Explore the vast range of titles available.

Using both qualitative longitudinal data collected 20 years after the original Unequal Childhoods study and interview data from a study of upwardly mobile adults, this address demonstrates how cultural knowledge matters when white and African American young adults of differing class backgrounds navigate key institutions. I find that middle-class young adults had more knowledge than their working-class or poor counterparts of the \"rules of the game\" regarding how institutions worked. They also displayed more of a sense of entitlement to ask for help. When faced with a problem related to an institution, middle-class young adults frequently succeeded in getting their needs accommodated by the institution; working-class and poor young adults were less knowledgeable about and more frustrated by bureaucracies. This address also shows the crucial role of \"cultural guides\" who help upwardly mobile adults navigate institutions. While many studies of class reproduction have looked at key turning points, this address argues that \"small moments\" may be critical in setting the direction of life paths.

Clinicians rarely solicit community feedback on psychological assessment reports. This study addresses this knowledge gap to: (1) improve the usefulness of reports for patients and families, (2) increase access to needed services, and (3) make reports accessible for autistic people and their families. An autistic researcher and a non-autistic researcher jointly conducted qualitative interviews with autistic young adults, caregivers, and a service provider. Participants read a de-identified psychological assessment report about an autistic young adult with intellectual disability seeking resources for his transition to adulthood. Participants provided feedback about (1) how easy the report was to read, (2) how useful the report seemed, and (3) perceptions of language (i.e., empowering/offensive/neutral). Autistic young adults, caregivers, and the service provider all expressed a desire for short and clear reports in bulleted format. Caregivers stressed the importance of (1) using simple language to describe diagnostic testing and (2) including comprehensive resources, and autistic young adults expressed the importance of (1) including information about daily routines, habits, and interests and (2) giving patients' long-term goals the same consideration as caregivers' long-term goals. We highlight that standard psychological assessment reports have not effectively met the needs of autistic people and family members. Autistic people and caregivers prefer brief reports written in plain language that include more information about the patients' interests, routines, and preferences and less detailed information about psychological tests. Our findings identify ways to improve the usefulness and readability of psychological assessment reports for autistic people.

Drawing on life-history interviews, this study explores the impact of Hurricane Katrina in the lives of 57 low-income, African American mothers who were 20-31 years old at the time of the storm. Hurricane Katrina massively disrupted the social networks upon which these mothers relied to facilitate life transitions and make ends meet. The literature would predict that the loss of these important supports would hinder the respondents' transition-to-adulthood experiences. To the contrary, those who relocated away from social ties were more likely than those who returned to report qualitative improvement across life domains. Relocators credited Hurricane Katrina with affording them structural opportunities that lead to a greater sense of independence, a fundamental component of adulthood. This work contributes to our theoretical understanding of the role of familial support during the transition to adulthood.

This study reports the results of a multi-site, parallel block randomized clinical trial to expand the previous findings regarding the implementation of Project SEARCH plus ASD Supports (PS + ASD) on employment outcomes upon graduation from high school. Participants were 156 individuals with significant impact from ASD between the ages of 18–21. There was a significant difference between treatment and control groups with 73.4% of the treatment group acquiring competitive employment at or above minimum wage by 1-year after graduation compared to 17% of the control group for whom data was provided. At 1-year, employed treatment group participants worked an average of 21.2 h per week (SD = 9) for a mean hourly wage of $9.61 per hour (SD = $1.55).Clinical Trial Registration: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT03560453.

This article contributes to our understanding of how the motivation to migrate varies depending on the stage in the life course, particularly during the youth-to-adult transition. Using data from the Mexican Migration Project, we estimate discrete-time-hazard models of the probabilities of a first migration, using individual, household, community, and macroeconomic variables during and after adolescence for both men and women. We show that the determinants of migration are different for adolescents than they are for adults. While migration-related social capital has proved to be an important factor in increasing and perpetuating migration, we find that its effect is even stronger for teenagers than for other age groups. We also shed light on how adolescent migration is influenced by other major markers of the transition to adulthood, such as education, labor force experience, and family formation.

