Views by Two: The Context of Adolescent Psychopathology
Chair: Arnold Sameroff, University of Michigan

"Privileged" Youth—Well-Educated, Well-to-Do, But What of Well-Being?

Suniya Luthar
Teachers College, Columbia University

Abstract
Growing up in the culture of affluence can connote various psychosocial risks. Family wealth does not automatically confer either wisdom in parenting or equanimity of spirit; whereas children rendered atypical by virtue of parents’ education or wealth are privileged in many respects, there is also, clearly, the potential for some non-trivial threats to their well-being. Dr. Luthar will present empirical evidence from her programmatic research showing that upper-middle class children manifest elevated disturbance in several areas – notably substance use, rule-breaking, and anxiety – and will discuss possible reasons for this; she will also present recent data suggesting parallel adjustment problems among mothers in these communities (i.e., mothers with advanced educational degrees).

Biography
Suniya S. Luthar is Professor, Clinical and Developmental Psychology at Columbia University’s Teachers College. She received her Ph.D. from Yale University in 1990. Dr. Luthar's research involves vulnerability and resilience among various populations including youth in poverty and children in families affected by mental illness. Her recent work has focused on children in affluent communities, and her findings on problems among these youth—particularly pertaining to substance use and anxiety—have received much attention in the scientific community, among parents and school administrators, and in the national media. In addition to numerous peer-reviewed journal articles, Dr. Luthar’s books include Children in Poverty: Risk and Protective Forces in Adjustment, Developmental Psychopathology: Perspectives on Adjustment, Risk, and Disorder, and most recently, Resilience and Vulnerability in Childhood: Adaptation in the Context of Adversities. Dr. Luthar is Associate Editor of Developmental Psychology and Development and Psychopathology. She has served as Chair of a grant review committee at the National Institutes of Health and is currently on the Governing Council of the Society for Research on Child Development. For her distinguished contributions to science, she has been recognized as a Fellow of the American Association for Psychological Science (APS) and has also received several awards including a Dissertation Award, and the Boyd McCandless Young Scientist Award, both from the American Psychological Association, a Research Scientist Development Award from the National Institutes of Health, and an American Mensa Education and Research Foundation Award for Excellence in Research on Intelligence.

Processes of Risk, Resilience and Recovery During the Transition From Adolescence to Adulthood

Rand D. Conger
University of California-Davis

Abstract
Earlier research suggests that adolescence is a time during the life course that poses special risks for psychopathology. The “age-crime” curve indicates that aggression, violence and property crimes increase dramatically during adolescence, as do internalizing symptoms such as depression and anxiety. I hypothesize that a concatenation of biological changes, some moving quickly and others developing more slowly, conspire with social and emotional pressures to increase adolescent risk for a range of emotional and behavioral problems. Across time biological development and experience combine to reduce these risks. Thus, during the early adult years, I propose that emotional and behavioral problems will decline in a process of recovery. Moreover, I predict that certain contextual and personal characteristics during adolescence will promote resilience to these risk processes and also promote recovery during early adulthood. These hypotheses are evaluated with data from a cohort of over 500 youth assessed every one to two years from early adolescence to an average age of 29 years. The findings are consistent with the proposed risk, resilience and recovery perspective.

Biography
Rand D. Conger is a distinguished professor of human development, family studies, and psychology at the University of California – Davis. Dr. Conger’s program of research focuses on social, economic, cultural, and individual characteristics that either increase or reduce risk for social and emotional problems, substance abuse, and psychiatric disorders over time. His research has underscored the importance of economic and related stressors for family and individual development. More recently his work has focused on interconnections among multiple generations in the same family. Findings from Dr. Conger’s research have been published in over 200 books, book chapters, and journal articles. During the past 30 years his research has been supported by a series of federal grants from the National Institutes of Health. In addition, the significance of his scholarly activities has been recognized through several awards from professional organizations including the National Association for Rural Mental Health, the National Council on Family Relations, the Family Sociology Section of the American Sociological Association, the International Association for Relationship Research, the Rural Sociological Society and by election to the status of Fellow in the American Psychological Association and the National Council on Family Relations.