Deficits in Emotional Clarity and Vulnerability to Peer Victimization and Internalizing Symptoms Among Early Adolescents

Peer victimization is a significant risk factor for a range of negative outcomes during adolescence, including depression and anxiety. Recent research has evaluated individual characteristics that heighten the risk of experiencing peer victimization. However, the role of emotional clarity, or the ability to understand one’s emotions, in being the target of peer victimization remains unclear. Thus, the present study evaluated whether deficits in emotional clarity increased the risk of experiencing peer victimization, particularly among adolescent girls, which, in turn, contributed to prospective levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms. In the present study, 355 early adolescents (ages 12–13; 53 % female; 51 % African American) who were part of the Adolescent Cognition and Emotion project completed measures of emotional clarity, depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms at baseline, and measures of peer victimization, depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms at follow-up. Moderation analyses indicated that deficits in emotional clarity predicted greater peer victimization among adolescent girls, but not adolescent boys. Moderated mediation analyses revealed that deficits in emotional clarity contributed to relational peer victimization, which, in turn, predicted prospective levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms among adolescent girls, but not boys. These findings indicate that deficits in emotional clarity represent a significant risk factor for adolescent girls to experience relational peer victimization, which, in turn, contributed to prospective levels of internalizing symptoms. Thus, prevention programs should target deficits in emotional clarity to prevent peer victimization and subsequent internalizing symptoms among adolescent girls.     

Gender and the Interplay of Source of Support and Peer Social Rejection on Internalizing Among Mexican American Youth

Gendered interpersonal processes may explain the elevated rates of internalizing symptoms among adolescent girls relative to boys. Two such processes are peer social rejection and social support. The current study assessed for gender differences in the effect of 7th grade peer social rejection on 10th grade internalizing symptoms, as well as the moderating effects of social support from family and from friends in a sample of 749 (49?% female) Mexican American adolescents, an understudied population with a unique social culture. Peer social rejection significantly predicted increased internalizing symptoms for girls. Although buffering effects of social support were not found, there were significant moderating effects of both sources of support for boys, such that at low levels of social support, peer social rejection was associated with decreased internalizing symptoms, and at high levels of social support, peer social rejection was associated with increased internalizing symptoms. The results help unpack the nuances of the interpersonal processes that lead to differential adjustment for adolescent boys and girls at this critical developmental stage.     

The effects of pubertal timing on body image,school behavior,and deviance

Variation in the timing of pubertal maturation may result in behavioral differences among early, mid-, and late maturers. Using data from the National Health Examination Survey, a national probability sample of children and youth aged 12–17, we investigated the relationships between maturational timing and body image, school behavior, and deviance. In terms of body image, the early maturing boys were the group most satisfied with height and weight. The early maturing girls were most dissatisfied with weight, with 69% wishing to be thinner. This great dissatisfaction with weight reported by early maturing girls is probably not an affect of early maturation, but a concomitant of maturation in general. The majority of girls became dissatisfied with their weight as they matured, and females from the higher social groups were more likely to want to be thinner than females from lower groups. Thus, a normal developmental process is being viewed negatively by females and positively by males. Male early maturers more often had deviant behavior, but there were no consistent findings for girls. There was no effect of maturational timing on teacher reports of school absence, adjustment, popularity, need for discipline, or grade repetition.This research was supported by the Stanford Center for the Study of Youth Development and by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.Received M.D. from The Medical College of Pennsylvania.Received Ph.D. in anthropology from Stanford University.Received Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Chicago.Received M.D. from Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons.Received Ph.D. in psychology from Harvard University.     

