Religiosity and Associations with Substance Use and Delinquency Among Urban African American Adolescents.

Adolescent delinquency and substance use are global problems. African American adolescents are especially susceptible to the life-changing consequences of these problem behaviors. Religiosity is a notable protective factor that has been shown to mitigate these behaviors. This study uses a person-centered approach to examine the extent to which religiosity is associated with lower rates of delinquency and substance use among urban African American adolescents in the United States. Latent Class Analysis was used to examine the heterogeneity in five religiosity items among a sample of adolescents ages 13-18. After identifying religiosity classes through a class enumeration process, we examined predictors of the classes using multinomial logistic regression. The classes were then used to predict several substance use and delinquency outcomes. Three religiosity classes were identified; "low religious beliefs and engagement," (15.19%, n = 94), "religious with low active engagement," (56.70%, n = 351), and "religious with high active engagement," (28.11%, n = 174). Protective effects of religiosity on substance use (e.g., alcohol) and delinquency were found (e.g., assault). Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Predição de suicídio entre adolescentes a partir da última década pré-pandêmica em Mato Grosso / Prediction of suicides among teenagers from the last pre- pademic decade in Mato Grosso / Predicción del suicidios en adolescentes de la última década pre-pedémica en Mato Grosso

Objetivo: analisar a predição de suicídios entre adolescentes a partir da última década pré-pandêmica em Mato Grosso. Método: trata-se de estudo ecológico e retrospectivo. A coleta de dados ocorreu em janeiro de 2021, referente ao recorte temporal de 2009 a 2019. Utilizou-se dados secundários do Sistema de Informação sobre Mortalidade via Secretaria Estadual de Saúde de Mato Grosso. Para análise dos dados, utilizou-se o programa STATA 14.0. Resultados: a predição de suicídios entre os adolescentes de Mato Grosso revelou predominância do sexo masculino, cor não branca e com oito anos ou mais de escolaridade. Os suicídios em Mato Grosso apresentam estabilidade em relação ao sexo. Quanto a cor, o Centro-Oeste possui maior disparidade quando comparado ao Mato Grosso. Todavia, ambos exibem comportamentos epidemiológicos semelhantes na escolaridade. Conclusão: a partir da última década pré- pandêmica, previu o crescimento de casos de suicídios entre adolescentes em Mato Grosso, e que não se assemelha à totalidade do perfil esperado para a região Centro-Oeste.

Objective: to analyze the prediction of suicides among adolescents from the last pre-pandemic decade in Mato Grosso. Method: this is an ecological and retrospective study. Data collection took place in January 2021, referring to the time frame from 2009 to 2019. Secondary data from the Mortality Information System via the Mato Grosso State Health Department were used. For data analysis, the STATA 14.0 program was used. Results: the prediction of suicides among adolescents in Mato Grosso revealed a predominance of males, non-white and with eight or more years of schooling. Suicides in Mato Grosso show stability in relation to gender. As for color, the Midwest has greater disparity when compared to Mato Grosso. However, both exhibit similar epidemiological behavior in schooling. Conclusion: from the last pre-pandemic decade, it predicted the growth of suicide cases among adolescents in Mato Grosso, which does not resemble the entire profile expected for the Midwest region.

Objetivo: analizar la predicción de suicidios entre adolescentes de la última década pre-pandemia en Mato Grosso. Método: se trata de un estudio ecológico y retrospectivo. La recolección de datos ocurrió en enero de 2021, con referencia al período de 2009 a 2019. Se utilizaron datos secundarios del Sistema de Información de Mortalidad a través de la Secretaría de Estado de Salud de Mato Grosso. Para el análisis de datos se utilizó el programa STATA 14.0. Resultados: la predicción de suicidios entre los adolescentes de Mato Grosso reveló un predominio del sexo masculino, no blancos y con ocho o más años de escolaridad. Suicidios en Mato Grosso muestran estabilidad en relación al género. En cuanto al color, el Centro-Oeste tiene mayor disparidad en comparación con Mato Grosso. Sin embargo, ambos exhiben un comportamiento epidemiológico similar en la escolaridad. Conclusión: a partir de la última década previa a la pandemia, se predijo el crecimiento de los casos de suicidio entre los adolescentes de Mato Grosso, lo que no se asemeja a todo el perfil esperado para la región del Centro- Oeste.

