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Peer Acceptance and Friendship as Predictors of Early Adolescents' Adjustment Across the Middle School Transition
Abstract
This study examines several aspects of adolescents’ pretransition peer relationships as predictors of their adjustment to middle school. Participants were 365 students (175 boys; 99% Caucasian) involved in the Time 1 (the spring of fifth grade) and Time 2 (the fall of sixth grade) assessments. Adolescents completed measures that assessed peer acceptance, number of friends, the quality of a specific mutual friendship, loneliness, depression, self-esteem, and involvement in school. Academic achievement and absentee data were obtained from student files. Regression analyses indicated that the pretransition peer variables predicted posttransition loneliness, self-esteem, school involvement, and academic achievement. The patterns of prediction varied slightly for each adjustment variable, with the most robust relationship being between peer acceptance and achievement. Results of repeated-measures MANOVAs indicated no differential changes in adjustment across time by gender. Implications for including a peer component in programs that prepare students for the middle school transition are discussed.
... Low friendship quality has also been consistently associated with children's and adolescents' loneliness in diverse countries including the United States (Kingery et al., 2011;Nangle et al., 2003;Parker & Asher, 1993), Indonesia (Liu et al., 2015), and China (Liu et al., 2015). The results of Schwartz-Mette et al.'s (2020) meta-analyses revealed that positive friendship qualities (e.g., companionship, intimacy, and instrumental aid) were negatively associated with child and adolescent loneliness. ...
... First, adolescents have typically been asked to report on the relationship quality of their friendships without ascertaining that these were mutual and consequently existed. Second, in some previous studies, participants reported the quality of friendship with their single best friend (e.g., Kingery et al., 2011;Vanhalst et al., 2014). Children and adolescents, however, often have multiple important friendships (Furman, 1998) and these may differ in quality. ...
... These results were consistent with Schwartz-Mette et al.'s (2020) meta-analyses findings that both aspects of friendships were negatively associated with loneliness in children and adolescents. The finding that the number of friends was negatively associated with loneliness, suggested that the quantity of friendships was important for Indonesian adolescents, similar to the results that were found for children and adolescents in Western (e.g., Kingery et al., 2011) and other Asian countries (e.g., Shin, 2007). These findings were also inconsistent with the argument that having one mutual friend rather than the absolute number of friends protects youth against loneliness (Asher & Paquette, 2003;Renshaw & Brown, 1993). ...
Loneliness is a perceived discrepancy between desired and experienced social relationships that may arise from lack of intimate attachment to another person (e.g., friend) or lack of involvement in larger networks (e.g., peer groups). This study assessed how multiple aspects of friendship and peer group involvement were associated with Indonesian adolescents’ self‐reported loneliness. Participants were 754 twelfth‐grade Indonesian students (413 girls, Mage = 16.5 years). Reciprocated friendships were calculated from within‐grade nominations and both dyadic members rated the quality of their friendship. Peer groups were generated from Social Cognitive Mapping (SCM) and within‐group centrality and group visibility were determined using SCM. Group popularity was derived using peer nominations. A Structural Equation Model revealed that multiple aspects of friendship and group involvement, except for friend‐rated friendship quality, were concurrently associated with loneliness. An interaction between within‐group centrality and group popularity was found for boys, suggesting that being central in a group may be more important for boys in low‐status than those in high‐status groups. The results revealed that quantity and quality of friendship as well as position in the peer group and status of the peer group were associated with loneliness. The comparable associations of loneliness with aspects of friendship and group involvement may be a function of Indonesian culture in which both group involvement and friendships are valued.
... After the transition, children are confronted with new academic demands and school subjects, an increased emphasis on grading and social competition, as well as a new social learning environment with new classmates and a changing school size (Lohaus et al., 2004;Valtin & Wagner, 2004). Adapting to these academic changes and renegotiating their status in their new peer group requires a great deal of psychological and behavioral adjustment (Kingery et al., 2011;Langenkamp, 2010). On the one hand, these challenges provide children with the opportunity to learn and develop the skills they need for a successful academic career (Skinner & Raine, 2023). ...
... Considering that children spend a large part of their daytime at school, it does not seem surprising that peer relationships in their new class context are highly relevant for children's psychological well-being and school adjustment. For instance, studies indicate the importance of the peer group for students' academic achievement (Sebanc et al., 2016), school involvement (Kingery et al., 2011), and test and manifest anxiety in secondary school (Grills & Ollendick, 2002;Hoferichter & Raufelder, 2015;Rubin et al., 2015). Since it fulfills the basic need for relatedness, feeling accepted by the new peer group is considered a particular resource in dealing with life challenges such as the school transition (Langenkamp, 2010;Zimmer-Gembeck et al., 2023). ...
... At the age of school transition, relationships with peers become increasingly important (Bokhorst et al., 2010;Zimmer-Gembeck et al., 2023). However, the transition is accompanied by drastic changes in children's social environment: Since former classmates often attend different schools, the children have to deal with new classmates and a new social reference group with a greater emphasis on social comparison (Bouffard & Labranche, 2022;Kingery et al., 2011). Hence, friendships in the new class are one of the key factors contributing to children's sense of wellbeing (Curson et al., 2019). ...
Although previous research has investigated the impact of parents and peers on test anxiety in secondary or tertiary education, little is known about younger students, especially during the transition to secondary school. Additionally, it is unclear whether these social factors affect girls’ and boys’ test anxiety differently. Therefore, the current study examined the role of perceived peer integration into the new class context, perceived parental control, and autonomy support on girls’ and boys’ test anxiety (worry and emotionality) during the transition to secondary school. Data from 1770 students (Mage = 10.47, SD = 0.56; 51% females) were analyzed before (4th grade) and after the transition (5th grade) using a multigroup (girls vs. boys) structural equation model. Both facets of test anxiety decreased from 4th to 5th grade. Perceived peer integration into the new class was only relevant for girls’ test anxiety, while parental control predicted post-transition test anxiety for boys. The results suggest that the perceived social environment is an important factor in helping students cope with the demands of the transition to secondary school.
... For many students, peer experiences may continue over the transition from primary to secondary school. For instance, one study found that students' loneliness remained relatively stable across the transition (Kingery et al., 2011). Students were also relatively stable in psychological wellbeing (Virtanen et al., 2019), school adjustment, and psychological adjustment (De Moor & Branje, 2023) across the transition. ...
... Students were also relatively stable in psychological wellbeing (Virtanen et al., 2019), school adjustment, and psychological adjustment (De Moor & Branje, 2023) across the transition. Students who were more accepted by peers and had more and higher quality friendships before the transition, were less lonely after the transition (Kingery et al., 2011), suggesting that positive peer experiences continue for some students. Making new friends in secondary school was especially difficult for students with negative peer experiences such as victimization in primary school (Evangelou et al., 2008), suggesting that negative peer experiences continue for at least some students. ...
... In a recent review on school transitions, ten studies reported a negative impact of the transition on their peer experiences, whereas seven studies reported an improvement in peer experiences (Jindal-Snape et al., 2020). For instance, in contrast to the previous mentioned study showing stability in loneliness (Kingery et al., 2011), other studies found that loneliness increased following a school transition (Benner et al., 2017;Benner & Graham, 2009), decreased , or increased or decreased depending on the school transition (i.e., elementary to middle school vs. middle to high school; Barber & Olsen, 2004). Moreover, whereas most students who structurally transitioned to high school in the U.S.A. were more likely to have fewer friends and become isolated than students who did not transition, some students gained friends (Felmlee et al., 2018;Temkin et al., 2018). ...
Previous studies on peer relationships in school transitions neglected individual differences, or did not examine the relation with academic performance in secondary school. This study followed 649 students from their last year of primary school to their first year in secondary school (Mage at T1 = 11.6 (SD = 0.6); 53.6% girls). Results revealed that students became more attached to peers, less lonely, and were stable in victimization across the transition. Particularly students with more negative peer experiences in primary school enjoyed a “fresh start” in terms of peer experiences in secondary school. Students who had more co-transitioning peers experienced greater reductions in loneliness. Changes in peer experiences over the transition did not relate to academic performance in secondary school.
... Positive emotional adjustment refers to an individual's favorable psychological and behavioral reactions to various aspects of their environment, which reflects their attitudes during the process of adaption as well as their capacity to actively adapt and regulate their emotions (Sekar & Lawrence, 2016). Prior research has established that peer relationships is critical for building resilience in coping with developmental challenges, particularly highquality friendships that has been shown to contribute to positive psychological adjustment (Berndt, 1999;Dishion et al., 2001;Kingery et al., 2011). Recent investigations, for example, conducted by Wang et al. (2021), have shown a positive correlation between the quality of friendships and positive psychological adjustment. ...
... For instance, when individuals share their accomplishments with friends and receive enthusiastic feedback, they tend to experience more positive emotions (Quoidbach et al., 2010). Additionally, research shows that adolescents with high-quality friendships exhibits a stronger sense of selfesteem (Kingery et al., 2011). This phenomenon aligns with the Rogers' self-actualization theory (SAT), which postulates that positive self-esteem derives from the conviction that one is truly comprehended and unconditionally accepted by others (Rogers, 2012). ...
... The study results revealed a positive association between friendship quality and positive emotional adjustment among boarding adolescents, consistent with prior research that suggests peer acceptance and friendship predict adolescents' adjustment during the middle school transition (Kingery et al., 2011;Lee & Goldstein, 2016). Therefore, high-quality friendships are a crucial factor for promoting positive emotional adjustment in boarding adolescents. ...
Friendship has been increasingly acknowledged as a beneficial factor in adolescent psychological adjustment. However, there remains a lack of understanding of the circumstances in which peer influence occurs and how it manifests. To address this gap, this study drew on the developmental situation theory and self-determination theory to investigate the moderating and mediating role of basic psychological needs satisfaction (BPNS) in the relationship between friendship quality (FQ) and positive emotional adjustment (PEA) among adolescents in boarding schools. A total of 1073 high school students (M age = 16.23 ± 1.31 years, 58.2% female) from Northwest China participated in the survey. Research hypotheses were tested using bootstrap analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM). Results showed that FQ had a significant positive predictive effect on three variables of PEA (i.e., positive emotion, life satisfaction, and self-esteem) and this effect was robust in girls. The moderating effect indicated that BPNS fostered the positive associations between FQ and positive emotion. The mediating effect indicated that BPNS also played a mediating role between FQ and PEA variables. These findings shed light on the potential psychological benefits of high-quality friendship for adolescents and on the mechanism through which they occur.
... Furthermore, rating-scale sociometric measures are likely to yield peer acceptance scores that are more statistically independent from friendship nominations than would "like most"/"like least" nomination measures of peer acceptance given that like-most nominations and friendship nominations both involve choosing classmates who children presumably like the most (see Asher & Weeks, 2018, for a fuller discussion of this issue). Rating-scale sociometric measures are commonly used in early and middle childhood and adolescence (e.g., Cassidy & Asher, 1992;Hundley & Cohen, 1999;Ladd, 1981;Nangle et al., 2004;Oden & Asher, 1977) and yield fairly stable peer acceptance scores over time, even among younger children (e.g., Asher et al., 1979;Kingery et al., 2011). As with social provision scores, we examined acceptance scores separately for same-gender and other-gender peers. ...
