Roberta G. Simmons

Moving into Adolescence : The Impact of Pubertal Change and School Context

From the sociological point of view, adolescence traditionally has been described as a period of physical maturity and social immaturity. Adolescents reach physical adulthood before they are capable of functioning well in adult social roles. The disjunction between physical capabilities and socially allowed independence and power and the concurrent status ambiguities are viewed as stressful for the adolescent in modern Western society. It has been assumed that the need to disengage from parents during these years will result in high levels of rebellion and parent-child confl ict. Moving into Adolescence follows students as they make a major life course transition from childhood into early adolescence.

Disturbance in the Self-Image at Adolescence

The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to investigate whether adolescence is a period of disturbance for the childs self-image and, if so, at what age of adolescence and under what social conditions the disturbance is greatest. Several dimensions of the self-image were measured among 1,917 urban school children in grades three through twelve. Compared to children in the eight to eleven age group, the early adolescents, particularly those between twelve and thirteen, were shown to exhibit heightened self-consciousness, greater instability of the self-image, slightly lower self-esteem, and a less favorable view of the opinions held of them by significant others. Evidence is presented suggesting that the childs environment may have a stronger effect than his age in producing such changes. Children who had entered junior high school appeared more disturbed along these lines than their age-peers still in elementary school.

Sex, sex roles, and self-image.

The purpose of this research was to compare the self-images of male and female children in order to determine whether females were at a particular disadvantage and, if so, why. A random sample of 1988 children from grades 3–12 were interviewed in Baltimore in 1968. Findings show more disturbance among White adolescent females than among White males or Black females: White girls become much more self-conscious and show greater self-image instability and somewhat lower self-esteem. Three sets of factors appear to explain part of these differences: (1) attitudes toward present and future sex role, (2) peer relationships in general and opposite sex relationships in particular, and (3) attitudes toward changing looks in adolescence.

Sex differences in the self-concept in adolescence

This paper examines an aspect of the self-concept — salience of the self or self-consciousness — which has generally been neglected in the past. In an empirical study of nearly 2,000 children and adolescents, it was found that striking sex differences emerge during the adolescent period. Girls are considerably more self-conscious than boys, more vulnerable to criticism, and more concerned with promoting interpersonal harmony. Overall, adolescent girls are increasingly “people-oriented” while boys stress achievement and competence. It is suggested that these differences reflect the social definitions of sex roles.

Satisfaction with body image for early adolescent females: The impact of pubertal timing within different school environments.

During adolescence dramatic physical changes take place which the individual must incorporate into his or her evolving body image. The impact of different school environments on this incorporation process is explored using data on 225 White females from a longitudinal study. Differences in physical characteristics between early, middle, and late developers were assessed each year. The effects of pubertal timing on satisfaction with body image dimensions and self-esteem were then explored for sixth- and seventh-graders within different school environments. Reference group theory was used to examine three alternative hypotheses. Early versus late onset of menarche had different effects on certain aspects of satisfaction with body image, depending on the school environment. Results support the strength of the cultural ideal of thinness for women, but no other hypothesis had consistent support. The findings indicated the need to consider a multiplicity of factors in relation to specific body image dimensions.

Changing youth in a changing society : patterns of adolescent development and disorder

Preface Acknowledgements 1. Patterns of adolescent development and disorder 2. Historical trends in adolescent behaviour 3. Influences on adolescent behaviour 4. Changes in society and the family Services: implications and speculations References

The Social and Psychological Effects of Puberty on White Females

There is general consensus that adolescence is an important stage in the life cycle. It is certainly a period of dramatic physical, emotional, and social changes. However, whether it is also a time of stress and disturbance is an issue of controversy (Douvan and Adelson, 1966; Douvan and Gold, 1966; Bealer, Willits, and Maida, 1969; Offer, 1969; Bandura, 1972). Furthermore, it is unclear what the contribution of the phyical changes of puberty is in exacerbating or alleviating whatever stress occurs at this age (see Eichorn, 1963; Clausen, 1975). The present study focuses on the latter problem, in particular on the impact of pubertal development on a wide variety of social-emotional reactions of the adolescent girl. To be investigated are the effects of pubertal change on the girl’s self-concept and on many of her behaviors, values, and attitudes.

Self-Esteem and Achievement of Black and White Adolescents.

This study measures the self-esteem and academic achievement of 798 black and white adolescents as they move from sixth to seventh grade in a large Midwestern city. Our findings, in many instances, do not fit widespread preconceptions, but support other recent, large-scale quantitative studies. The basic findings involving selfesteem are as follows: (1) black children appear to have higher, rather than lower, self-esteem than whites; (2) girls of both races demonstrate lower self-esteem than do boys, with white girls exhibiting the lowest self-esteem of all; (3) among black children, those from broken families fare worse in terms of self-esteem in desegregated than in segregated schools. In terms of academic achievement, school desegregation is related to the marks the black children receive in school and their achievement in standardized tests. The black children in segregated schools receive somewhat higher marks than their desegregated peers, but score significantly lower in national standardized tests even when parental occupation, parental education, family structure and the childs educational aspirations are held constant.

Long-Term Reactions of Renal Recipients and Donors

Questions of the quality of life of transplant recipients and the ethics of related donation remain important issues, even as these therapies become more routine.1 Originally, when the federal HR-1 legislation to pay for transplantation and dialysis went into effect it was estimated that 70% of ESRD patients would be treated with kidney transplantation.2 However, in 1979, only 8.6% of those treated have received a transplant; the vast majority of patients are receiving dialysis.3 While there is much controversy as to the reasons for this low rate (perhaps it is simply that the new higher-risk patients being treated are too old or otherwise unsuitable for transplantation), many nephrologists have questioned whether the quality of life after transplantation is in fact as good as originally heralded.1,4–8

The prospective organ transplant donor: Problems and prospects of medical innovation.

With increased sophistication of medical technology and the consequent expansion in the number of organ transplants, the complex of issues involving recipient, donor–related and unrelated–and physician becomes crucial. This discussion is based on preliminary findings of two studies being conducted at the University of Minnesota: (1) a review of 79 kidney transplant cases to examine stress on family when decisions of choosing a donor arise; (2) an analysis of attitudinal characteristics of 82 persons who have considered volunteering their organs for transplantation in the event of their death. Results of these studies reveal often dramatic consequences for those immediately involved, and uncover attitudes in the population sampled which bear on the future of available organs for transplantation.