Friendship Dynamics of Adolescent Aggression,Prosocial Behavior,and Social Status: The Moderating Role of Gender

Interactions with friends are a salient part of adolescents’ experience at school. Adolescents tend to form friendships with similar peers and, in turn, their friends influence adolescents’ behaviors and beliefs. The current study investigated early adolescents’ selection of friends and friends’ influence with regard to physical aggression, prosocial behavior, and popularity and social preference (i.e., likeability) among fifth and sixth graders (N?=?736, 52% girls at wave1, N?=?677, 52% girls at wave 2) in elementary schools in South Korea. The moderating role of gender on early adolescents’ friend selection and influence was also examined. With longitudinal social network analysis (RSiena), we found that youth tended to select friends with similar levels of physical aggression and popularity, and their friends influenced their own physical aggression and popularity over time. The higher youth were in social preference, the less likely they chose physically aggressive peers as friends. Boys were more likely to select highly popular peers as friends compared to girls, and influence effects for physical aggression and popularity were stronger for boys compared to girls. The results underscore the importance of gender in friendship dynamics among Asian early adolescents.     

From the School Yard to the Squad Car: School Discipline,Truancy, and Arrest

Since the 1990’s, implementation of zero tolerance policies in schools has led to increased use of school suspension and expulsion as disciplinary techniques for students with varying degrees of infractions. An unintended consequence of zero tolerance policies is that school suspension or expulsion may increase risk for contact with the juvenile justice system. In the present study, we test how forced absence from school via suspension or expulsion and chosen absence from school (truancy) are associated with the likelihood of being arrested. Using month-level data from 6,636 months from a longitudinal study of delinquent adolescents (N = 1,354; 13.5 % female; 41.5 % Black, 33.5 % Hispanic-American, 20.2 % White), we compare the likelihood of being arrested, within individuals, for months when youth were and were not suspended or expelled from school and for months when youth were and were not truant. Finally, we test if these associations were moderated by stable demographic characteristics (sex, race, age, history of problem behaviors) and time-varying contextual factors (peer delinquency, parental monitoring, and commitment to school). Being suspended or expelled from school increased the likelihood of arrest in that same month and this effect was stronger among youth who did not have a history of behavior problems and when youth associated with less delinquent peers. Truancy independently contributed to the likelihood of arrest, but this association was explained by differences in parental monitoring and school commitment. Thus, school disciplinary action places youth at risk for involvement in the juvenile justice system and this may be especially true for less risky youth.     

Willingness to Remain Friends and Attend School with Lesbian and Gay Peers: Relational Expressions of Prejudice Among Heterosexual Youth

In this study, heterosexual students’ willingness to remain friends with peers who disclose that they are gay or lesbian and their willingness to attend schools that include gay and lesbian students were examined among two large middle school and high school samples (Sample 1: n = 20,509; 50.7% girls; Sample 2: n = 16,917; 50.2% girls). Boys were less willing than girls to remain friends or attend schools with gay and lesbian peers, as were students in earlier grades than were students in later grades. Further, there was small, yet significant, variability in these scores across schools. Greater racial diversity within the school partially accounted for this school-level variability; students in more racially diverse schools reported greater willingness to remain friends and attend school with gay and lesbian peers. Findings suggest that while intervention programs must continue to address blatant and overt physical aggression against sexual minority youth, there is also a significant need for programming to address the more subtle expressions of sexual prejudice that contribute to unwelcoming and unsafe school climates.     

