Maryse H. Richards

A self-report measure of pubertal status: Reliability, validity, and initial norms.

Puberty is a central process in the complex set of changes that constitutes the transition from childhood to adolescence. Research on the role of pubertal change in this transition has been impeded by the difficulty of assessing puberty in ways acceptable to young adolescents and others involved. Addressing this problem, this paper describes and presents norms for a selfreport measure of pubertal status. The measure was used twice annually over a period of three years in a longitudinal study of 335 young adolescent boys and girls. Data on a longitudinal subsample of 253 subjects are reported. The scale shows good reliability, as indicated by coefficient alpha. In addition, several sources of data suggest that these reports are valid. The availability of such a measure is important for studies, such as those based in schools, in which more direct measures of puberty may not be possible.

Social Support Factors as Moderators of Community Violence Exposure Among Inner-City African American Young Adolescents.

Using both surveys and the experience sampling method (ESM), community violence exposure, social support factors, and depressive and anxiety symptoms were assessed longitudinally among inner-city African American adolescents. Moderator models were tested to determine protective factors for youth exposed to community violence. Several social support factors emerged as protective–stabilizing forces for witnesses of violence both cross-sectionally and longitudinally, including maternal closeness, time spent with family, social support, and daily support (ESM). Contrary to hypotheses, several social support factors demonstrated a promotive–reactive effect such that, in conditions of high victimization, they failed to protect youth from developing symptoms. Effects did not differ by outcome or sex, though sex differences in findings emerged. Protective-stabilizing effects occurred more for witnessing violence, whereas promotive–reactive patterns occurred more for victimization. Results affirm social support factors as protective from the adverse effects of violence exposure, but they also suggest that some factors typically conceived as contributing to resilience might at times fail to protect youth in conditions of extreme risk.

Ecology of depression in late childhood and early adolescence: a profile of daily states and activities.

This study investigated daily states and time use patterns associated with depression. Four hundred eighty-three 5th to 9th graders reported on their experience when signalled by pagers at random times. Depressed youth reported more negative affect and social emotions, lower psychological investment, lower energy, and greater variability in affect. These differences were weaker for 5th and 6th graders, suggesting that self-reported feeling states are a poor indicator of depression prior to adolescence. No differences were found in the daily activities of depressed youths nor in the amount of time spent alone, but depressed youths experienced other people as less friendly and more often reported wanting to be alone, especially when with their families. They also spent less time in public places and more time in their bedrooms. Finally, depressed boys, but not girls, spent much less time with friends, particularly of the same sex, suggesting that social isolation is more strongly associated with depression for boys.

How Urban African American Young Adolescents Spend Their Time: Time Budgets for Locations, Activities, and Companionship

The time budgets of a population of youth provide important information about their daily experience and socialization. This study reports data on the time budgets of a sample of 253 urban African American poor to working- and middle-class 5th–8th graders in Chicago. These youth were found to spend less time in school than other postindustrial adolescent populations, but spent no less time doing homework than White suburban U.S. young adolescents. They spent large quantities of time at home and with their families—at rates comparable to rates for young adolescents in a society with collectivist values like India. Unlike with other populations, early adolescence was not associated with major age changes in time allocations. Amount of time in schoolwork did not differ by grade, and amount of time with family did not show the decline with age that has been found for European American suburban adolescents.

Divergent Worlds: The Daily Emotional Experience of Mothers and Fathers in the Domestic and Public Spheres

This study compared the emotional states experienced by mothers and fathers during daily activities in the domestic and public spheres. Participants carried pagers for 1 week and reported their states when signaled at random times. Patterns for mothers and fathers differed markedly. Mothers reported more positive states in activities away from home, including during work at a job. These states were related to the perceived friendliness of co-workers. Fathers reported more positive states in the home sphere, partly because they spent more of this time n personal and recreational activities and partly because they experienced more choice, even during family work.

