Contributions of many types are essential for societal functioning. To investigate how young people conceptualize contribution, we interviewed 16 first-semester students (18-19 years old) at a four-year private university in the northeastern United States (12 women, 3 men, 1 non-binary; 6 participants of color). Codebook thematic analysis showed that participants readily described contribution in terms of experiential activities and more rarely provided conceptual definitions. We also identified three themes that cut across both conceptual and experiential descriptions: contribution is connected to a community, contribution is individualized, and small contributions count. These results have implications for contribution-related theorizing, measurement, and interventions.
We examined civic actions on social media and the social issues targeted by these actions among 598 White heterosexual American young adults (50.2% women; Mage = 22). Sharing posts was most common, followed by challenging others' posts and writing original posts. Frequently addressed issues included health, gender orientation, the environment, and the economy. Labor, gender orientation, and economic issues were most likely to be framed through a structural inequality lens, whereas gun, environmental, and immigration issues were least likely to be framed this way. Critical reflection was positively associated with engagement in critical actions but not their frequencies.
We tested associations among parent and adolescent leisure time and physical activities, and family cohesion and family dinner frequency, controlling for demographic factors, using data from 141 dyads of adolescents (Mage = 15.2 years, 47.5% female, 51.8% white) and parents (Mage = 40.8 years, 63.8% female, 53.9% white). Leisure time and physical activity were correlated between adolescents and their parents. White parents and adolescents engaged in more unstructured leisure activities, and adolescents whose parents had more education engaged in more physical activity. Youth sport participation was highest among adolescents who also engaged in structured youth groups. Results are discussed in the context of family systems theory.
