Migrant youths: Typical aspects of development during the adolescent years, specific challenges of growing up somewhere else, and some things we need to understand better

Abstract The research presented in this Issue impressively documents the great variety of conditions of live that impact child and adolescent migrants’ development. The studies conducted in various receiving countries include young refugees as well as the first‐ and second‐generation offspring of migrant families who left their homes in different areas of the globe. Despite this diversity, theories and empirical findings on processes of normative development could be successfully applied, yielding insights into more general aspects of development At the same time, drawing on conceptualizations that were introduced to specifically address experiences and challenges linked to the situation of migrant and minority populations, such as ethnic identity or acculturation, the articles notably contributed to a more comprehensive understanding of migrant adolescents’ lives. While the discussion of the studies in this Issue highlights what we have learned, it also points out what we do not know yet, and where future research is needed

A Grounded Theory study on motivational development after detours in young adulthood – how extra-vocational training affects aspirations

Context: In the present study, we explore what motivates young adults to re-engage with education or employment after a period of non-engagement. Insights into this process facilitate the implementation of tailored support measures for at-risk groups. It is well-known that young people who are not involved in any kind of education, employment, or training face further risks to their professional and psychological development. Methods: Using a grounded theory approach, interviews with young adults from various educational tracks were analyzed, compared, and contrasted. The sample was focused mainly on apprentices in extra-vocational training and professionals working with young people to describe the process of re-engaging in detail (n = 30). Findings: Our analyses suggested that frustrating prior experiences and offers to participate in government-funded vocational training prompted motivation to learn an occupational skillset. Undergoing an apprenticeship enabled young adults to develop the motivation to finish vocational training and to plan on further education. Conclusion: The implications of these results as they pertain to Germany\u27s labor market policies, which foster a sense of individual responsibility to facilitate the achievement of professional success, are discussed. Furthermore, the implications for supporting further educational aspirations when working with young adults are discussed. (DIPF/Orig.

A Grounded Theory Study on Motivational Development After Detours in Young Adulthood - How Extra-Vocational Training Affects Aspirations

Context: In the present study, we explore what motivates young adults to re-engage with education or employment after a period of non-engagement. Insights into this process facilitate the implementation of tailored support measures for at-risk groups. It is well-known that young people who are not involved in any kind of education, employment, or training face further risks to their professional and psychological development. Methods: Using a grounded theory approach, interviews with young adults from various educational tracks were analyzed, compared, and contrasted. The sample was focused mainly on apprentices in extra-vocational training and professionals working with young people to describe the process of re-engaging in detail (n = 30). Findings: Our analyses suggested that frustrating prior experiences and offers to participate in government-funded vocational training prompted motivation to learn an occupational skillset. Undergoing an apprenticeship enabled young adults to develop the motivation to finish vocational training and to plan on further education. Conclusion: The implications of these results as they pertain to Germany's labor market policies, which foster a sense of individual responsibility to facilitate the achievement of professional success, are discussed. Furthermore, the implications for supporting further educational aspirations when working with young adults are discussed

Spinon confinement and the Haldane gap in SU(n) spin chains

We use extensive DMRG calculations to show that a classification of SU(n) spin chains with regard to the existence of spinon confinement and hence a Haldane gap obtained previously for valence bond solid models applies to SU(n) Heisenberg chains as well. In particular, we observe spinon confinement due to a next-nearest neighbor interaction in the SU(4) representation 10 spin chain.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Zusammenhänge zwischen Familieninteraktionen und Beziehungsqualitäten aus Sicht der Familienmitglieder

Die Studie untersucht Zusammenhänge zwischen dem Verhalten von Vätern, Müttern und Jugendlichen in der familialen Kommunikation einerseits und ihrer Wahrnehmung verschiedener Aspekte der Beziehungsqualität andererseits. Die Stichprobe umfaßt 35 13jährige Jungen und Mädchen sowie ihre Eltern. Die wahrgenommene Harmonie, Offenheit und Verbundenheit in der Familie wurden über Summenskalen auf der Basis von Selbstauskünften der Teilnehmer erfaßt. Querschnittliche und längsschnittliche Ergebnisse belegen den Zusammenhang zwischen Beziehungswahrnehmung und beobachtetem Verhalten in der Familie. (SH2

Early Adolescents' Development of Academic Self‐Concept and Intrinsic Task Value: The Role of Contextual Feedback

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/112276/1/jora12140.pd

Implicit Prejudice in Eight-Graders

This study examines the automatic activation of negative prejudices towards Turks using a masked affective priming paradigm in a sample of German adolescents (aged 13 to 15). Pictures of Turks and Germans were used as masked primes; positive and negative adjectives conveying either other-relevant valence (e.g., honest, evil) or possessor-relevant valence (e.g., talented, dull) were used as targets. Results revealed that both explicit prejudices towards Turks living in Germany as well as prejudiced behaviour in a virtual ball-tossing game are meaningfully related to automatic prejudice activation. As expected, these correlations were found only for priming indices based on other-relevant targets, thereby emphasising the differentiation of implicit prejudice into (imputed) hostility and depreciation

Quantum criticality of dipolar spin chains

We show that a chain of Heisenberg spins interacting with long-range dipolar forces in a magnetic field h perpendicular to the chain exhibits a quantum critical point belonging to the two-dimensional Ising universality class. Within linear spin-wave theory the magnon dispersion for small momenta k is [Delta^2 + v_k^2 k^2]^{1/2}, where Delta^2 \propto |h - h_c| and v_k^2 \propto |ln k|. For fields close to h_c linear spin-wave theory breaks down and we investigate the system using density-matrix and functional renormalization group methods. The Ginzburg regime where non-Gaussian fluctuations are important is found to be rather narrow on the ordered side of the transition, and very broad on the disordered side.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure

Adolescents' attitudes towards foreigners: associations with perceptions of significant others' attitudes depending on sex and age

'The present study examines associations between adolescents' attitudes towards foreigners and their perceptions of the same attitudes among their parents, friends, and teachers. Questionnaire data from a sample of 518 students attending 6th, 8th, 10th, and 12th grade of German high-track schools addressed students' own attitudes and their reports on the reference persons m their proximal contexts. Analyses of individual profile correlations suggest strong correspondences between adolescents and their perceived contexts which slightly decrease depending on age. Processes of projection are discussed as a possible explanation of the strong associations observed as well as to the age-graded pattern of correlations.' (author's abstract)