Intersecting sex and American Indian identity moderates school and individual correlates of binge drinking among reservation-area adolescents.

Reservation-area American Indian (AI) youth demonstrate higher rates of binge drinking (BD) than their non-AI peers. However, individual and school-level differences in BD disparities between reservation-area AI/non-AI female and male adolescents remain unexamined. This study applies an Intersectional framework to examine risk and protective factors of BD among reservation-area youth at the intersection of their sex and AI identities. A nationally representative sample of adolescents (N = 14,769; Mage = 14.6, 49% female; 61% AI) attending 103 reservation-serving schools completed a survey between 2015 and 2019. Multilevel modeling was used to examine differences in risk and protective factors of BD between AI and non-AI male and female adolescents. Our findings indicate that the effects of student and school-level risk and protective factors on adolescents' BD are driven primarily by sex within AI and non-AI groups. Implications for future confirmatory research and tailoring school-based prevention programs are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Family economic pressure and early adolescents' prosocial behavior: The importance of considering the types of prosocial behavior.

BACKGROUND: Prior research findings are mixed regarding whether prosocial behavior is positively or negatively related to socioeconomic status and its correlates, such as economic pressure. This may be due to the lack of considerations for the type of prosocial behavior. AIMS: In this study, we aimed to examine how six types of prosocial behavior (i.e., public, anonymous, compliant, emotional, dire, and altruistic) are related to economic pressure among early adolescents. We hypothesized that family economic pressure would be associated with each type of prosocial behavior in differing ways. MATERIALS & METHODS: Participants were 11-14 years old (N = 143, Mage = 12.2 years, SDage = 0.87, 63 boys, 1 trans-identified boy, 55 girls), early adolescents and their parents. Among them, 54.6% were non-Hispanic/Latinx (NH/L) White, 23.8% were NH/L Black, 11.2% were NH/L Asian, 2.1% were NH/L Multiracial, and 8.4% were Hispanic/Latinx. Parents reported family economic pressure and adolescents' six types of prosocial behavior. RESULTS: Path analysis revealed that economic pressure was negatively associated with emotional and dire prosocial behavior over and above age, gender, and race/ethnicity. Family economic pressure was unrelated to public, anonymous, compliant, and altruistic prosocial behavior. DISCUSSION: These findings show some support for the Family Stress Model, such that economic stress might hinder youth's prosocial development. At the same time, youth may have similar levels of certain types of prosocial behavior regardless of their family's economic pressure. CONCLUSION: This research provided insight into the complex relation between economic pressure and youth's prosocial behavior which varies depending on the type of behavior.

Racial Discrimination to Bullying Behavior among White and Black Adolescents in the USA: From Parents' Perspectives.

The present study proposes and tests pathways by which racial discrimination might be positively related to bullying victimization among Black and White adolescents. Data were derived from the 2016 National Survey of Children's Health, a national survey that provides data on children's physical and mental health and their families. Data were collected from households with one or more children between June 2016 to February 2017. A letter was sent to randomly selected households, who were invited to participate in the survey. The caregivers consisted of 66.9% females and 33.1% males for the White sample, whose mean age was 47.51 (SD = 7.26), and 76.8% females and 23.2% males for the Black sample, whose mean age was 47.61 (SD = 9.71). In terms of the adolescents, 49.0% were females among the White sample, whose mean age was 14.73 (SD = 1.69). For Black adolescents, 47.9% were females and the mean age was 14.67(SD = 1.66). Measures for the study included bullying perpetration, racial discrimination, academic disengagement, and socio-demographic variables of the parent and child. Analyses included descriptive statistics, bivariate correlations, and structural path analyses. For adolescents in both racial groups, racial discrimination appears to be positively associated with depression, which was positively associated with bullying perpetration. For White adolescents, racial discrimination was positively associated with academic disengagement, which was also positively associated with bullying perpetration. For Black adolescents, although racial discrimination was not significantly associated with academic disengagement, academic disengagement was positively associated with bullying perpetration.

