Social Support and Academic Engagement Among Reconnected Youth: Adverse Life Experiences as a Moderator.

Using motivational theories of engagement and adopting a multidimensional perspective of academic engagement, the authors investigate the associations among teacher and parent support, students' academic self-efficacy, and academic engagement among a sample of reconnected youth who have returned to academic pursuit after dropping out (N = 938, mean age = 16.50, SD = 1.78).

Youth-serving institutional resources and neighborhood safety: Ties with positive youth development.

Neighborhoods are critical contexts for adolescent development, but little attention has been paid to how neighborhood characteristics play a role in positive youth development (PYD), notably among predominantly African American youth. This study examined distinct features of the neighborhood, including youth-serving institutional resources (YSI) and safety, as they relate to PYD among adolescents from low-income neighborhoods in an urban setting (n = 491, 68.6% African American).

Ecology matters: Neighborhood differences in the protective role of self-control and social support for adolescent antisocial behavior.

Adolescence can be characterized as a time when aggression, delinquency, and violence (taken together as antisocial behavior) increase. Adolescents who engage in antisocial behavior increase local crime and can create unsafe conditions for families. Understanding the protective factors that mitigate antisocial behavior can help to inform prevention practices.