Associations Between Menarcheal Timing and Behavioral Developmental Trajectories for Girls from Age 6 to Age 15

Substantial evidence from cross-sectional and short time-span longitudinal studies exists about negative associations between early pubertal maturation on a number of psychological outcomes. The objective of the present study was to assess the association between early maturation and developmental trajectories of social skills and internalizing and externalizing problems in girls from grades 1 through 9, including pre- and post-pubertal periods. The sample came from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development and included 398 Caucasian and 60 African American girls. Multilevel modeling revealed early maturing Caucasian girls were at risk for higher internalizing and externalizing problems and experiencing higher levels of problems pre-pubertally. African American youth had lower social skills and internalizing problems with no group differences due to early pubertal development. Findings are discussed in light of literature on continuity of girls' psychosocial development before and during the pubertal transition.     

The Role of Peer Stress and Pubertal Timing on Symptoms of Psychopathology During Early Adolescence

Stress is known to amplify the link between pubertal timing and psychopathology. However, few studies have examined the role of peer stress as a context for this link. The present study examined the interaction between perceived pubertal timing and peer stress on symptoms of psychopathology in early adolescence. The sample consisted of 264 students (63% female; M _age = 12.40, SD = 1.00; 55% Caucasian, 23% African American, 7% Latino, 11% biracial and 4% other). Higher peer stress was associated with symptoms of anxiety/depression; this effect did not vary by timing or gender. However, early-maturing girls with high peer stress demonstrated higher rates of relational and overt aggression compared to other girls. Findings also suggested that late-maturing boys with high stress are at risk for aggression problems; however, due to the small number of boys, analyses were exploratory. Overall, results suggest that developmentally salient contexts as indicated by stressful peer experiences may pose unique threats to early maturing girls and possibly late-maturing boys.     

Interpersonal Relationships and the Development of Behavior Problems in Adolescents in Urban Schools: A Longitudinal Study

The purpose of this study was to investigate the trajectories of behavioral problems for a sample of predominately minority adolescents (n = 212, 91% African-American and/or Hispanic, 45% boys, 55% girls) in a large, urban school district and to determine the impact of parental and peer relationships, gender, and risk status on their development during middle and high school. Multi-level growth modeling was the primary statistical procedure used to track internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems across time. Results indicated that behavioral problems as rated by students’ teachers declined significantly for both boys and girls, a finding that is in direct contrast to previous studies of adolescent behavior. The quality of parental relationships was a strong predictor of both types of behavior whereas the quality of peer relationships predicted only internalizing behavioral symptoms. These findings suggest that behavioral trajectories may be somewhat unique for this population underscoring the need for additional research in this area. The findings also have implications for intervening with children and youth who display behavioral problems during critical developmental periods.     

Pubertal Development,Spare Time Activities,and Adolescent Delinquency: Testing the Contextual Amplification Hypothesis

Extensive evidence supports associations between early pubertal timing and adolescent externalizing behavior, but how and under which conditions they are linked is not fully understood. In addition, pubertal development is also characterized by variations in the relative speed at which individuals mature, but studies linking pubertal ‘tempo’ and outcomes are scarce. This study examined the mediating and moderating roles of spare time activities in associations between pubertal development and later delinquency, using data from a large (4,327 girls, 4,250 boys) longitudinal UK cohort (Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children). Self-reports of Tanner stage were available from ages 9 to 14, spare time activities at age 12 and delinquency at age 15. Pubertal development was examined using latent growth models. Spare time activities were categorized using factor analyses, yielding four types (hanging out at home, hanging out outside, consumerist behavior, and sports/games), which were examined as mediators and moderators. Earlier and faster maturation predicted delinquency in boys and girls. Spare time activities partially mediated these links such that early maturing girls more often engaged in hanging out outside, which placed them at greater risk for delinquency. In addition, compared to their later and slower maturing counterparts, boys who matured earlier and faster were less likely to engage in sports/games, a spare time activity type that is linked to lower delinquency risk. No moderation effects were found. The findings extend previous research on outcomes of early maturation and show how spare time activities act as proxies between pubertal development and delinquency.     

