Psych Of Adolescents Final

1900-1940, 60% more adolescents in school

Only 5% from federal government

Local and state level legislation and funding

College preparatory,

Vocational School,

Professional school

Large: Diverse courses and extracurriculars

Small: Less diversity, more likely to participate in extracurriculars.

Optimum school size: 500-1000 students

How s and t interact, expectations of s and t, and methods used in the classroom.

Supportive teachers, dedicated to the students,

Firm-but-fair discipline,

High expectations for student performance and conduct

Being psychologically committed to learning

Engagement has gone down steadily since 1983

Parents have high expectations for achievement

-> Better grades and more involvement.

Linked to parenting styles

Important and helpful to engage parents in school

Higher SES is strongly related to academic achievement.

Friends influence consistency of class

attendance, time spent doing homework, effort put into schoolwork, and grades more than

parents.

Beyond 10 hours a week, the more an adolescent works, the lower their school performance.

Socializing with friends was an adolescents most common activity,

Engagement,

School Climate,

Cultural perspectives on academic success being due to effort or ability,

Issues of social class/access,

Variations in parenting practices,

Friends' influence

Gifted programs recognize special talents

Four characteristics of giftedness:

Precocity

Independence

Drive for mastery

Excellence in information processing.

Issues: may become bored and alienated/

socially isolated.

About 10% of adolescents in American schools have a learning disability, reading being the most common source of difficulty.

Boys are twice as likely to have a disability.

50% comorbidity rate with adolescents who have learning disabilities.

Boys are 4x more likely to be diagnosed

Nearly 50% of diagnosed have an immediate

relative with ADHD

Nearly 9/10 treated with Ritalin or other medication.

1,500 participants (ages 6-18) in 10 countries.

Pediatricians and child psychologists collected observational data at seven points over 2 years.

Higher rates of ADHD among boys than girls,

Symptoms similar among both sexes,

Girls more likely to have additional emotional problems and be bullied by peers

Boys more likely to have additional conduct problems

Frequent problems in relationships

Frequent stresses reported by parents due to child's ADHD behavior

Tracking (Stratified Levels):

Upper- College preparatory level

General- For average students

Remedial/Special Education- For students academically behind their peers

Some schools have a vocational track for

technical or trade preparation.

Highest among Latinos, then Blacks, then Whites.

Less than 5% in 1890, 70% in 2010.

Females more likely than males to enter college.

In America, 90% of Asian Americans enter

college after HS, compared to 71% of Whites and 60% Blacks and Latinos

Four Subcultures:

Collegiate

Vocational

Academic

Rebel

Fraternities, Sororities, dating, drinking, campus sports, fun. Learning is not a first priority.

Practical view of college to help get a better job

Aligned with the educational mission of college- all about ideas, knowledge, and connecting with professors and the material

Deeply engaged with ideas in classes, but are also nonconformists, engaged with ideas, but skeptical of professors and their experiences.

Hunting, Fishing and Gathering (men),

Farming and Care of Domestic Animals (fathers and sons),

Child Care and Household Work (women).

Common for adolescents to work in farming and care of domestic animals in the 17th century and earlier.

Industrialization in the 18th century moved adolescent workers to factories.

Most American girls baby-sit, boys to yard work.

Retail or restaurants make up the majority of jobs for older adolescents.

The average Sophomore works 15 hours a week,

Seniors is 20 a week.

>10: Anxiety, depression, less sleep, disruptive to eating and exercise habits.

>20: Problems become considerably worse

Adolescents who work are more likely to smoke, drink, and do drugs

BUT correlation does not assume causation.

Those who didn't go to college, going straight to work.

Loss of manufacturing jobs that used to provide well-paying jobs for unskilled workers.

Follow up report in 1998 states that prospects for the forgotten half had become worse.

Six basic skills needed for success at office and factory jobs now available to high school graduates:

Reading and math at ≥9th grade level,

Solving semi-structured problems,

Communicating orally and in writing,

Using a computer for word processing and other tasks,

Collaborating in diverse groups.