Historical analyses based on US data indicate that recent cohorts engage in lower binge drinking at age 18 relative to past cohorts, but by the mid- to late-20s the reverse is true: recent cohorts engage in higher binge drinking relative to past cohorts. We pinpoint when – both developmentally and historically – this reversal manifested, examine possible reasons for this reversal, and examine sex convergence in these developmental and historical patterns. As part of the US national Monitoring the Future Study, over 75,000 youths from the high school classes of 1976–2006 were surveyed biennially between ages 18 and 30. We found that the reversal primarily manifested between ages 18 and 24 for men and 18 and 22 for women. We also found that the reversal emerged gradually across the last three decades, suggesting it is the result of a broad and durable historical shift. Our findings indicated that historical variation in social roles and minimum legal drinking age collectively accounted for only a modest amount of the reversal, although marriage was the most influential among the factors examined here. Finally, we found evidence that sex convergence in binge drinking was developmentally limited and far more pronounced at the beginning of the transition to adulthood.

Objective Drawing on the life course perspective and theoretical models of intergenerational solidarity, this research explores how adolescent–parent relationships (i.e., parent–child closeness, parental attentiveness, family routines, and parenting styles) are associated with young adults' transitions to adulthood. Background The study adds to the growing literature on adolescents' leaving and returning to the parental home by focusing on parent–child relationships and variations across gendered parent–child dyads. Method Based on data spanning nearly 2 decades from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (N = 5,201), event history analysis was employed to assess how intergenerational family dynamics correlate with young adults' risk of leaving (n = 4,519) and returning to (n = 2,749) the parental home. Results The results indicate that, net of individual, household, and other contextual factors, parent–child closeness is significantly and positively associated with leaving the parental home. This suggests that close parent–child relationships can help launch children into adulthood. Looking at returns to the parental home, closeness becomes significant for daughters only and is moderated by parent gender. In addition, measures of parenting style indicate a significant and negative association between more‐passive styles and children's return to the parental home. Conclusion These findings highlight the need to more closely consider the impact of gender and parent–child relationship dynamics in facilitating young adults' transition to adulthood.

Despite recent advances in gender equality in political representation and the availability of resources, this article shows that there is a persistent gender gap in declared political interest over the life cycle. Using evidence from the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS), we track the gender gap through the life span of citizens. At age 15, there is already a substantial gender gap of 20 percentage points in the probability of respondents reporting being politically interested, pointing to gendered socialization processes as the key explanation for such differences. In the following 10 years, as people develop into adults and unravel their political orientations, the extent of the gender gap continues to grow by about 10 additional percentage points. Following these formative years, attitudes crystallize and so does the gender gap, remaining at the same size (around 30 percentage points of difference between women and men) over the life course. These findings suggest that the development of gender roles during early childhood is a crucial phase in the source of the gender gap, deserving further attention from scholars.

Recent studies have reported that strengths-based programs, leveraging autistic adolescents’ abilities and interests, could improve their skills and facilitate social engagement. However, little is known about the long-term impact of strengths-based approaches. This study aimed to explore the long-term outcomes of community strengths-based programs designed to support autistic adolescents in developing interests and skills in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) and the factors influencing their participation in these programs. A repeated cross-sectional survey study over three years recruited 52 parents in 2018, 52 parents in 2019, and 38 parents in 2020. Results highlighted the positive impact of these programs on autistic adolescents’ health and well-being, social relationships and interactions, self-confidence and self-esteem, sense of belonging, and activities and participation. Five key elements influencing participation included the enthusiasm of the participants, their self-perception, the approach of the programs, the learning environment, and the attitudes of the mentors. This study implies that strengths-based approaches to intervention and support for autistic adolescents in a supported environment are a social model solution that could potentially have positive participant outcomes. Findings from this study could provide a framework underpinning future strengths-based interventions.

Objective This study examined whether youth and parent perceptions of parent–child contact, closeness, and conflict change during the transition to adulthood, and how perceived parent–child relations vary as a function of life course experiences such as residential, education, and relationship status. Background The parent–child relationship is one of the most influential and long‐lasting social ties. Much research on this relationship focuses on childhood, adolescence, and late life, with data from one generation only. Guided by a life course perspective, this study sought to investigate youth and parent perceptions of parent–child relations during the transition to adulthood—a relatively understudied area. Method Data were from a community sample of German parent–child dyads (N = 2,301, 50% daughter, 65% mother) who participated in the German Family Panel study (pairfam; https://www.pairfam.de/en/) and were followed annually from ages 17 to 22. Results Latent growth models revealed that parent–child contact and conflict decreased, and parent–child closeness remained relatively stable from ages 17 to 22; youth coresidence with parents was associated with higher levels of youth‐ and parent‐reported contact and conflict, but youth student and relationship statuses were not related to changes in parent–child relations. Conclusion This study describes general patterns of parent–child relations in a transitional period and offers insights into the role of life course event status in changing parent–child relations. Findings reveal separation from parents along with connectedness, and provide support for understanding development in the context of linked lives.