Managing difficult and violent adolescents ( adolescents difficiles) in France: a genealogical approach.

'Difficult adolescent' is a clinical category defined by psychiatrists' expertise. Since the end of the 1990s, it has been extensively used to describe a population of disruptive, violent yet vulnerable adolescents, at the margins of public institutions that manage youth deviancy in France. For the present study, an interconnected network of 49 documents was analysed using a genealogical method in order to provide comprehensive elements in the results. This category found its ecological niche in the 1960s, revealing a moral tension in the use of constraint. It addressed new problems of intractable individuals, whose dangerousness and vulnerability require coordination between penal, social and psychiatric institutions. It defines an ambiguous condition, suspended between the trouble experienced by the caregivers and an adolescent's individual disorder.

Historical variation in young adult binge drinking trajectories and its link to historical variation in social roles and minimum legal drinking age.

This study examines historical variation in age 18 to 26 binge drinking trajectories, focusing on differences in both levels of use and rates of change (growth) across cohorts of young adults over 3 decades. As part of the national Monitoring the Future Study, over 64,000 youths from the high school classes of 1976 to 2004 were surveyed at biennial intervals between ages 18 and 26. We found that, relative to past cohorts, recent cohorts both enter the 18 to 26 age band engaging in lower levels and exit the 18 to 26 age band engaging in higher levels of binge drinking. The reason for this reversal is that, relative to past cohorts, binge drinking among recent cohorts accelerates more quickly across ages 18 to 22 and decelerates more slowly across ages 22 to 26. Moreover, we found that historical increases in minimum legal drinking age account for a portion of the historical decline in age 18 level, whereas historical variation in social role acquisition (e.g., marriage, parenthood, and employment) accounts for a portion of the historical acceleration in age 18 to 22 growth. We also found that historical variation in the age 18 to 22 and age 22 to 26 growth rates was strongly and positively connected, suggesting common mechanism(s) underlie historical variation of both growth rates. Findings were generally consistent across gender and indicate that historical time is an important source of individual differences in young adult binge drinking trajectories. Beyond binge drinking, historical time may also inform the developmental course of other young adult risk behaviors, highlighting the interplay of epidemiology and etiology.

Lindon J. Eaves, Ph.D., M.A. (Oxon), D.Sc. Theory-model-data.

We begin this special issue by providing a glimpse into the career of Dr. Lindon J. Eaves, from the perspectives of a student, postdoc, instructor, assistant to associate and full professor over the last 20 odd years. We focus primarily on Lindon's contributions to methodological issues and research designs to address them, in particular those related to models for extended twin-family designs, for the development of adolescent behavior, for genotype-environment covariation and interaction, and their application to the Virginia 30,000 and the Virginia Twin Study of Adolescent Behavioral Development. We then introduce the collection of papers in this special festschrift issue of Behavior Genetics, celebrating Dr. Eaves achievements over the last 40 years.

Latent classiness and other mixtures.

The aim of this article is to laud Lindon Eaves' role in the development of mixture modeling in genetic studies. The specification of models for mixture distributions was very much in its infancy when Professor Eaves implemented it in his own FORTRAN programs, and extended it to data collected from relatives such as twins. It was his collaboration with the author of this article which led to the first implementation of mixture distribution modeling in a general-purpose structural equation modeling program, Mx, resulting in a 1996 article on linkage analysis in Behavior Genetics. Today, the popularity of these methods continues to grow, encompassing methods for genetic association, latent class analysis, growth curve mixture modeling, factor mixture modeling, regime switching, marginal maximum likelihood, genotype by environment interaction, variance component twin modeling in the absence of zygosity information, and many others. This primarily historical article concludes with some consideration of some possible future developments.

[Adolescence yesterday and today: care issues]. / L'adolescenza ieri e oggi: aspetti assistenziali.

In ancient Greece, the chronological boundaries of the stages of life hinged upon Solon's theory of human life as divided into ten seven year stages. At the peak of Latin civilization, the chronological limits of the infant, pueritia and adulescentia were respectively 0-8 years, 8-16 years and 16-17 years, when in a ceremony the adolescent (a term derived from adolescente (m) present participle of the Latin verb adolescere = to grow) wearing the "toga of manhood" is declared an adult (teenager adult) and up to 30 years later iuventus. Throughout the following centuries, the chronological boundaries of the various ages came to acquire only a theoretical worth, since the child, once introduced to the world of work, used to suddenly become an adult. Only in the wave of Humanism in the XVI-XVII century, people started to rediscover the Greek 'paideia' (education), the Latin Humanitas' (recognition and respect towards manhood in every man), and, through the Christian 'caritas' (to recognize and to love the son of God in every man) begins a moral vision of childhood, of his weakness and innocence, a reflection of the 'divine purity'. In this evolution, the twentieth century identifies itself with adolescence, so that history moves from an era devoiced of adolescence to an age in which adolescence appears to be the privileged age: the adolescent is the hero of the twentieth century. Several and many important institutions have proceeded to recognize the essential rights of adolescent care in pediatric departments, but many are still admitted to adult wards with suboptimal therapeutic results, particularly for blood-cancer. The pediatrician, both the family one and the one in the hospital, must be the referees for the health of the adolescent, especially in cases of chronic diseases or in those of psychosocial relevance, following her in the path of the disease especially if other specialists are involved with a view to further investigation, and establishing, since early childhood, communication, dialogue and compliance with her and the whole family. One of the greatest philosophers and sophists of Magna Graecia, Gorgia of Lentini, used to state that the word has tremendous power: it can instill the joy, eliminate pain, enhance compassion, put an end to fear: then be medicine for the suffering. The doctor is in fact, in certain situations of life, a drug for his patient. He is the most widely used drug because drugs are not the only thing that matters: the soul of medicine lies in the relationship, in the communication between the healer and the healed.