Engagement in School and Community Civic Activities Among Rural Adolescents

Involvement in civic and community activities is a core part of positive youth development. Adolescents involved in voluntary civic activities have greater academic engagement, enhanced well-being, less involvement in problem behaviors, and they are more likely to value connections to their community than those who are not involved. The current research examined involvement in school and community civic activities as well as religious youth groups among 8th and 9th graders (N = 679, 61.7% female, 85.9% White) from small, rural schools in the Midwest U.S. and linked involvement to religiosity, well-being, problem behavior, academic engagement, and perceptions of parents and peers. Half of the adolescents in the sample reported involvement in civic activities or, more commonly, in religious youth groups. Adolescents who participated in religious youth groups reported more extracurriculars, less problem behavior, higher grades and motivation, and more support from parents and friends than adolescents who did not. The most frequently reported school civic activities were student council and Future Farmers of America, and 4-H was the most popular community civic activity. Those who were involved in school- and community-based civic activities reported more religiosity, academic engagement, and positive perceptions of parents and peers than uninvolved youth. The results support and extend research on rural youth by documenting civic activities across contexts and examining how involvement is associated with positive youth development.     

Suicide Ideation among Participants in an After-School Program: A Convenience Sample

This exploratory study examined differences between elementary-age youth who have considered suicide and their peers using a data set that was collected from elementary school-age children (N = 51) who participated in an after-school program. Data were collected using a standardized survey assessing daily activities, social support, self-esteem, and antisocial behaviors. Youth considering suicide were distinctive from their peers in two composite measures representing club affiliation and illicit drug use. However, these two groups of youth did not differ in attitudes about school or a composite measure of worry, low confidence, and antisociality. These findings were interpreted as reflecting these vulnerable youths' ambivalence about seeking help, which presents an opportunity for intervention.     

Does One Size Fit All? Ethnic Differences in Parenting Behaviors and Motivations for Adolescent Engagement in Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying has become a growing concern for adolescents. This study examined differences in cyber-aggression for 518 Canadian adolescents of either East Asian or European descent (61 % female; M age = 15.24; SD = 1.68). Associations between parenting behaviors (parental control, parental solicitation, and child disclosure) and engagement in cyber-aggression, as well as motivations for engaging in cyber-aggression were explored. Adolescents completed self-report questionnaires about their engagement in cyberbullying, perceptions of their parents’ behaviors about their online activities, their motivations for cyberbullying (reactive vs. proactive), as well as several other relevant psychosocial and demographic variables (e.g., sex, age, Canadian born, mother’s education level, using a computer in a private place, and average amount of time spent online). Regression analyses showed that East Asian adolescents were less likely to engage in cyberbullying. In addition, higher levels of parental control and lower levels of parental solicitation were linked more closely with lowered reported levels of cyber-aggression for East Asian adolescents relative to their peers of European descent. In addition, East Asian adolescents were more likely to be motivated to engage in cyber-aggression for proactive reasons than reactive reasons, with the opposite found for adolescents of European descent. A significant 3-way interaction suggested that this pattern was more pronounced for East Asian males relative to East Asian females. Findings are discussed in terms of cultural differences based on the doctrines of Confucianism and Taoism.     

Anticipating Early Fatality: Friends’, Schoolmates’ and Individual Perceptions of Fatality on Adolescent Risk Behaviors

Past research indicates that anticipating adverse outcomes, such as early death (fatalism), is associated positively with adolescents’ likelihood of engaging in risky behaviors. Health researchers and criminologists have argued that fatalism influences present risk taking in part by informing individuals’ motivation for delaying gratification for the promise of future benefits. While past findings highlight the association between the anticipation of early death and a number of developmental outcomes, no known research has assessed the impact of location in a context characterized by high perceptions of fatality. Using data from Add Health and a sample of 9,584 adolescents (51 % female and 71 % white) nested in 113 schools, our study builds upon prior research by examining the association between friends’, school mates’, and individual perceptions of early fatality and adolescent risk behaviors. We test whether friends’ anticipation of being killed prior to age 21 or location in a school where a high proportion of the student body subscribes to attitudes of high fatality, is associated with risky behaviors. Results indicate that friends’ fatalism is positively associated with engaging in violent delinquency, non-violent delinquency, and drug use after controlling for individual covariates and prior individual risk-taking. Although friends’ delinquency accounts for much of the effect of friends’ fatalism on violence, none of the potential intervening variables fully explain the effect of friends’ fatalism on youth involvement in non-violent delinquency and drug use. Our results underscore the importance of friendship contextual effects in shaping adolescent risk-taking behavior and the very serious consequences perceptions of fatality have for adolescents’ involvement in delinquency and drug use.     

