Youth anti-racism action: Contributions of youth perceptions of school racial messages and critical consciousness.

The current study examined whether youth perceptions of school racial messages that acknowledged the reality of racism (critical consciousness [CC] messages) or denied racism (color-blind messages) predicted youth anti-racism action through interpersonal and communal/political means. We further tested whether youths' critical reflection of perceived inequality and anger toward social injustice-psychological aspects of CC development-mediated relations between school messages and youth actions. These questions were explored using structural equation modeling with 372 racially/ethnically diverse adolescents (Mage = 17.00; standard deviation = 1.29; female = 51.0%). Results indicated that youth perceptions of CC messages predicted their involvement in both interpersonal and communal/political anti-racism action. Youths' anger toward social injustice mediated links between school racial messages and anti-racism action, albeit in unique ways. These findings underscore the power of schools in prompting youth anti-racism action. Implications of the importance of partnerships between schools and youth community organizing groups to stimulate youth anti-racism action were discussed.

Children's and adolescents' understanding and experiences of economic inequality: An introduction to the special section.

The unprecedented state of economic inequality faced by many countries around the world is one of the most pressing social issues of the day, with far-reaching consequences for child and adolescent development. Despite the intensity of the public and scientific discourse on this topic, less scientific attention has been paid to young people's understanding and experiences of economic inequality, including their perceptions and beliefs about their own and others' social status and of the economic and sociopolitical contexts in which they are growing up. The collection of articles in this special section of Developmental Psychology seek to advance the theoretical and empirical knowledge base on children and adolescents' perceptions, experiences, and reasoning about economic inequality, with attention to the processes by which inequality affects developmental outcomes. Three invited commentaries provide a synthesis of the articles, offer thoughtful and insightful theoretical and methodological critiques, situate the findings in a more global context, and advance future directions for scholarship on this topic. In this introduction, the authors provide an overview of the special section and offer directions for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Exploring the associations between youths' explanations of poverty at the societal level and judgements of distributive justice.

This study explores whether adolescents' societal explanations regarding the causes of poverty are associated with distributive justice reasoning. Survey data were collected from 425 6th-12th graders who answered questions concerning the causes of poverty and a vignette depicting a hypothetical class project designed to assess the degree to which the adolescent respondent would distribute resources based on principles of need or merit. Findings indicated that adolescents who explained poverty based on structural or a mix of structural and individual causes were more likely to base decisions about resource distribution on need, whereas those who attributed poverty to individual causes distributed resources based on merit. Participants who were older, female, Caucasian, and from a higher socioeconomic status (SES) background were more likely to indicate need as a basis for distributing resources. Poverty attributions (i.e., societal, and mixed) had a significant interaction with age and SES in predicting distributive justice reasoning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

How Unequal Is the United States? Adolescents' Images of Social Stratification.

This study highlights the use of pictorial images to understand adolescents' views on social stratification. A continuum of five visual images of social stratification were presented to a diverse sample of five hundred ninety-eight 8th-12th graders (14-18 years old). Adolescents selected which image best represented the United States (today, in 20 years, how it ought to be). Images ranged from inequitable to egalitarian. Results supported reference group and possible selves theories. Adolescents in higher status families chose a more egalitarian image for how the United States is today and how it ought to be. African Americans considered the United States today more unequal. Differences in adolescents' commitment to an egalitarian ideal depended on their reactions to inequality and their beliefs about government responsiveness, bolstering the measure's validity.

Social Justice and the Environmental Commons.

In this chapter, we build on the scholarship on youth civic engagement by turning attention to the environmental commons as a space for political action. We begin with a definition of the term and arguments about ways that social justice is implied in it. Following that, we raise several psychological challenges to motivating action on behalf of the environmental commons and discuss the critical experiences and actions that can defy those challenges. Finally, drawing from Ostrom's empirical evidence opposing a tragedy of the commons, we discuss practices consistent with a social justice approach that nurture in younger generations an identification with and commitment to the environmental commons and discuss how this orientation would benefit human beings, democracies, and the earth.

Developmental change in social responsibility during adolescence: An ecological perspective.

Social responsibility can be defined as a set of prosocial values representing personal commitments to contribute to community and society. Little is known about developmental change-and predictors of that change-in social responsibility during adolescence. The present study used an accelerated longitudinal research design to investigate the developmental trajectory of social responsibility values and ecological assets across family, school, community, and peer settings that predict these values. Data come from a 3-year study of 3,683 U.S. adolescents enrolled in upper-level elementary, middle, and high schools in rural, semiurban, and urban communities. Social responsibility values significantly decreased from age 9 to 16 before leveling off in later adolescence. Family compassion messages and democratic climate, school solidarity, community connectedness, and trusted friendship, positively predicted within-person change in adolescents' social responsibility values. These findings held after accounting for other individual-level and demographic factors and provide support for the role of ecological assets in adolescents' social responsibility development. In addition, fair society beliefs and volunteer experience had positive between- and within-person associations with social responsibility values. The manuscript discusses theoretical and practical implications of the conclusion that declines in ecological assets may partly explain age-related declines in social responsibility values. (PsycINFO Database Record

Adolescents' theories about economic inequality: why are some people poor while others are rich?

