Peer Selection and Socialization in Adolescent Depression: The Role of School Transitions

Previous studies have indicated homophily in depressive symptoms among adolescent friends, resulting from both peer selection and socialization processes. However, developmental differences and the role of school transitions in these processes have not been elucidated. A sample of 367 (51% female) adolescents was followed from 6th to 11th grade to investigate prospective relationships between adolescents’ and their friends’ depressive symptoms in middle school and in high school. Results revealed that students selected friends with similar levels of depressive symptoms after each school transition. Additionally, friends appeared to socialize adolescents to become more similar in depressive affect in late middle school years. These findings suggest normative selection effects after school transitions, followed by socialization effects in middle school, but not high school.     

Tibetan Monasteries and Thangka Art

IN the western suburbs of Xiahe County,Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture,Gansu Province right at the foot of the Fengling Mountain lies the exquisite Labrang Monastery.A world renowned institution of higher learning for Tibetan Buddhism,it is one of six major monasteries of the Gelug School of Tibetan Buddhism. In Qinghai Province,the waters of the Longwu River that flow through the province's southern part renew and nourish a mystical region called "Reb-kong" in Tibetan language.'     

读《本体刑法学》

《本体刑法学》是陈兴良先生在商务印书馆出版的新著。著作具有四大特色 :一是保持批判者立场 ,继承并提升刑法理论品位 ;二是界定本体刑法学的基本范畴 ,构建刑法学的新体系 ;三是提倡问题意识 ,寻求刑法学的真问题及其解决 ;四是创立一种刑法学教科书写作的新范式 ,即体系性叙述、法理性叙述与私人性叙述相结合。尽管存在些许瑕疵 ,但本体刑法学的总体特色可以概括为 :理论的继承和创新并存 ;范式转换或体系完备并重。     

The Role of Aggressive Peer Norms in Elementary School Children’s Perceptions of Classroom Peer Climate and School Adjustment

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - Although prior research has indicated that peer norms for aggression enhance the spread of aggression in classrooms, it is unclear to date how these norms relate...     

Other-Sex Friendships in Late Adolescence: Risky Associations for Substance Use and Sexual Debut?

Adolescents’ friendships with other-sex peers serve important developmental functions, but they may also facilitate engagement in problem behavior. This study examines the unique contributions of other-sex friendships and friends’ behavior to alcohol use, smoking, and initiation of sexual intercourse among late adolescent girls and boys. A total of 320 adolescents (53% girls; 33% racial/ethnic minorities) provided sociometric nominations of friendships annually in grades 10–12. Friendship networks were derived using social network analysis in each grade. Adolescents and their friends also reported on their alcohol use, smoking, and sexual debut at each assessment. After controlling for demographics, previous problem behavior, and friends’ behavior, other-sex friendships in 10th grade were associated with initiation of smoking among girls over the following year, and other-sex friendships in 11th grade were linked with lower levels of subsequent alcohol use among boys. Additionally, friends’ smoking and sexual experience in 10th grade predicted the same behaviors for all adolescents over the following year. Other-sex friendships thus appear to serve as a risk context for adolescent girls’ smoking and a protective context for adolescent boys’ drinking. Promoting mixed-gender activities and friendships among older high school students may be helpful in reducing males’ alcohol use, but may need to incorporate additional components to prevent increases in females’ smoking.     

Correlates and Outcomes Associated with Aggression and Victimization Among Elementary-School Children in a Low-Income Urban Context

Previous research suggests that the prevalence of aggression is high among low-income urban youth who have to cope with a number of psychological stressors. Less is known about the early development and consequences of aggression and peer victimization prior to adolescence in these contexts. This study examined the correlates, interplay, and consequences of aggression and victimization among children in a low-income urban context. Data were collected in the spring of grades 1, 2, and 3. The final sample included 333 children (59.5 % girls, M = 6.46 years). Each year, children completed sociometric and peer assessments in their classrooms. A cross-lagged panel model with extended effects showed that aggression was relatively stable over time, whereas victimization was less stable. Aggression and victimization became increasingly less correlated over time. Further, early victimization negatively predicted later aggression for boys, but positively for girls. Growth curve modeling showed that initial aggression and victimization were associated with initial behavioral and relational problems. Early aggression, but not victimization, predicted relative stable or increasing in behavioral and relational problems over time. The results underscore the importance of a developmental perspective on early childhood aggression and victimization in high-risk contexts, in order to understand their implications for adjustment in adolescence.     

Clueless or Powerful? Identifying Subtypes of Bullies in Adolescence

This study examined the heterogeneity of bullying among adolescents. It was hypothesized that bullying behavior serves different social functions and, depending on these functions, bullies will differ in their skills, status and social behavior. In a total sample of 806 8th graders, 120 adolescents (52 boys, 68 girls) were identified as bullies based on peer nominations. An additional group of 50 adolescents (25 boys, 25 girls) served as the non-bully comparison group. Cluster analysis revealed three corresponding bully subtypes for boys and girls: a popular-socially intelligent group, a popular moderate group, and an unpopular-less socially intelligent group. Follow-up analyses showed that the clusters differed significantly from each other in physical and verbal aggression, leadership, network centrality, peer rejection, and self-perceptions of bullying. The results confirm the heterogeneous nature of bullies and the complex nature of bullying in the adolescent peer group.