Special Issue "Family and Social Environment on Shaping Juvenile Growth"

A special issue of Societies (ISSN 2075-4698).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2023 | Viewed by 5736

Special Issue Editors

Department of Demography, Institute for Population and Human Studies, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria
Interests: fertility and family studies; sociology of family; social demography; adolescent health; research methods in social sciences
Department of Psychology, Institute for Population and Human Studies, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria
Interests: health psychology; adolescent health; psychosocial determinants of health; mental health and wellbeing; developmental psychology: adolescents and young adults
Prof. Dr. Tatyana Kotzeva
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Demography, Institute for Population and Human Studies, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria
Interests: family studies; family policy; social demography; women’s health; adolescent health

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The COVID 19 pandemic has a strong influence on young people’s relations with family and peers, schooling practices, leisure activities, inclusion, and participation in the social community and social networks. The adverse socioeconomic effect of the pandemic and the increasing poverty, (mental) health risks, remote schooling, and social isolation from peers and friends transform the role of family and the social environment in shaping young people’s lives.

This Special Issue has an interdisciplinary orientation and aims to collect papers, exploring from different analytical, methodological, and sociocultural perspectives the changing nature of family, family relationships, and social environment and young people’s health, wellbeing, and social interactions.

We invite theoretical, methodological, and empirical papers focused on the diverse experiences of young people, growing up in families with a different structure and composition and socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. Young people’s health and wellbeing, leisure activities and relationships with peers, social media communication, violence and juvenile delinquency, policy framing of the risks and adversities, interventions, and services, targeting young people and their families are topics that fall within the scope of the Special issue.

(*Contributions have to follow one of the three categories of papers (article, conceptual paper or review) of the journal and address the topic of the special issue.)

Dr. Elitsa Dimitrova
Dr. Anna Alexandrova-Karamanova
Prof. Dr. Tatyana Kotzeva
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as conceptual papers are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Societies is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • young people
  • family
  • social environment
  • health and wellbeing
  • socio-economic inequalities
  • social media communication
  • juvenile delinquency
  • child and youth policies
  • interventions
  • social services

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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Article
Family Structure through the Adolescent Eyes: A Comparative Study of Current Status and Time Trends over Three Decades of HBSC Study
Societies 2022, 12(3), 88; https://doi.org/10.3390/soc12030088 - 31 May 2022
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Abstract
This study aimed to investigate how family structure varies and identify its time trends in European and North American countries using data from seven surveys conducted between 1994 and 2018 according to the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study. The current family [...] Read more.
This study aimed to investigate how family structure varies and identify its time trends in European and North American countries using data from seven surveys conducted between 1994 and 2018 according to the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study. The current family structure in 44 countries was described and time trend analysis of 28 countries was performed. Adolescents were asked whom they lived with in their home to describe family structures. Family structures showed distinct patterns and dynamics between countries. In 2018, in all countries, 73% of adolescents lived with both their mother and father; 14% and 5% of adolescents lived in a single-parent family and stepfamily, respectively; and around 9% of adolescents lived in another family type. In the period 1994–2018, the proportion of young people living in intact families decreased from 79.6% to 70.0%, on average about 10 percentage points. There were no significant changes in the prevalence of single-parent families and stepfamilies, but a significant increase in the number of adolescents living without either parent was revealed. The findings have implications for cross-national adjustment of adolescent health, well-being, and behaviours, and for critical analysis of socioeconomic family resources. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Family and Social Environment on Shaping Juvenile Growth)
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Review

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Review
Children’s Vulnerability to Digital Technology within the Family: A Scoping Review
Societies 2023, 13(1), 11; https://doi.org/10.3390/soc13010011 - 31 Dec 2022
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Abstract
Children today experience digital engagement from a young age, and information and communication technology (ICT) use impacts how the family, seen as a social–relational structure or network of two or more people, communicates and interacts in daily life. This review broadly encompasses how [...] Read more.
Children today experience digital engagement from a young age, and information and communication technology (ICT) use impacts how the family, seen as a social–relational structure or network of two or more people, communicates and interacts in daily life. This review broadly encompasses how children and young people are vulnerable regarding digital technology, focusing on diverse aspects of the family. The scoping review includes a final corpus of 100 articles broadly focusing on the term ‘vulnerability’ as it relates to digital technology and the family. The themes identified originate from the articles and describe five domains of vulnerability: (1) extensive Internet use, (2) age and gender, (3) risky online behaviour, (4) social networking as a social lubricant, and (5) parental mediation and care. The studies identified lean heavily on quantitative studies measuring time, whilst depth and context are less visible. Despite a growing body of research, there is a lack of both qualitative studies and research examining the role of technology in the lives of children and young people and how family dynamics are affected in the digital age. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Family and Social Environment on Shaping Juvenile Growth)

Other

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Concept Paper
Conditions Contributing to Positive and Negative Outcomes of Children’s ICT Use: Protocol for a Scoping Review
Societies 2022, 12(5), 125; https://doi.org/10.3390/soc12050125 - 09 Sep 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1288
Abstract
Children and young people are often labelled the “digital generation”, naturally equipped with the skills to reap the benefits of digitised education, working life and communication through social media now and in the future. However, this age group’s use of information and communication [...] Read more.
Children and young people are often labelled the “digital generation”, naturally equipped with the skills to reap the benefits of digitised education, working life and communication through social media now and in the future. However, this age group’s use of information and communication technology (ICT) is not uniform, nor are the outcomes of their adaption to ICT. Shaped by their social environment and socioeconomic conditions, the potential benefits of children’s and young people’s ICT use may vary greatly, contributing to increased inequalities that exacerbate vulnerability for some while promoting health and well-being for others. This paper presents a protocol for conceptualising, systematically identifying and synthesising the literature on which conditions contribute to children and young people being negatively or positively impacted by their use of ICT. Here, children and young people are seen as social actors in four domains of their everyday lives illustrated through the digital ecosystem: family, leisure, education and civic participation. This protocol’s overview of the actors’ navigation within and across the different domains and potential for studying the interactions between the different spheres of the ecosystem may advance the understanding of both the risks and benefits facing children and young people in their digital lives. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Family and Social Environment on Shaping Juvenile Growth)
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