Associations Between Suicidal High School Students’ Help-Seeking and Their Attitudes and Perceptions of Social Environment

Suicide is a leading cause of death among adolescents, many of whom fail to disclose suicide concerns to adults who might help. This study examined patterns and predictors of help-seeking behavior among adolescents who seriously considered suicide in the past year. 2,737 students (50.9?% female, 46.9?% male; racial distribution 79.5?% Caucasian, 11.9?% Hispanic/Latino, and 3.6?% Black/African-American) from 12 high schools in rural/underserviced communities were surveyed to assess serious suicide ideation (SI) in the past year, disclosure of SI to adults and peers, attempts to get help, attitudes about help-seeking, perceptions of school engagement, and coping support. Help-seeking was defined as both disclosing SI to an adult and perceiving oneself as seeking help. The relationship between adolescents' help-seeking disclosure and (1) help-seeking attitudes and (2) perceptions of social resources was examined among suicidal help-seeking youth, suicidal non-help-seeking youth, and non-suicidal youth. Of the 381 (14?%) students reporting SI, only 23?% told an adult, 29?% sought adult help, and 15?% did both. Suicidal help-seekers were similar to non-suicidal peers on all measures of help-seeking attitudes and social environment perceptions. Positive attitudes about help-seeking from adults at school, perceptions that adults would respond to suicide concerns, willingness to overcome peer secrecy requests, and greater coping support and engagement with the school were associated with students' increased disclosure of SI and help-seeking. This study supports prevention strategies that change student norms, attitudes and social environments to promote help-seeking among adolescents with SI. Promising intervention targets include increasing students' perceptions of the availability and capability of adults to help them, and strengthening students' understanding of how existing resources can help them cope.     

Examining Multiracial Youth in Context: Ethnic Identity Development and Mental Health Outcomes

Although multiracial individuals are the fastest growing population in the United States, research on the identity development of multiracial adolescents remains scant. This study explores the relationship between ethnic identity, its components (affirmation, exploration), and mental health outcomes (anxiety, depressive symptoms) within the contexts of schools for multiracial adolescents. The participants were multiracial and monoracial minority and majority high school students (n = 4,766; 54.6 % female). Among the participants, 88.1 % were Caucasian, 7.4 % were African American, and 4.5 % were multiracial. The research questions examined the relationship between ethnic identity exploration and affirmation on mental health outcomes and explored the role school context plays in this relationship. The findings suggested that multiracial youth experience more exploration and less affirmation than African Americans, but more than Caucasians. In addition, multiracial youth were found to have higher levels of mental health issues than their monoracial minority and majority peers. Specifically, multiracial youth had higher levels of depressive symptoms than their African American and Caucasian counterparts. Multiracial and Caucasian youth had similar levels of anxiety but these levels were significantly higher than African Americans. School diversity did not influence mental health outcomes for multiracial youth. These findings provide insight into the experiences of multiracial youth and underscore the importance of further investigating factors that contribute to their mental health outcomes.     

Strategies to Address Weight-Based Victimization: Youths’ Preferred Support Interventions from Classmates,Teachers, and Parents