... However, contrary to our expectation, provision rich classrooms were not characterized by higher levels of reciprocated friendship ties. This pair of findings are consistent with previous theoretical and empirical work distinguishing peer acceptance from the number of friends children have (Bukowski et al., 1993;Gest et al., 2001;Kingery et al., 2011;Parker & Asher, 1993;see Asher & Weeks, 2018, for a relatively recent discussion). From a "social tasks" perspective on friendship, the processes involved in developing and maintaining a close friendship go beyond the processes involved in becoming well-liked by peers (see Asher et al., 1996, Flannery & Smith, 2016, MacEvoy & Asher, 2012, and Rose & Asher, 2017, for analyses and discussion of the social tasks of friendship). ...
Building on social needs theory (Weiss, 1974), this study introduces the construct of classroom provision richness and examines the association between the exchange of social provisions among children in classrooms and children's feelings of loneliness in school. We examined the receipt of provisions from reciprocally nominated friends versus unilateral (one-sided) and non-friend classmates and examined associations between social provisions and loneliness at the child and classroom levels. Participants were 998 third- through fifth-grade children (468 girls, 530 boys; 88.5% White) in 38 classrooms who indicated which classmates they played with, helped, validated, and provided opportunities for self-disclosure. In addition to the social provisions nomination measure, children responded to (a) a measure of loneliness that avoided content overlapping with social provisions, (b) a rating-scale sociometric measure of peer acceptance, and (c) a measure that asked them to indicate which classmates engaged in prosocial, aggressive, or withdrawn-type behaviors. Multilevel analyses indicated that social provisions received from reciprocal friends and from unilateral–received friends were associated with children's feelings of loneliness in school. Furthermore, a measure of the provision richness of classrooms moderated the association between child-level provisions received and feelings of loneliness, such that children who received fewer provisions were less lonely in classrooms that were more provision-rich. Classroom provision richness was also associated with the general level of prosocial behavior and peer acceptance in the classroom. Together, findings suggest that efforts to foster the exchange of social provisions in classrooms could reduce loneliness and facilitate a more caring classroom environment.
... This need to belong can be a determining factor in whether a student stays in school or drops out [17]. Positive peer relationships can lead to higher self-esteem and an increase in personal well-being, especially during the transition process [23][24][25]. Furthermore, upperclassmen can serve as mentors to support the transition process [26]. ...
... Camp supported students' need to form peer relationships with both incoming ninth-grade students and upperclassmen, many of which lasted beyond camp. Educators who seek to support a responsive transition may consider in what ways they can provide students with the opportunity to form peer relationships with other incoming ninth-grade students and upperclassmen to enhance personal well-being and foster relatedness [3,41] during the weeks before and after the transition [23,24]. ...
In this qualitative case study (n = 32), researchers sought to understand the ways a multi-day summer transition camp may help incoming ninth-grade students experience a developmentally responsive transition into high school. The findings revealed camp helped support students’ procedural, social, and academic-related needs and concerns. Learning the school layout and policies helped support students’ procedural-related needs and concerns. Promoting student–student, educator–student, and school–student relationships helped support students’ social-related needs and concerns. Attending academic classes and communicating expectations for academic success helped support students’ academic-related needs and concerns. A summer camp may foster a responsive transition and mitigate school failure, but must be developed and delivered based on students’ developmental and transition-related needs and concerns. Furthermore, students must perceive camp activities as actually supporting their needs and concerns.
... For example, Gallardo et al. (2016) found peer acceptance (measured by free nominations) to positively predict subsequent academic achievement, the effect being stronger for early adolescents than for mid-adolescents. In another study, Kingery et al. (2011) showed that pretransition peer acceptance (measured by peer ratings) and number of reciprocated friends (measured by an unlimited nomination procedure) predicted the post-transition academic achievement, with the most robust links being between peer acceptance and early adolescents' academic achievement. There are also studies indicating that peer acceptance (measured by number restricted nominations) did not predict students' subsequent academic achievement during primary or middle school (e.g., Véronneau et al., 2010). ...
... Theoretical models (e.g., social cognitive theory; Bandura, 1993; situated expectancy-value theory; Eccles and Wigfield, 2020; competence motivation theory; Harter, 1982) emphasize that peer relationships might significantly impact children's self-evaluative beliefs in the academic domain, apart from the influences of their parents and teachers. Previous research indicated that both peer acceptance and number of friends (i.e., reciprocated) were positively correlated with children's self-esteem before and after transition to middle school (Kingery et al., 2011). Further, positive associations were consistently found between peer acceptance and perceived academic competence, whereas peer rejection had a negative impact on children's academic self-concept (see Wentzel et al., 2021 for a meta-analysis). ...
The present study aimed to explore the interplay among two indicators of children’s school peer relationships (i.e., peer acceptance and perceived number of friends) and two significant life domains (i.e., global life satisfaction and academic achievement). We also explored the potential mediating role of the perceived academic competence in these relations. Participants were 650 Romanian primary school students (45.7% boys), aged between 9 and 12 years old (Mage = 10.99). Path analysis showed a direct positive effect of perceived number of friends on children’s life satisfaction, as well as a direct positive effect of peer acceptance on academic achievement. Moreover, perceived academic competence mediated the links between each of the two indicators of peer relationships and children’s both life satisfaction and achievement. Several implications in the educational contexts are discussed.
... One study found that students who showed externalizing problems in kindergarten (e.g., started fights and did not obey the rules) were rejected by their peers and victimized 1 school year later (van Lier & Koot, 2010). Students with more friends and positive social contacts developed more favorable perceptions of school, showed more engagement in school and had better transition experiences than students with fewer friends and less peer acceptance (Day et al., 2014;Kingery et al., 2011;Ladd, 1990). Thus, we expected to find a reciprocal relationship between school enjoyment and social integration. ...
... We observed a significant one-way effect of social integration in Grade 1 on school enjoyment in Grade 2. This finding is in line with previous findings, which showed positive effects of having friends and being integrated on positive perceptions of school (Day et al., 2014;Kingery et al., 2011;Ladd, 1990). This means that the fulfillment of a basic psychological need (i.e., social relatedness; Deci & Ryan, 1985) contributes to positive emotions, which are relevant for students' well-being in school . ...
p style="text-align: justify;">At the beginning of primary school, young children need to adapt academically, socially, and emotionally to their new school environment. Enjoying going to school and becoming socially integrated are important preconditions for successful learning. However, children from disadvantaged families have fewer resources and receive less support, and such deficits can result in lower attainment, negative emotions, and lower well-being. In recent years, interest in emotions and well-being in school has grown in educational research. However, studies analyzing the affective characteristics of disadvantaged students, especially in primary school, are still scarce. In this study, we analyzed reciprocal relationships between school enjoyment, social integration, and achievement using cross-lagged structural equation modeling (Grades 1 and 2), while controlling for family background and sex. We used data from the National Educational Panel Study in Germany (NEPS; N = 4,986). Results showed positive effects of school enjoyment on achievement and social integration on school enjoyment. Additionally, a better home learning environment had positive effects on school enjoyment and social integration in Grade 1. Effects of socioeconomic and migration background on school enjoyment and social integration were not significant. Our results show no evidence that educationally disadvantaged students are additionally disadvantaged in their school enjoyment or social integration at the beginning of primary school. </p
... Early adolescence is typically marked by the transition from an elementary school to a middle level school. This transition usually involves moving from a small school with consolidated and close relationships with teachers to a larger, more impersonal environment that may include ability grouping or tracking, more stringent grading, and fewer decisionmaking opportunities in the classroom (Kingery et al., 2011). During their years of school, important changes occur in children's peer-relevant social worlds. ...
This qualitative study sought to examine how Israeli middle grades teachers perceive students’ peer rejection in their classes. Using a phenomenological paradigm in a sample of 28 homeroom teachers, the study examined teacher perceptions of adolescent peer rejection and its causes, teachers’ coping methods, and the support provided by the school. The findings indicate that teachers perceived the victim as the one who caused the rejection and who deviated from the norm. The teachers adopted strategies that included rejection therapy, working with the rejecting peer group, and recruiting the parents to support the process. The teachers felt frustration and difficulty because the victims neither turned to them for help nor regard them as sources of help. Because research has shown that most adolescents cannot be unequivocally classified as bullies or victims, it is important for teachers to become familiar with the dynamics of rejection, the participants, and their mutual influences. The implications of these findings for education and counseling are discussed.
... Friendship quality, a key indicator for evaluating the strength of a friendship, reflects the level of support, companionship, and conflict within the relationship [46]. Studies have shown that high-quality friendships can significantly enhance adolescents' sense of self-worth, interpersonal skills [47], and self-esteem [48]. During adolescence, the influence of peers increasingly surpasses that of parents, becoming the primary source for fulfilling individual needs [49,50]. ...
This study aims to explore the longitudinal relationship between parental phubbing and adolescents’ gratitude, as well as the mediating role of basic psychological needs’ satisfaction and the moderating role of friendship quality. We conducted this longitudinal study in two waves with a 7-month, and surveyed 643 Chinese adolescents and constructed a moderated mediation model. The results indicated the following: First, there is a significant negative correlation between parental phubbing and adolescents’ gratitude. Second, adolescents’ basic psychological needs’ satisfaction mediates the relationship between parental phubbing and gratitude. Finally, friendship quality moderates the negative relationship between parental phubbing and adolescents’ basic psychological needs’ satisfaction and the mediating effect of basic psychological needs’ satisfaction. Specifically, compared to adolescents with lower friendship quality, the negative effect of parental phubbing on basic psychological needs’ satisfaction is stronger among adolescents with higher friendship quality, and the negative indirect effect of parental phubbing on gratitude through basic psychological needs’ satisfaction is also stronger in these adolescents. The findings suggest that parental phubbing is a significant risk factor for decreased adolescents’ gratitude, with high friendship quality adolescents being more susceptible to the impact of parental phubbing. The negative impact of parental phubbing outweighs the influence of friendship quality. This study provides insights into interventions promoting adolescents’ positive development.
... Simultaneously, social withdrawal inhibits the building of social bonds and the development of social skills. Hence, adolescents may feel uncomfortable and insecure when engaging in social interactions and may face negative judgments from others, further intensifying their social anxiety (Kingery et al., 2011;Rubin et al., 2009). ...
Further research is needed to clarify the association of the different forms of bullying with social anxiety and social withdrawal over time in adolescents. This two‐wave panel study with a 1‐year time lag (October 2021–October 2022) examined the cross‐lagged relationships between bullying victimization and bullying perpetration, social anxiety (i.e., fear or distress in social situations), and social withdrawal (i.e., consistent, and deliberate social solitude). Participants were 485 middle school students (234 girls) attending the seventh or eighth grade at Time 1 (T1) ( M age = 12.67 years, SD = 1.14 years). Social anxiety and social withdrawal were assessed using subscales of the Social and Emotional Competencies Evaluation Questionnaire. Bullying perpetration and bullying victimization were assessed using the Bullying and Cyberbullying Behavior Questionnaire–Short Form. The within‐wave associations between the study variables were similar at T1 and Time 2 (T2), with the exception that the association between bullying perpetration and social anxiety was much weaker at T1 than at T2. The results of the path analysis showed that T1 bullying perpetration predicted T2 social anxiety, and that T1 bullying victimization predicted T2 social withdrawal. We also found a reciprocal relationship between social anxiety and social withdrawal. These findings highlight the importance of preventive and remediation interventions to reduce social anxiety in adolescents who engage in and experience bullying behavior.