Family structure, family disruption, and profiles of adolescent religiosity.

Youth in the United States are experiencing increasing numbers of family transitions as parents move in and out of marriages and cohabiting relationships. Using three waves of survey data from the National Study of Youth and Religion, I examine the relationship between family structure, parental breakup, and adolescent religiosity. A person-centered measure of the religiosity of adolescents is used to identify youth as Abiders, Adapters, Assenters, Avoiders, or Atheists and to assess movement of youth between the religious profiles between 2003 and 2008. Wave 1 family structure is not significantly related to religious change among adolescents at Wave 3. In contrast, the experience of a parental breakup is related to a change in religious profiles over time. Parental breakup is associated with religious decline among Abiders and Adapters, youth characterized by high levels of religious salience. However, among Assenters who are marginally tied to religion, a parental breakup or divorce is associated with increased religious engagement.

Gender and the influence of peer alcohol consumption on adolescent sexual activity.

I consider the alcohol consumption of opposite-gender peers as explanatory to adolescent sexual intercourse and demonstrate that female sexual activity is higher where there is higher alcohol consumption among male peers. This relationship is robust to school fixed effects, cannot be explained by broader cohort effects or general antisocial behaviors in male peer groups, and is distinctly different from any influence of the alcohol consumption of female peers which is shown to have no influence on female sexual activity. There is no evidence that male sexual activity responds to female peer alcohol consumption.

Styling the revolution: masculinities, youth, and street politics in Jakarta, Indonesia.

This article explores the changes to urban political culture in Jakarta, Indonesia, from 1998 to the present. By tracing the contributions of youth activists, and middle-class university students in particular, to the production of the street as a political and public space, the author demonstrates to what extent the democratized post-Suharto era naturalizes the place of youth in nationalist politics. Central to this inquiry of youth identity formation is the elision of class and gender as analytical categories. Student movements in 1998 and after have relied on a specific masculine style that draws on both the authenticity of nationalist historical narratives and the street as the domain of the People, and in the process masks potentially contentious class and gender differences among progressive activists.

Ambition gone awry: the long-term socioeconomic consequences of misaligned and uncertain ambitions in adolescence.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to investigate whether misaligned or uncertain ambitions in adolescence influence the process of socioeconomic attainment. METHODS: Using 34 years of longitudinal data from the British Cohort Study (BCS70), we considered whether youth with (1) misaligned ambitions (i.e., those who either over- or underestimate the level of education required for their desired occupation), (2) both low occupational aspirations and educational expectations (low-aligned ambitions), and (3) uncertainty with regard to their future occupations (uncertain ambitions) at age 16 experienced more unemployment spells, lower educational attainment, and lower hourly wages in adulthood compared to youth with high occupational aspirations and educational expectations (high-aligned ambitions). RESULTS: Youth who hold misaligned or uncertain aspirations show long-term deficits in employment stability and educational attainment, which in turn leads to lower wage attainments at age 34. CONCLUSION: Misaligned and uncertain ambitions in adolescence compromise the construction of life paths and the realization of long-term educational and occupational goals.

A reassessment of the association between social disorganization and youth violence in rural areas.

OBJECTIVE: To study the association between social disorganization and youth violence rates in rural communities. METHOD: We employed rural Missouri counties (N = 106) as units of analysis, measured serious violent victimization data via hospital records, and the same measures of social disorganization as Osgood and Chambers (2000). Controlling for spatial autocorrelation, the negative binomial estimator was used to estimate the effects of social disorganization on youth violence rates. RESULTS: Unlike Osgood and Chambers, we found only one of five social disorganization measures, the proportion of female-headed households, to be associated with rural youth violent victimization rates. CONCLUSION: Although most research on social disorganization theory has been undertaken on urban areas, a highly cited Osgood and Chambers (2000) study appeared to extend the generalize ability of social disorganization as an explanation of the distribution of youth violence to rural areas. Our results suggest otherwise. We provide several methodological and theoretical reasons why it may be too early to draw strong conclusions about the generalize ability of social disorganization to crime rates in rural communities.