Biological maturation and social development: A longitudinal study of some adjustment processes from mid-adolescence to adulthood

The role of biological maturity in behaviors in adolescence which most often are considered as negative by adults was investigated for a normal group of girls. In mid-adolescence early matured girls were found to play truant, smoke hashish, get drunk, pilfer, ignore parents' prohibitions, considerably more often than did late maturing girls. These differences between biological age groups were mediated by the association with older peer groups and they leveled out in late adolescence. Data on alcohol consumption and crime at adult age showed little association with biological maturation. A hypothesis was tested suggesting that early biological maturation may have negative long-term consequences within the education domain. In accord with this assumption, a considerably smaller percentage of girls among the early maturers had a theoretical education above the obligatory nine-year compulsory schooling than among the late maturing girls. The association between biological maturation and adult education was significant also after controlling for standard predictors of education, such as the girls' intelligence and the social status of the home. The requirement of conducting longitudinal studies when investigating issues connected with maturation was strongly emphasized.The research presented here was supported by funds to D. Magnusson from the Swedish Terecentenary Foundation and the Swedish Council for Planning and Coordination of Research.Received Ph.D. from the University of Stockholm. Current research interest is development.Received Ph.D. from University of Stockholm. Current research interest is development.Received Ph.D. from University of California at Berkeley. Current research interest is Social psychology.     

Individual Popularity,Peer Group Popularity Composition and Adolescents’ Alcohol Consumption

Previous studies have convincingly shown associations between popularity and adolescent drinking. This study examined whether the popularity composition of the peer group and the relative difference in popularity between adolescents and their peers are also associated with adolescent drinking. Participants were 800 adolescents (M _age?=?14.73; SD_age?=?1.00; 51.6?% girls) from 31 classrooms who completed peer ratings of popularity and self-reports of alcohol consumption. Results showed that drinking was higher among popular than unpopular adolescents, higher among popular adolescents surrounded by less popular classmates, and lower in classrooms with more variability in popularity. Thus, beyond individual popularity, peer group popularity composition also should be taken into account when investigating antisocial and health risk behaviors in adolescence such as drinking.     

Pubertal Timing and Substance Use in Middle Adolescence: A 2-Year Follow-up Study

Earlier research has associated early puberty with emotional and behavioral symptoms particularly among girls, while among boys, findings have been contradictory as to whether risks are associated with early or late pubertal timing. We studied the association between pubertal timing and substance use behaviors in middle adolescence in a 2-year follow up study of 2,070 (mean age 15.5 years, SD 0.36; 56.4% females) Finnish adolescents. Pubertal timing was measured by age at menarche/oigarche. Eleven years or less was classified as early, 12–13 years as normative and 14 years or later as late pubertal timing. Substance use behaviors were elicited by a number of questions related to alcohol use patterns, smoking and cannabis use. As factors that could explain the association between pubertal timing and substance use, we studied depressive symptoms, delinquency and aggression, and parental monitoring. In boys, all these substance use behaviors were the more common the earlier the puberty and the associations persisted at age 17. Among girls, early pubertal timing was similarly associated with substance use behaviors at age 15, but no longer at age 17. The associations between pubertal timing and substance use behaviors persisted when symptom dimensions and parental monitoring were added into the models. Early puberty is a risk factor for substance use particularly among boys. Among girls, the impact of pubertal timing already tempers off during adolescence.     

Pubertal Timing Fluctuations across Middle School: Implications for Girls’ Psychological Health

The relative nature of pubertal timing has received little attention in research linking early pubertal development with psychological adjustment. The current study examines the dynamic association between pubertal timing and internalizing symptoms among an urban, ethnically diverse sample of girls (n?=?1,167; 50% Latina, 30% Black/African American, 11% Asian, 9% White). By relying on six waves of data, we detected substantial within-person variability in pubertal timing, which in turn related to fluctuations in depressive symptoms, global self-worth, and social anxiety in multilevel analyses. Within-person changes in the direction of more advanced development compared to peers consistently predicted more depressive symptoms; however, more advanced development was related to lower self-worth only at the beginning of middle school. By the end of middle school, less advanced development predicted social anxiety. Results challenge the notion that pubertal timing is a stable individual characteristic, with implications for studying the psychosocial correlates of pubertal development across multiple years.     

