Unique Features of Identity Development in Transnational Adoptions

Identity formation has been defined as the process by which an individual develops a coherent self-definition of one’s uniqueness (Erikson, 1968). Arnett (2000; 2014) proposed the concept of emerging adulthood (between ages 18 and 29) as the developmental stage of later adolescence at which an individual is both cognitively and psychologically best suited for identity formation. Emerging adults who had been adopted transnationally as children often struggle to articulate their ethnic identity as a dimension of their broader individual identity (Schwartz et al., 2013) because they have characteristics that do not fit into those of the majority (Adams & Marshall, 1996). Guided by ecological systems theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1998), this mixed-method pilot study seeks to demonstrate how family environments, contact with birth parents, community context, and culture (Grotevant et al., 2000) influence the ethnic identity development of emerging adults who have been adopted transnationally. It employs the Multi-Group Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM) proposed by Phinney et al. (1999) in order to investigate the influence of age at adoption, adoptive parental support of adoptee exploration of identity and cultural roots, and adoptee contact with birth parents upon the ethnic identity formation of eleven emerging adults who had been adopted from China. It then suggests that adoptive parental support of their child’s exploration of her birth culture is a positive influence, that contact with birth parents may be both a positive and a negative influence, and that belonging to an adoptee support group may not only be a positive influence but also may foster the formation of an identity as an ethnic adoptee in the adoptive country—in the case of this study’s participants, of being Chinese adoptees in America

Northern New Hampshire Youth in a Changing Rural Economy: A Ten-Year Perspective

The Coös Youth Study was a ten-year research project about growing up in a rural county undergoing transformative economic and demographic changes. The study addressed how these changes affected youths’ well-being as well as their plans to stay in the region, pursue opportunities elsewhere, permanently relocate, or return to their home communities with new skills and new ideas. In this report, the authors describe their findings and point to specific areas for action to support and retain North Country youth. The study was sponsored by the Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation as one component of the long-term research collaboration Tracking Change in the North Country

A Longitudinal Study of Rural Youth Involvement in Outdoor Activities throughout Adolescence: Exploring Social Capital as a Factor in Community-Level Outcomes

This study examined youth participation in both organized and unstructured outdoor activities throughout adolescence, in a rural region in the northeastern United States. Survey data were collected at 7th, 8th, 10th, and 12th grade from 186 respondents across the region and was analyzed explore the relationship between antecedent predictors, outdoor activity participation, and outcomes related to developmental and educational achievement. Higher outdoor activity involvement was linked with positive outcomes but was also associated with other known predictors of development success including parents\u27 educational level, marital status, and involvement in future planning. The concept of social capital helps to explain overall patterns in the data, to broaden understanding of social dimensions of outdoor activity involvement, and to suggest directions for future research on positive youth development through outdoor activity

Predicting substance use behavior among South African adolescents: The role of leisure experiences across time

Using seven waves of data, collected twice a year from the 8th through the 11th grades in a low-resource community in Cape Town, South Africa, we aimed to describe the developmental trends in three specific leisure experiences (leisure boredom, new leisure interests, and healthy leisure) and substance use (cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana) behaviors and to investigate the ways in which changes in leisure experiences predict changes in substance use behaviors over time. Results indicated that adolescents’ substance use increased significantly across adolescence, but that leisure experiences remained fairly stable over time. We also found that adolescent leisure experiences predicted baseline substance use and that changes in leisure experiences predicted changes in substance use behaviors over time, with leisure boredom emerging as the most consistent and strongest predictor of alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use. Implications for interventions that target time use and leisure experiences are discussed.Web of Scienc

Adolescent Future Orientation: The Role of Identity Discovery in Self-Defining Activities and Context in Two Rural Samples

This study, using data from two samples of rural adolescents, examined how identity experiences in a self-defining activity and perception of access to opportunities were related to four dimensions ofadolescent future orientation and whether the relationship between identity experiences in a self-defining activity buffered the effects of limited opportunities on future orientation. Adolescents\u27 identity experiences in a self-defining activity emerged as having a significant, positive association with most dimensions of future orientation in both samples and were found to be the strongest predictors of futureorientation in Sample 1. In the more racially diverse Sample 2, perception of limited opportunities was the strongest and most consistent predictor of future orientation. In Sample 1, results also indicated that the strength of the negative relationship between limited opportunity and optimism is attenuated foradolescents reporting high levels of personal expressiveness compared to adolescents with low personal expressiveness. The findings suggest that interventions designed to target adolescents\u27 time use and leisure-related identity experiences may have an impact on adolescent future orientation

Evaluation of financial fitness for life program and future outlook in the Mississippi Delta.

In 2008-2009, 13 school districts in Mississippi were chosen to participate in a pilot program that is part of the College Access Challenge Grant sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education and administered through the Institutions of Higher Learning in Mississippi. The Mississippi Council on Economic Education was asked to offer financial literacy opportunities for teachers and students as one way of achieving the goal of assisting low-income students and families learn about, prepare for, and finance postsecondary education. Approximately 7,000 middle school students in Mississippi\u27s Delta were chosen to receive the middle school Financial Fitness for Life (FFL) materials as well as teacher training and support. This provided a unique opportunity to assess teacher and student financial literacy, teacher training, and other significant factors that affect the attitudes towards college of disadvantaged youth

Biogeochemical factors that influence the stable nitrogen isotope ratio of dissolved ammonium in the Delaware Estuary

Abstract The isotopic composition (δ15N) of dissolved ammonium (NH4+) in the Delaware Estuary was related to reactions in the nitrogen cycle occurring in different regions of the estuary and at different rates throughout the year. The range of values at any one location (as great as +10 to +40%.) was dependent on either nitrification, algal uptake, and microbial remineralization, or on a combination of these reactions. Specifically, observations of isotopic discrimination during nitrification in the riverine portion of the estuary were similar to those reported in other estuaries. In addition, the first calculation of the isotopic fractionation during algal uptake in the field is reported. Algal assimilation of NH4+ in the estuary had an estimated fractionation factor (ϵ) of −9.1%. This estimated ϵ for the field data and fractionation factors measured in culture ( − 14 to − 20%.) were compared in a numerical simulation of NH4+ transport and uptake in the estuary. Model results for the period of the spring bloom resembled the field data more closely when the isotopic fractionation estimated with the in situ data was used rather than greater isotopic fractionations measured in culture

Gender differences in the self-defining activities and identity experiences of adolescents and emerging adults

Activity participation provides a unique context for adolescents and emerging adults to explore interests, talents, and skills and for identity work to occur. Research has found consistent gender differences in the types of activities in which males and females participate. The current study drew on Eudaimonistic identity theory to examine the subjective identity-related experiences of personal expressiveness, flow experiences, and goal-directed behaviour [Waterman, 1984; Waterman, 2004. Finding someone to be: Studies on the role of intrinsic motivation in identity formation. Identity, 4, 209–228] within a special type of activity, self-defining activities, or those activities that participants identify as being important to who they are as a person. This study also tested for gender and country differences in a sample of 572 adolescents and emerging adults from the United States, Italy, and Chile. Findings indicate gender and country differences in the types of self-defining activities for males and females, but no gender differences in the reported identity-related experiences within those activities. This finding held across the three countries. Results from Multivariate Analyses of Variance also indicate that identity-related experiences differ significantly across seven broad activity classes. Findings are discussed in the context of the growing literature on adolescent activity involvement and time use, gender, and their relations to identity exploration