Engaged Against the Machine: Institutional and Cultural Racial Discrimination and Racial Identity as Predictors of Activism Orientation among Black Youth

The current study examines how experiences of institutional and cultural racial discrimination relate to orientations toward activism in the Black community among Black adolescents and emerging adults. Furthermore, we investigate the role of racial identity (centrality, public regard, nationalism) as moderators of those relations. In a national sample of 888 Black adolescents and emerging adults, we found that experiences of cultural racial discrimination, racial centrality, and nationalism ideology were related to a greater orientation toward low‐risk Black community activism. For high‐risk activism, nationalism was associated with a greater likelihood to participate in future social action in the Black community. The relation between experiences of institutional racial discrimination and high‐risk activism orientation was moderated by public regard. For Black adolescents and emerging adults who believe others view Black people negatively, more experiences of institutional racial discrimination were related to a greater high‐risk activism orientation. Findings highlight the importance of investigating racial discrimination as a multidimensional construct that extends beyond individual interactions and microaggressions. Furthermore, these findings underscore how phenomenological variation in experiences of racial discrimination and racial identity differentially influence adolescent and emerging adult orientations toward social action in and for the Black community.     

"This strange disease": adolescent transference and the analyst's sexual orientation

The treatment of adolescents by gay analysts is uncharted territory regarding the impact of the analyst's sexuality on the analytic process. Since a core challenge of adolescence involves the integration of the adult sexual body, gender role, and reproductive capacities into evolving identity, and since adolescents seek objects in their environment to facilitate both identity formation and the establishment of autonomy from primary objects, the analyst's sexual orientation is arguably a potent influence on the outcome of adolescent development. However, because sexual orientation is a less visible characteristic of the analyst than gender, race, or age, for example, the line between reality and fantasy is less clearly demarcated. This brings up special considerations regarding discovery and disclosure in the treatment. To explore these issues, the case of a late adolescent girl in treatment with a gay male analyst is presented. In this treatment, the question of the analyst's sexual orientation, and the demand by the patient for the analyst's self-disclosure, became a transference nucleus around which the patient's individual dynamics and adolescent dilemmas could be explored and clarified.     

Operating within the mainstream: Coping and adjustment among a sample of homosexual youths

A sample (N = 37) of African American adolescent homosexual males was administered a questionnaire that focused on four areas of social psychological functioning (self‐identity, family relation, school‐work relations, and social adjustment). The findings contradicted several past studies that reported in general that homosexual males experience crippling cognitive dissonance. Even with the existence of homophobia in the society, the adolescents were found to possess an adequate social psychological attitude and survival skills. The sampled adolescents reported being comfortable with their sexual orientation even though the majority of them had not disclosed their homosexuality. The respondents reported how they managed self‐presentation among heterosexual persons. The adolescents appeared well‐adjusted and stable in their social functioning and disagreed with the idea that they needed professional counseling.     

The Role of Ethnic Socialization,Ethnic Identity and Self-Esteem: Implications for Bi-ethnic Adolescents’ School Adjustment

Bi-ethnic adolescents of marriage migrant mothers in Korea are often encouraged to be “pure” Koreans for their adjustments and not given the opportunities to explore their ethnic identity or to learn about their mother’s culture of origin. Existing studies conducted with mono-ethnic minorities in other countries, however, do not support this belief. We tested a conceptual model on the role of ethnic socialization, ethnic identity and self-esteem on school adjustment among bi-ethnic adolescents in Korea based on social identity theory and theoretical models of ethnic socialization and ethnic identity. We used data from 2015 National Survey of Multicultural Families. The study sample consisted of 296 adolescents aged 9–18 who were born between Korean fathers and Vietnamese marriage migrant mothers. We used structural equation modeling to specifically examine the association between ethnic socialization in terms of parents’ linguistic socialization and adolescents’ school adjustment mediated by ethnic identity in the form of ethnic regard and self-esteem among bi-ethnic adolescents. The results verified the hypothesized model, showing positive relationships between linguistic socialization and ethnic regard, ethnic regard and self-esteem, self-esteem and school adjustment, and ethnic regard and school adjustment. Additionally, the results of bootstrapping test showed that the indirect effect of linguistic socialization on self-esteem through ethnic regard was significant. The indirect effect of ethnic regard on school adjustment through self-esteem was significant and the indirect effect of linguistic socialization on school adjustment via ethnic regard and self-esteem was also significant. These results shed light on the important role of ethnic identity fostered at home among bi-ethnic adolescents of marriage migrant mothers in Korea.     