Focar aqui dentro, (não) esquecer lá fora: afetos e formas de habitar o cotidiano em uma unidade socioeducativa de internação no Rio de Janeiro / Be inside, (don't) forget outside: affects and means to inhabit the ordinary inside a deprivation of liberty unit for young offenders

Esta etnografia é sobre como jovens em cumprimento de medida socioeducativa de internação criam formas de habitar o cotidiano da privação da liberdade. Nesse sentido, explora as diferentes modalidades de agência desses atores tecidas em meio ao medo e a desconfiança, tomando os afetos como fio condutor da narrativa. Este trabalho foi realizado por meio de 10 oficinas com dois grupos de jovens no Centro de Socioeducação Dom Bosco, unidade de internação masculina no município do Rio de Janeiro. Partindo dos debates contemporâneos sobre os espaços de confinamento que não os tomam como instituições totais, mas como tecnologia de regulação de fluxos, gerindo a circulação de pessoas, objetos e artefatos através de seus muros, o objetivo do trabalho é explorar como nessas conexões e circulações os jovens criam formas de habitar a internação. Assim, o trabalho apresenta inicialmente a atmosfera do medo e os afetos hostis que fazem o cotidiano da privação de liberdade, acompanhando a seguir os modos pelos quais os jovens tecem possibilidades de existência ao se apropriarem de determinadas categorias e normativas institucionais, bem como pelos modos como constroem um nóis é coletivo e produzem a sua própria circulação pelo espaço institucional. Nesses circuitos também fazem entrar, agenciando alguns atores institucionais como vasos comunicantes entre o dentro e o fora, alguns objetos e mediadores que os transportam para suas vidas fora da internação. Desse modo, recriam fragmentos dessa vida no interior do cárcere, produzindo uma rede de infraestrutura em um cenário de precariedade; ao mesmo tempo em que se transportam para fora sem sair da instituição. Acompanhamos, portanto, os modos como os jovens agem com o medo, a partir dele e contra ele de modo a fazer a vida vivível na internação, servindo de inspiração também para que esse texto seja uma forma de escrita contra o medo (AU)

The current ethnography traverses the means by which young people foster ways of dwelling in the daily life of deprivation of liberty when within a socio-educational regime of custody. In this regard, it explores the different fashions of agency of these actors fabricated amidst fear and mistrust, taking the affects as the guiding thread of the narrative. This work was carried out through a series of 10 workshops with two groups of youngsters held in Don Bosco Socio-educational Center, a young male confinment unit in Rio de Janeiro. Unfolding from the contemporary debates on detention spaces, which rather than plain institutions, will consider those as flux regulation technologies, policing the traffic of people, objects and artifacts in and out of it's walls, the goal of this work is to explore how, within these connections and interchanges, the youngsters come up with ways of actually inhabiting the institution. Thus, it first presents the atmosphere of fear and the hostile affects that constitute their everyday life in deprivation of liberty, followed by the ways of which they develop possibilities of existence by securing specific institutional normatives and categories, as well as the ways they set up a "Nóis é coletivo" and produce their own paths inside the institutional space. Inside these circuits they also make entry, assembling some institutional actors as communicating vessels between inside and outside, some objects and mediators that transport them to their lives outside the facility. This way, they recreate fragments of that life inside the institute, producing an infrastructure network in a precarious scenario; simultaneously transporting themselves outside without actually leaving the institution. We accompany the ways in which young people cope with the fear, in favor of and against it, in order to make life livable in confinement, serving as inspiration for this text to be a form of writing against fear (AU)