... Such autonomy allows students to make friends based on their strengths and interests, thereby enhancing their social competencies and emotional wellbeing. Moreover, these instances of autonomy align with the findings of Erdley et al. (2001), Kingery et al. (2011), andBerndt (2002), which underscore the vital role of self-directed, positive interactions in the psychological and social development of children. By encouraging autonomy, the educational environment fosters deeper interpersonal connections, resembling the vibrant, multifaceted dynamics of playground relationships. ...
The COVID-19 pandemic’s restrictions for schools and playgrounds threatened children’s social and emotional wellbeing. In response, Grade 4/5 students created music-based activities through action research to sustain playground interactions. This study explored the crucial yet fragile playground relationships and the children’s determination to maintain them. Findings indicate that the student‑initiated projects were not only a medium for self-expression and maintaining friendships, but also served as an important tool for reinforcing the inherent social fabric of the playground setting. Notably, this study underscores the significance of collaborative learning, interpersonal skill development, and intrinsic motivation in fostering social skills and enhancing self-confidence.
... Las relaciones interpersonales con pares dentro del contexto de la sala de clase y/o escuela, muestran evidencias empíricas de que dichas interacciones reflejan procesos de aprendizaje de la conducta social, vinculados principalmente a la aceptación y modelamiento entre pares (Gallardo et al., 2016). En función de estos procesos prosociales de aceptación grupal, se potencian, nutren y enriquecen el compromiso, el gusto y disfrute de la experiencia escolar, que son claves para la motivación y el éxito académico (Kingery et al., 2011;Wentzel et al., 2021). ...
Este estudio propuso analizar características positivas de las relaciones interpersonales de los escolares con sus pares y profesorado en el aula, en su rol discriminante respecto de las diferencias entre niveles de rendimiento académico, ayudando a comprender mejor la relevancia de estas relaciones interpersonales en el resultado educativo. Se utilizó un diseño asociativo mediante análisis discriminante a una muestra por conglomerados de 1273 alumnos con participación voluntaria, seleccionada aleatoriamente en el segundo y tercer nivel de Educación Básica, y primer y segundo ciclo de Educación Media (niveles 5 a 12) en196 Educación XX1, 27 (2), 195-221ocho centros educativos públicos y privados que reciben financiamiento estatal del gobierno de Chile, ubicados en tres regiones claves de la macrozona norte (Tarapacá) y centro del país (Valparaíso y Región Metropolitana), durante los años 2020 y 2021, correspondiente al período de pandemia COVID-19 . La edad promedio fue de 14.20 años (SD= 2.43; rango 10-19); 47.5% (n=605) mujeres, 48% (n=611) varones y un 4.5% (n=57) con identidad de género no binaria. Los resultados apuntan a identificar como variables de mayor capacidad predictiva en la relación interpersonal positiva con el profesorado, la aprobación, apoyo instrumental y afecto de parte de estos adultos, mientras que con pares con quienes comparten en el aula, destacan la satisfacción, aprobación y disfrute de su compañía. La función canónica discriminante en ambos modelos, con profesorado y compañeros de curso, clasifica correctamente a un porcentaje significativo de estudiantes, principalmente en los niveles notable y sobresaliente de rendimiento académico. Estos resultados permiten, por una parte, reconocer aspectos favorecedores para el proceso educativo que suceden a través de las relaciones interpersonales en el aula. Y destacan, además, dimensiones que son parte del repertorio de actitudes y prácticas esperables e intencionadas dentro de las interacciones educativas, cuya influencia es reconocida para el rendimiento académico.
... experience peer acceptance and possess high-quality friendships tend to exhibit more positive emotional and academic outcomes (Kingery et al., 2011). The influence of peers on academic motivation is also noteworthy. ...
This study explores the relationship between peer pressure and friendship quality among middle school students in Vietnam, aiming to understand how these factors interact and affect students' social experiences and academic outcomes. A convenience sampling approach was used to survey 403 students from Tan Tao A Secondary School and Viet My Secondary School during the 2023-2024 academic year. Participants completed the Perceived Peer Pressure Scale and the Friendship Quality Scale. Data were analyzed using SPSS to conduct descriptive and comparative statistical analyses. The findings indicate a significant relationship between peer pressure and friendship quality. Students with high-quality friendships reported higher levels of resistance to peer pressure and positive peer encouragement, while those with weaker friendships were more vulnerable to negative influences. Notably, students experiencing higher levels of peer pressure also reported higher friendship quality scores, suggesting a complex interplay between these factors. Strong, supportive friendships can act as a buffer against negative peer pressure, promoting resilience and positive behaviors among middle school students. Educational interventions that foster positive peer relationships and provide support for students with weaker friendships are essential. Further research should explore the longitudinal impact of these relationships to inform more effective interventions.
... In the research tradition, position in the peer network is treated as playing 'multiple causal roles' (Parker & Asher, 1987, p. 357) but is considered a predictor rather than a consequence of subjective constructs. This also applies to perceptions of the quality of peer relationships (e.g., Asher et al., 1984;Kingery et al., 2011;Parker & Asher, 1993;Zimmer-Gembeck et al., 2007). According to this direction of causality, it can be hypothesized that position in the peer network can affect perceptions of the quality of peer relationships and, in the temporal dimension, changes in position will affect changes in subjective perceptions of relationship quality. ...
Objective: The main aim of this study was to investigate the mutual relationship between perceptions of peer relationship quality and position in positive and negative peer networks among young people from late childhood to early adolescence. Method: A cross-lagged panel model of three waves of data was conducted using a large representative sample of Polish students from third grade to sixth grade ( N = 4 673). Results: The results proved a reciprocal relationship between position in positive (Like) and negative (DisLike) peer networks and the perceived quality of peer relationships (PPI). The effect found of position on the perceived quality of peer relationships is in line with the existing state of knowledge. Since previous research has yielded divergent results, this demonstration of the prospective impact of perceived relationship quality on peer network position fills an important cognitive gap. The study also revealed the following: (1) in the first (W1→W2) and second period (W2→W3) the strength of the prospective effects of position in the peer network on its perceived quality (Like→PPI and DisLike→PPI), and the strength of the prospective effects of perceived quality on position (PPI→Like and PPI→DisLike), were not statistically significantly different; (2) the effect size of the cross-lagged coefficients ranged from small to medium; (3) all constructs showed greater stability in the second period than in the first; (4) in both periods stability of PPI was lower than the stability of sociometric indicators. Conclusion: This research confirms the presence of a self-reinforcing loop: a low position in peer networks→poor perceived quality of relations→decrease of position in peer networks. The findings are discussed in relation to the evolutionary theory of loneliness (ETL), which assumes a potentially active role of the perception of peer relationships in forming a position in a peer network. Practical implications of the results are discussed.
... Sin embargo, a pesar de que la influencia ejercida por los compañeros de aula y las amistades en el ajuste escolar ha sido ampliamente estudiado (Kingery, Erdley, y Marshall, 2011;Ryan y Ladd, 2012), los estudios que analizan estas relaciones han prestado mayor atención al alumnado considerado rechazado, olvidándose de analizar el ajuste psicosocial de adolescentes aceptados y más aún del resto de estatus sociométricos (promedio, ignorados y controvertidos) (Estévez et al., 2014). Por tanto, el objetivo de este estudio es analizar la relación entre las diferentes tipologías sociométricas (preferido, rechazado, ignorado, promedio y controvertido) y el ajuste escolar, entendida esta variable como la implicación escolar y el rendimiento académico, en una muestra de estudiantes de Educación Secundaria de la Comunidad Autónoma Vasca. ...
... The quality of social relationships with peers also has a great impact on positive adjustment (Kingery and Erdley 2007), since support from friends is an important ingredient in school wellbeing (Lester and Cross 2015) and socioemotional functioning (Benner, Boyle, and Bakhtiari 2017). Additionally, peer acceptance positively correlated with academic achievement through school transition (Kingery, Erdley, and Marshall 2011). This social aspect is not only important during the transition but also before it, since studies report that pre-transition characteristics of friendship are directly linked to both post-transition friendship quality and school adjustment (Aikins, Bierman, and Parker 2005). ...
Background: The transition from primary school to secondary school has negative effects on a significant part of the student body, such as a substantial decrease in self-esteem, motivation, academic performance and the risk of bullying and school dropout school. Social support and school factors are positively associated with transition success; thus, they need to be strengthened in transition programmes. In this sense, the application of pedagogical models that address affective and social domains could set a suitable framework to develop positive transition programmes. Purpose: The aim of this work was to test the impact of a programme consisting in a Service-Learning experience embedded in a Sport Education season on social and school transition facilitators within a positive school transition framework. Methods: A total of 17 teachers, 130 secondary school students (age: 15-16), and 305 primary school students (age: 11-12 years) across five established Sport Education networks participated in this study. The networks were composed of one secondary school group and between two and four primary school groups. The programme comprised between 18 and 21 physical education lessons for each secondary school group, and between 14 and 18 physical education lessons for each primary school group. The data were obtained in multiple time points through focus groups with students and primary school teachers, interviews with secondary school teachers and researchers' field diaries. Findings: Results evidenced the development of facilitators in the social and school factors. Regarding the social factor, the programme created a positive relationship between primary school and secondary school students and increased quantity and quality of the relationship between students of the same age, as well as expectations of social support in the new stage. Within the school factor, the development of facilitators of school connectedness and a feeling of safety was verified. A shift in primary school students' ideas and expectations about the transition was identified, which included a greater sense of security and more positive expectations. Conclusions: The Sport Education Service-Learning programme appears to be effective in developing school and social facilitators to promote positive school transition. Results suggest that Sport Education facilitates a positive and respectful relationship between equals, while Service-Learning is a highly suitable framework for relationships with older students. The long-term impact on social relationships established
during programmes with a positive focus is suggested as prospective
research.
... Level of social support can predict the mental and physical well-being of children. Strong social support (from both parents and peers) correlates with improved psychological development and social adaptation in children, leading to reduced levels of loneliness and depression [31,32] and higher self-esteem and sense of self-worth [33,34]. More significantly, social support constitutes a crucial external influence in shaping an individual's resilience [35]. ...
This study aims to utilize data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), 2018, conducted in four provinces and cities in China, to investigate the impact of social support on the resilience of disadvantaged students. It specifically focuses on the chain-mediated effects of school belonging and emotional experiences. To achieve this, the study selected 2997 disadvantaged students as participants and employed path analysis to examine the mediating effects. The results indicate that teacher support, parental support, school belonging, and positive emotional experiences significantly positively influence the resilience of disadvantaged students, while fear of failure significantly negatively affects resilience. Additionally, teacher and parental support indirectly impact the resilience of disadvantaged students through the chain-mediated effects of school belonging and positive emotional experiences. Similarly, teacher and parental support also influence the resilience of disadvantaged students through the chain-mediated effects of school belonging and fear of failure. To enhance the resilience development of disadvantaged students, it is recommended that teachers and parents provide active attention and support to these students. Simultaneously, there should be increased focus on the psychological well-being of disadvantaged students by strengthening their mental health education.
