Linda Charmaraman

Race, Context, and Privilege: White Adolescents' Explanations of Racial-ethnic Centrality

This mixed-methods exploratory study examined the diverse content and situated context of White adolescents’ racial-ethnic identities. The sample consisted of 781 9th–12th grade White adolescents from three New England schools, which varied in racial and economic make-up. Open-ended responses provided a range of thematic categories regarding the importance of race-ethnicity to the adolescents’ identities, representing the diverse ideologies of White adolescents’ explanations, ranging from colorblind claims to ethnic pride. This study also found significant relationships between racial-ethnic identity importance (centrality) and parents’ education for White adolescents. These findings highlight the diversity of White adolescents’ understanding of their racial-ethnic identities and the importance of context in shaping racial-ethnic centrality.

Can Sex Education Delay Early Sexual Debut

In this study, we examine whether a nine-lesson sex education intervention, “Get Real: Comprehensive Sex Education That Works,” implemented in sixth grade, can reduce the number of adolescents who might otherwise become “early starters” of sexual activity (defined as heterosexual intercourse) by seventh grade. Participants were 548 boys and 675 girls who completed surveys in both sixth grade (baseline) and seventh grade (follow-up). The sample was 35% Latino, 32% Black, 24% White, 3% Asian, and 6% biracial. Students randomly assigned to the control condition were 30% more likely to initiate sex by follow-up when controlling for having had sex by sixth grade, demographic variables, and a tendency to give socially desirable responses. This finding is noteworthy because previous research has identified early starters to be prone to poor outcomes in sexual health, family formation, economic security, and incarceration and few middle school interventions have shown an effect on behavioral outcomes.

How have researchers studied multiracial populations? A content and methodological review of 20 years of research.

The U.S. Census shows that the racial-ethnic makeup of over 9 million people (2.9% of the total population) who self-identified as multiracial is extremely diverse. Each multiracial subgroup has unique social and political histories that may lead to distinct societal perceptions, economic situations, and health outcomes. Despite the increasing academic and media interest in multiracial individuals, there are methodological and definitional challenges in studying the population, resulting in conflicting representations in the literature. This content and methods review of articles on multiracial populations provides a comprehensive understanding of which multiracial populations have been included in research and how they have been studied, both to recognize emerging research and to identify gaps for guiding future research on this complex but increasingly visible population. We examine 125 U.S.-based peer-reviewed journal articles published over the past 20 years (1990 to 2009) containing 133 separate studies focused on multiracial individuals, primarily from the fields of psychology, sociology, social work, education, and public health. Findings include (a) descriptive data regarding the sampling strategies, methodologies, and demographic characteristics of studies, including which multiracial subgroups are most studied, gender, age range, region of country, and socioeconomic status; (b) major thematic trends in research topics concerning multiracial populations; and (c) implications and recommendations for future studies.

Do as I Say, Not as I Did: How Parents Talk With Early Adolescents About Sex

Communication between parents and teens about sexuality can reduce early sexual behavior. However, little research investigates how parents who were adolescents when they had children (early parents) talk with their teens about sex. In-depth interviews were conducted with a racially/ethnically diverse sample of 29 parents of seventh graders. Salient themes of conversations with adolescents were risks of early parenthood, sexually transmitted infections, delaying sex, and using protection. Compared with parents who were older when they had children (later parents), early parents were more likely to report having had negative sexuality communications with their families of origin and to express a wish to communicate differently with their own children. Early parents were more likely than later parents to discuss risks of early parenthood and to rely on extended family involvement in sexuality communication. Findings suggest that early parents may bring unique perspectives that enable them to approach sexuality communication differently than do later parents.

Congregating to create for social change: Urban youth media production and sense of community.

This case study explored how adolescents were empowered through afterschool media production activities and, in the process, re-imagined themselves as active and engaged citizens within their community. Through analyzing interviews, participant observations, and media artifacts of 14 participants (aged 15–19) over a period of 18 months, three main themes emerged from the triangulation of data: (1) sociocultural capital through group ownership; (2) safe space for creative expression; and (3) developing a sense of community with diverse voices. These young people exercised their collective voice toward pro-social actions by writing and producing their stories and showcasing their works at community screenings. They hoped that their videos would promote individual and community transformations. Building on youth development, community psychology, and media literacy frameworks, this article discusses educational implications like advocating for the power of youth media production to bridge participants personal and private artistry to public and political statements.

