Research has shown that the majority of young adults with autism achieve poor-fair outcomes. It is known that communication deficits in individuals with autism may persist throughout the lifespan. However, there is a paucity of information in the literature pertaining to the communication needs of adolescents and young adults with autism. To meet the complex needs of these individuals, transition plans and programs must be improved. One way in which transition programs can be improved is by incorporating evidence based assessment and intervention methods designed for this population that target communication skills. Caregivers (n=68) of adolescents and young adults with autism anonymously completed a survey pertaining to outcomes, goals, and communication skills. Outcomes for the young adults were mostly poor and communication skill performance was variable. Results revealed that overall, caregivers perceived some communication skills to be more important than others. Caregivers rated the importance of communication skills differently depending on the social goals of the individual with autism. Results achieved significance for the relationship between developmental language level and the perceived importance of certain communication skills. Findings demonstrate that specific communication skills should be assessed and targeted during transitional planning for individuals with autism. / text

The Asian immigrant population is growing more rapidly than any other group in the U.S. (Social Science Data Analysis Network, 2004), and Chinese Americans represent the largest Asian subgroup (U.S. Census Bureau, 2002). Assuming recent trends continue, the number of first- and second-generation Chinese children will increase dramatically, and their developmental needs will demand special attention. Using structural equation modeling to analyze two waves of data from a study on 444 Chinese families, this project aims to provide a better understanding of the relations between family members’ adaptations to life in the U.S. and adolescents’ academic grade point average (GPA). Chinese children of immigrants have been found to succeed in school (Fuligni, Tseng, & Lam, 1999). However, little is known about the ways in which their academic achievement may be related to acculturation, the process through which an individual or group makes socio-cultural or behavioral adjustments through repeated contact with another group or culture (Gordon, 1964; Berry, 2003). Exploring the variation in acculturative processes among Chinese immigrant family members and identifying how the various acculturative strategies may relate to adolescent academic achievement would bridge a gap in the extant literature. Therefore, the first objective of this study was to assess whether fathers’, mothers’, and adolescents’ individual acculturation to American and Chinese cultures were related to adolescents’ GPA. The second goal was to test for moderation effects in these relations. Interaction terms were created for parents’ acculturation in relation to adolescents’ acculturation to test whether the connections between adolescents’ acculturation to the American and Chinese cultures and adolescents’ GPA were conditional on either fathers’ or mothers’ American or Chinese orientation. Third, this study included two culturally salient factors as mediators of potential relations found between individual and dyadic acculturative processes and adolescents’ academic achievement. These mediators were adolescents’ sense of family obligation and adolescents’ level of behavioral academic engagement. The fourth and final objective was to assess whether there was invariance by adolescent gender in the structural model. / text

The present study compares the relation of early adolescents’ academic self-concept, effort regulation and task value with their peer of three distinct relationships, which named as mutual friendships, frequent interactive pairs and social groups. Data was collected from a secondary school in Hong Kong with 135 form 1 students and 176 form 3 students. Moderating effect of adolescents’ own motivation on help-seeking and peer-learning in each type of peer relationship and developmental difference were also explored. Different correlation found in academic self-concept and effort regulation across forms proves the existence of three distinct types of peer relationship. Result shows that social group’s academic characteristic is most predictable for early adolescent’s own academic motivation. Result also suggests that motivation on help-seeking and peer-learning moderate the relation of adolescents’ academic effort regulation and task value mainly in dyadic relationships, such as mutual friendships and frequent interactive pairs. / published_or_final_version / Educational Psychology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

The purpose of this study was to identify predictors of physical inactivity among early adolescents and determine if they varied across weight status, gender, and ethnic groups. A population-based sample of 3,636 7th grade students (The CATCH Cohort) participated in an epidemiological study of nutrition, physical activity, and cardiovascular health in 96 schools located in California, Louisiana, Minnesota, and Texas. The weight category distribution of the sample was as follows: 2.1% underweight (BMI < 5th %), 66.5% normal weight (5th [less than or equal to] BMI<85th %), 16.9% at-risk (85th [less than or equal to] BMI<95th %), and 14.5% overweight (BMI[greater than or equal to]95th %). Physical inactivity was a stronger predictor of weight status category than physical activity for the entire sample (excluding underweight students). The model for physical inactivity, based on sedentary minutes, showed positive and negative support having a direct effect upon sedentary minutes, (p<.001). For adolescents with BMI[greater than or equal to]85th %, however, the model for physical inactivity showed only positive support having a direct effect on sedentary minutes (p<0.05). Females with BMI[greater than or equal to]85th % showed positive and negative support having a direct effect (p<.05), and males with BMI[greater than or equal to]85th % showed negative support having a direct effect (p<.01). White adolescents showed positive and negative support having a direct effect (p<.05), and for Hispanic adolescents, positive support had a direct effect (p<.001). This paper concludes that because physical inactivity appears to be a strong predictor of weight status in adolescent populations, interventions should target physical inactivity by influencing self-efficacy and positive and negative support. Furthermore, better measures of physical inactivity beyond TV/video game usage should be developed, and psychosocial variables that are more strongly associated with sedentary behavior than participation in physical activity should be investigated. / text