Weight-Based Victimization is a frequent experience for adolescents who are overweight or obese, and is associated with numerous psychosocial and physical consequences for those who are targets of victimization. Assessing targets` preferences for different types of support and intervention has been absent in the context of weight-based victimization, but is needed to help inform potential interventions, motivate action, and identify strategies to help adolescents cope with experiences of weight-related teasing or bullying. Adolescents (14–18 years, N = 361, 40 % female, 71 % Caucasian) enrolled in national weight-loss camps completed an on-line survey. Participants who reported previous experiences of weight-based victimization were surveyed about their preferred interventions from peers, friends, teachers, Physical Education (PE) teachers/coaches, and parents. Participants indicated their preferences for specific strategies pertaining to target support, bullying intervention and prevention (e.g., inclusion in peer activities, confronting the bully, telling an adult, and improving anti-bullying policies). Friends (66 %) and peers (58 %) were the most highly preferred intervention agents followed by teachers (55 %), PE teachers/coaches (44 %), and parents (43 %). Participants who experienced more weight-based victimization expressed increased desire for intervention. The frequency of victimization, social support from friends and family, and perceived likelihood and helpfulness of intervention significantly influenced participant preferences for certain types of intervention, although preferences were generally consistent across participants’ characteristics. The current study is the first to document youth’s preferences for interventions in response to weight-based victimization. The findings have important implications for encouraging appropriate intervention and informing bystanders, which may help to reduce the prevalence, recurrence, and consequences for youth who are targets of weight-based teasing or bullying.     

Future Orientation, School Contexts, and Problem Behaviors: A Multilevel Study

The association between future orientation and problem behaviors has received extensive empirical attention; however, previous work has not considered school contextual influences on this link. Using a sample of N = 9,163 9th to 12th graders (51.0 % females) from N = 85 high schools of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, the present study examined the independent and interactive effects of adolescent future orientation and school contexts (school size, school location, school SES, school future orientation climate) on problem behaviors. Results provided evidence that adolescent future orientation was associated independently and negatively with problem behaviors. In addition, adolescents from large-size schools reported higher levels of problem behaviors than their age mates from small-size schools, controlling for individual-level covariates. Furthermore, an interaction effect between adolescent future orientation and school future orientation climate was found, suggesting influences of school future orientation climate on the link between adolescent future orientation and problem behaviors as well as variations in effects of school future orientation climate across different levels of adolescent future orientation. Specifically, the negative association between adolescent future orientation and problem behaviors was stronger at schools with a more positive climate of future orientation, whereas school future orientation climate had a significant and unexpectedly positive relationship with problem behaviors for adolescents with low levels of future orientation. Findings implicate the importance of comparing how the future orientation-problem behaviors link varies across different ecological contexts and the need to understand influences of school climate on problem behaviors in light of differences in psychological processes among adolescents.     

Experiences of Racism,Racial/Ethnic Attitudes,Motivated Fairness and Mental Health Outcomes Among Primary and Secondary School Students

While studies investigating the health effects of racial discrimination for children and youth have examined a range of effect modifiers, to date, relationships between experiences of racial discrimination, student attitudes, and health outcomes remain unexplored. This study uniquely demonstrates the moderating effects of vicarious racism and motivated fairness on the association between direct experiences of racism and mental health outcomes, specifically depressive symptoms and loneliness, among primary and secondary school students. Across seven schools, 263 students (54.4 % female), ranging from 8 to 17 years old (M = 11.2, SD = 2.2) reported attitudes about other racial/ethnic groups and experiences of racism. Students from minority ethnic groups (determined by country of birth) reported higher levels of loneliness and more racist experiences relative to the majority group students. Students from the majority racial/ethnic group reported higher levels of loneliness and depressive symptoms if they had more friends from different racial/ethnic groups, whereas the number of friends from different groups had no effect on minority students’ loneliness or depressive symptoms. Direct experiences of racism were robustly related to higher loneliness and depressive symptoms in multivariate regression models. However, the association with depressive symptoms was reduced to marginal significance when students reported low motivated fairness. Elaborating on the negative health effects of racism in primary and secondary school students provides an impetus for future research and the development of appropriate interventions.     