School dropout prevention: What arts-based community and out-of-school-time programs can contribute

Out-of-school-time programs, especially arts-based programs, can be critical players in a communitys efforts to prevent school dropout. This research review suggests the following approaches for arts-based programs: (1) recruitment and retention of target populations with multiple risk factors; (2) long-term skill development that engages youth behaviorally, emotionally, and academically rather than a drop-in culture; (3) an emphasis on the critical ingredient of real-world applications through performance; (4) staff development and mentoring; (5) a strategic community-level plan for dropout prevention; (6) and program content reframed toward competencies that underlie better school performance and prosocial behavior, such as communication, initiative, problem solving, motivation, and self-efficacy.

Digital Life and Youth Well-being, Social Connectedness, Empathy, and Narcissism

Youth well-being, social connectedness, and personality traits, such as empathy and narcissism, are at the crux of concerns often raised about the impacts of digital life. Understanding known impacts, and research gaps, in these areas is an important first step toward supporting media use that contributes positively to youth’s happiness, life satisfaction, and prosocial attitudes and behaviors. By examining existing work addressing these issues across domains, we found that a complex interplay of individual factors, type of digital media engagement, and experiences in media contexts informs outcomes related to well-being, social connectedness, empathy, and narcissism. We argue that further research is needed to uncover how, where, when, and for whom digital media practices support positive well-being and social connectedness outcomes. Specifically, research needs to move beyond correlational studies to uncover causal connections between traits like narcissism and media use. Longitudinal studies are also needed to explore patterns of media use over time and related impacts. Further research is needed to explore how specific technologies can be designed to support positive well-being, social outcomes, and prosocial personality traits. Finally, research is needed regarding parenting, educational practices, and policies that support positive digital media use and related outcomes. Although existing research suggests that digital life has mixed potentials and effects for well-being, social connectedness, empathy, and narcissism, we provide recommendations for clinicians, policy makers, and educators in partnering with caregivers and youth to support media use that promotes positive outcomes in these areas.

Measurement Uncertainty in Racial and Ethnic Identification Among Adolescents of Mixed Ancestry: A Latent Variable Approach.

In this article, we operationalize identification of mixed racial and ethnic ancestry among adolescents as a latent variable to (a) account for measurement uncertainty, and (b) compare alternative wording formats for racial and ethnic self-categorization in surveys. Two latent variable models were fit to multiple mixed-ancestry indicator data from 1,738 adolescents in New England. The first, a mixture factor model, accounts for the zero-inflated mixture distribution underlying mixed-ancestry identification. Alternatively, a latent class model allows classification distinction between relatively ambiguous versus unambiguous mixed-ancestry responses. Comparison of individual indicators reveals that the Census 2000 survey version estimates higher prevalence of mixed ancestry but is less sensitive to relative certainty of identification than are alternate survey versions (i.e., offering a “mixed” check box option, allowing a written response). Ease of coding and missing data are also considered in discussing the relative merit of individual mixed-ancestry indicators among adolescents.

Positive and Negative Associations Between Adolescent Mental Health and Technology

In this chapter, we review the developmental, social, and clinical psychology literature on how adolescents are positively and negatively impacted by using social technologies such as mobile phones, social media sites, and interactive video gaming. Beneficial aspects include a sense of social connectivity and sense of belonging, personal contentment and self-esteem, emotional expression/control, and identity development. Maladaptive aspects include alienation and social anxiety, body dissatisfaction and disordered eating, triggering of emotions such as depression, and exposure to sexual content. Mental health clinicians and practitioners can gain greater awareness of the strengths and drawbacks of social technologies when faced with adolescent clients who exhibit symptoms that may need intervention.

Asian American social media use: From cyber dependence and cyber harassment to saving face.

Nationally representative studies have found significant racial differences in social media use; however, most of these investigations do not disaggregate Asian American findings due to the relatively small proportion of Asian Americans in representative samples. Most purposive studies specifically about Asian social media use have been conducted in Asian countries and have used primarily quantitative methods. Using a sequential explanatory mixed-method design, we analyze data from a large (N = 1,872) purposive online survey of adolescents and emerging adults aged 18–25 years old and follow-up interviews with 24 adult Asian American women. This is the first study of its kind to examine the relative prevalence of social media behaviors across racial/ethnic groups with Asian Americans disaggregated as a unique subgroup and as the racial group of reference. It provides more descriptive and detailed accounts of how, when, and why cyber dependence, cyber harassment, and saving face/impression management behaviors occur within Asian American women’s social networking communities. We discuss the overarching themes of maintenance of privacy and limiting loss of face, avoiding stigma related to negative emotional states, and personal conceptualizations of cyber harassment. Finally, we provide practical suggestions for clinical practitioners and future directions for social media use and racial/ethnic disparities.