4 hours of music a day

2 hours of tv a day

50% go to a movie at least once a month

70% of girls read popular magazines

90% have access to computers and the Internet

93% own a digital device

Cultivation Theory and Social Learning Theory

Watching tv gradually shapes or cultivates a person's worldview so it becomes like the worldview frequently depicted on tv.

People are more likely to imitate behavior they see frequently modeled [in the media] and that behavior is rewarded (or at least not punished)

Two principles:

1. People make individual decisions about which media to consume based on their individual

differences and characteristics

2. People that consume the same media product will respond to it in different ways depending on their individual characteristics.

Entertainment (To have fun)

Identity Formation (Forging who I am)

High Sensation (Seeking intense and new thrills)

Coping (Relaxation and De-stressing)

Youth Culture Identification (Connecting to

others)

More technology = more availability & diversity of media

Media is market driven.

Majority of violent crimes committed by males 15-25

Most of the research is correlation

97% of us middle school students reported

playing electronic games (Olson et al., 2008)

Of the computer game players, 31% played every day and additional 21% played 3-5 times a week.

A study in 10 European countries and Israel found that children 6-16 played more than 30 minutes a day on average

12-14 year old boys interviewed about eh effects of playing violent computer games

Used games to experience fantasies of power and fame, explore exciting new situations, to play and talk with their friends, and to work through feelings of anger or stress (cathartic

effect)

They did not believe that playing the games had negative influences.

Playing violent computer games is related to heightened aggressiveness, hostility and anxiety

Recently games involving sports and music have become popular

"Boys will be boys"

Actively seek sex

Always "ready and willing"

Recreational attitude toward sex

Girls better be prepared for the guys

Sexual gatekeepers (Yes or no is on us)

Recreational attitude toward sex

82% of programs had sexual content

Sexual behavior more frequent than sexual talk

Sexual behavior between partners with

established relationships (not married)

Kisses and hugs; intercourse and nudity

infrequent at 7%

Not much discussion or sexual risk`

USA in 1981, now worldwide

Rap began in the late 1970s, MTV devoted to rap in 1988

2/3 of 12-18 year olds listen to rap/hiphop

Female rap artists

Rap is highly popular in many places around the world

Impact of "gangsta rap" & women controversial

Violence, racism, sexism and promotion of

homophobia in lyrics

Started in the late 1960s with Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath, peaked in 1980s

Hard rock/heavy metal is the third most popular music among adolescents after hiphop and

alternative rock (Roberts et al., 2005)

Violence is also a common theme in heavy metal songs. Metalheads or headbangers tend to have a dark view of the world.

Cathartic effect

Cigarettes are the second most heavily promoted consumer product int he US, totaling 6 billion dollars/year.

90% of smokers start by 18, Ads present images of youthful fun and vigor, independence, and "coolness". The effects of advertising on brand choice was 3x as strong for adolescents as adults.

3 most popular brands are the most heavily

promoted

Access to information- potential to enhance

education

Can be a source of positive social interactions- opportunities to practice communication,

engage in "identity play," and find answers to problems

Chat rooms sometimes frequented by sexual predators seeking to victimize children and

adolescents

Academic cheating via downloading or

purchasing pre-written papers

Promote social isolation (displacement effect)

Social networking websites

73% of 13-17 year olds regularly use them

72% of 18-29 year olds

Users construct profiles and use sites to keep in touch with friends and family

In constructing a profile, users are allowed to maintain and expand their social networks

Adolescents and emerging adults use these sites mainly to keep in touch with friends and make new ones

Blog- A public internet journal of a person's thoughts, feelings and activities.

1/4 adolescents 12-17 have a blog in the US

Half read others' blogs

Adolescents are more likely than adults

Most common content is daily activities

Can be an area for identity explorations as bloggers reflect of their feelings and experiences

They are private and public, personal and social

Most popular among adolescents and emerging adults.

Adolescents use cell phones for texting more than talking.

Western Media appeals to adolescents because they've grown up with it and are more capable of exploring the environment outside the family than younger children.

Externalizing: create difficulties in a person's external world.