... More expectedly, emotional symptoms were shown to be predictive of truancy, likely because symptoms of depression and anxiety may lead to no-attendance, although this type of absence may be more likely to be authorised on medical grounds. Previous US longitudinal studies have found depression to precede absenteeism (Kingery, Erdley, & Marshall, 2011;Wood et al., 2012), although absenteeism included illness in both these examinations which may also have contributed to this #nding. ...
Background
There is a need for causally stronger research on the association between child mental health and school exclusion and truancy. This study examines school exclusion and truancy in relation to both conduct and emotional problems and considers these problems both as predictors and as outcomes of school exclusion and truancy.
Method
The sample included 15,236 individuals from the Millennium Cohort Study, a UK longitudinal birth cohort study. Conduct and emotional problems were assessed from childhood to adolescence (age 7, 11, 14 and 17 years), and reports of school exclusion and truancy were collected at age 11 and 14. Fixed effect analyses were used.
Results
Increases in conduct problems and emotional symptoms were associated with subsequent exclusion (OR 1.22, [95% CI 1.08–1.37] and OR 1.16, [1.05–1.29], respectively). Emotional symptoms, but not conduct problems, predicted truancy (OR 1.17, [1.07–1.29]). These estimates were similar for males and females. Exclusion was associated with an increase in conduct problems at age 14 (0.50, [0.30–0.69]), and for males, it was associated with an increase in emotional symptoms both at age 14 (0.39, [0.12–0.65]) and 17 (0.43, [0.14–0.72]). Truancy was associated with an increase in conduct problems at age 14 (0.41, [0.28–0.55]), and for females also at age 17 (0.22, [0.03–0.42]), and it was associated with increased emotional symptoms at age 14 (0.43, [0.25–0.62]) and 17 (0.44, [0.21–0.66]), which was similar for males and females.
Conclusion
Results indicate a bidirectional association between emotional symptoms and school exclusion and truancy, as an increase in these symptoms was associated with later truancy and exclusion, and emotional symptoms increased following both school events. For conduct problems, the association was bidirectional for school exclusion, but unidirectional for truancy as these symptoms did not lead to truancy, but an increase in conduct problems was observed after both exclusion and truancy.
... Regardless of the reason, it is clear these middle school principals and teachers in the Southeast want greater collaboration with elementary schools is needed to help address these issues. Effective transition programs that include a close collaboration between elementary and middle schools can help students become familiar with the new school, develop relationships with peers and adults, provide skills and knowledge to be academically successful, and help improve academics, attendance, and retention rates (Bellmore, 2011;Bishop & Harrison, 2021;Cauley & Jovanovich, 2006;Kingery et al., 2011). ...
This study seeks to share teachers’ and principals’ voices from middle schools in the Southeastern United States who are attempting to help their students achieve academic success. Obtaining a snapshot of middle schools in the Southeastern United States provides opportunities to recognize trends and identify challenges about the current implementation of middle level programs and practices related to academics. The last large-scale survey was completed over 10 years ago (McEwin & Greene, 2010, 2011) and was focused on principal voices only. When attempting to assess the level of implementation of various school improvement efforts or to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges faced daily in the classroom, the voices of teachers and principals are powerful voices that must be heard. Among other results, educators called for more meaningful collaboration among elementary and middle schools to address gaps in content and skills, and a better focus on educating the whole child in their schools. Implications and future directions are discussed.
... In this regard, a longitudinal study found that homophily in academic performance results from a selection process and not from influence [48]. Finally, although this study did not find an association between network size and reciprocity with academic performance, previous studies have documented these associations [49][50][51]. ...
Background
Social factors and networks of friends can influence an adolescent’s behavior, including academic performance (AP) in school. This study aimed to analyze the relationship between AP and adolescents’ social networks in a Caribbean city in Colombia.
Methods
A cross-sectional study was carried out with 806 schoolchildren from 12 to 17 years old of both sexes (52.7% girls), selected by multi-stage sampling from schools in the rural and urban areas of the city of Montería, Colombia. The AP was obtained from the school records; the sociodemographic variables included the location of the school (rural or urban), family structure, family functioning (Apgar score), and family affluence scale. Social network variables included social activity, popularity, reciprocity, homophily, friends’ academic performance, network size, network density, cluster of friends, and centrality.
Results
The AP was inversely associated with the Apgar score in boys. No associations of AP with the school location, family structure, family affluence scale, and age were observed. In social network variables, AP was positively associated with popularity and friends’ academic performance in girls and boys, and negatively associated with homophily in boys.
Conclusions
AP was associated with social network variables. These results could help implement interventions to improve adolescents’ social environment and AP.
... Concurrently, the social and academic landscape also begins to intensify for youth at this time. Transitions in schools and increasing academic demands must be navigated (Chung, Elias, & Schneider, 1998;Kingery, Erdly, & Marshall, 2011). Physical appearance concerns and body consciousness mount (Lindberg, Hyde, & McKinley, 2006). ...
... The fact that students interact with different classmates during their classes further contributes to the instability of their friendships (Anderman & Mueller, 2009). Nevertheless, the quality of friendships before the transition has lasting effects on children's emotional adjustment after the transition (e.g., Kingery et al., 2011). Future longitudinal studies should also explore whether pre-transition friendship quality continues to affect children's satisfaction with life and depressive symptoms after their transition to fifth grade. ...
Perception of friendship quality has been shown to be a key ingredient for children’s mental health, however, less is known about how the learning environment might impact these relations. This study investigated how children’s perceptions of friendship quality are related to their mental health (i.e., satisfaction with life and depressive symptoms) and whether school goal structures are potential moderators for these relations in a sample of elementary school children. A sample of 423 fourth-grade students (Mage = 10.85, 46.33% boys) and their teachers (N = 24) participated in the study. Children filled out questionnaires assessing friendship quality, satisfaction with life, and depressive symptoms. Teachers completed a scale evaluating their perception of the school goal structures. Results indicated that children who reported high positive friendship quality were more satisfied with their lives, whereas children who reported high levels of negative friendship quality experienced lower levels of life satisfaction and higher levels of depressive symptoms. School mastery goal structures reported by teachers moderated the relation between children’s perception of friendship quality and their depressive symptoms and life satisfaction. Further, school performance goal structures reported by teachers moderated the relation between children’s perception of negative friendship quality and their depressive symptoms. The results seem to suggest that the effects of mastery goal structure are not always positive, whereas a performance goal structure might sometimes be beneficial for students’ mental health.
... Perceptions of loneliness are heavily influenced by features that underscore a child's relationships with their peers. In particular, friendship quality, defined as the degree to which friendships meet specific provisions (e.g., security, companionships, opportunity for play and intimate disclosure), is consistently reported as a key predictor of loneliness in developmental literature [24][25][26][27] . For instance, in a study comprising 884 mid-late adolescents (grades 9-12), self-reported friendship quality was a stronger inter-individual predictor of loneliness than social acceptance, peer victimisation, and quantity of reciprocal friendships 28 . ...
Paediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) can impact psycho-social functioning, including friendships and experiences of loneliness; however, few studies have explored associations between these factors and self-esteem. To address this gap, the objective of this study was to document inter-relationships between friendship quality, peer-related loneliness, and self-esteem 12 months post-injury. The sample in this prospective, longitudinal observational study consisted of 135 children, including 92 children with TBI (57 mild, 35 moderate-severe TBI) and 43 typically developing control (TDC) children. Children rated their friendship quality, loneliness, and self-esteem. Parents completed questionnaires measuring socioeconomic status and children's pre-injury functioning. At 12-month follow-up, ratings of friendship quality (perceived support and satisfaction with friendships), peer-related loneliness, and self-esteem were comparable between TBI and TDC participants. In mediation models, poorer quality friendships were associated with greater peer-related loneliness, and greater peer-related loneliness was related to reduced athletic and social self-esteem, at 12 months post-TBI. Loneliness with peers mediated the effect of both friendship support and friendship satisfaction on children's social self-esteem. Our preliminary findings suggest that regular monitoring of social interactions post-TBI might facilitate early identification of children who are likely to benefit from interventions targeting peer-related loneliness, which in turn may lower risk for poorer self-esteem.
... The results indicate that peer trust significantly positively predicts six types of prosocial behaviors of LBAs, which is consistent with previous studies, suggesting that peer trust is one of the most important developmental environments that have a profound influence on the development of prosocial behavior (Jambon & Malti, 2022). The reason may be that LBAs spend more time with peers, and the trusting relationship with peers can provide adolescents with positive emotional experience (Kingery et al., 2011), pave the way for adolescents to build positive interpersonal relationships, and help encourage them to show a higher level of emotional resonance and more empathy, which increase the likelihood of sharing and helping others. Furthermore, being perceived as trustworthy may prompt adolescents to act prosocially to conform to the positive expectations of others, thus helping them maintain a positive image of themselves (Malti et al., 2016). ...
Based on the positive youth development (PYD) framework, the protective-protective model, and the conservation of resources theory, this study examined the negative moderating effect of hope between peer trust and six types of prosocial behaviors (emotional, dire, altruistic, compliant, anonymous, and public) among rural left behind adolescents (LBAs) and analyzed the difference of the moderating effect of hope between LBAs and nonLBAs. A total of 700 rural LBAs and 673 rural non-LBAs in Fujian province were surveyed using the Peer Trust Scale, Hope Scale, and Prosocial Tendencies Measure. Correlation analysis showed that peer trust, hope, and six types of prosocial behaviors were all positively correlated. Moderated analysis revealed that peer trust had a stronger influence on emotional, dire, altruistic, and compliant prosocial behavior under a low level of hope in LBAs. Compared with LBAs, hope did not moderate the relationship between peer trust and emotional, dire, and compliant prosocial behavior in non-LBAs. This study revealed the moderating mechanism of LBAs' peer trust and prosocial behavior and might help them to improve their prosocial behavior.
... Middle childhood is classified as an important developmental period, with cognitive maturation that may affect psychological needs and coping with stress (Del Giudice, 2014). The stressors that are typical in this age group relate to changes in the school environment, social relationships and physiological development (Bhana, 2010;Kingery et al., 2011;Sotardi, 2017). Although parents remain the principal attachment figures, friendships are an integral part of middle childhood and early adolescence, and this developmental period is accompanied by social stressors and anxiety (Kamza, 2019;Nickerson & Nagle, 2004). ...
A better understanding of protective factors against childhood depression may allow for the mitigation of severe and chronic symptoms and the timely implementation of intervention strategies. This study investigated the protective effect of having a secure base script on depressive symptoms when children face daily stressors. To test this hypothesis, moderation analyses were performed in a cross-sectional study with 378 children (48.5% boys, 51.5%) aged 8-12 years (M = 10.20; SD = 0.57). The results provided some support for the moderation effect when secure base script knowledge was investigated as a categorical variable in middle childhood. However, the results did not support the moderation effect when investigating secure base script as a continuous variable. Therefore, future investigations may need to address whether a categorical approach could better elucidate the protective role of secure base script knowledge in childhood depression. .
