National-Level Disparities in Internet Access Among Low-Income and Black and Hispanic Youth: Current Population Survey.

BACKGROUND: Internet access is increasingly critical for adolescents with regard to obtaining health information and resources, participating in web-based health promotion, and communicating with health practitioners. However, past work demonstrates that access is not uniform among youth in the United States, with lower access found among groups with higher health-related needs. Population-level data yield important insights about access and internet use in the United States. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to examine internet access and mode of access by social class and race and ethnicity among youth (aged 14-17 years) in the United States. METHODS: Using the Current Population Survey, we examined internet access, cell phone or smartphone access, and modes of connecting to the internet for adolescents in 2015 (unweighted N=6950; expanded weights N=17,103,547) and 2017 (unweighted N=6761; expanded weights N=17,379,728). RESULTS: Internet access increased from 2015 to 2017, but socioeconomic status (SES) and racial and ethnic disparities remained. In 2017, the greatest disparities were found for youth in low-income households (no home access=23%) and for Black youth (no home access=18%) and Hispanic youth (no home access=14%). Low-income Black and Hispanic youth were the most likely to lack home internet access (no home access, low SES Black youth=29%; low SES Hispanic youth=21%). The mode of access (eg, from home and smartphone) and smartphone-only analyses also revealed disparities. CONCLUSIONS: Without internet access, web-based dissemination of information, health promotion, and health care will not reach a significant segment of youth. Currently, SES and racial and ethnic disparities in access prolong health inequalities. Moreover, the economic impact of COVID-19 on Black, Hispanic, and low-income communities may lead to losses in internet access for youth that will further exacerbate disparities.

Low-income youth and long-term school permanence: the senses built up by Prouni scholarship holders in Belo Horizonte (MG) / Juventude pobre e longevidade escolar: sentidos construídos por bolsistas do Prouni em Belo Horizonte (MG) / Juventud pobre y longevidad escolar: sentidos construidos por becarios del Prouni en Belo Horizonte (MG)

This article is derived from a doctoral research carried out in Belo Horizonte (MG), aiming at learning and understanding the senses low-income youths, who are Prouni (University for All Program) scholarship holders, set up concerning long-term school permanence. The qualitative study is anchored in the theoretical-methodological principles of Socio-Historical Psychology, which emphasizes the constitution of the subject in the socio-historical context, in addition to the subjects' activity as potential changers of their own context. In order to understand low-income youths' unique experience of long-term school permanence, we present the notion of youth as a plural category, as well as the Prounischolarship holders' life contexts, and the senses they develop based on their own experience as university students, which we collected using semi-structured interviews.

O presente artigo é derivado de pesquisa de doutoramento realizada em Belo Horizonte (MG), cujo objetivo foi apreender e compreender os sentidos que os jovens pobres, bolsistas do Programa Universidade para Todos (Prouni) constroem para a longevidade escolar. O estudo qualitativo foi ancorado nos princípios teórico-metodológicos da Psicologia Sócio-Histórica, que enfatiza a constituição do sujeito no contexto sócio-histórico, bem como a atividade do sujeito como potencialmente transformadora do próprio contexto. Para a compreensão da vivência singular da longevidade escolar dos jovens pobres, apresentamos a noção de juventude como uma categoria plural, os contextos de vida dos jovens bolsistas do Prouni e os sentidos que eles constroem para a própria experiência de estudantes universitários, que buscamos apreender por meio da realização de entrevistas semiestruturadas.

El presente artículo se deriva de la investigación de doctorado realizada en Belo Horizonte (MG), cuyo objetivo fue aprehender y comprender los sentidos que los jóvenes pobres, becarios del Programa Universidad para Todos (Prouni) construyen para la longevidad escolar. El estudio cualitativo fue anclado en los principios teórico-metodológicos de la Psicología Socio-Histórica, que enfatiza la constitución del sujeto en el contexto socio-histórico, así como la actividad del sujeto como potencialmente transformadora del propio contexto. Para la comprensión de la vivencia singular de la longevidad escolar de los jóvenes pobres, presentamos la noción de juventud como una categoría plural, los contextos de vida de los jóvenes becarios del Prouni y los sentidos que ellos construyen para la propia experiencia de estudiantes universitarios, que buscamos aprehender por medio de la realización de entrevistas semiestructuradas.

Preparation for Meaningful Work and Life: Urban High School Youth's Reflections on Work-Based Learning 1 Year Post-Graduation.

The challenges confronted by low-income high school students throughout school and across the transition to higher education and employment are well-documented in the US and many other nations. Adopting a positive youth development perspective (Lerner et al., 2005), this study reports findings from interviews with 18 low-income, racially and ethnically diverse graduates of an urban Catholic high school in the US. The interviews were designed to shed light on the post-high school experiences of urban high school graduates and to understand how students construct meaning about the value of school and work-based learning (WBL) in their preparation for meaningful work and life. The interviews highlight the perceived value of the academic and non-cognitive preparation students experienced through high school and WBL in relation to the challenges they encountered along the pathway to post-high school success and decent work. Overall, the findings suggest the potential of WBL for low-income youth in facilitating access to resources that build academic and psychological/non-cognitive assets, while also illustrating the role of structural and contextual factors in shaping post-high school transitions and access to meaningful work and life opportunities.

The Moderating Role of Dysfunctional Parent-Child Relationships on the Association Between Outward Anger Expression and Physical Health in Youth From Low-Income Families.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to examine the role of outward anger expression on physical health outcomes (number of illnesses in the past year, 2-year medical service utilization, and health-related quality of life) while also expanding on previous research by assessing the moderating effect of parent-child dysfunction. METHOD: An ethnically diverse sample of 125 children, ages 8 to 11 years, was recruited from a family medicine practice serving a low-income population. RESULTS: High levels of outward anger expression were related to a greater number of illnesses, greater medical service utilization, and lower health-related quality of life. Additionally, worse parent-child dysfunction exacerbated this relationship for a number of illnesses and medical service utilization. CONCLUSION: Results suggest that health care providers should consider the influence of environmental and familial factors on the physical health of children with anger. Recommendations for identifying at-risk youth and improving anger expression as well as parent-child relationships are provided.

Older opposite-sex romantic partners, sexual risk, and victimization in adolescence.

This study examined how age gaps among opposite-sex romantic partners related to sexual risk-taking and victimization by partners among 201 at-risk adolescents (60.2% female). We examined three questions: (a) is younger partner age, age gap between partners, or a combination of these two factors most strongly related to negative outcomes; (b) do age gaps relate to negative outcomes differently for male versus female adolescents; and (c) why do age gaps relate to negative outcomes? Results revealed that the wider the age gap between partners, the more likely adolescents were to engage in sex and the less likely they were to use protection against pregnancy and STIs. Wider age gaps were also associated with more frequent emotional and physical victimization and higher odds of unwanted sexual behavior. Findings did not differ significantly by gender or younger partner age. Analyses revealed that the wider the age gap, the more likely both partners were to engage in risky lifestyles (i.e., substance use and delinquency), and risky lifestyles - rather than poor negotiation or decision-making equality - helped to explain associations between age gaps and engagement in sexual intercourse and victimization experiences. Results suggest that relationships with age gaps tend to involve two partners who are engaging in deviant lifestyles overall, further corroborating the need to identify and provide services to these youth. Results also support movements toward considering partner age gaps rather than relying on a set age of consent when determining adolescents' legal competency to consent to sex.