Analyzing the nationally representative High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09), this study examined the cross-sectional and longitudinal disparities in STEM career aspirations at the intersection of gender, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (SES). Results indicated that female, Black, Hispanic, and low SES students were less likely to show, maintain, and develop an interest in STEM careers during high school years. Compared with White boys from higher SES background, girls from all racial/ethnic and SES groups, as well as Black and Hispanic boys from lower SES groups, consistently had lower rates of interest, persistence, and developing an interest in STEM fields.

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We investigated the heterogeneous developmental trajectories of depressive symptoms in junior and senior high school, the transitions to different trajectories after entering senior high school, and the linkages to the development of depressive symptoms in early adulthood among Taiwanese adolescents. An eight-wave longitudinal data set was analyzed, including 2687 Taiwanese adolescents (51.2% boys, M age = 14.3 at first wave). Using a manual three-step latent transition growth mixture model, we found that a three-class solution fit the data for both junior high school (termed high-improving, cumulative, and JS-low-stable) and senior high school period (termed heightening, moderate-stable, and HS-low-stable). The depressive symptoms of most individuals maintained at a low level (i.e., low-stable) from adolescence to early adulthood; however, nearly a quarter of the adolescents reported depressive symptoms that were moderately or highly severe in senior high school and beyond. More than 30% of the participants experienced transitioning into a different developmental trajectory between junior and senior high school. When perceiving a higher level of paternal behavioral control, adolescents categorized in the high-improving class in junior high school would have a higher chance to transition to the moderate-stable class than to HS-low-stable class in senior high school. Adolescent boys and girls did not differ in the probability of transitioning between trajectories across junior and senior high school. However, a clear and consistent pattern of symptoms between late adolescence and early adulthood was not observed. These results help elucidate the heterogeneity and fluidity associated with the development of depressive symptoms between early adolescence and early adulthood in light of school transition among youths in Taiwan.

In this study, we explored the relationship between the intent to transfer upward and a set of motivational, contextual, and socio-demographic background factors among 696 female students beginning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs or courses at two-year colleges in a Midwestern state. Drawing upon survey data and administrative records, our multinomial logistic regression analysis revealed that students' math and science self-efficacy beliefs, as well as transfer-oriented interaction, were significant and positive predictors for their intent to transfer into STEM fields as opposed to having no intent to transfer. In addition, the association between transfer intent and these key motivational and contextual factors was moderated by students' racial/ethnic backgrounds, marital status, and childcare obligations. For example, despite the positive relationship between transfer-oriented interaction and the intention to transfer into STEM fields, Black women were less likely to have intent to transfer into STEM fields than White students until Black students reported a moderate level of transfer-oriented interaction. Conversely, Hispanic students were more likely to report intent to transfer into STEM fields than their White peers, even when Hispanic students reported a relatively low level of engagement in transfer-oriented interaction. These and other reported findings bear important and nuanced implications as policymakers, educators, and researchers continue to discover ways to better support women's educational pathways and success in STEM fields at and through two-year colleges.

This article examines the relationship between parenting styles and the development of depressive symptoms among adolescents. We analyzed a nationally representative longitudinal data set of adolescents aged 12 to 14 in Taiwan. Results from growth mixture modeling revealed a nonlinear increase in the intensity of depressive symptoms between early and middle adolescence. More pronounced depressive symptoms in earlier years were also shown to be associated with more rapid development of similar symptoms later in adolescence. Perceived parenting styles, as manifest in parental warmth and harsh discipline, were categorized into 4 latent heterogeneous classes: attentive, reserved, austere, and conflicting. Adolescents living under austere parenting tend to report the most pronounced depressive symptoms from early to middle adolescence; however, the development of symptoms in this group was the slowest. We also discuss the role of harsh parenting in Chinese culture, as it pertains to the roles traditionally assumed by the father and mother.