Socialization and development of the work ethic among adolescents and young adults

Work ethic is part of a broader field of attitudes, identified as cultural conservatism. The results of this longitudinal study—three repeated measurements with 620 adolescents and one of their parents as participants—show that parents' social economic status and educational level are associated with their cultural conservatism, and with the educational level and cultural conservatism of their children. During adolescence, parents effectively transfer their own cultural (non-)conservatism to their children. These socialization factors of adolescent cultural conservatism and adolescent educational level are important determinants of their work ethic. Lower educational level and higher cultural conservatisms of adolescents predict a stronger work ethic. Work ethic is a stable type of attitude, with work ethic at a younger age strongly predicting work ethic at a later age.     

Interpersonal Goals and Susceptibility to Peer Influence: Risk Factors for Intentions to Initiate Substance Use during Early Adolescence

Though peer socialization theories are prominent in the adolescent substance use literature, variability in the degree to which adolescents are vulnerable to peer influence is likely, and few studies have examined this issue. This study examines the association between perceived peer substance use/approval of substance use and adolescent intentions to initiate alcohol and cigarette use, and how social goals moderate this relationship. Results support the moderating role of social goals, and suggest important differences across alcohol and cigarette use. Peer use and approval of cigarette use was associated with future intentions to smoke for adolescents with strong agentic goals, and peer use and approval of alcohol use was associated with intentions to drink for adolescents with strong communal goals. These findings suggest that adolescent substance use theories and prevention programs focusing on peer socialization should consider individual differences in social goals and potential differences in peer influence across drugs.     

Procedural justice and social regulation across group boundaries: does subgroup identity undermine relationship-based governance?

The relational model of authority suggests that people are inclined to accept the decisions of ethnic outgroup authorities when they identify with a superordinate category they share with the authority, and when the authority satisfies their relational justice concerns. Using responses from a random sample of African Americans, Latinos, and Whites about their cross-ethnic interactions with legal authorities, the findings indicated that those who are highly identified with the superordinate category of America indicate greater reliance on relational concerns and less on instrumental concerns when evaluating the authority's decision. In contrast, identification with one's ethnic subgroup did not moderate the linkage between relational concerns and acceptance. Across all ethnic groups, there were positive rather than negative correlations between measures of American and ethnic identity. Together, these findings indicate that subgroup identity does not undermine the relational basis of social regulation and that relationship-based governance is compatible with multiculturalism.     

The Relation Between Familial Factors and the Future Orientation of Urban, African American Sixth Graders

This study examined the relations between familial and environmental factors and five dimensions of future orientation in a sample of urban, African American early adolescents from low-income families. A new multidimensional interview measure, the Future Orientation Interview, was designed for this study to expand on available measures. Hierarchical multiple regression was used to examine the unique contribution of each familial and environmental factor to each dimension of future orientation. The independent variables significantly predicted three of the five dimensions of future orientation: salience, detail, and control beliefs. The pattern of significance varied for each dimension of future orientation, with mother involvement, kinship social support, and socialization of future orientation emerging as important predictors of various dimensions of future orientation. Results are discussed in terms of theoretical issues related to future orientation and implications for intervention.     

