Martin D. Ruck

European American children’s and adolescents’ evaluations of interracial exclusion

No research, to date, has investigated the role of ethnic school composition (and intergroup contact) on European American youth’s use of stereotypes to explain interracial discomfort in the context of peer exclusion. In this study, European American fourth-, seventh- and 10th-grade students (N = 414), attending low and high ethnically-diverse public schools (with low and high self-reports of cross-race/ethnic friendships respectively) evaluated three contexts of interracial exclusion (at lunch time, at a school dance, and at a sleepover). In addition to age and context effects, participants enrolled in high-diversity schools were less likely to use stereotypes to explain racial discomfort, more likely to view racial exclusion as wrong, and more likely to estimate that racial exclusion occurs, than were participants enrolled in low-diversity schools. These findings have implications for the role of social experience on racial attitudes and judgments about exclusion.

Predictors of Maternal and Early Adolescent Attitudes Toward Children’s Nurturance and Self-Determination Rights

Children’s rights to nurturance and self-determination have been included in social policy agendas for many years. Children’s and parents’ attitudes concerning children’s rights are likely an important determinant of whether rights on paper actually serve to protect the well-being of children, yet there is little research on factors associated with support for children’s rights. This study examined maternal (parenting style, sociopolitical attitudes) and child (emotional autonomy, role in family decision making) characteristics associated with attitudes toward children’s nurturance and self-determination rights. Maternal responsiveness was related to child support for both nurturance and self-determination rights and maternal endorsement of self-determination, whereas demandingness was negatively related to support for self-determination and children’s involvement in family decision making. Maternal conservatism was negatively related to mothers’ support for nurturance and self-determination rights. Support for self-determination rights, child participation in family decision making, and children’s emotional autonomy were positively related. Implications and limitations of findings are discussed.

Youth Court Dispositions: Perceptions of Canadian Juvenile Offenders

In North America, the approach to youth crime and juvenile offenders has become increasingly punitive, and deterrence is seen as a significant goal of sentencing. Young people’s views about their sentences can provide insight into the meaning of these experiences and their perceived connection to offending behavior. The authors interviewed 53 young male offenders about their perceptions of youth court dispositions and explored what offender, offense, and disposition characteristics predicted their beliefs about the specific and general deterrent value of their sentences. Juveniles varied in their perceptions about their sentences as deterrents, but the characteristics examined did not adequately account for this variation. Their perceptions reflected multiple approaches to achieving deterrence, including not only the get-tough focus on dispositions as punishments but the role that sentences play in helping young offenders achieve personal change. Implications of the findings for the get-tough approach to youth justice and study limitations are discussed.

Fair Treatment by Authorities is Related to Children's and Adolescents' Evaluations of Interracial Exclusion

This study investigated U.S. ethnic majority and minority youths perceptions of fair and unfair treatment by authorities and evaluations of three situations of interracial exclusion (N = 685). Findings revealed that older adolescents who reported fair treatment by authorities were more likely to perceive wrongfulness in interracial exclusion scenarios than were their peers who reported unfair treatment. Additionally, in explaining the wrongfulness of interracial exclusion, older adolescents who had not experienced unfair treatment by authorities were more likely to mention racial prejudice than were their counterparts who had experienced unfair treatment. Results are discussed with reference to developmental theory on authority relations and the positive benefits of authority-adolescent relationships that reflect just and fair treatment.

Growing up in poverty and civic engagement: The role of kindergarten executive function and play predicting participation in 8th grade extracurricular activities

ABSTRACT In the United States a “civic engagement gap” persists between low-income youth and their higher-income counterparts. To examine the developmental origins of civic engagement in a sample of U.S. children growing up in poverty, a conceptual model was tested employing the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Class (ECLS-K) national data set. Using generalized linear models, we examined the contributions of kindergarten children’s executive function and exposure to classroom based play to participation in different extracurricular activities in 8th grade. Results suggest that executive function is a significant predictor of participation in drama and music clubs, sports and number of hours spent in extracurricular activities. Play was also a significant predictor of participation in school clubs, while controlling for executive function. These findings provide initial evidence of a developmental trajectory toward civic engagement beginning in early childhood.

‘It’s not like in Apartheid’: South African Children’s Knowledge about their Rights

This study explored declarative knowledge about children’s rights in 67 South African children between 9 and 14 years old, using semi-structured interviews addressing the following questions:What is a right? Who has rights? Do children have rights? What rights do children have? Why should children have rights? Can anyone take away your rights? Who can take away your rights?Data were analysed quantitatively to examine age and gender differences. Qualitative content analyses explored salient themes. There were no gender differences for any of the questions and significant age differences only for the question: What rights do children have? Although the children’s responses shared some similarities with other research findings, their perspectives on rights strongly reflected their specific social context, especially the prevalence of crime and child abuse. The findings are discussed in relation to previous research and specific features of the South African socio-cultural landscape.