... Peer attachment has an important impact on individual global adjustment. Since peers can provide satisfaction for individuals' needs for support and encouragement, safe peer relationships can reduce negative emotions such as depression, anxiety, and loneliness (Armsden & Greenberg, 1987;Kingery et al., 2011), increase positive emotions (Weiss, 1982), improve self-esteem (Gloria & Ho, 2003), and predict academic adjustment (Maunder, 2018). ...
The present study investigated the moderating role of peer attachment style in the relationship between mood and creativity. An experiment was conducted with a sample of 267 undergraduate students (Mage = 19.85, range = 17-24 years). First, participants' peer attachment style was measured, following which positive, neutral, or negative mood was induced; subsequently, two creative tasks were conducted. A MANOVA revealed significant interactions between peer attachment and mood. Specifically, for secure participants, creativity was significantly higher in the positive mood state compared to the neutral and negative mood states; for insecure participants, the effect of positive mood was not pronounced. Moreover, negative mood exerted a significant beneficial effect on the originality dimension for participants with an anxious-ambivalent peer attachment style; they showed higher creativity in the negative mood state than in the neutral or positive mood states. In general, peer attachment style moderated the relationship between mood and creativity; specifically, positive mood was beneficial to creativity among secure persons, and negative mood was beneficial to creativity among anxious-ambivalent persons.
... Although girls are known to experience more intimate and supportive friendships than do boys, they can also experience more empathic distress and conflict in these peer relationships due, for instance, to co-rumination (Rose, 2002;Smith, 2015). Girls may report satisfaction with close friendships that involve high levels of conflict (Kingery et al., 2011;Parker, 2011), and these effects may even cancel each other out. We recommend that future research on gender differences in the relationship between adolescents' friendship quality and well-being include consideration of the role of co-rumination. ...
Introduction
The mechanism underlying the positive longitudinal link between adolescents' friendship quality and their well‐being is unclear. The present study was performed to investigate whether this longitudinal association between friendship quality and well‐being was established via adolescents' global self‐esteem, and to examine gender differences in these associations.
Methods
Online questionnaire data were collected in two waves (in Spring 2018 and Spring 2019) from 1298 Dutch adolescents aged 11–17 years (mean age 13.7 ± 1.1 years, 53.2% girls).
Results
Multigroup path analyses revealed a significant indirect effect between friendship quality and well‐being over time via global self‐esteem for girls. For boys, significant direct effects of friendship quality on global self‐esteem and well‐being were found, but no significant indirect effect.
Conclusions
The findings indicate that higher‐quality friendships improve boys' global self‐esteem and well‐being directly, and that they affect girls' well‐being indirectly and positively, by improving their global self‐esteem. These results suggest that preventive and intervention‐based strategies for the promotion of well‐being during the developmental stage of adolescence should incorporate focus on friendships, global self‐esteem, and gender specificities.
... Waters et al., 2012) long term negative implications for mental health problems/concerns, such as anxiety or depressive symptoms (n = 4; e.g. Kingery et al., 2011) associated with emotional reactions, distress and emotional pressure (n = 3; Kenyon et al., 2020) As can be seen, it was common for discussion pertaining to emotional wellbeing in the context of primary-secondary school transitions to be negative, i.e., deterioration due to transitions. ...
... According to the researches done, the institutional care is negatively impacting on the physical health of the child, on its social (Tharp-Taylor A., 2003;Pantuikhina E., 2009;Shakhmanova A., 2010) and cognitive developments (Sloutsky V., 1997;MacLean K., 2003), on the sense of loneliness and anxiety. Most frequently these complications may and usually occur in the adolescence time period, because of the intensive cognitive, social and emotional transformations of the growing-up child, itself, that are accompanying them (Kingery J. et al., 2011). ...
The objective of this study is to determine the incidence of lordosis in children aged 15 years and under in the
Republic of Serbia. The following electronic databases were searched in order to collect the relevant studies
conducted to date: PubMed, SCIndeks, KOPSON, and Google Scholar. Only studies conducted between 2005 and
2015 were included in the review. In order for a study to be included for analysis, the following criteria had to be
satisfied: the study had to include participants assessed for lordosis, and the participants in the study had to be of
pre‐school and elementary school age in Serbia. A significant number of studies (195) were excluded based on the
pre‐set criteria, and the remaining 13 studies met all the criteria agreed upon. The studies reviewed in the present
paper assessed a total of 8,528 children. Lordosis as a deformity was diagnosed in 1,673 children, yielding an
incidence of 19.617%. Recommendations, based on the results obtained, include a reduced Napoleon Volanski
method, insprection, somatometry, and somatoscopy, as well as the “Spinal mouse” instrument for lordosis
assessment. Studies have found a very high incidence of lordotic deformity in children aged under 15 years.
... Those who experience low acceptance from peers are known to show not only hindered academic performance [7] but also greater loneliness and depression [8]. Conversely, those who receive high acceptance from peers show better pro-social behavior [9], improved academic performance [10], and are less lonely, indicating a positive effect on various forms of social, academic, and psychological adjustment [11]. Using longitudinal data, this study examines how the relationship between peer relationships, depression, and the academic performance of adolescents vary depending on gender and physical activity. ...
This study aims to examine whether there is a difference in the sequential effect of depression on academic performance through peer relationships in Chinese adolescents based on gender and physical activity by using longitudinal data. Data from 7170 people from the China Education Panel Survey (CEPS) were used for analysis. The analysis showed that the indirect effect of depression on academic performance through peer relationships varied depending on gender and physical activity. Specifically, in male students experiencing depression, there was an indirect effect on academic performance through peer relationships in both high and low physical activity groups. In female students experiencing depression, the indirect effect on academic performance through peer relationships was offset if they participated more in physical activity. In other words, for female students participating in physical activity, improvement in peer relationships did not lead to higher academic performance, whereas for male students, improvement in academic performance could be anticipated by improving peer relationships regardless of participation in physical activity. Moreover, since peer relationships play a critical role in improving the academic performance of adolescents experiencing depression, it is important to develop a physical activity or sports program to strengthen peer relationships to improve academic performance.
... Belonging -and school belonging in particular -is an important protective factor during the defining years of school, particularly in early adolescence [3]. There are for example consistent positive relations between SB and academic performance, selfconcept, behavioural engagement and a general sense of wellbeing [4][5][6][7]. In contrast, victimisation and peer-related stress (e.g. ...
Early adolescence is a time of major social change; a strong sense of belonging (SB) and peer connectedness is an essential protective factor in mental health (MH) during that period. In this paper we introduce LINA, an augmented reality (AR) smartphone-based serious game played in school by an entire class (age 10+) together with their teacher, which aims to facilitate and improve peer interaction, SB and class climate, while creating a safe space to reflect on MH and external stressors related to family circumstance. LINA was developed through an interdisciplinary collaboration involving a playwright, software developers, psychologists and artists, via an iterative co-development process with young people. A prototype has been evaluated quantitatively for usability and qualitatively for efficacy in a study with 91 early adolescents (agemean=11.41). Results from the Game User Experience Satisfaction Scale (GUESS-18) and data from qualitative focus groups showed high acceptability and preliminary efficacy of the game. Using AR, a shared immersive narrative and collaborative gameplay in a shared physical space offers an opportunity to harness adolescent affinity for digital technology towards improving real-world social connection and SB.
Reasons for the increased incidence of depression in Chinese children remain poorly understood. Therefore, this study explored the influence of paternal companionship and peer relationships on depression in children based on OLS method using data reported by 2498 children from China (children Mage 10.7; 52.1% girls). We found that both variables could alleviate depression among children, but the effect of peer relationships was significantly greater than that of paternal companionship. This conclusion remains robust after considering gender, age and family structure. Heterogeneity studies have found that paternal companionship significantly impact boys, while peer relationships significantly impact girls. Mechanism analysis demonstrated that both factors can indirectly alleviate depression in children by regulating anxiety. Our research results emphasize the importance of increasing paternal companionship and peer relationships to alleviate depression in children.
We sought to understand the school and legal experiences of “at-risk youth”. Twenty-six semi-structured interviews were conducted with Black adolescents (aged 15–19) participating in a youth program. Based on a narrative analysis, three core narratives emerged—(a) school staff and family members as motivating school success; (b) unsupportive peer relationships that “slow youth down”; (c) the occurrence and recurrence of school fights. Youth identified their families, school staff, and elementary school friends as their support network. In contrast, new high school peer relationships were identified as the underlying cause of school fights. Zero-tolerance school discipline policies enacted after a school fight (suspensions, arrests, and transfers to alternative schools) perpetuated and sustained conflict between students. Using abolition and ecological systems as a theoretical lens, this study provides a conceptual model identifying school fights as a major mechanism of the school-prison nexus and offers recommendations for school social workers.
La investigación sobre resiliencia académica no ha indagado las asociaciones heterogéneas entre alto desempeño académico y variables del clima escolar en estudiantes de nivel socioeconómico (NSE) bajo y medio-alto, debido a que se ha centrado exclusivamente en estudiantes de NSE bajo. Con el fin de contribuir a llenar este vacío, esta investigación estimó modelos logísticos multinivel y de elección heterogénea a partir de una muestra representativa de estudiantes de 11º grado de Bogotá. Los resultados mostraron que el alto desempeño en lectura estuvo asociado con diversas características del clima escolar y que dichas relaciones no estuvieron moderadas por el NSE.
Transitions can be described as passage/movement from one life phase, condition, or status to another, where people learn to adapt to the change through inner reorientation, adaptation, and/or transformation. The aim was to explore whether educational transitions during adolescence and emerging adulthood relate to loneliness and mental health. A systematic review was conducted. A total of 32 articles were included. Educational transitions were associated with both positive and negative outcomes. Individual variables might impact how a transition is experienced. To alleviate negative outcomes for young people, social support and targeted interventions should be developed, and support made available and accessible. Interventions should focus on preventing disruptions in social networks and increasing connections and collaborations between support networks across each educational stage. Future research should examine how interventions can support individuals who are negatively affected by educational transitions.
Throughout his career, John Schulenberg challenged us to understand adolescent development as the confluence of distal and proximal experiences along with critical transitions. Heeding this call, we examined whether chronic childhood peer victimization predicted adolescents' depressive symptoms via early‐emerging depression growth trajectories, continued victimization into adolescence, and stress‐amplification at the middle school transition. Self‐reported depressive symptoms and teacher‐reported and self‐reported peer victimization were obtained from 636 youth (338 girls; M age = 7.96 years, 66.7% White, 21.7% Black, 11.6% other) in the 2nd–9th grades. Latent growth curve analyses revealed that, by 7th grade, chronic childhood peer victimization was associated with depressive symptoms only through an indirect association with peer victimization in adolescence, underscoring how interrelated historical and ongoing interpersonal stressors contribute to adolescent psychopathology.