Risk,Compensatory, Vulnerability,and Protective Factors Influencing Mental Health in Adolescence

The aim of the study was to elucidate the relative contribution to and function of general risk factors for mental disorders as well as compensatory, vulnerability, and protective factors in a general population sample of preadolescent and adolescent students. Data were collected in a representative sample of 1,110 (10 to 17 year-old) subjects of a school-based quota sample in the Canton of Zurich, Switzerland. The factors under study were assessed using questionnaires. The Youth Self Report (YSR) was used as an indicator of emotional and behavioral abnormalities. Further questionnaires were concerned with life events, coping strategies, self-esteem, self-awareness, parental child-rearing behaviors, the school environment, and the social network. General risk factors for both sexes included increased self-awareness, avoidance behavior, perceived rejection by the parents, competitive behavior among classmates, and controlling behavior of the teachers. General compensatory factors included self-esteem and acceptance by the parents. Performance stress served as a risk factor for internalizing disorders in both sexes; for externalizing disorders it was a risk factor in girls and a vulnerability factor in boys. Active coping and peer acceptance were protective factors for internalizing disorders and peer acceptance was also a compensatory factor for externalizing disorders. In addition, some gender-specific interactions were identified.     

Social Costs for Wannabes: Moderating Effects of Popularity and Gender on the Links between Popularity Goals and Negative Peer Experiences

Youth in early adolescence are highly concerned with being popular in the peer group, but the desire to be popular can have maladaptive consequences for individuals. In fact, qualitative work suggests that youth with high popularity goals who are nonetheless unpopular have negative experiences with their peers. However, little quantitative work has examined this possibility. The purpose of the current study was to examine if popularity goals were linked with physical (e.g., being hit) and relational (e.g., being excluded) victimization and peer rejection, particularly for individuals who strived for popularity but were viewed by their peers as unpopular. Late elementary and early middle school participants (N?=?205; 54% female) completed self-reports of popularity goals and peer nominations of popularity and peer rejection. Teachers reported on students’ experiences of relational and physical victimization. Peer nominated popularity and gender were moderators of the association between popularity goals and negative peer experiences. Consistent with hypotheses, girls who were unpopular but wanted to be popular were more likely to experience peer rejection and relational victimization. Unexpectedly, boys who were unpopular but did not desire to be popular were more likely to be rejected and relationally victimized. The findings suggest that intervention and prevention programs may benefit from addressing the social status goals of low status youth in a gender-specific manner.     

Internalizing Symptoms: Effects of a Preventive Intervention on Developmental Pathways from Early Adolescence to Young Adulthood

This study examined the mediated and moderated effects of a universal family-focused preventive intervention, delivered during young adolescence, on internalizing symptoms assessed in young adulthood. Sixth grade students (N=446; 52% female; 98% White) and their families from 22 rural Midwestern school districts were randomly assigned to the experimental conditions in 1993. Self-report questionnaires were administered at seven time points (pre-test to young adulthood-age 21) to those receiving the Iowa Strengthening Families Program (ISFP) and to the control group. Results showed that growth factors of adolescent internalizing symptoms (grades 6-12) were predicted by ISFP condition and risk status (defined as early substance initiation). Moderation of the condition effect by risk status was found, with higher-risk adolescents benefitting more from the ISFP. Results also supported the hypothesis that the ISFP's effect on internalizing symptoms in young adulthood was mediated through growth factors of adolescents' internalizing symptoms; risk moderation, however, was only marginally significant in young adulthood. The relative reduction rate on clinical or subclinical levels of young adult internalizing symptoms was 28%, indicating that for every 100 young adults displaying clinical or subclinical levels of internalizing symptoms from school districts not offering an intervention, there could be as few as 72 displaying those levels of symptoms in school districts that offered middle school prevention programming. These findings highlight how the positive effects of family-focused universal interventions can extend to non-targeted outcomes and the related potential public-health impact of scaling up these interventions.     