Black adolescents' perceptions of COVID-19: Challenges, coping, and connection to family, religious, and school support.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic swept the nation by surprise, leaving a deep-seated impact on individuals' social, mental, and physical health. Despite there being disparities between Black and White/non-Hispanic individuals, minimal research has been conducted to explore the effects of the virus on marginalized groups. This study aimed to investigate Black adolescents' perceptions of their experiences with COVID-19, including the challenges they encountered, the coping strategies they employed, and their use of religious/spiritual and school-based support. Twelve Black youth between the ages of 12 and 18 years were interviewed during the early stages of the pandemic (June and July of 2020). Participants struggled with adjusting to the changes in their daily routines, navigating virtual learning, and emerging mental health difficulties (e.g., anxiety). To cope with these challenges, participants relied on emotion and problem-focused coping strategies, including strategies that were religious/spiritual in nature. Participants also relied on social support from family, school personnel, and their religious community, though they lamented about the varied support received from the latter two. Findings from this research support calls for mental health providers to employ culturally affirming mental health services and engage in interagency collaboration to support Black youth. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Weapon Carrying Among Boys in US Schools by Race and/or Ethnicity: 1993-2019.

BACKGROUND: High adolescent gun-related mortality, gun violence, pro-gun policies, white supremacy, and the long-term socioeconomic and other effects of racial oppression are intricately linked in the United States. Racist prejudice depicts male individuals of color as more prone to criminality than white male individuals. We described long-term patterns of weapon carrying in US schools among non-Hispanic (NH) white, NH Black/African American, and Hispanic boys, hypothesizing that in contrast to racist stereotypes, boys of color did not bring weapons into schools more often than NH white boys in recent years. METHODS: We conducted a time series analysis using 1993-2019 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System data comparing boys' self-reported weapon carrying in a nationally representative sample of US high schools by race and/or ethnicity, age, and self-reported experience of safety and violence at school. RESULTS: Weapon carrying in schools has declined among all boys. Comparing all schools, we found no significant differences in weapon carrying (4%-5%) by race and/or ethnicity in 2017 and 2019. Boys who reported experiencing violence or feeling unsafe at school were at least twice as likely to bring a weapon into school, and such negative experiences were more common among boys of color (8%-12%) than among NH white boys (4%-5%). In schools perceived as safer, NH white boys have been more likely to bring weapons into schools than NH Black/African American or Hispanic boys in the past 20 years. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings contradict racist prejudice with regard to weapon carrying in schools, particularly in more favorable school environments. Making schools safer may reduce weapon carrying in schools where weapon carrying is most common.

Fifteen-year trends in self-reported racism and link with health and well-being of African Canadian adolescents: a secondary data analysis.

BACKGROUND: We assessed the prevalence and trends in racial discrimination among African Canadian adolescents in British Columbia. The association between racial discrimination and self-rated health, access to mental health services, substance use, suicidal thoughts and attempts, experience of extreme stress, among others were examined within the 2018 dataset. METHODS: Secondary analysis used the data collected from African Canadian adolescents (n = 2448) as part of the British Columbia Adolescent Health Surveys (2003-2018). We examined whether racial discrimination increased, decreased, or remained stable over time. We evaluated experiences of racial discrimination for all adolescents, and then disaggregated analyses for boys, girls, immigrant, and Canadian-born African adolescents. We used Rao-Scott's adjusted chi-square to test differences in racial discrimination and adjusted logistic regressions to test trends across survey years, widening or narrowing gaps in racial discrimination, as well as the link to health outcomes. RESULTS: Racial discrimination was significantly different across the survey years (Adjusted F = 4.60, p < .01), with the highest percentage of adolescents reporting past year racial discrimination in 2018 (29.9%) and the lowest percentage in 2013 (21.3%). Girls and immigrant African Canadian adolescents were more likely to have experienced racial discrimination. However, girls and Canadian-born adolescents had the highest odds of reporting racial discrimination in 2018 compared to 2003, AOR = 1.85, and 1.58, respectively. The findings reveal significant differences in the experiences of racial discrimination for boys and girls, as well as for immigrant and Canadian-born African adolescents. Significant differences were noted in the link between racial discrimination and self-rated health and engaging in behaviours that might expose them to health risks. The worst negative health outcomes were found for boys and immigrant African Canadian adolescents. CONCLUSION: The study suggests that more than 1 in 4 African Canadian adolescents in British Columbia report racial discrimination, which is an increasing trend in recent years. Those who reported racial discrimination also had the worst adverse health outcomes. There is a need for more public health action to reduce racism, create awareness about the negative health impacts, and provide better support for African Canadian adolescents.

