Career awareness and personal development: a naturalistic study of gifted adolescent girls' concerns

The role of social interaction and the importance of humor in the development of gifted adolescent females' beliefs about career options are explored in this paper. Findings are based on a qualitative study which utilized participant-observation and interviewing during a four-month career exploration seminar for gifted females. The results of this study indicate that gifted girls experience a unique conflict between expectations directed at gifted students, and their status as females. The use of humor functioned as a coping device to promote relaxation and release tension.     

Female Adolescents, Sexual Empowerment and Desire: A Missing Discourse of Gender Inequity

In this commentary, I offer a response to Lamb & Peterson (2011). I base these comments on the feminist scholarship on adolescent girls’ healthy sexuality that Lamb (2010a) critiqued in the first of this series. I address and redress several of her concerns by providing the context and history of my own research and recovering the meanings of desire, pleasure and subjectivity as they appeared in this body of work. I then engage Lamb and Peterson’s points of consensus about the role of sexual empowerment in adolescent girls’ healthy sexuality by 1) positioning sexualization as more than a context; 2) identifying a missing discourse of gender inequity as a central issue in their discussion; and 3) explaining how the use of theory and interpretation in feminist research methods is necessary for and distinct from a surface reading of narratives of lived experience. Finally, I will provide examples of some alternative paths for supporting healthy adolescent women’s sexuality that extend beyond school-based sex education and media literacy into alternative engagements with girls through technology, media activism and participatory practices.     

Risk factors for onset of eating disorders: Evidence of multiple risk pathways from an 8-year prospective study

Objective

Use classification tree analysis with lagged predictors to determine empirically derived cut-points for identifying adolescent girls at risk for future onset of threshold, subthreshold, and partial eating disorders and test for interactions between risk factors that may implicate qualitatively distinct risk pathways.

Method

Data were drawn from a prospective study of 496 adolescent girls who completed diagnostic interviews and surveys annually for 8 years.

Results

Body dissatisfaction emerged as the most potent predictor; adolescent girls in the upper 24% of body dissatisfaction showed a 4.0-fold increased incidence of eating disorder onset (24% vs. 6%). Among participants in the high body dissatisfaction branch, those in the upper 32% of depressive symptoms showed a 2.9-fold increased incidence of onset (43% vs. 15%). Among participants in the low body dissatisfaction branch, those in the upper 12% of dieting showed a 3.6-fold increased incidence onset (18% vs. 5%).

Conclusion

This three-way interaction suggests a body dissatisfaction pathway to eating disorder onset that is amplified by depressive symptoms, as well as a pathway characterized by self-reported dieting among young women who are more satisfied with their bodies. It may be possible to increase the effectiveness of prevention programs by targeting each of these qualitatively distinct risk groups, rather than only individuals with a single risk factor.     

In Protection of Ourselves: Black Girls' Perceptions of Self-Reported Delinquent Behaviors

The purpose of this study was to explore Black adolescent girls' perceptions of self-reported delinquent behaviors. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 Black girls enrolled in alternative schools designated for "delinquent" adolescents. Using dimensional analysis, two general categories emerged from the data: defending/protecting self and self-interest. All of the girls indicated that they used aggressive behaviors to protect themselves from perceived threats. Generally, the girls protected themselves using two strategies: "Hold off" strategies were used to avoid physical and/or verbal conflicts, and "face down" strategies were used to physically confront threats. To a lesser degree, girls discussed gaining materially from specific behaviors ( e.g., stealing and lying). One important implication of this research study is that aggressive Black girls may often perceive their environment to be hostile and nonsupportive. Consequently, support needs to be provided for Black girls who engage in aggressive behaviors.     