Open-ended responses of an ethnically and socioeconomically diverse sample of 593 12- to 19-year-olds (M = 16 years old, SD = 1.59) were analyzed to explain why some people in the United States are poor and others are rich. Adolescents had more knowledge and a more complex understanding of wealth than of poverty and older adolescents had more knowledge and a more complex understanding of both. Controlling for age and demographics, adolescents had a deeper understanding of inequality if they were female, from better educated families, discussed current events in their families, and attended schools with classmates who discussed current events in their families. Higher parental education and attending schools with classmates who discussed current events with their families increased the likelihood of structural attributions for poverty. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).

Parenting practices and the development of adolescents' social trust.

Social trust (ST) (i.e., beliefs that people are generally fair and trustworthy) is a critical disposition for democratic governance. Yet there has been scant research on its developmental foundations. We assess factors related to ST in 11-18 year olds with survey data collected over two years from 1150 U.S. adolescents and their mothers. Adolescents' ST in year 1 and their reports of a positive neighborhood climate predicted ST one year later. Adolescents' reports of family practices were stronger predictors of their ST than were mothers' reports. Regression analyses revealed different factors predicting changes in ST for three adolescent age groups: With ST at T1 and background factors controlled, democratic parenting boosted ST for early- and middle-adolescents. Adolescents' reports that parents encouraged compassion for others boosted ST for middle- and late-adolescents, and parental cautions about other people taking advantage diminished ST among middle adolescents. Results suggest that the disposition to trust others is formed, in part, by what adolescents hear from parents about their responsibilities to fellow human beings and by modeling of democratic parenting.

Socialization in context: exploring longitudinal correlates of mothers' value messages of compassion and caution.

This study examined correlates of mothers' value messages using mother and adolescent reports across 3 years (N =1,638 dyads). Two fundamental socialization dimensions were assessed: compassion messages (e.g., caring for others) and caution messages (e.g., being wary of others). Multilevel models revealed distinct between-person and within-person correlates for mothers' compassion and caution messages. Individual differences in compassion messages were predicted by family context (e.g., mothers' knowledge of friends and concerns for their child's future) and neighborhood cohesion. Within-person effects demonstrated that compassion declined in concert with adolescents' experiences of being bullied. Caution messages were predicted by mothers' education levels, race/ethnicity, and marital status, and increased in relation to mothers' concerns and perceptions that illegal substances were easily attainable in the community. Tests of age, period, and cohort effects unexpectedly revealed that longitudinal changes in compassion and caution were best explained by period effects. Consistent with new developments in value socialization theory, results suggest that mothers place emphasis on certain values on the basis of their backgrounds, their children's characteristics, and the broader social context.

Youth civic development: historical context and emerging issues.

The civic domain has taken its place in the scholarship and practice of youth development. From the beginning, the field has focused on youth as assets who contribute to the common good of their communities. Work at the cutting edge of this field integrates research and practice and focuses on the civic incorporation of groups who often have been marginalized from mainstream society. The body of work also extends topics of relevance to human development by considering themes of justice, social responsibility, critical consciousness, and collective action.

Youth civic development: theorizing a domain with evidence from different cultural contexts.

The authors use examples of youth civic engagement from Chile, South Africa, Central/Eastern Europe, and the United States--and also emphasize diversities among youth from different subgroups within countries--to illustrate common elements of the civic domain of youth development. These include the primacy of collective activity for forming political identities and ideas and the greater heterogeneity of civic compared to other discretionary activities, the groupways or accumulated opportunities for acting due to the groups (social class, gender, ethnic, caste, etc.) to which a young person belongs, and the role of mediating institutions (schools, community-based organizations, etc.) as spaces where youths' actions contribute to political stability and change.

Exploring the Changing Meaning of Work for American High School Seniors from 1976 to 2005.

Using data from the Monitoring the Future study, this paper presents historical trends in U.S. high school seniors' work values across 30 years (1976 to 2005. Adolescents across three decades highly valued most aspects of work examined. Recent cohorts showed declines in the importance of work, values for job security, and various potential intrinsic rewards of work. After increasing until 1990, adolescents remained stable in their values for extrinsic and materialistic aspects of work until 2005. The value of work that allows for leisure time has steadily increased. Stable level differences in work values emerged for adolescents by gender, race, parents' education, and college aspirations. Findings have implications for understanding the changing meaning of work for the future workforce.