Cultural factors, such as country or continent, influence the relationship between loneliness and mental health. However, less is known about how cultural dimensions moderate this relationship during adolescence and younger adulthood, even if these dimensions manifest as country or continent differences. This study aims to examine the potential influence of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions on this relationship using a three-level meta-analysis approach. A total of 292 studies with 291,946 participants aged 10 to 24 were included in this study. The results indicate that cultural dimensions, such as individualism vs. collectivism, indulgence vs. restraint, power distance, and long-term vs. short-term orientation, moderated the associations between loneliness and social anxiety, stress, Internet overuse, and negative affect. The association between loneliness and mental health was not moderated by cultural dimensions, such as masculinity and uncertainty avoidance. These findings suggest that culture’s influence on the association between loneliness and mental health is based on a domain-specific mechanism.
Introduction
Early life stress is linked to childhood obesity. As children enter adolescence, early life stress may be associated with increased rejection sensitivity, resulting in activation of behavioral and physiological changes that contribute to higher body mass index (BMI). Understanding the potential influence of rejection sensitivity on the association between early life stress and BMI is important to examine in female adolescents. For this secondary data analysis, we hypothesized that female adolescents with greater early life stress and greater rejection sensitivity would exhibit higher BMI‐for‐age 12 months later.
Methods
Seventy‐eight adolescents (Mage = 13.1 years; 100% female sex; MBMI = 23.2 kg/m²) in the United States completed study procedures from 2012 to 2016. Among these procedures, the Psychosocial Schedule was used to assess cumulative early life stress and the Children's Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire was used to assess anger and anxiety in response to rejection. Twelve months later, height and weight were measured to derive BMI‐for‐age.
Results
Higher early life stress was associated with higher BMI‐for‐age among female adolescents with low rejection‐provoked anger (1 SD below the mean). However, this association was not observed among female adolescents with high rejection‐provoked anger (1 SD above the mean). Finally, there was no significant interaction between early life stress and rejection‐provoked anxiety in predicting BMI‐for‐age.
Conclusions
Experiencing early life stress may interact with rejection‐provoked anger, but not anxiety, to predict BMI‐for‐age. Findings inform a developmental perspective of how rejection sensitivity may influence the association between early life stress and early cardiometabolic risk.
Many studies focus on problematic peer functioning in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) but loneliness has been studied less. This paper examined (1) The loneliness level differences between young people (below 25 years old) with ADHD and those without ADHD, and (2) The association between loneliness and mental health difficulties in young people with ADHD. Six electronic databases were searched and 20 studies were included. A random effects meta-analysis was carried out in RStudio using the metafor package for the first question, while a narrative synthesis summarized the findings for the second question. The meta-analysis ( n = 15) found that young people with ADHD reported significantly higher loneliness than those without ADHD, with a small-to-medium weighted pool effect (Hedges’ g = 0.41) and high heterogeneity ( I ² = 75.1%). For the second question ( n = 8), associations between loneliness and mental health difficulties in ADHD was found ( r = 0.05–0.68). Targeted research and interventions on loneliness in young people with ADHD is needed.
Background and Aim: Studies show that students who move from familiar schools to unknown areas may have problems in the learning process due to temporary disorders. This research aims to design a suitable model to transfer the effect of elementary school students to secondary school. Method: This research, which is considered to be a type of qualitative research, has been theorized with an inductive approach and using the research strategy of Foundation Data Theory and Strauss-Corbin Systematic Design. The community in the qualitative section includes experts, consultants and experts in the field of lesson planning who were interviewed. The sampling method was purposeful sampling and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 experts, consultants and experts to collect information and reach theoretical saturation. The key points of the interviews were analyzed during the three stages of open, central and selective coding. For the validity and reliability of the research, review by members, participation, triangulation and retest reliability were used. Results: Finally, a suitable model was designed to transfer the effect of primary to secondary students with 51 categories and 167 concepts. Therefore, the model obtained from this research can be used for education decision-makers, families and schools and help improve elementary school students' effective transition to secondary school. Conclusion: considering goals such as transfer advantages, student independence, reduction of bureaucracy in high school, reduction of inconsistencies, reduction of organizational barriers, reduction of educational barriers, reduction of personal barriers, reduction of environmental barriers, communication with peers, reduction of social barriers, recreational goals, flexible and not long classes can achieve results such as clarifying the dimensions of transition for students, relaxing high school environment, reducing fear, connecting with old friends, creating motivation, finding new friends
The present study has two main objectives. First, to analyze the differences between adolescents with visual impairments and those without visual impairments in terms of peer attachment, loneliness, self-esteem, and well-being. Secondly, to investigate the relationships between these variables among adolescents, starting from the premise that peer attachment is negatively associated with loneliness, which in turn is negatively associated with well-being. At the same time, self-esteem moderates the relationship between peer attachment and well-being. A number of 80 adolescents participated in the study, of which 40 with visual impairments and 40 without visual impairments, aged between 17 and 18 years, M = 17.58, SD = .50. The instruments used were Index of Parents and Peers Attachment, UCLA Loneliness Scale, Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale, and Oxford Happiness Questionnaire. The results showed that, unlike adolescents without visual impairments, those with visual impairments report lower levels of peer attachment, self-esteem and well-being, and higher levels of loneliness. Loneliness also mediates the relationship between peer trust/peer alienation and well-being, and self-esteem moderates the relationship between peer communication and well-being. Possible ways of increasing self-esteem and well-being among adolescents with visual impairments, as well as reducing feeling of loneliness, are discussed. At the same time, intervention models are proposed to improve the well-being of adolescents by implementing psychoeducational programs to increase the level of socialization, alleviate loneliness and increase self-esteem.
Background
Difficulties with social functioning are common among survivors of pediatric brain tumors. Social participation is an understudied measure of social functioning that is associated with emotional health across the lifespan. This paper uses a diary method to assess the social participation of survivors of pediatric brain tumors in middle childhood.
Procedure
Survivors of pediatric brain tumors ( N = 47; age 10.6 ± 1.4 years; 51.1% male, 89.4% White) who were 5.3 (SD = 2.4, range: 2–9.9) years post therapy completed a daily diary assessment of social interaction (5–7 days) and an objective measure of facial affect recognition. The participant's caregiver completed the NIH Toolbox Emotion Measures and a background information questionnaire.
Results
Overall, frequency and quality of reported social interactions were low for survivors, with a large subset of survivors ( n = 16, 34%) endorsing fewer than 10 social interactions over the course of a typical school week, and almost half of parents (48.9%) reporting that their child participates in zero social activities outside of school during a typical week. Participants engaged in more positive social participation exhibited stronger social skills (facial affect recognition ( F (2,44) = 4.85, p < .05).
Conclusions
School‐aged survivors of pediatric brain tumors seemed to be infrequently engaged in social participation and quality interaction with peers. More specifically, the interactions most commonly reported on the diary assessment are not indicative of friendship development and maintenance. Survivors of pediatric brain tumors would likely benefit from interventions designed to increase quality time spent with peers.
This entry addresses the relationship between peer rejection and loneliness during adolescence. Concurrent relations have been found between peer rejection and loneliness during the course of adolescence for males and females and in various cultures. Longitudinal studies confirm that peer rejection predicts, and thus is a probable cause of, loneliness. The research supports the conclusion that the following contribute, in part, to the relationship between peer rejection and loneliness: social behaviors of withdrawal and aggression, the transition from elementary to middle school, self‐defeating attribution style, and hypersensitivity to social rejection. Research also shows that the quality and quantity of peer friendships affect the relationship between peer rejection and loneliness. Measurement and methodological limitations in the studies are discussed, including the lack of complete longitudinal designs and failure to consider reciprocal relations. Suggestions for future research on the relationship between peer rejection and loneliness are made, including distinguishing between social and emotional loneliness and including chronicity of loneliness in the research design.
Children's friendships are special dyadic relationships based on mutual liking and affection. Friendships are developmental contexts, providing a setting for socialization to occur. Friends serve a number of functions for children: They contribute to one another's social, emotional, and cognitive development as well as to their adjustment and well‐being in both the short term and the long term. The multidimensional nature of friendships in childhood means that, when evaluating the developmental significance of friendships, researchers must take into account children's participation in friendships, including the stability and number of friends; the quality of their friendships; and the characteristics of the children themselves and of their friends.
Adolescent literacy achievement has been, and continues to be, a hot topic in the educational community, with concerns about students’ literacy capabilities consistently dominating the educational landscape, particularly in the area of reading. What is known from years of educational research, high stakes testing and teacher testimonials is that reading is an area of difficulty for many adolescent students. The focus of this research was to investigate adolescents’ reading attainment at one of the most important times in a students’ educational career; the transition from primary school (Year 6) to secondary school (Year 7). Seven co-educational government schools from the state of Tasmania, Australia, participated in the research, whereby a combination of primary and secondary schools from both rural and urban areas were included. Conducted over a two phase process, the research utilised the Progressive Achievement Test in Reading (PAT-R) to determine changes in students’ reading ability. Methods of quantitative analysis were utilised; these employed a series of statistical tests. Results revealed that, for the overall cohort, students’ PAT-R scores significantly declined from Year 6 to Year 7, indicating that the transition to secondary school can have serious negative effects on students’ reading attainment as they transition into secondary education. The research findings raise attention to the impact that transition can have upon adolescent students’ educational success and concludes with suggestions for how schools and educators can enhance the transition process and support students into effective secondary school literacy learning.
Family interactions constitute a critical context in which children can learn the basic relational skills that they need to make friends. In turn, friendship quality is a robust predictor of child socioemotional functioning. Therefore, friendship is likely to act as a bridge in a socioemotional developmental cascade linking early family interactions to child subsequent socioemotional adjustment. This study aimed to examine a mediation model linking family alliance (the degree of mother–father–child engagement and coordination in joint activities) in kindergarten to anxiety and depressive symptoms in early adolescence through the mediating role of friendship quality in middle childhood. The family alliance of 87 mother–father–child triads was assessed when children were aged 6 years based on a 15-min videotaped interaction. Children reported on the quality of their relationship with their best friend at age 10 and on their anxiety and depressive symptoms at both 12 and 13 years (averaged). Results showed that children who experienced better family alliance at 6 years had higher relationship quality with their best friend at 10 years which in turn, predicted less anxiety (but not depressive) symptoms in early adolescence. There was a significant indirect effect of family alliance on anxiety through friendship quality. Findings suggest that family alliance may play a central role in shaping children's capacity to develop high-quality friendships, with implications for their subsequent socioemotional functioning. Further longitudinal studies are needed to examine the reciprocal influences unfolding over time that are likely to characterize developmental cascades among family systems, children's developing friendships, and their socioemotional functioning.
An integrative model of the stress process in early adolescence during the transition to middle school was examined in this prospective study. In the model, student role strain (both peer and school work strain) was hypothesized to predict changes in feelings of self-worth, with perceived competence (social and scholastic) and social support (from close friends, parents, and teachers) serving as moderators of the relation. Reciprocal relations also were hypothesized. Results of prospective analyses showed support for the negative effects both of peer and school strain on changes in feelings of self-worth, as well as a role for perceived social competence and social support from close friends as moderators of this type of relation. Reciprocal influences of perceived competence, social support, and feelings of self-worth on levels of strain also were evident individually and in interaction with one another.