Adolescent Girls’ Sexual Empowerment: Two Feminists Explore the Concept

Although all feminists tend to value empowered female sexuality, feminists often disagree, sometimes heatedly so, about the definition of and path to empowered sexuality among adolescent girls. In this theoretical paper, two feminists, who have previously expressed differing perspectives regarding adolescent girls’ sexual empowerment (Lamb 2010a, b; Peterson 2010), discuss their disagreements and attempt to find some common ground in their viewpoints on girls’ sexuality. A critical question related to sexual empowerment is whether empowerment includes a subjective sense of efficacy, desire, and pleasure. In other words, are girls sexually empowered if they feel that they are empowered? The authors identify three themes that make answering this question particularly challenging—age differences, exposure to sexualized media, and the pressure to please a partner. Despite these challenges, the authors identify several points of consensus, including agreeing that adequate sexuality education and media literacy education are vital to optimizing adolescent girls’ sexual empowerment.     

The Effect of Proximal and Psychological Factors on Future Orientation and Developmental Outcomes: The Case of Palestinian Adolescents in Israel

The main question of this study concerns the future orientation antecedents pertaining family relationship effect on the future orientation of Palestinian adolescent and its outcomes pertaining academic achievement and career expectations. Data were collected from 881 Palestinian adolescents in Israel: 71.4% female participants and 28.60% male participants. Four sets of questionnaires were administered: family atmosphere, intrapersonal variables, higher education domain of future orientation, and developmental outcomes. Structural equation modeling analysis revealed that in the case of girls, future orientation variables are affected by two proximal variables: family environment and family attitudes, whereas in the case of boys, only family environment affects future orientation. In addition, girls’ future orientation affects both career expectation and academic achievements, whereas males’ future orientation affects only career expectation.     

A Qualitative Examination of the Relationship Between Body Image and Sexual Behavior: Perceptions from Latina and African American Adolescent Girls and Their Maternal Caregivers

Although prior work suggests that how adolescent girls feel about their body is associated with their sexual behavior, we have less insight into the reasons why. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 25 African American adolescent girls (11–14 years of age), 18 Latina adolescents (14–17 years of age), and their maternal caregivers to explore why this association may exist. Both adolescent girls and their maternal caregivers were asked “Who is more likely to have sex, a girl who likes the way her body looks or a girl who doesn’t like the way her body looks?” A similar question was asked about condom use. Interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed, and coded for emergent themes using thematic analysis. Participants’ responded that both girls with a positive body image and those with a negative body image may be likely to have sex because of self- and body-esteem. Two sub-themes emerged that further explained why low self- and body-esteem mattered for girls who have a negative perception of their body: (a) feeling appreciated (b) easily persuaded. Most participants noted that girls with a positive body image perception would be more likely to use condoms. Emergent themes for using condoms were: (a) pregnancy/STI protection; and (b) body preservation. Our findings have implications for empirically exploring the pathways through which body image perceptions relate to adolescent sexual behaviors, and the possibility that universal prevention programs may not resonate similarly for all adolescent girls.     

Adolescent Girls’ and Boys’ Science Peer Relationships and Perceptions of the Possible Self as Scientist

Girls tend to have less peer support for their science interests than do boys, which may contribute to gender differences in science motivation. The effect of science peer relationships on adolescents visions of their possible personal future lives as scientists was studied in 161 female and 163 male gifted high school students who participated in summer science enrichment programs. Student reports of having positive science peer relationships were associated with more positive expectations of the possible personal self as scientist prior to the programs, and both program-related and nonprogram-related science peer relationships were associated with changes in the possible self at posttesting and at 6 month follow-up. These relations held for both male and female students. At follow-up, girls reported a stronger social niche with fellow program participants and stronger science peer relationships than did boys. Implications of the findings are discussed within the larger gendered societal context for science achievement.     

Identification of gifted deaf children: a complex but critical educational process.

11 deaf students in a large midwestern school for the deaf were divided into gifted and nongifted groups by ratings of teachers and school administrators. There were six subjects in the gifted group (3 boys and 3 girls) and five subjects in the comparison group (3 boys and 2 girls). There was no statistically significant difference between mean raw scores of the two groups on Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices. Also, teachers' rankings of the subjects identified as gifted did not correlate significantly with their Raven scores. Identification of gifted deaf students is too complex to be based only on teachers' ratings.     

