International Journal of Developmental Science - Volume 9, issue 3-4
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Individual human development is influenced by a multitude of systems, ranging from cultural processes, genetic and physiological incidents up to social interactions. How do these systems cooperate and interact during the course of human development? One of the main goals of Developmental Science is finding an answer to this question.
Since it exceeds the means of researchers from individual scientific disciplines to investigate the simultaneous biopsychosocial changes of systems and how they jointly contribute to the social and adaptive functions of human individuals, a new scientific approach is necessary that links the various traditional scientific disciplines under a biopsychosocial approach to describe individual human development: Developmental Science.
Developmental Science combines concepts and insights from scientific disciplines which hitherto used to independently tackle the research of human and non-human development. As an interdisciplinary approach it examines individuals across the lifespan with the objective of comprehending the development of individuals with different cultural and ethnic as well as biological background, different economic and cognitive potentials and under diverse living conditions. To facilitate the understanding of developmental processes it is also necessary to overcome the disadvantageous separation of “normal” from “abnormal” human development. Thus, the interdisciplinary field of Developmental Science comprises a holistic approach to understanding how different systems interact and influence development throughout life from genetic and physiological processes to social interactions and cultural processes.
The
International Journal of Developmental Science is especially devoted to research from the fields of Psychology, Genetics, Neuroscience and Biology and provides an interdisciplinary and international forum for basic research and professional application in the field of Developmental Science. The reader will find original empirical or theoretical contributions, methodological and review papers, giving a systematic overview or evaluation of research and theories of Developmental Science and dealing with typical human development and developmental psychopathology during infancy, childhood, adolescence and adulthood. All manuscripts pass through a multilevel peer-review process.
In 2007-2010 (Vol. 1-4) this journal was named
European Journal of Developmental Science. In 2011 its name was changed to
International Journal of Developmental Science.
Abstract: This study explores the longitudinal effect of adolescent volunteering behaviour on young adult volunteering and the completion of secondary school. Utilising data from the Australian sample of the International Youth Development Study, frequency of volunteering in Grade 9 (mean age = 15 years) and in young adulthood (mean age = 21 years), and completion of secondary school were measured. Mixed effect logistic regression analyses revealed that adolescent volunteering was associated with an increased likelihood of volunteering in young adulthood (Odds Ratio [OR] 1.29; 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 1.20–1.39; N = 2,648) and of Grade 12 completion (OR 1.14; CI 1.03–1.28; N = 2,648), after controlling for…family socioeconomic status and adolescent school adjustment. These findings suggest that adolescent volunteering may lead to further involvement in young adult volunteering and have a positive effect on school completion.
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Keywords: Adolescents, volunteering, educational outcome, longitudinal, school completion, young adulthood
Abstract: Immigrant and refugee youth are at elevated risk for joining gangs, which, in turn, is associated with a host of maladaptive outcomes. Previous literature on risk and protective factors for immigrant and refugee youth gang involvement has been inconclusive. Applying a developmental ecological systems approach, this study investigated contextual influences on immigrant and refugee gang involvement across three ecological systems (i.e., ontogenic system, microsystem, and exosystem). Participants included 81 immigrant and refugee youth aged 12–20 years (M age = 15.68; 54.3% female) who completed self-report questionnaires assessing gang involvement and multiple risk and protective factors. Multivariate analyses revealed that racial discrimination,…negative parenting, and exposure to community violence were positively associated with gang involvement, whereas peer support was negatively related to gang involvement. Future research should examine how to mitigate risk factors from multiple ecological systems. One potential avenue is to develop alternative prosocial settings in which these youth feel supported and valued.
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Keywords: Gang involvement, immigrant, refugee, adolescents, ecological systems theory
Abstract: A considerable body of research has examined the association between self-presentation on social networking sites and personality in adults. Yet, there is a lack of corresponding research on adolescents as well as studies on alternative measures of personality traits of the self. The current study investigates, using a cross-sectional multi-method approach, whether adolescents present themselves according to their self-concept on Facebook, using a multi-dimensional perspective of self-concept, and whether a congruent self-presentation is associated with self-esteem. Adolescents aged 14–17 years (N = 143) were recruited through various online channels. Using multiple regression analysis, we found that overall adolescents’ self-presentation on Facebook…reflects their reported self-concept facets. The evidence also suggests that there is a positive association between adolescents’ congruent self-presentation and self-esteem. The implications and future research directions with respect to self-presentation on Facebook in adolescence are discussed.
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Abstract: The study examined the association among mothers’ parenting stress, adolescents’ emotional separation and self-orientation toward connectedness. Participants were 194 Italian adolescents, aged from 15 to 19 years (mean age = 17.39, SD = 1.18), and their mothers, aged from 33 to 64 years (mean age = 44.35, SD = 5.40). General findings showed that adolescents’ emotional separation may not necessarily be associated with their mothers’ parenting stress, but both of these variables may be related to adolescents’ personal characteristics, which may contribute to define parent-child relationship. Particularly, adolescents’ orientation towards a connected self was associated negatively with emotional separation and parenting stress. These findings indicate potential pathways to…mitigate the stress in facing the normative challenges of adolescence.
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