An Examination of Reciprocal Associations Between Social Preference,Popularity, and Friendship during Early Adolescence

Getting along with peers becomes increasingly important to health and well-being during early adolescence (10–14 years). Young adolescents may succeed with peers when they are well-liked by and popular among the larger peer group (or at the group-level of social complexity). They might also fare well with peers when they are able to form numerous mutual and high quality friendships (at the dyadic-level of social complexity). Theory emphasizes the interrelatedness of different types of peer experiences, but few longitudinal studies have examined the interplay among and between group- and dyadic-level peer experiences in the same study. As a result, it is not known whether group-level peer experiences are predictors of dyadic-level peer experiences, and/or vice versa. To address this limitation, this study examined the prospective and reciprocal relations between four indices of peer experiences, preference (or being highly liked and not disliked by peers), popularity (or having a reputation as popular), friendship quantity (or having many mutual friends), and friendship or relationship quality, during early adolescence. Participants were 271 adolescents (49% girls; M_age?=?11.52 years) who completed peer nominations of preference and popularity, a self-report measure of friendship quality, and nominated friends at two waves (Wave 1: November, Grade 6; Wave 2: October, Grade 7). Structural equation modeling indicated that friendship quantity predicted increases in preference and popularity and that friendship quality predicted increases in friendship quantity. Initial popularity was associated with decreases in preference. The importance of these findings for future research is discussed along with study limitations.     

Defending Victims of Bullying in Early Adolescence: A Multilevel Analysis

Adolescents’ defending behaviors in school bullying situations is likely determined by individual characteristics, social status variables, and classroom/school contextual factors operating simultaneously in the peer ecology. However, there is little research on defending behavior that utilizes this multilevel approach. This study investigated how students’ willingness to defend victims of bullying was affected by feelings of empathy, perceived popularity, and classroom-level perceived prosocial norms. Participants were 1373 adolescents (40% girls, Mage: 14?yrs) from 54 classrooms in six middle schools in South Korea. These youth reported on their feelings of empathy and how prosocial they perceived their classmates to be. Peer-ratings and peer nominations were used to estimate defending behaviors and which students were perceived as popular. Multilevel analyses showed that participants were more likely to defend victims when they had greater empathy and perceived popularity and when classroom-level prosocial norms were higher. The findings have implications for interventions to reduce school bullying and for studying defending behavior in multiple cultural contexts.     

Genetic and Environmental Influences on the Association Between Pubertal Maturation and Internalizing Symptoms

The literature consistently shows an association between pubertal maturation and internalizing problems in girls. The association for boys is less clear. The present study examines genetic and environmental influences on the association between pubertal maturation and internalizing problems for boys and girls in two primarily Caucasian adolescent twin/sibling studies: The Swedish Twin study of CHild and Adolescent Development (706 same-sex twin pairs aged 13-14, M = 13.7 years, 50 % female), and the Nonshared Environment in Adolescent Development sample (US-based, 687 same-sex twin/sibling pairs aged 10-18, M = 13.6 years, 47 % female). For girls, more advanced pubertal maturation was associated modestly with more internalizing problems, and that association was entirely explained by shared environmental influences. For boys, the association between pubertal maturation and internalizing problems was weak and inconsistent. Results for girls were remarkably consistent across samples. Findings suggest that nongenetic mechanisms mediate the association between pubertal maturation and internalizing problems. Findings have implications for intervention such that environmental influences shared by twins/siblings may provide the best targets for intervention strategies designed to minimize the potential negative effects of pubertal maturation on internalizing symptoms in girls.     