Early adolescents' values about their pets

The essays of adolescent boys and girls (N = 354) explaining their decisions to save a pet in the event of a fire were examined by content analysis for the adolescents' underlying value orientations. Hedonistic utility, a moral value characteristic of the second of Kohlberg's (1976) moral development stages, was the primary value underlying adolescents' choices.     

Creative Out-of-School Activities in Intellectually Gifted Adolescents as Predictors of Their Life Accomplishment in Young Adults: A Longitudinal Study

Career interests and abilities were examined in 130 young adults who, as adolescents, had received exceptionally high scores (top 5% of the entire country) on the test of general intelligence developed by the Israel Defense Force and used each year for selection and placement of recruits. The interests and abilities of the majority of the intellectually gifted research participants were found to be focused and not the opposite, as has been widely assumed among educators of the gifted. In 45% of the research participants, we found a strong relation between the focus of adolescents' out-of-school activities and the field of their adult vocation. Moreover, participants whose adolescent out-of-school activities matched their adult occupation had a higher level of work accomplishment than participants for whom such a match was absent. Our findings indicate that measures of out-of-school activities may provide an appropriate tool for counselors to use in career counseling with adolescents. Finally, young adults who were recognized as intellectually gifted in their adolescence perceived their family climate very positively. They described their families us highly cohesive and said that family members helped and supported one another.     

Early Adolescents' Values About Their Pets

The essays of adolescent boys and girls (N = 354) explaining their decisions to save a pet in the event of a fire were examined by content analysis for the adolescents' underlying value orientations. Hedonistic utility, a moral value characteristic of the second of Kohlberg's (1976) moral development stages, was the primary value underlying adolescents' choices.     

Two adolescents at risk for schizophrenia: A family case study

This is a study of the complex factors that contributed to the development of adolescent psychoses in two stepbrothers, ages 12 and 15. The identified patient, the younger boy, was in what appeared to be a reversible stage of early adolescent psychosis and his 15 year old newly acquired stepbrother in a nonreversible stage. Each boy was a mentally gifted, neurologically handicapped adolescent who was inextricably vulnerable on the basis of his neurodevelopmental sensitivity to specific immobilizing parental fears and conflicts. Their inherent problems set them apart from their intact teenage sisters and affected the nature and quality of their total life experience. Those working with psychotic children and their families must bear these relationships in mind for optimal strategic intervention and change. In the management of psychotic adolescents and their families, the individual and family therapist could work to everyone's disadvantage if these important neurodevelopmental difficulties are not considered.1979, SummerThis study was supported in part by the Maternal and Child Health Services Training and Study Project No. 144, Department of Health, Education and Welfare.     

Two adolescents at risk for schizophrenia: A family case study

This is a study of the complex factors that contributed to the development of adolescent psychoses in two stepbrothers, ages 12 and 15. The identified patient, the younger boy, was in what appeared to be a reversible stage of early adolescent psychosis and his 15 year old newly acquired stepbrother in a nonreversible stage. Each boy was a mentally gifted, neurologically handicapped adolescent who was inextricably vulnerable on the basis of his neurodevelopmental sensitivity to specific immobilizing parental fears and conflicts. Their inherent problems set them apart from their intact teenage sisters and affected the nature and quality of their total life experience. Those working with psychotic children and their families must bear these relationships in mind for optimal strategic intervention and change. In the management of psychotic adolescents and their families, the individual and family therapist could work to everyone's disadvantage if these important neurodevelopmental difficulties are not considered.This study was supported in part by the Maternal and Child Health Services Training and Study Project No. 144, Department of Health, Education and Welfare.     

Patriarchal influences on the lives of African adolescent girls from child-headed households

This study examined the gendered experiences of patriarchal family life by adolescent girls from a low socio-economic status (SES) neighbourhood in South Africa. The informants were nine girls from an urban setting, three of whom were from child-headed homes. The six others lived with extended family and served to provide typical experiences for girls from the same community. Data on the girls’ experience of patriarchal values were gathered using focus group discussions and a photo-voice booklet. Thematic analysis of the data suggested pervasive patriarchal value influences on the adolescent girls – including pressure from within themselves to prove their academic abilities, as well as being competent and responsible in daily living responsibilities. The informant girls perceived their greater educational aspirations to be discounted by their male peers, who did not seem to take them seriously.     