For some children, the early adolescent years mark the beginning of a downward spiral in school-related behaviors and motivation that often lead to academic failure and school dropout. Although these declines are not so extreme for most adolescents, there is sufficient evidence of gradual decline in various indicators of academic motivation, self-per- ceptions, and school-related behaviors over the early adolescent years to make one ask why. Several investigators have proposed that these declines could result from the types of educational contexts to which many adolescents are exposed during the middle-grade years. This hy- pothesis is explored in this article. First, the results of analyses using the eighth-grade cohort from the National Educational Longitudinal Study comparing student outcomes in different types of middle-grade school settings are reported. Second, the results of several relevant studies assessing the impact of specific school environmental characteristics on the course of change in early adolescents' school-related motivation are reported. For some children, the early adolescent years mark the beginning of a downward spiral in school-related behaviors and motivation that often lead to academic failure and school dropout. For example, Sim- mons and Blyth (1987) found a marked decline in early adolescents' school grades as they move into junior high school. Furthermore, the magnitude of this decline was predictive of subsequent school failure and dropout. Similarly timed developmental declines have been doc-
Many theorists have suggested that students' motivation to achieve in school depends on their expectancies for success and the value they attach to success. There are few data, however, on the relation between expectancies and values or their relative contribution to achievement. To examine these issues, we asked 153 seventh graders to complete multiple measures of academic expectancies and values. We used students' report card grades and academic track placements in English and math as indicators of their achievement. Covariance structure analyses showed that students' expectancies were more strongly related to their achievement than were their values. Nevertheless, both expectancies and values made significant, independent contributions to achievement. In addition, the constructs for expectancies and values were positively correlated. Boys and girls had similar expectancies, but boys appeared to value academic success less than did girls. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The distinction between friendship adjustment and acceptance by the peer group was examined. Third- through 5th-grade children (
N = 881) completed sociometric measures of acceptance and friendship, a measure of loneliness, a questionnaire on the features of their very best friendships, and a measure of their friendship satisfaction. Results indicated that many low-accepted children had best friends and were satisfied with these friendships. However, these children's friendships were lower than those of other children on most dimensions of quality. Having a friend, friendship quality, and group acceptance made separate contributions to the prediction of loneliness. Results indicate the utility of the new friendship quality measure and the value of distinguishing children's friendship adjustment from their general peer acceptance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Examined individual differences in the transition to middle school by considering the "voice of the consumer." 160 students were asked to evaluate their experiences during the 1st months of Grade 7, and variations in these self-evaluations were examined as a function of a broad range of potential student characteristics. Specifically, using a short-term longitudinal design, composite indices of self-concept, social adjustment, school attitudes/behavior, and academic achievement, assessed both prior to and during the transition period, were used to predict individual differences in student reports of the quality of their transition experiences. Individual differences in the transition experience were predicted from Grade 6 indices of social adjustment and school attitudes/behaviors. A more positive transition experience in early Grade 7 was uniquely related to indices of social adjustment and self-concept in Grade 7. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
In this 2-year longitudinal study (n=242), the authors examined relations of having a reciprocated friend and characteristics of a reciprocated friend to students' social and academic adjustment to middle school. With respect to having a friend, 6th-grade students without friends showed lower levels of prosocial behavior, academic achievement, and emotional distress than did students with reciprocated friendships. Not having a friend in 6th grade also was related to emotional distress 2 years later. Evidence that motivational processes mediate relations between friends' and individuals' prosocial behavior was obtained. For students with reciprocated friendships (n=173). friends' prosocial behavior predicted change in individuals' prosocial behavior in 8th grade by way of changes in goals to behave prosocially. Implications for studying friendship influence in middle school are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Examined 1,850 school age children achievement self-perceptions in 4 activity domains (math, English, social activities, and sports) and self-esteem across the transition from elementary to junior high school. Self-esteem scores declined across the transition to junior high, but increased during 7th grade. Self-concepts of ability for math, English, and social activities declined after transition, but perceptions of social ability increased during 7th grade. Perceptions of sports ability declined across 6th and 7th grades. The liking of math and sports declined over time, whereas the liking of English and social activities declined immediately after transition but increased across 7th grade. Many of these changes are attributed to changes in the school and classroom environments encountered on entering junior high school. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Concurrent and predictive relations among aggression, peer rejection, and self-reported depressive symptoms were examined in 521 third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade children at three time points over 1 year. Increases in aggression were significantly associated with increases in depression, and this relation was mediated, in part, through increases in peer rejection. The relation between peer-reported rejection and depression was mediated by perceived rejection. Finally, we found support for the cognitive diathesis-stress model of depression in children. Controlling for initial levels of depression and peer rejection, the interaction between stress (increases in peer rejection) and a depressogenic attributional style contributed significantly to the prediction of self-reported depressive symptoms 1 year later.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relative contributions of social withdrawal, peer rejection, and victimization by peers in predicting feelings of loneliness and depressed mood over time. According to the proposed model, the feelings of loneliness associated with social withdrawal are mediated by the negative peer experiences (negative peer status and peer victimization) to which withdrawn children are exposed. In predicting depressed mood over time, it was further hypothesized that self-reported loneliness ultimately mediates the subsequent depressed mood associated with withdrawal and negative peer experiences. The study was conducted across 2 consecutive years (Time 1 and Time 2), with children each year nominating peers for peer status, social withdrawal, and victimization measures, and completing self-report measures of loneliness and depressed mood. Fourth- and fifth-grade children participated at Time 1, and children that remained in the same school were again evaluated at Time 2 (N = 567). A series of regression analyses indicated that the postulated sequence of mediations adequately represented the pattern of longitudinal associations between the variables, as well as their pattern of change over time. The contribution of social withdrawal to the prediction of subsequent loneliness was accounted for by the expected pattern of mediations of negative peer experiences. Self-reported loneliness ultimately mediated the subsequent depressed mood associated with withdrawal and negative peer experiences.
The present study examined the influence of pre-transition friendship and self-system characteristics on junior high school transition adjustment in a sample of 111 early adolescent girls and boys. Transition adjustment was defined in terms of youth's post-transition friendship quality, emotional distress, and school adjustment. Pre-transition friendship characteristics were directly linked with both post-transition friendship quality and school adjustment, while youth's expected possible selves, a component of youth's self-system, made additional unique contributions to the prediction of youth's emotional distress and school adjustment. Results suggest the importance of developmentally salient friendship and self-system characteristics in contributing to individual variability in transition adaptation.
The transition to high school has been identified as a potentially difficult time in adolescents’ lives. Reductions in both
academic and social functioning often accompany this transition. While these effects have been documented in urban youth,
the move to high school has not been extensively studied in rural minority youth. Toward that end, the academic grades and
substance use in ninth grade of 447 (184 male and 263 female) African-American adolescents from two rural counties in a state
in the deep South were examined in relation to configurations of adaptation from sixth through eighth grade. Results indicate
that individual with consistently positive patterns across middle school had higher grades and lower rates of substance use
compared to individuals with persistent difficulties or those that transitioned to problem behavior. Many individuals who
improved in their patterns of adaptation had relatively high grades, but also rather high rates of substance use in the ninth
grade.
In this review, we examine the oft-made claim that peer-relationship difficulties in childhood predict serious adjustment problems in later life. The article begins with a framework for conceptualizing and assessing children’s peer difficulties and with a discussion of conceptual and methodological issues in longitudinal risk research. Following this, three indexes of problematic peer relationships (acceptance, aggressiveness, and shyness/withdrawal) are evaluated as predictors of three later outcomes (dropping out of school, criminality, and psychopathology). The relation between peer difficulties and later maladjustment is examined in terms of both the consistency and strength of prediction. A review and analysis of the literature indicates general support for the hypothesis that children with poor peer adjustment are at risk for later life difficulties. Support is clearest for the outcomes of dropping out and criminality. It is also clearest for low acceptance and aggressiveness as predictors, whereas a link between shyness/withdrawal and later maladjustment has not yet been adequately tested. The article concludes with a critical discussion of the implicit models that have guided past research in this area and a set of recommendations for the next generation of research on the risk hypothesis.
Recent research indicates that a considerable number of children report extreme feelings of loneliness and that unpopular children are more lonely than popular children. In the present study, we assessed feelings of loneliness of two subgroups of unpopular children, those who were sociometrically rejected versus those who were sociometrically neglected. Data on popular, average, and controversial children were also collected. Results from 200 third- through sixth-grade children indicated that rejected children were the most lonely group and that this group differed significantly from other status groups. Neglected children did not differ from higher status peers. Overall, the results provide added evidence of the utility of the distinction between neglected versus rejected status and provide support for earlier conclusions that rejected children are more at risk than are other status groups.
A number of intervention programs have been developed to teach children the skills necessary for effective interactions with others (see Furman, 1984; Hops, 1982). Some investigators have developed programs to improve the sociometric status of children who are not liked or who are disliked by their peers. Others have designed interventions to increase the rates of peer interaction of children who are isolated from their peers. Although there is considerable controversy concerning which of these approaches is more appropriate, the objective of both is to enhance children’s relationships with their peers.
This book examines the role of peer relationships in child and adolescent development by tracking research findings from the early 1900s to the present. Dividing the research into three generations, the book describes what has been learned about children's peer relations and how children's participation in peer relationships contributes to their health, adjustment, and achievement. Gary W. Ladd reviews and interprets the investigative focus and findings of distinct research eras to highlight theoretical or empirical breakthroughs in the study of children's peer relations and social competence over the last century. He also discusses how this information is relevant to understanding and promoting children's health and development. In a final chapter, the author appraises the major discoveries that have emerged during the three research generations and analyzes recent scientific agendas and discoveries in the peer relations discipline.
Many theorists have suggested that students' motivation to achieve in school depends on their expectancies for success and the value they attach to success. There are few data, however, on the relation between expectancies and values or their relative contribution to achievement. To examine these issues, we asked 153 seventh graders to complete multiple measures of academic expectancies and values. We used students' report card grades and academic track placements in English and math as indicators of their achievement. Covariance structure analyses showed that students' expectancies were more strongly related to their achievement than were their values. Nevertheless, both expectancies and values made significant, independent contributions to achievement. In addition, the constructs for expectancies and values were positively correlated. Boys and girls had similar expectancies, but boys appeared to value academic success less than did girls.
The distinction between friendship adjustment and acceptance by the peer group was examined. Third- through 5th-grade children (N = 88 1 ) completed sociometric measures of acceptance and friendship, a measure of loneliness, a questionnaire on the features of their very best friendships, and a measure of their friendship satisfaction. Results indicated that many low-accepted children had best friends and were satisfied with these friendships. However, these children's friendships were lower than those of other children on most dimensions of quality. Having a friend, friendship quality, and group acceptance made separate contributions to the prediction of loneliness. Results indicate the utility of the new friendship quality measure and the value of distinguishing children's friendship adjustment from their general peer acceptance.
The present study examined the relationship between peer relations and self-esteem. Specifically, this study investigated how peer acceptance and friendship were related to self-esteem in an adolescent population. Five hundred and forty-two ninth-grade students were classified by sociometric group and presence or absence of reciprocal friendships. Results indicate no significant difference in self-esteem scores across sociometric groups. However, subjects with at least I reciprocal friend had higher self-esteem scores than subjects without a reciprocal friend. Furthermore, there did not appear to be a cumulative effect of number of friendships on self-esteem scores. The importance of friendship to the development of self-esteem is discussed, as are the implications for intervention programs such as social skills training for children who may lack a close friendship. The authors indicate a need for further study of the relationship between peer relations and the correlates of self-esteem.