Tend to go together

More common among males

Often motivated by desire for excitement, not necessarily underlying unhappiness or

psychopathy.

"Undercontrolled"

Internalizing: primarily affect a person's internal world

Tend to go together

More common in females

Associated with experiencing distress

"overcontrolled"

16-24: Highest rates of auto accidents, injuries, & fatalities, leading cause of death for age group

Reasons?

Driving while Impaired, aggressiveness, driver

inexperience, sensation-seeking personality, lack of parental monitoring, belief that friends

approve of risky driving.

Optimistic Bias

The social environment & driver characteristics influence the driving behaviors & driving

environment, which influence the likeliness of a crash, which can lead to injury and fatality.

Generally hasn't worked well

Get your license faster

More effective

Address a variety of risk factors

Restrict the conditions under which novices can drive

3 Stages of License:

Learning- getting driving experience under

supervision of experienced driver

Restricted- can drive unsupervised, restricted to reduce crashes (e.g. driving curfews)

Full- After 1 year of restricted

Alcohol- 14% of boys, 12% of girls

Cigarettes- 7% of boys, 9% of girls

Illegal drugs.

Drinking beer and wine

Smoking cigarettes and drinking hard liquor

Smoking marijuana

Using "hard" drugs (e.g. cocaine, LSD)

Experimental (See what it's like)

Social (At parties and such)

Medicinal (To relieve unpleasant emotional state)

Addictive (Dependency, either physical or

psychological)

Delinquency- when "juveniles" commit crimes

Status Offense- Only a violation of the law

because committed by juvenile (e.g. drinking)

Index Crimes- Serious crimes at any age

(e.g. violent crimes, property crimes)

Non-index Crimes- Less serious offenses (e.g. gambling)

Pattern of problems "from birth" on up

Originate in neuropsychological deficits (difficult temperament, learning disabilities)

Likely to grow up in high risk environment

No signs of problems in infancy or childhood

Period of occasional criminal activity between ages 12-25 (e.g. vandalism, illegal drug use)

Individual therapy

Group therapy

Vocational training

Outward Bound type programs

Scared Straight "Boot Camp" (Doesn't work)

Multi systemic Approach (met with some

success)

Participation is typically non-voluntary or against one's will

Prevention comes too late (in adolescence) after behavior patterns have been established.

Possible peer contagion

Individual characteristics and socialization

influences

Socialized: Involved with gangs, stealing in groups. A pack delinquent

Unsocialized: assault, usually being a lone

delinquent (not cooperating with others)

In traditional cultures, boys, not girls, tend to

engage in risk behavior during adolescence.

Evidence of antisocial behavior in less than half of the cultures studied

USA has highest rates of violent crimes

Less risky driving in Western countries other than the USA

US has 3 times more homicides than suicides, and 3 times more homicide than the second highest rate, with USA homicides at ~22,000 persons and suicides at ~6,500 persons.

Depressed mood: enduring period of sadness without any related symptoms

Depressive syndrome: addition of symptoms such as frequent crying, feeling guilty, lonely or worried.

Major depressive disorder: episode includes ≥5 symptoms during a two-week period and

disrupts functioning

When predispositioned vulnerability meets stress from life experiences

Risk Factors:

Depression, family disruption, substance abuse problems, relationship problems outside the family, result of serious of difficulties over time.

3rd more common cause of death ages 15-19

Women attempt more, men succeed more

Americans grades 9-12, 24% report thinking of suicide, 3% attempt

Current rate in US is 4x the rate in the 1950s

Highest among Native American youth

Higher in White adolescents and emerging adults

Anorexia Nervosa (intentional self-starving)

Bulimia Nervosa (binge eating & purging)

Cultural ideal of thinness

Puberty and body changes

More common among upper and middle SES, girls who read "Seventeen" magazine

Linked with warm and controlling parent styles

Occurs most often among females in teens, early 20s

Most adolescents who grow up in high-risk

environments exhibit resilience

Protective factors:

High intelligence

Authoritative parenting styles

Strong religious faith

A caring adult "mentor" outside the family