Are Middle Schools Harmful? The Role of Transition Timing,Classroom Quality and School Characteristics

Are middle schools ill-suited for early adolescents, or can school characteristics account for any differences in student functioning? Achievement, school engagement, and perceived competence of children starting middle schools in 5th and 6th grades were compared to those of their same-grade peers in elementary schools in a national, longitudinal sample (NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, n = 855; 52% Female, 82% White). Classroom quality (observed and teacher-reported) and school characteristics (composition and size) were considered as explanations for any relationships between school-level and student functioning. Fifth grade middle school students did not differ from those in elementary school, but students entering middle school in 6th grade, compared to those in elementary school, experienced lower classroom quality, which in turn predicted slightly lower achievement. They also had lower school engagement, explained by larger school size. Classroom quality and school characteristics predicted youth functioning regardless of school type. We suggest reshaping the research and policy debate with renewed focus on classroom quality and school size instead of grade organization.     

Homophobic Name-Calling Among Secondary School Students and Its Implications for Mental Health

Although homophobic verbal victimization has been associated with negative mental health outcomes, little actually is known about its general prevalence and relationship to mental health among adolescents. In addition, the relationship of homophobic name-calling to mental health in gender non-conforming adolescents is not well understood. This study examined the relationship between homophobic verbal victimization and mental health in adolescents, accounting for their sexual orientation and level of gender non-conformity. Survey data was collected from 513 adolescents (ages 11–17) who attended eight schools in and around Amsterdam, the Netherlands; 56.7 % of the participating adolescents were female and 11.1 % reported same-sex attractions. As hypothesized, male adolescents and those with same-sex attractions were more likely to report victimization from homophobic name-calling than were their female and non-same-sex attracted peers. Contrary to expectations, homophobic name-calling was not independently associated with psychological distress after controlling for gender, sexual attractions, gender non-conformity, and other negative treatment by peers. The hypothesis that homophobic name-calling would be more strongly associated with psychological distress in male, same-sex attracted, and gender non-conforming adolescents was also not supported. The results suggest that same-sex attracted and gender non-conforming youth are particularly vulnerable to homophobic name-calling, in the Netherlands as in other contexts, but also that other forms of peer victimization may be more strongly related to mental health.     

Emotion Regulation Difficulties, Youth–Adult Relationships, and Suicide Attempts Among High School Students in Underserved Communities

To develop and refine interventions to prevent youth suicide, knowledge is needed about specific processes that reduce risk at a population level. Using a cross-sectional design, the present study tested hypotheses regarding associations between self-reported suicide attempts, emotion regulation difficulties, and positive youth–adult relationships among 7,978 high-school students (48.6 % male, 49.9 % female) in 30 high schools from predominantly rural, low-income communities. 683 students (8.6 %) reported a past-year suicide attempt. Emotion regulation difficulties and a lack of trusted adults at home and school were associated with increased risk for making a past-year suicide attempt, above and beyond the effects of depressive symptoms and demographic factors. The association between emotion regulation difficulties and suicide attempts was modestly lower among students who perceived themselves as having higher levels of trusted adults in the family, consistent with a protective effect. Having a trusted adult in the community (outside of school and family) was associated with fewer suicide attempts in models that controlled only for demographic covariates, but not when taking symptoms of depression into account. These findings point to adolescent emotion regulation and relationships with trusted adults as complementary targets for suicide prevention that merit further intervention studies. Reaching these targets in a broad population of adolescents will require new delivery systems and “option rich” (OR) intervention designs.     

Understanding Students’ Transition to High School: Demographic Variation and the Role of Supportive Relationships

The transition to high school is disruptive for many adolescents, yet little is known about the supportive relational processes that might attenuate the challenges students face as they move from middle to high school, particularly for students from more diverse backgrounds. Identifying potential buffers that protect youth across this critical educational transition is important for informing more effective support services for youth. In this study, we investigated how personal characteristics (gender, nativity, parent education level) and changes in support from family, friends, and school influenced changes in socioemotional adjustment and academic outcomes across the transition from middle to high school. The data were drawn from 252 students (50% females, 85% Latina/o). The results revealed declines in students’ grades and increases in depressive symptoms and feelings of loneliness across the high school transition, with key variation by student nativity and gender. Additionally, stable/increasing friend support and school belonging were both linked to less socioemotional disruptions as students moved from middle to high school. Increasing/stable school belonging was also linked to increases in school engagement across the high school transition. These findings suggest that when high school transitions disrupt supportive relationships with important others in adolescents’ lives, adolescents’ socioemotional well-being and, to a lesser extent, their academic engagement are also compromised. Thus, in designing transition support activities, particularly for schools serving more low-income and race/ethnic minority youth, such efforts should strive to acclimate new high school students by providing inclusive, caring environments and positive connections with educators and peers.     

