Abstract

A challenge of early adolescence is the “developmental mismatch” between adolescents’ need for autonomy and the lack of opportunities to enact maturity via adult-like roles. We identified ways that young people enact maturity, from a youth perspective via focus groups (N = 41, aged 11–17 years), and used data to develop and test a new measure of enacting maturity (EM) using an online survey (N = 420; aged 11–18 years; 58.6% female; 49.5% White). Exploratory factor analysis suggested four internally consistent factors: Independence, Responsibility, Leadership, and Communication; confirmatory factor analysis resulted in a 21-item scale with adequate model fit. Independence was associated with more substance use and general risk taking while Responsibility and Communication were associated with less substance use and general risk taking. The EM measure is an important first step to understanding if adolescents have opportunities to enact maturity and how this relates to key developmental outcomes.

摘要

青春期早期的一个挑战是青少年对自主性的需求与缺乏通过类似成人角色来实现成熟的机会之间的“发育不匹配”。我们通过焦点小组（N = 41，年龄在 11-17 岁）从青年的角度确定了年轻人表现成熟度的方式，并通过在线调查（N = 420；11-18 岁；58.6% 女性；49.5% 白人）。探索性因素分析提出了四个内部一致的因素：独立性、责任感、领导力和沟通；验证性因素分析产生了一个包含足够模型拟合的 21 项量表。独立性与更多的物质使用和一般冒险有关，而责任和沟通与较少的物质使用和一般风险承担有关。EM 衡量标准是了解青少年是否有机会实现成熟以及这与关键发展成果之间的关系的重要的第一步。