To explore the nature of the achievement loss associated with school-to-school transitions from elementary school to middle school and to high school, the author compared 3 groups of 16 school districts in this ex post facto study. A statistically significant achievement loss associated with the transition from elementary school to middle school at 6th grade was found, as compared with K–8 schools that did not have a school-to-school transition at 6th grade. The transition loss in achievement was larger when students from multiple elementary schools were merged into a single middle school during the transition. The students from the middle schools and K–8 elementary schools experienced an achievement loss in the transition to high school at 9th grade. The achievement loss in the transition to high school was larger for middle school students than for K–8 elementary students. High school dropout rates were higher for districts with Grade 6–8 middle schools than for districts with K–8 elementary schools.
The major goal of the study was to examine the relations of friendship quality to adolescent self-esteem over time. Seventh and eighth graders (n = 297) completed the same questionnaire in the fall and spring of a school year. Students whose friendships were supportive in the fall felt less satisfied with their own appearance during the year, when their friendships mostly were unstable. As expected, students who had many negative interactions with friends in the fall viewed their own conduct as less appropriate during the year Students who frequently interacted with friends in the fall, when all of their fall friendships were unstable, also became less satisfied with their own appearance over time. The results indicated that the quality and stability of adolescents' friendships not only are related to their self-esteem, but also are related to the changes over time in specific areas of self-esteem.
In this short-term longitudinal study, Canadian young adolescents’ peer relationships were assessed as students moved from Grade 6 in small elementary schools to Grade 7 in a middle-level school offering Grades 7 through 12. Sociometric nominations were conducted in May of Grade 6, monthly during the fall term, and in May of Grade 7. Peer rejection was stable; peer acceptance was less stable during the transition than subsequently. Girls experienced greater instability in reciprocated friendships than did boys, although girls and boys had similar numbers of reciprocated friendships overall. During the fall term of Grade 7, students lost old reciprocated friendships and formed new reciprocated friendships with previously unfamiliar peers. Girls were more likely than boys to nominate previously unfamiliar peers as friends. Girls from the large elementary school, as compared with other girls, established reciprocated friendships with peers who were unfamiliar from elementary school earlier in the fall term.
Previous research has shown that the transition into junior high school can be difficult for certain subgroups, particularly girls. Recent work has also examined the social support roles played by best friends during the transition and found that high quality friendships can ease the adjustment to the new environment. The present longitudinal study of 410 students in a middle class suburban school district looked at adjustment to junior high school as a function of the quantity, frequency of contact, and intimacy of same-sex and opposite-sex peer relationships at school and with peers attending other schools. Adjustment to the new school at seventh grade was defined in terms of changes from sixth grade in self-esteem, participation in school and nonschool activities, and perceived integration (or, conversely, anonymity) in the school environment. Overall, a significant decrease in the perception of being integrated into the school was found for both males and females but only small, nonsignificant changes in self-esteem and participation were evidenced. In order to test for relationships between school adjustment and social relations, only two extreme groups were examined, representing good adjusters (Gainers) and poor adjusters (Decliners). Results showed significant group-by-sex-of-subject interaction effects for self-esteem on most frequency and intimacy measures. In particular, males who had gained in self-esteem had more frequent peer contacts and were somewhat more intimate with peers than were males who declined. For females, however, results were in the opposite direction. Few consistent results were found for adjustment in terms of participation or perceived integration.
Adolescents' perceptions of junior high school were examined in the spring of sixth grade, when they were in elementary school; in the fall of seventh grade, after they had entered junior high school; and in the following spring. At each time, the adolescents (N = 101) reported what they liked and disliked about junior high school. Adolescents made more positive than negative comments about junior high school at all three times, which suggest that they perceived the transition as more desirable than stressful. Sixth graders who engaged in more misconduct were less concerned about moving to junior high school. However, after entering seventh grade, they perceived the new school less positively than other students. Sixth graders higher in achievement were more concerned about moving to junior high school; but, once there, they viewed the new school more positively than other students. The implications of the findings for hypotheses about stress and coping and self-fulfilling prophecies are discussed.
To explore influences of friends and friendships on adjustment to junior high school, 101 students were interviewed about their friendships in the spring of sixth grade and again in the fall and spring of seventh grade. Adjustment was judged from self-reports, peer nominations, teacher ratings, and school records. Sociability and leadership increased across the transition if students had high-quality friendships in 6th grade that were mostly stable across the transition. Behavior problems increased if students had stable friendships with sixth-grade friends high in behavioral problems. Sensitivity-isolation of students with sensitive-isolated friends increased across the transition unless they had high-quality, stable friendships. Separate and interactive effects of friendships and friends' characteristics were discussed.
Multidimensional models of self, emphasizing variations in self-perceptions across areas of one's life, have led to new, domain-specific self-report measures. Two of the most widely used multidimensional self-concept questionnaires were compared in Study 1 in a sample of 217 preadolescents. The two measures were highly correlated and comparable in reliability, stability, subsea Ie interrelations, and associations with others' evaluations. In Study 2 a wider variety of self-assessments (interviews, questionnaires, self-ratings) across domains were compared in a sample of 161 preadolescents. Results indicated that the correspondence among different self-assessment approaches as well as between self and others' perceptions varied as a function of the domain tapped. The observed domain variation may relate to the type of information children use to evaluate their competencies across domains.
Sociometric choice nominations, as well as peer nominations for friendship, aggression, isolation, and prosocial behaviour, were administered to middle class Italian primary school youngsters. Socially rejected children were found to be more aggressive, more withdrawn, and less prosocial than members of the other social status categories, and to have fewer friends. The proportions of subjects in the neglected and controversial categories were very low, although the proportions of rejected and popular children were similar to those found in North American studies. These findings are discussed within the framework of cross-cultural differences in children’s peer relations.
The role of peer acceptance, number of mutual friends, and friendship quality in predicting adjustment across the transition from elementary to middle school was examined. Participants were 146 students (68 boys, 78 girls) who participated in the Time 1 (spring of fifth grade) and Time 2 (fall of sixth grade) assessments. Peer acceptance and number of friends were assessed using sociometric rating scale and limited nomination procedures. Participants also completed measures that assessed feelings of loneliness, extent of involvement in school, and the quality of a specific mutual friendship. Results of repeated measures MANOVAs revealed a significant decrease in the average number of mutual friendships across time. Regression analyses indicated that peer acceptance and friendship quality and quantity play significant yet somewhat different roles in predicting loneliness and school involvement across the middle school transition. Implications for including a peer component in programs that prepare students for the middle school transition are discussed.
developmental psychopathology, rapidly emerging as the organizational framework for the study of behavior problems in children and adolescents, has as its goal the understanding of psychopathology in the full context of human development / this framework represents the integration of several scientific traditions in child psychology and experimental psychopathology, as well as clinical traditions in psychiatry and psychology / purpose of this chapter is to delineate the central assumptions of this approach and to examine its implications for clinical practice and research, particularly for behavior therapy
the origins, tenets, and potential applications of developmental psychopathology will be described / this chapter will focus on childhood and adolescence
explore implications for classification and diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and research, trying to find common ground between behavior therapy and developmental psychopathology (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Investigated the role of ability level as a mediator of students' adjustment to the transition from elementary to junior high school. 112 students completed measures of general self-worth and competence in the cognitive, social, and physical domains at the end of Grade 6 and 2.5 mo after entering Grade 7. Ss experienced an overall increase in self-esteem across this transition, but ability level played an insignificant role in the transition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
in this chapter, we focus on several conceptual and empirical issues related to the premise that peer relations affect children's social and emotional development / our point of departure for this discussion is Parker and Asher's (1987) recent review of the literature regarding the degree to which poor peer relations are associated with extreme, maladaptive outcomes (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This study tested claims that gender differences in intimacy are attributable to gender-differentiated experiences in the peer culture (i.e., male and female ‘worlds’). Participants were 188 Canadian preadolescents (10–12 years, 106 girls) who completed questionnaires regarding the intimacy of their same-sex best friendship, intimate support received from peers, and two dimensions of culture–gender composition of the friendship network and participation in communal (i.e., intimacy-promoting) and agentic (intimacy-repressing) activities. Consistent with the ‘two worlds’ explanation (a) communal activity participation related positively and team sports negatively to same-sex friendship intimacy, but the latter only for boys, and (b) having other-sex friends predicted same-sex friendship intimacy for boys but not girls. The two worlds explanation, though supported, requires revision to accommodate findings that male and female preadolescents’ activity participation overlapped considerably, intimate friendships were not limited to intimate contexts, agentic activities potentiated both agentic and communal goals, and peer cultural variables predicted intimacy better for boys than girls.
The aim of this investigation was to determine the impact of the timing and number of school transitions on young adolescents' subsequent adjustment. Three groups of adolescents (total N = 253) were compared: those making a single early school transition prior to sixth grade, those making a single later transition prior to seventh grade, and those making a double transition prior to both sixth and seventh grades. Adjustment was assessed in terms of course grades and self-image. Negative effects were found for both early and repeated school transitions, with the double transition being especially debilitating. In addition, effects were seen primarily with course grades. Few gender differences were observed in the response to early and double transitions, but those that emerged suggest that girls may be more adversely affected than boys.
The proposition that relationships make differential (i.e., unique, redundant, contingent) contributions to adjustment was examined by investigating the linkages between children's participation in different types of peer relationships (i.e., friendship, peer acceptance, peer victimazation) and their adjustment to school. Relationship measure were gathered for 5-to 6- year-old children(105 males, 95 females) twice during kindergaten (i.e., fall and spring) nad were correlated with adjustment indicators at each time of assessment and used to predict changes in school adjstment over time. Examination of the relative associations between the relationship measures and children's adjustment revealed of both unshared (i.e., unique) and shared (i.e., redundant) linkages, depending on the form of adjustment examined.These findings suggest that adjustment may be influenced by the diverse experiences (i.e., provisions) that children encounter in different forms of relationship, and that certain types of relationships may have greater or lesser adaptive significance depending on the adjustment outcome examined
The purpose of this study was to develop a method for assessing young children's perceptions of classroom friendships and to determine whether these perceptions were associated with their adjustment during the transition to grade school. Subscales tapping 5 friendship processes (e.g., validation, aid, disclosure of negative affect, exclusivity, conflict) were extracted from a 24-item friendship interview that was individually administered to 82 kindergarten children (M age = 5.61) who possessed a reciprocated and stable “best” friend in their classroom. Children's reports of the investigated friendship processes were found to be reliable, and processes such as perceived validation and conflict predicted children's satisfaction with their friendships, and the stability of these relationships. Perceived conflict in friendships was associated with multiple forms of school maladjustment for boys, including higher levels of school loneliness and avoidance and lower levels of school liking and engagement. For both boys and girls, validation and aid forecasted gains in perceived support from classmates, and aid also predicted improvements in children's school attitudes. Perceived exclusivity in friendships was associated with lower levels of achievement. These findings, and others reported in this article, are consistent with the hypothesis that the relational features of children's classroom friendships yield psychological benefits or costs (e.g., provisions) that, in turn, affect their development and adjustment.