Latino Adolescents�� Loneliness, Academic Performance, and the Buffering Nature of Friendships

This longitudinal study examined Latino adolescents?? feelings of loneliness and the repercussions of loneliness for later educational success. Participants were 640 Latino students (56% girls, 62% Mexican/Mexican?CAmerican) who reported on loneliness across the first 2 years of high school. Growth mixture modeling identified three distinct loneliness trajectory classes for the Latino adolescents??consistently low, chronically high, and low but increasing. Language brokering, language use, and school mobility emerged as predictors of class membership. Increasingly and chronically lonely youth experienced academic difficulty, both in terms of academic progress and exit exam success, but support from friends served as a buffer of the negative relationship between loneliness and academic success. This study highlights the pernicious effects of loneliness and suggests promoting prosocial friendship support as a means of facilitating more positive academic outcomes for Latino youth.     

Early Pubertal Timing and Girls’ Problem Behavior: Integrating Two Hypotheses

Girls’ early pubertal timing has been linked in many studies to behavioral problems such as delinquency and substance use. The theoretical explanations for these links have often involved the girls’ peer relationships, but contexts have also been considered important in some explanations. By integrating two theoretical models, the peer-socialization and the contextual-amplification hypotheses, we propose a contextual framework for explaining the link between early pubertal timing and external problem behavior in girls. We hypothesize that early developing girls engage in unhealthy, dangerous, and risky behavior under contextual conditions that promote access to older friends and opposite-sex relationships. Under other conditions it is less likely. We tested this integrated hypothesis in two studies conducted in Sweden. The first was a cross-sectional study with information about school and free-time friends in a community sample (N = 284). Early pubertal timing was linked to having older, more normbreaking friends outside of school, but not in school, thus suggesting that the school context interferes early-developing girls’ selection of older peers. The second study involved both a longitudinal (N = 434) and a cross-sectional sample of girls (N = 634), where we examined a leisure setting that is known to attract delinquent youth. Results showed that early pubertal timing was most strongly linked to delinquency for girls who spent time in this context and were heavily involved with boys and peers. In sum, results from both studies supported our predictions that certain contexts would amplify the peer-socialization effect. Overall, we conclude that the integrated peer-socialization/contextual-amplification model satisfactorily explains the link between pubertal timing and external problem behavior.     

Peer Group Similarity in Perceptions of Pubertal Timing

Self-report measures of perceived pubertal timing correspond only weakly with clinical measures of “objective” physical development. Peer and school contexts shape adolescents’ self-perceptions of pubertal timing. The current study examined associations between perceived pubertal timing and the pubertal timing reported by nominated friends and schoolmates. Participants included 2817 adolescents (M_age = 16.6; 49 % female; 16 % Black; 20 % Hispanic) from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Three measures of pubertal timing were included: age-standardized ratings of body changes, comparisons of development relative to peers (relative timing), and, in females, age at menarche. It was hypothesized that relative timing, which explicitly asks adolescents to compare themselves to their peers, would be related to the age-standardized pubertal timing of nominated friends and schoolmates. Surprisingly, there were no associations between relative timing and age-standardized pubertal timing reported by peers, suggesting that pubertal self-perceptions do not fluctuate in response to the average level of development in a friend group. Instead, males were similar to nominated friends and schoolmates in age-standardized ratings of body changes, and females were similar to nominated friends in relative timing, controlling for race, ethnicity, and age. Different self-report measures of pubertal timing index different underlying constructs, and the social processes that influence adolescents’ perceptions of pubertal maturation may differ between genders.