Weight and eating concerns among pre- and young adolescent boys and girls

The emergence of weight and eating concerns in pre- and young adolescents and the relations of these concerns to daily experience and psychologic adjustment were investigated. Four hundred eighty-one children from fifth to ninth grades completed a Weight and Eating Concerns Scale, a depression inventory, self-esteem and body image scales, and reported their daily experiences by the Experience Sampling Method. Girls tended to report more weight and eating concerns than boys. This discrepancy increased with age. In older girls (eighth and ninth graders) extreme weight and eating concerns were associated with other signs of emotional maladjustment. Girls who experience emotional distress may try to compensate for the strain by controlling body shape and in doing so, may place themselves at risk for developing an eating disorder. Boys currently appear to be protected from this difficulty. Our findings suggest that excessive weight and eating concerns in young adolescent girls signal psychologic maladjustment which may require attention.

Risky and Protective Contexts and Exposure to Violence in Urban African American Young Adolescents.

Contexts of risk for and protection from exposure to violence were identified and the relation of exposure to violence to delinquent behaviors and symptoms of trauma was examined. Using the Experience Sampling Method (ESM), the immediate daily experience of risky and protective contexts was examined. One hundred sixty-seven African American 6th-, 7th-, and 8th-grade children from urban neighborhoods carried watches and booklets for 1 week. Structural equation modeling supported the hypotheses that more time in risky contexts and less time in protective contexts was related to more exposure to violence. Exposure to violence partially mediated the relation of time in protective and risky contexts to delinquent behaviors, assessed with the Juvenile Delinquency Scale and the Child Behavior Checklist, and distress levels, assessed by a posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) score.

Introduction: The changing life space of early adolescence

The socialization of children and adolescents is shaped by how they spend their time. This special issue maps the daily experience of white American 5th–9th graders, describing both the quantities of time they spend in different contexts and the affective states associated with these contexts. Each paper examines a separate segment of daily activity (e.g., schoolwork, talking, sports), employing data from a common study in which 401 participants provided “experience sampling” reports at random times during their daily lives when cued by a pager. The findings show substantial age and sex differences, indicating significant changes in the daily “life space” of girls and boys between preadolescence and early adolescence. Implication for socialization to healthy adult adjustment in love, work, and play are discussed in each paper.

The sporting life: Athletic activities during early adolescence

The decline in sports participation that begins in early adolescence has been well documented, and there has been considerable controversy regarding the reasons for this attrition. The present study addressed the attrition process by focusing on the subjective experience of sports as a function of grade, gender, and sport context. Following the procedures of the Experience Sampling Method, 401 5th–9th-grade boys and girls carried electronic pagers, similar to those worn by doctors, for one week, and filled out self-report forms on their activities and subjective states in response to signals received at random times. Older respondents spent less time in sports than their younger peers. This age difference was due primarily to a decline in informal sports participation, with less pronounced attrition from organized sports. Our findings suggest that the reasons for attrition from sport may be context specific. While informal sports were experienced more positively than gym class or organized sports, perceptions of skill were lowest during informal sports and declined with age. It seems youngsters stop participating in organized sports because these activities are less enjoyable to them, while attrition from informal sports is more performance based. Boys spent more time in sports than girls, and this difference was based primarily upon significant gender differences in informal sports participation. In spite of their differential rates of participation, boys and girls reported similar levels of affect, arousal, and skill during sports.

Adolescent Personality in Girls and Boys: The Role of Mothers and Fathers

The development of personality characteristics appears to differ by sex of child and role of parent, with interpersonal concerns tending to characterize mothers and instrumental concerns describing fathers. Using a semi-structured interview protocol and paper-and-pencil questionnaires, we examined the effects of parenting, as reported by middle-class high school senior boys and girls, on the development of two aspects of personality. Ego development and self-esteem both have demonstrated sex differences, with girls displaying more advanced ego development and boys displaying higher self-esteem. We expected that mothers, because of their greater interpersonal orientation, would influence the development of ego development more than would fathers, and that, based on past findings, the opposite-sex parent would exert the primary influence on self-esteem. While ego development was found to relate to more encouraging, warmer mothering in boys, it related weakly to mothering in girls. Boys and girls who perceived their cross-sex parent to be warm and supportive were found to have higher self-esteem.