Thirty Year Trends in U.S. Adolescents' Civic Engagement: A Story of Changing Participation and Educational Differences.

Using annual cross-sectional data from Monitoring the Future, the present study examined trends in high school seniors' current and anticipated civic participation and beliefs over a 30-year period. We examined overall trends and patterns based on youths' post-high school educational plans. Findings point to declines in recent cohorts' involvement in conventional and alternative forms of engagement but greater involvement in community service. Regardless of period, the majority of youth said they intended to vote when eligible but few expressed trust in the government or elected officials. All civic indicators showed significant differences based on youths' college aspirations: Youth who planned to graduate from a 4-year college were more civically inclined than their peers with 2-year or no college plans.

Developmental Patterns of Social Trust between Early and Late Adolescence: Age and School Climate Effects.

Social trust (i.e., beliefs that people are generally fair and trustworthy) is important to the functioning of democracies and trend studies show it has declined. We test hypotheses concerning the development of these beliefs in adolescence. Based on surveys of 1535 adolescents collected over two years, we find that middle and late adolescents had significantly lower levels of trust than early adolescents and that these beliefs became more stable and less related to interpersonal trust between early and late adolescence. Results of multiple group SEMs revealed that, regardless of age, adolescents' reports that a strong sense of student solidarity characterized their school significantly increased ST at T2, controlling for levels at T1, and opportunities to exchange perspectives with fellow students increased ST at T2 indirectly, through feelings of student solidarity. The study points to the role of schools in nurturing the democratic dispositions of younger generations.

Examining Trends in Adolescent Environmental Attitudes, Beliefs, and Behaviors Across Three Decades.

Since the Environmental Movement began, adolescents' views have been largely ignored in studies of public opinion. The article presents a descriptive analysis of trends in the environmental attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of high school seniors from 1976 to 2005 using data from the Monitoring the Future study. Across a range of indicators, environmental concerns of adolescents show increases during the early 1990s and declines across the remainder of the three decades. Declining trends in reports of personal responsibility for the environment, conservation behaviors, and the belief that resources are scarce are particularly noteworthy. Across all years, findings reveal that youth tended to assign responsibility for the environment to the government and consumers rather than accepting personal responsibility. Recent declines in environmental concerns for this nationally representative sample of youth signal the need for a renewed focus on young people's views and call for better environmental education and governmental leadership.

Ethnic awareness, prejudice, and civic commitments in four ethnic groups of American adolescents.

The role of prejudice and ethnic awareness in the civic commitments and beliefs about the American social contract of 1,096 (53% female) adolescents (11-18 year olds, Mean = 15) from African-, Arab-, Latino-, and European-American backgrounds were compared. Ethnic awareness was higher among minority youth and discrimination more often reported by African- and Arab-Americans. Parental admonitions against discrimination were heard by all but African Americans, Latinos and those who reported prejudice heard that it could pose a barrier. Adolescents' beliefs that America is an equal opportunity society were negatively associated with experiences of discrimination and African-Americans were least likely to believe that the government was responsive to the average person. With respect to civic goals, all youth endorsed patriotism but ethnic minorities and ethnically aware youth were more committed to advocating for their ethnic group and European-Americans were less committed than were African Americans to improving race relations.

Code of Silence: Students' Perceptions of School Climate and Willingness to Intervene in a Peer's Dangerous Plan.

The current study presented 1,933 adolescents from 13 schools with a scenario about a hypothetical peer's plan to "do something dangerous" at school and asked how likely they would be to respond with four different actions: intervene directly, tell a teacher or principal, discuss it with a friend but not an adult, and do nothing. High school students were less likely than those in middle school to say they would approach the peer directly or confide in a teacher or principal. Students were most likely to favor taking action on their own over all of the other response strategies. Students with positive perceptions of their schools were more likely to say they would do something rather than ignore their peer's dangerous intentions. These relationships were mediated by students' beliefs that confiding in a teacher may have unfavorable consequences. Findings from this study support the important role schools play in creating a culture where students take responsibility for one another.

Friends don't let friends ...or do they? Developmental and gender differences in intervening in friends' ATOD use.

This study focused on the strategies adolescents endorsed for situations in which friends were experimenting with alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. Four hypothetical vignettes (concerning a friend smoking, using drugs, getting drunk at a party, or deciding whether to attend a party with alcohol and drugs) were presented to 2697 5th-12th graders. Whereas younger students were more likely to choose proactive strategies (talking to the friend or an adult or ending the friendship), older students were more inclined to say they would ignore a friend's smoking and drug use although they would take the car keys away from a friend drinking alcohol. Among those 13 years old and older, the more dangerous the substance, the more inclined the youth were to intervene. Females were more inclined than males to talk to friends about smoking, drinking, and drugs and less inclined to ignore the behaviors or stop being a friend.