Adolescent-specific patterns of behavior and neural activity during social reinforcement learning

Humans are sophisticated social beings. Social cues from others are exceptionally salient, particularly during adolescence. Understanding how adolescents interpret and learn from variable social signals can provide insight into the observed shift in social sensitivity during this period. The present study tested 120 participants between the ages of 8 and 25 years on a social reinforcement learning task where the probability of receiving positive social feedback was parametrically manipulated. Seventy-eight of these participants completed the task during fMRI scanning. Modeling trial-by-trial learning, children and adults showed higher positive learning rates than did adolescents, suggesting that adolescents demonstrated less differentiation in their reaction times for peers who provided more positive feedback. Forming expectations about receiving positive social reinforcement correlated with neural activity within the medial prefrontal cortex and ventral striatum across age. Adolescents, unlike children and adults, showed greater insular activity during positive prediction error learning and increased activity in the supplementary motor cortex and the putamen when receiving positive social feedback regardless of the expected outcome, suggesting that peer approval may motivate adolescents toward action. While different amounts of positive social reinforcement enhanced learning in children and adults, all positive social reinforcement equally motivated adolescents. Together, these findings indicate that sensitivity to peer approval during adolescence goes beyond simple reinforcement theory accounts and suggest possible explanations for how peers may motivate adolescent behavior.     

Justice and Insider Trading

ABSTRACT While many countries are following the lead of the United States in making insider trading illegal, its moral status is still controversial. I summarise the scholarly debate over the fairness of insider trading and lay bare the assumptions about fairness implicit in that debate. I focus on the question whether those assumptions can be defended independently of a more comprehensive theory of social justice. Current analyses presuppose that we can intelligently discuss what the social rules regarding insider trading should be while ignoring questions about the broader principles of justice that should be adopted and the extent to which existing institutions realise those principles. I argue that such questions must be addressed. I then employ an egalitarian conception of social justice to analyse insider trading. I thereby illustrate how a more systematic approach, grounded in a comprehensive theory of justice, transforms the debate about the fairness of insider trading.     

Peer referencing in adolescent decision making as a function of perceived parenting style

This study examined the relationship between parenting style and adolescent decision making. Two hundred sixty-two college students completed a decision-making scale as well as a parenting scale in an effort to determine if the child-rearing style of their parents was related to the tendency of these late adolescents to reference peers rather than parents or other adults in decision making. The results indicated that adolescents raised by authoritative parents tended to refer to their parents for moral and informational decisions, while adolescents raised by authoritarian, permissive, or neglecting-rejecting parents more often referenced their peers for moral and informational decisions. Adolescents referred to their peers for social decisions regardless of how they were raised. Parental responsiveness was a significant factor in determining the source of adolescent decision-making assistance, but parental demandingness was not. It was concluded that less orientation toward peers during late adolescence seems to be another advantage of authoritative parenting.     

Asserting scientific authority. Cognitive development and adolescent legal rights

The APA uses amicus briefs to communicate scientific knowledge to the legal system. There can be tension, however, between promoting the social good through law and the disinterested reporting of scientific data. This article examines this conflict by discussing two APA amicus briefs filed in the United States Supreme Court in cases involving adolescents' abortion rights. The Court has restricted adolescents' rights to make important life decisions in part because adolescents have been presumed to lack competence and maturity. The briefs argued that developmental theory and data confirm that adolescents and adults have equivalent decision-making capacities. The scientific arguments in the briefs, however, do not justify this assertion. Analysis of the briefs illuminates some dimensions describing the role of a scientific statement in a legal brief. These dimensions identify ways to limit scientific claims about the evidence at hand to avoid overstatement. The primary danger of overstatement is that it undermines psychology's claim to expert authority in assisting in the formation of law and the shaping of social institutions.     

Parental Rearing Behaviors and Adolescent’s Social Trust: Roles of Adolescent Self-esteem and Class Justice Climate

Research on the antecedents and underlying mechanisms of the formation of adolescent social trust is scant. Family and school are two major environments in which adolescents become socialized. The current study examined the effect of parental rearing behaviors (rejection, emotional warmth and overprotection) on adolescent social trust, exploring the mediating role of adolescent self-esteem and the multilevel moderated role of the Level 2 variable class justice climate. The sample included 612 (12–16 years old) middle school students in China. Participants completed the s-EMBU, the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale, Rosenberg’s Faith in People Scale and the perceptions of class justice scale, along with other control variables. The results suggested that parental rearing behaviors significantly predicted adolescent social trust, regardless of adolescent gender or age. Additional mediation analysis suggested that parental rearing behaviors had both direct effects on adolescent social trust and indirect effects through adolescent self-esteem. Further multilevel structural equation modeling indicated that class justice climate moderated the effect of parental rejection on adolescent self-esteem. The findings suggest that family and school practice jointly shape adolescents’ social trust. How parents treat their children has a huge influence on the degree to which their children trust other people. In addition, perceived class justice could buffer the harmfulness of negative parental rearing behaviors.     