Internalizing Symptoms and Externalizing Problems: Risk Factors for or Consequences of Cyber Victimization?

Experiences of traditional victimization often co-occur with cyber victimization in adolescence but are not always controlled for when considering how cyber victimization is uniquely related to internalizing and externalizing symptoms. This is particularly problematic in longitudinal studies that attempt to determine the longitudinal associations between cyber victimization and internalizing symptoms, and between cyber victimization and externalizing problems and how these patterns may differ for adolescent boys and girls. In the current study, traditional victimization was controlled to examine the longitudinal sequences of association between cyber victimization and internalizing symptoms, and between cyber victimization and externalizing problems for adolescent boys and girls. Participants included 510 seventh and tenth grade students (M_age?=?13.7, 61.6% girls, 44% Asian and 30% White) who completed surveys across three academic years in middle and high school. Findings from longitudinal path models suggest that internalizing symptoms and externalizing problems respectively were associated with increases in experiences of cyber victimization (beyond the effect of traditional victimization) both within and across time, particularly for adolescent girls. Efforts to address adolescents’ experiences of cyber victimization must consider the vulnerabilities created by adolescents’ continued internalizing symptoms and externalizing problems that may differ for boys and girls. Implications for cyber victimization prevention and intervention efforts are discussed.

     

Acculturation,Gender, Depression,and Cigarette Smoking Among U.S. Hispanic Youth: The Mediating Role of Perceived Discrimination

Hispanic youth are at risk for experiencing depressive symptoms and smoking cigarettes, and risk for depressive symptoms and cigarette use increase as Hispanic youth acculturate to U.S. culture. The mechanism by which acculturation leads to symptoms of depression and cigarette smoking is not well understood. The present study examined whether perceived discrimination explained the associations of acculturation with depressive symptoms and cigarette smoking among 1,124 Hispanic youth (54% female). Youth in Southern California completed surveys in 9th–11th grade. Separate analyses by gender showed that perceived discrimination explained the relationship between acculturation and depressive symptoms for girls only. There was also evidence that discrimination explained the relationship between acculturation and cigarette smoking among girls, but the effect was only marginally significant. Acculturation was associated with depressive symptoms and smoking among girls only. Perceived discrimination predicted depressive symptoms in both genders, and discrimination was positively associated with cigarette smoking for girls but not boys. These results support the notion that, although Hispanic boys and girls experience acculturation and discrimination, their mental health and smoking behaviors are differentially affected by these experiences. Moreover, the results indicate that acculturation, gender, and discrimination are important factors to consider when addressing Hispanic youth’s mental health and substance use behaviors.     

Physical Aggression, Spreading of Rumors, and Social Prominence in Early Adolescence: Reciprocal Effects Supporting Gender Similarities?

There is a robust association between aggression and social prominence by early adolescence, yet findings regarding the direction of influence remain inconclusive in light of gender differences across various forms of aggressive behaviors. The current study examined whether physical aggression and spreading of rumors, as two gender-typed aggressive behaviors that differ in overt displays of power, promote and/or maintain socially prominent status for girls and boys during non-transitional grades in middle school. Peer nominations were used to assess physical aggression, spreading of rumors, and “cool” reputation (social prominence) during three time points between the spring of seventh grade and spring of eighth grade. Participants included 1,895 (54 % female) ethnically diverse youth: 47 % Latino, 22 % African-American, 11 % Asian, 10 % White and 10 % Other/Mixed ethnic background. Cross-lagged path analyses were conducted to test the directionality of the effects, and gender moderation was assessed by relying on multi-group analyses. The analyses revealed mainly reciprocal associations for each form of aggression, suggesting that boys, as well as girls, can both gain and maintain their status by spreading rumors about their peers, just as they do by physically fighting and pushing others in urban middle schools. The implications of the findings for interventions are discussed.