The Immigrant Paradox in the Problem Behaviors of Youth in the United States: A Meta-analysis.

This meta-analysis synthesizes the empirical data on problem behaviors among foreign- (G1) and U.S-born (G2+) youth and explores the effects of immigrant status on youth internalizing and externalizing problems. A random effects meta-regression with robust variance estimates summarized effect sizes for internalizing and externalizing problems across 91 studies (N = 179,315, Mage  = 13.98). Results indicated that G1 youth reported significantly more internalizing problems (g = .06), and fewer externalizing problems than G2+ youth (g = -.06). Gender and sample type moderated the effects. The findings provide a first-step toward reconciling mixed support for the immigrant paradox by identifying for whom and under what conditions the immigrant experience serves as a risk or protective factor for youth.

Daily Ethnic/Racial Context in Peer Groups: Frequency, Structure, and Implications for Adolescent Outcomes.

Ethnic/racial context in peer groups is poorly understood. Using daily data from 178 ethnically/racially diverse adolescents (Mage  = 14.53) over 2 weeks, this study investigated peer processes related to ethnicity/race (peer ethnic/racial processes) in everyday life. On average, peer ethnic/racial processes occurred about 1 to 4 days over the 2 weeks. On days when adolescents reported more negative peer ethnic/racial processes (indicated by ethnic/racial teasing, discrimination, victimization, and partially by preparation for bias), they also reported lower school engagement. On days when adolescents reported more positive peer ethnic/racial processes (indicated by cultural socialization, support against discrimination, and partially by preparation for bias), they exhibited more prosocial behaviors and greater ethnic/racial identity private regard. Similar associations emerged at the between-person level.

Immigrant and Swedish adolescents' involvement in organized sports activities: an expectancy-value approach.

BACKGROUND: Drawing on Eccles' expectancy-value model, we investigated the associations between parents' sports-related socialization behaviors in the family context, youth's sports' values, and youth's involvement in organized sports activities in the Nordic countries. More specifically, we tested the mediating effect of youth's sports' values on the link between socialization of sports in the family setting and youth's sports participation. Further, we examined whether any associations were moderated by youth's immigrant background or gender. METHODS: Immigrant and Nordic adolescents (N = 678), in 7th-8th grade, were followed over two consecutive years and responded to surveys during regular class hours. RESULTS: Supporting Eccles' model, we found that sports-related family co-activities significantly predicted youth's prospective sports-related behaviors through youth's sports' values. The mediation process was robust across both Nordic and immigrant youth and adolescent girls and boys. Further, our results revealed that parents' role modeling of sports activities was linked to both the amount of time youth currently spend on sports and their continuation in sports through youth's sports' values, although these associations were only significant for immigrant youth. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings offer insights into how participation in organized sports activities can be promoted among both immigrant and Nordic youth and among boys and girls. Most importantly, the findings may have valuable implications for researchers, policymakers and practitioners interested in promoting youth's involvement in organized sports activities. This especially applies to immigrant youth, given that the literature consistently reports lower sports involvement among immigrant youth than their native counterparts.

Erosion of the Mediterranean diet among adolescents: evidence from an Eastern Mediterranean Country.