The effects of religious socialization and religious identity on psychosocial functioning in Korean American adolescents from immigrant families

This study examined religious identity as a mediator and moderator between religious socialization by parents, peers, and religious mentors and psychosocial functioning (i.e., social competence, internalizing and externalizing behavior problems) among 155 Korean American adolescents. Religious socialization by parents and peers were positively associated with adolescents' religious identity and social competence. Religious identity fully mediated the relationship between religious socialization by parents and social competence, and partially mediated the relationship between religious socialization by peers and social competence. A competing model with religious identity as a moderator found adolescents with low religious identity showed significantly more externalizing behavior problems when they received more religious socialization from parents.     

The Impact of Culture and Religion in the United States and Saudi Arabia on the Concept of Justice and its Treatment of Insanity Defense

In this paper I examine convergent and divergent perspectives on justice and their relation to culpability. Two culturally distinct judicial systems serve as the focus, the American rule of law, and Saudi Arabian legal procedures. I studied cultural and legal differences by examining the insanity defense and how it is perceived and practiced in both American and Saudi Arabian societies, according to the prevailing contemporary legal systems.     

Parental Emotion Socialization in Clinically Depressed Adolescents: Enhancing and Dampening Positive Affect

This study compared parental socialization of adolescent positive affect in families of depressed and healthy adolescents. Participants were 107 adolescents (42 boys) aged 14 – 18 years and their parents. Half of the participants met criteria for major depressive disorder and the others were demographically matched adolescents without emotional or behavioral disorders. Results based on multi-source questionnaire and interview data indicated that mothers and fathers of depressed adolescents were less accepting of adolescents’ positive affect and more likely to use strategies that dampen adolescents’ positive affect than were parents of healthy adolescents. Additionally, fathers of depressed adolescents exhibited fewer responses likely to enhance the adolescents’ positive affect than were fathers of healthy adolescents. These findings build on those of previous work in examining parental responses to adolescent emotions, focusing on positive emotions and including both mothers and fathers.     

Rural African American Adolescents' Future Orientation: The Importance of Self-Efficacy,Control and Responsibility,and Identity Development

Future orientation has been linked to a range of positive adolescent outcomes (e.g., Nurmi, 1991, 1993; Pulkkinen & Ronka, 1994), whereas a lack of orientation to the future has been associated with delinquency (e.g., Oyserman & Saltz, 1993; Trommsdorff & Lamm, 1980). The purpose of this study was to examine variation in future education and future career orientation within a sample of rural, African American adolescents. It was found that identity exploration and commitment, self-efficacy, control, and responsibility were predictive of future orientation. Furthermore, grade level moderated the relation between control and responsibility and future orientation; for younger adolescents, greater perceived control and responsibility was related to a stronger future orientation. In addition, gender moderated the relation between identity exploration and future orientation; for male adolescents, having higher levels of identity exploration was related to a stronger future orientation.     

Mothers’ Dreams,Children Realities: The Case of Uprooted Families from South Lebanon

In this exploratory qualitative study, 15 mothers and 18 adolescents who, as family members of the South Lebanon Army, were uprooted from that country and now living in Israel, were interviewed separately. The mothers described their image of the adaptive adult, which stressed the positive values of loyalty to the family, orientation toward the group, respect, and acceptance of hierarchy and guided their child‐rearing goals and socialization. The children shared similar attitudes about the importance of family loyalty and orientation toward the group, but differed from their mothers with regard to the issues of respect and obedience. We discussed the notion of “liminality,” to further our understanding of the families in transition and suggest how it applies to the uprooted members of South Lebanon army. We suggest that different time orientations and contextual factors influence the participating mothers’ image of the adaptive adult and the degree to which their children accept it. Implications for research and interventions are also explored.