school year. Scales corresponding to shared experience, self-disclosure, and intimacy (defined as emotional closeness) were developed from these items. Path-analytic models tested the relative strength of the self-disclosure and shared experience paths to emotional closeness for boys and girls separately. The results indicated that the self-disclosure path to emotional closeness is significant for both boys and girls. No relationship was found between shared experience and emotional closeness in girls when controlling for self-disclosure. The relationship between shared experience and feelings of closeness was, however, significant for boys even while controlling for the effects of self-disclosure. Covariance structure analysis (LISREL) indicated that the covariance matrices for the three scales were significantly different for boys and girls. The results are considered in relation to the gender socialization and friendship literature. The potential importance of defining intimacy as emotional closeness is also discussed.
This study examined self-image and educational plans in adolescents from two communities differing in geographic location (rural vs. suburban), socioeconomic status, educational attainment of adults, and unemployment level, differences hypothesized to affect their educational plans and self-image. Young adolescents in the eighth grade were sampled as part of two larger longitudinal studies (rural, n = 234; suburban, n = 253). Each adolescent reported educational plans and completed three scales from the Self-Image Questionnaire for Young Adolescents (SIQYA). The links of self-image and educational plans to parental educational attainment also were considered. Adolescent educational plans and self-image were consistently and significantly lower in the rural community. Within the rural sample, young adolescents with lower aspirations also had lower self-image. Self-image and educational plans were related to parental educational attainment primarily in the rural sample. These results suggested that community context may influence the nature of adolescent development.
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