At a time when the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet (MD) are pervasively recognised, a paradoxical observation is the decreasing adherence to this dietary pattern in its native countries. This study aims to investigate temporal trends in adherence to the MD among adolescents (10-19 years old) in Lebanon. Data were drawn from three national cross-sectional surveys conducted at three points in time: 1997 (n 2004), 2009 (n 3656) and 2015 (n 1204). Dietary intake was assessed using 24-h dietary recalls, and adherence to the MD was assessed using two country-specific indexes: the composite Mediterranean diet (c-MED) index and Lebanese Mediterranean diet (LMD) index. Significant decreases in c-MED and LMD scores and in the proportion of adolescents adhering to the MD were observed between 1997 and 2015, with more consistent results among females (P < 0·05). Projections for the year 2030 showed further decreases, with less than a quarter of adolescents remaining adherent to the MD. Based on linear regression analyses, belonging to the year 2009 was associated with significantly lower MD scores compared with 1997, even after adjustment for potential covariates (c-MED ß = -0·16, 95 % CI -0·30, -0·01; LMD ß = -0·42, 95 % CI -0·67, -0·17). Similar results were obtained when comparing survey year 2015 with 1997 (c-MED score ß = -0·20, 95 % CI -0·33, -0·06; LMD score ß = -0·60, 95 % CI -0·82, -0·37). Findings highlight the erosion of the MD among Lebanese adolescents and underline the need for a comprehensive food system approach that fosters the promotion of the MD as a nutritionally balanced and sustainable dietary pattern.

Prospective Interpersonal and Intrapersonal Predictors of Initiation and Cessation of Non-Suicidal Self-Injury among Chinese Adolescents.

(1) Purpose: Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) possibly emerges as well as remits in adolescence. To explore the development and transition of NSSI, this study examined the association between a wide range of interpersonal and intrapersonal predictors of NSSI initiation and cessation. (2) Methods: Chinese adolescents (N = 913) completed self-reported surveys at baseline and at a six-month follow-up. The sample included 625 adolescents who reported no NSSI and 288 adolescents who reported engagement in NSSI at baseline. (3) Results: Among the adolescents without NSSI at baseline, 24.3% engaged in NSSI at follow-up (NSSI initiation group). Among the adolescents with NSSI at baseline, 33.3% reported no NSSI at follow-up (NSSI cessation group). Loneliness, beliefs about adversity, problem behavior, and prosocial behavior were the significant factors in predicting subsequent NSSI initiation. None of the potential predicting factors were associated with subsequent NSSI cessation. (4) Conclusions: These results indicate the importance of intrapersonal factors in Chinese culture, which could be used to identify at-risk adolescents and to design interventions.

Consumption of Alcohol, Tobacco and Psychoactive Substances in Adolescents from an Indigenous Territory in the Colombian Amazon. / Consumo de alcohol, tabaco y sustancias psicoactivas de los adolescentes de un territorio indígena en la Amazonía colombiana.

INTRODUCTION: There are very few studies on the consumption of psychoactive substances (PAS) among young people from indigenous territories and evening or blended learning students. In Inírida, a municipality in the Colombian Amazon, there were concerns about a possible consumption issue that had never been characterised before. OBJECTIVE: To characterise the consumption of alcohol, tobacco and PAS in Inírida among teenage evening and blended learning students. METHODS: The Inter-American Uniform Drug Use Data System (SIDUC) survey developed by the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD) was adapted to the cultural context and carried out on 95% of 284 evening and blended learning students (262). Descriptive statistics and multiple correspondence analyses were used. RESULTS: Currently, 59% consume alcohol; 28% tobacco; 21% marijuana; 3% cocaine paste; 1% ecstasy (MDMA); 1% cocaine; and 1% inhalants. Also, 61% believe that drugs are available inside and around the vicinity of their school, and that marijuana (62%) and cocaine paste (35%) are easily acquired. Drugs are most commonly offered in neighbourhoods (56%) and at parties (30%). Those offering the highest quantity of drugs are acquaintances (35%) and friends (29%). And 51% stated that they had participated in preventive activities related to consumption. CONCLUSIONS: The population has a higher consumption of the substances studied in comparison with the national reference, that of Orinoquía and Amazonía, with the exception of cocaine and inhalants. The consumption situation was confirmed, so participatory actions are proposed.