Beliefs about alcohol and the college experience, locus of self, and college undergraduates' drinking patterns.

The purpose of this study is to assess the extent to which locus of self (institutional versus impulse), measured using the Twenty Statements Test (TST), moderates the relationship between beliefs about alcohol and the college experience (BACE) and alcohol use among college undergraduates. Although the majority of our respondents listed more idiosyncratic personal characteristics and preferences than consensual social roles in response to the TST, the number of students classified as institutionals was notably higher than what has been reported within the literature. In opposition to our hypothesis that BACE would affect levels of alcohol consumption primarily among these individuals, our results indicated that the perception that alcohol use is integral to the college experience had a relatively minimal effect on drinking among respondents who defined themselves in terms of institutional roles. Moreover, multiple social roles themselves appeared to reduce the effects of BACE on levels of alcohol consumption. More impulse-oriented personal characteristics and preferences did not exhibit this moderating influence. Thus, our findings suggest that role occupation may be more important than locus of self in shaping students' susceptibility to beliefs about drinking and college life.

Return of separated children: the impact of Dutch policies.

In many European countries, both the voluntary and the forced return of rejected asylum seekers are problematic. In the case of separated children, the difficulties seem to be even greater. In the Netherlands, many of these children disappear from the reception centres for unknown destinations, instead of returning to their home country. The new, stricter return policies adopted by the Dutch government in recent years have not (yet) changed this situation.In an explorative study of separated children aged between 15 and 18, the implementation and results of these policies were studied. The impact of the activities designed to promote voluntary return appeared to be very limited. Most separated young people did not want to consider return and did not take any action in this regard. Forced return rarely constituted a viable alternative. These findings may be explained by several factors. Among other things, considerations pertaining to personal security, family circumstances, and structural conditions in the countries of origin influence both the attitudes and behaviours of separated children, and host government policies. Moreover, many children were not willing to discuss their return with the youth care workers who were supposed to discuss and promote a voluntary return with them. The fact that most of the young people were allowed to stay in the reception centres until their eighteenth birthday enabled them to postpone making a final decision. A forced return was hindered by such obstacles as the absence of documents and the lack of appropriate care in the country of origin. More insight into the backgrounds of separated children and the (im)possibilities regarding their return seems necessary to be able to design more effective return policies.

Consequences of black exceptionalism? Interracial unions with blacks, depressive symptoms, and relationship satisfaction.

Using data from Wave 4 (2008) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N = 7,466), we examine potential consequences of black exceptionalism in the context of interracial relationships among nonblack respondents. While increasing racial diversity and climbing rates of interracial unions have fostered the notion that racial boundaries within the United States are fading, our results add to the accumulating evidence that racial/ethnic boundaries persist in U.S. society. Results suggest that among non-Black respondents there is more stigma and disapproval attached to relationships with Blacks than there are to relationships with members of other racial/ethnic groups. Specifically, our results indicate that nonblack individuals with black partners have significantly more depressive symptoms and less relationship satisfaction than their counterparts with nonblack partners, regardless of respondent race and whether the nonblack partner is the same versus a different race from the respondent. Further, the relationship between partner race and depressive symptoms is partially and significantly mediated by relationship satisfaction.

Darning, doylies and dancing: the work of the Leeds Association of Girls' Clubs (1904-1913).

The Leeds Association of Girls' Clubs (LAGC) was set up by a group of women, including Hilda Hargrove, Dr Lucy Buckley and Mary and Margaret Harvey, to promote collaboration between the city's girls' clubs. The organisation epitomised women working in partnership whilst reflecting their differing philanthropic and political interests. However LAGC's collaborative approach resulted in liberal consensus which downplayed the significance of girls' working conditions. Throughout the decade LAGC's focus was its annual competitions. These featured utilitarian and decorative handicrafts (darning and doylies) enshrining both frugality and aspiration, alongside dance and drill which channelled girls' vigour. Nevertheless, LAGC's resilience resulted in an organisation which is still in existence.

Digital expression among urban, low-income African American adolescents.

Digital production is a means through which African American adolescents communicate and express their experiences with peers. This study examined the content and the form of the digital productions of 24 urban, low-income African American adolescents who attended a summer academic program. The content of student digital productions focused on academic experiences and friendships. Their production styles revealed that youth used perceptually salient production features, such as rapid scene changes and loud rap music. The results suggest that when placed in a supportive, academic environment and provided with digital production resources, students who traditionally face barriers due to cultural and economic inequalities digitally express to their peers an interest in academics and positive peer relationships, and that these youth communicate their experiences through a shared production style that reflects their broader cultural experiences.