The effect on a child of a mother who though physically present was emotionally unavailable

In this paper I put forward a hypothesis on a particular psycho-sexual determinant of anorexia nervosa in adolescent girls. I begin with an overview of existing literature which examines anorexia from psychiatric, demographic, medical, historical and psychoanalytic viewpoints. Drawing on the theories of Freud, Klein, Winnicott and Bion, and building on previous thinking, I posit a specific disturbance in the psychic development of the adolescent girl. I suggest that this amounts to her rebellion against the psychic onset of her future maternal capacities for reverie and containment. I link this disturbance to a pathological mother-daughter relationship and illustrate my hypothesis with a clinical account of intensive, long-term work with an adolescent girl. The high motivation and vivid dream material of this patient make for a particularly rewarding study.     

Infants of adolescent and adult mothers: two indices of socioemotional development

This study compared infant-mother attachment and mastery motivation in one-year-old babies born to adolescent and adult mothers. In the laboratory, the infants' mastery motivation was assessed in an experimenter-administered structured toy play session and infant-mother attachment was classified on the basis of the strange situation procedure. The results indicated that there were more, although not significantly so, securely attached infants among those born to adult than to adolescent mothers (70% as compared to 53%). The relatively low number of securely attached infants in the adolescent mother group may reflect the fact that in many cases the mothers were not the primary caretakers. Among the adolescents, the majority were living with their family of origin. Nevertheless, their infants' motivation to master the environment, assessed independently, compared favorably with that of the adult mother group. Infants of adolescent mothers were significantly more persistent than were those born to adult mothers, although they were affectively less positive during the toy play. It is suggested that the socioemotional development of infants born to adolescent mothers may be buffered by a network containing multiple caretakers. Finally, the relationship between attachment and mastery motivation was examined. The results showed that infants with an avoidant or secure attachment relationship were more persistent as well as competent than were ambivalent infants during free play.     

Body image and self-esteem in adolescent ballet dancers.

Body-image disturbances and low self-esteem have been implicated in the pathogenesis of eating disorders. This study investigated self-perception of body and personality among adolescent ballet dancers in a cross-sectional survey. Two questionnaires assessing "my body right now" and "my personality right now," using semantic differentials were completed by 90 ballet school students and 156 controls. Adolescent female dancers (ages 13 to 17 years) scored higher than age-matched controls and 11- to 12-yr. old peers on Undesirability and Sensitivity for personality and Unattractiveness for body. For both subscales of personality, differences were also found between male and female dancers; female ballet students scored higher. Within the control group a difference could be found only for Sensitivity on which girls scored higher than boys. Male dancers did not differ from controls except for a lower score on the Body mass measure. Adolescent female dancers showed a distinct answering profile for 7 of 16 semantic differentials in each questionnaire implicating less favorable body image and self-esteem. Interventions focused particularly on enhancing self-esteem may be useful in the prevention of psychopathology in adolescent ballet dancers.     

"CAN'T YOU SEE THE COURAGE, THE STRENGTH THAT I HAVE?"Listening to Urban Adolescent Girls Speak about Their Relationships

This study explored, qualitatively, the ways in which 12 urban, poor and working-class adolescent girls spoke about themselves, their relationships, and their school over a 3 year period. The ability to be outspoken or to "speak one's mind" in relationships was identified as the most prevalent theme in their interviews. Ten of the 12 adolescent girls indicated that they were able to speak openly and honestly in many of their relationships. These outspoken voices were focused not only on expressing anger and disagreement in relationships, but also on voicing care and connection. Seven of the adolescents indicated, however, that while they were outspoken in their relationships with parents, teachers, and female friends, they were not willing to "speak their minds" in their relationships with boys. These findings raise critical questions regarding the psychology of girls and women.