Racial and Ethnic Differences in the Relationship Between Risk-Taking and the Effectiveness of Adolescents' Contraceptive Use.

CONTEXT: Little is known about whether adolescents' risk-taking in areas other than sex is associated with the effectiveness of their contraceptive method use, or whether any such associations vary by race and ethnicity. METHODS: Data from the 2011, 2013 and 2015 National Youth Risk Behavior Surveys were used to examine nonsexual risk behaviors and contraceptive method choice among 5,971 sexually active females aged 13-18. Risk-taking profiles for White, Black and Hispanic adolescents were identified using latent class analysis. Multinomial logistic regression was used to estimate the associations between these risk profiles and use of less- or more-effective contraceptive methods at last sexual intercourse. RESULTS: Three distinct risk-taking profiles were identified for White and Hispanic adolescents and two for Black adolescents. Compared with their counterparts in the low-risk "abstainer" group, White adolescents in the "high substance use and violence" group were less likely to use condoms alone (relative risk, 0.4) or a prescription contraceptive paired with condoms (0.3) rather than no contraceptive at all, and more likely to use withdrawal or no method rather than condoms alone (2.4 each). However, higher risk-taking among Whites was positively associated with using prescription contraceptives rather than condoms (1.9). Among Black and Hispanic females, lower risk-taking was associated only with more condom use. CONCLUSIONS: Future studies should examine whether interventions designed to reduce adolescent risk-taking improve the effectiveness of contraceptive use, particularly among White females. However, efforts to increase Black and Hispanic adolescents' use of more-effective contraceptives should target barriers other than risk-proneness. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 2020, 52(4):TK, doi:10.1363/psrh.12165.

New starts at New Start: Recovery and the work of hikikomori.

Defined by psychologist Tamaki Saito as a period of social isolation in the absence of any other clear mental health issues for a period of six months or longer, hikikomori (social withdrawal) emerged as a condition among Japanese youth in the late 1980s. Used as both a noun to identify those afflicted, as well as describe their condition, the word immediately captured the attention of the Japanese and international public. According to various government and third-party surveys, hikikomori number from approximately 500,000 to two million people. Thus, while hikikomori are understood to struggle with long bouts of loneliness and isolation from their peers and parents, due to constant anxiety over their inability to perform among Japan's competitive capitalist-oriented social expectations, both academics and professionals continue to struggle to comprehend exactly who hikikomori are and how to help them. Based on fieldwork at New Start, a non-profit organization located just outside the city limits of Tokyo that helps hikikomori recover, this article examines the ways residents at New Start navigate this uncertainty and gain moral agency. Drawing from over a dozen interviews with parents, clients, and staff conducted while working as a volunteer at New Start, I focus on three representative trajectories that demonstrate how residents navigate the competing discourses surrounding the clinical and social categories of hikikomori and NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training), through which they embark on a journey from economically unproductive recluses, to productive capitalist citizens pursuing their own version of a "nearly normal" life. I argue that the various accomplishments of hikikomori, as individuals and as a social category, which both support existing social relations and provide an alternative mode of fitting within them, is "the work of hikikomori."

Opportunities and peer support for aggression and delinquency during adolescence in nine countries.

This study tested culture-general and culture-specific aspects of adolescent developmental processes by focusing on opportunities and peer support for aggressive and delinquent behavior, which could help account for cultural similarities and differences in problem behavior during adolescence. Adolescents from 12 cultural groups in 9 countries (China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, the Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, and the United States) provided data at ages 12, 14, and 15. Variance in opportunities and peer support for aggression and delinquency, as well as aggressive and delinquent behavior, was greater within than between cultures. Across cultural groups, opportunities and peer support for aggression and delinquency increased from early to mid-adolescence. Consistently across diverse cultural groups, opportunities and peer support for aggression and delinquency predicted subsequent aggressive and delinquent behavior, even after controlling for prior aggressive and delinquent behavior. The findings illustrate ways that international collaborative research can contribute to developmental science by embedding the study of development within cultural contexts.