This paper reviews the concept of positive perfectionism as a misnomer that negatively impacts adolescent students. The author acknowledges that the majority of research relative to perfectionism points to a multidimensional orientation of this construct. Often multidimensionality has been used to indicate that perfectionism has both positive and negative applications for individuals (DiBartolo, Li, & Frost, 2008). Primarily a deleterious construct, perfectionism has been strongly associated with psychopathology. The author would like to offer perfectionism as a multidimensional construct that is ultimately maladaptive and harmful. Additionally, the author recommends replacing the term positive perfectionism with the more accurate concept of striving for excellence. This literature review is intended to offer educators, specifically school counselors, insight toward identifying and helping adolescents struggling with perfectionism and well-being. / text

This study investigated the relationship between the interaction of diabetes and depressive symptoms and neuropsychological functioning in a sample of adolescents. It also addressed whether disease-related variables such as age of onset of diabetes and presence of severe hypoglycemic episodes were predictive of severity of depressive symptoms. The neuropsychological domains of memory, attention, and overall cognitive abilities were assessed using a cross-battery approach with subtests from the Wide Range Assessment of Memory and Learning - Second Edition (WRAML2), the Stroop Test, and the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test - Second Edition (KBIT-2), respectively.The total sample consisted of 62 youth between the ages of 13 and 17 years: 31 adolescents diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes and 31 adolescents without diabetes. Adolescents were recruited from an outpatient pediatric diabetes clinic and an outpatient general medicine pediatric clinic located in Tuscon, AZ . Significant findings included that the interaction effect of diabetes and depressive symptoms scores was statistically significant for verbal memory, verbal recognition, verbal memory delayed, verbal list learning, and attention/concentration. No significant differences were found for verbal working memory, visual memory, visual recognition, or attention/inhibition. Regression analyses showed that none of the diabetes-related variables included in the study variables (age of diabetes onset, duration of diabetes, presence of severe hypoglycemic episodes, type of insulin therapy) were predictive of depressive symptoms scores that adolescents reported.

The purpose of this essay has been to make clear how adolescents understand the phenomenon of being popular among peers. Two questions were tried to be answered: What does it mean to be popular? How does one become popular? Ten adolescents from ages 13 to 18 were interviewed, and this makes the basis of this essay. Seven categories show the result. Social skills were found to be the most important characteristic. A popular adolescent were said to be outgoing, nice, pleasant, have a good sense of humor and also have a well developed feeling for how to behave in different social situations. The appearance did not matter, according to the interviewees. But the popular adolescents did dress in a way that corresponded to the majority of the peers. The body was not important at all. Most of adolescents were assumed to be neither more popular, nor less popular but instead right between these two conceptions – they were average popular. Popular adolescents had nothing in common, when it came to background. Achievements in school did not lead to popularity, but it was important to be well-informed about society, when to chat with peers. Generally, what leisure-time activities adolescents attended were said to have no affect on popularity. Finally, the interviewees thought almost everyone were aware of how popular he or she was, although they supposed that some adolescents could be more popular among peers, without being aware of it. All together, this could roughly be said to be the way for adolescents to become popular among peers, according to this essay: develop your social skills, keep an eye on how your peers dress and follow their fashion and, finally, be well-informed about society. You do not have to do well in school, but show that you are in control of school and marks.

Background: Adolescents are among those at most risk for acquiring sexually transmitted infections. Despite numerous strategies to increase STI knowledge, teens are not being reached as well by traditional preventative efforts. Texting is the preferred method of communication for adolescents who send and receive over 3417 text messages per month. Purpose: To examine the experiences of text messaging among urban adolescents and to explore their views on the potential for text messaging within adolescent sexual health services. Methods: Four focus groups were conducted with 21 adolescents in two community agencies in an urban setting. Results: Four themes emerged from the data: 1) connection to others and to self; 2) exerting control; 3) adolescents are generally receptive to texting in sexual health; 4) need to feel safe. Conclusions: Findings suggest ways in which health care organizations can adopt text messaging services and interventions to better serve adolescents’ needs.

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<p>This study ultimately aimed to explore children&rsquo / s and adolescents&rsquo / perceptions of exposure to community violence. More specifically, the study investigated the meanings that adolescents assign to personal safety and security and the extent to which these assignations explain child and adolescent well-being. At a methodological level, the study followed a qualitative methodological framework and collected data from 14 adolescents between the ages of 14 and 15. Two focus groups were used to collect the data which consisted of seven participants each. Participants were purposively selected from a high school located in a low income community in Cape Town. Thematic analysis was used to analyse and interpret the findings and the study was framed using Bronfenbrenner&rsquo / s ecological framework and the theoretical perspectives of Bulhan&rsquo / s theory of violence, social identity theory, psychological theories, social learning theory, and social disorganization theory. Key findings indicated that the participants were exposed to violence, both through witnessing and being subjected to it within their school, home, and community. Some children perceived a lack of safety within the environments with which they interacted. Data further indicated that exposure to violence created feelings of insecurity, such as fear and anxiety. Similarly, exposure to violence was perceived to have various detrimental effects on the well-being of a child and adolescent. These effects included injury, poor academic performance, post traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, fear, hopelessness, and many others. In addition to this, and based on these results, this study is significant because it taps into the realities faced by many children so that an awareness can be created and a safe space provided for these children to be children.</p>