The Journal of Early Adolescence recent issues

Acknowledgments

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:58:29 PST

Relative Importance of Parents and Peers: Differences in Academic and Social Behaviors at Three Grade Levels Spanning Late Childhood and Early Adolescence

Masten, C. L., Juvonen, J., Spatzier, A. — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:58:29 PST

By focusing on school-based behaviors, this study examined the validity of a lay assumption that peers match, and even surpass, parents in terms of their importance as socialization agents by early adolescence. Self-reported academic and social behaviors, peer group norms, and perceived parent values were assessed among fourth, sixth, and eighth graders (n = 364). Results indicated academic and social behaviors, and perceived peer group norms for each, were more negative among older youth than younger youth. Sixth and eighth graders also reported parents valuing social behaviors less than fourth graders, although perceptions of parent values of academic behaviors remained high for all grades. Regression findings suggested perceived parent values predict academic and social behaviors at each grade, whereas peer group norms predict social behavior for all grades, but academic behavior only for older students. Implications of these findings are discussed in terms of ameliorating negative changes in behavior during middle school.

Growth and Predictors of Parental Knowledge of Youth Behavior During Early Adolescence

Moilanen, K. L., Shaw, D. S., Criss, M. M., Dishion, T. J. — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:58:29 PST

The current study examines latent growth models of parental knowledge of boys’ behavior from ages 10 to 15, and whether earlier child or family characteristics are related to intercept and growth in parental knowledge. As part of an ongoing longitudinal study on the precursors of antisocial behavior, 288 boys completed interviews at ages 10, 11, 12, and 15 years. Boys’ reports started low, increased and plateaued at age 12. High levels of maternal responsivity in early childhood were associated with a high initial status in knowledge. Growth was predicted only by high levels of boys’ prior externalizing problems. Results are discussed with respect to differences in factors that predict initial status versus growth in parental knowledge during the transition to adolescence.

Aggressive Behavior and Quality of Friendships: Linear and Curvilinear Associations

Fanti, K. A., Brookmeyer, K. A., Henrich, C. C., Kuperminc, G. P. — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:58:29 PST

The current study investigates linear and curvilinear associations between overt aggressive behavior and the adolescents’ reports of the quality of their friendships over time. Moderation by gender was also investigated. The sample consisted of 246 boys and 253 girls from the sixth and seventh grades of a large public middle school. Findings suggested a curvilinear association between aggression and friendship quality for boys such that nonaggressive and highly aggressive boys tended to perceive their relationships with friends more positively than did boys who exhibited moderate levels of overt aggression. In contrast, a negative linear association was found between aggression and friendship quality for girls. These findings provide evidence that the association between friendship quality and overt aggression is a complex phenomenon and point to the importance of examining gender differences and the curvilinear association between aggression and friendship quality.

Early Adolescent Romantic Partner Status, Peer Standing, and Problem Behaviors

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:58:29 PST

This study examined associations among early adolescent romantic relationships, peer standing, problem behaviors, and gender as a moderator of these associations, in a sample of 320 seventh-grade students. Popular and controversial status youth were more likely to have a romantic partner, whereas neglected status youth were less likely to have a romantic partner. Similarly, youth perceived as conventional and unconventional leaders were also more likely to have a romantic partner than were non-leaders. Youth who had a romantic partner drank more alcohol and were more aggressive than were youth who did not have a romantic partner. Among those youth who had romantic partners, those who reported having more deviance-prone partners were themselves more likely to use alcohol and to be more aggressive, and those who engaged in deviant behavior with their partners used more alcohol. However, these associations varied somewhat by gender. These findings underscore the salience of early romantic partner relationships in the adjustment of early adolescents.

Academic Competence for Adolescents Who Bully and Who Are Bullied: Findings from the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development

Ma, L., Phelps, E., Lerner, J. V., Lerner, R. M. — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:58:29 PST

School bullying has negative implications for adolescent academic competence, making it important to explore what factors promote such competence for adolescents who bully and who are bullied. Potential contextual and individual variables linked to academic competence were examined in the context of bullying. Data were derived from the Grades 5 and 6 of the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development, a national longitudinal investigation of adolescents in the United States that began in 2002. Longitudinal random effects hierarchical regression analyses with a subsample of 620 adolescents indicated that being a bully negatively impacted academic competence beyond demographic background, including sex and maternal education, and prior year academic competence. Concurrent random effects hierarchical regression analyses of a subsample of 250 adolescents suggested that educational expectations and school engagement interacted in fostering academic competence for bullies and victims. These findings highlight the importance of addressing academic competence in bullying interventions.

Bullying and Victimization Among Native and Immigrant Adolescents in Norway: The Role of Proactive and Reactive Aggressiveness

Fandrem, H., Strohmeier, D., Roland, E. — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:58:29 PST

This study compares levels of bullying others, victimization, and aggressiveness in native Norwegian and immigrant adolescents living in Norway and shows how bullying is related to proactive and reactive aggressiveness. The sample consists of 2,938 native Norwegians (1,521 girls, 1,417 boys) and 189 immigrant adolescents (97 girls, 92 boys) in school grades 8, 9, and 10. Data were collected via self-assessments. Structural equation models were conducted separately for girls and boys in both groups. The levels of victimization, reactive and proactive aggressiveness were the same for both native Norwegians and immigrant adolescents but there was a significant difference in the levels of bullying others. Compared with the native Norwegians, immigrant adolescents were found to be at higher risk of bullying others. Structural models revealed significantly stronger relations between affiliation-related proactive aggressiveness and bullying others in immigrant boys compared with the other groups. This indicates that the wish for affiliation is an important mechanism of bullying others in immigrant boys. We also suggest further research and the practical importance of the findings for prevention of targeting immigrant adolescents.

Acknowledgments

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 12:07:36 PDT

Perceived Similarity Among Adolescent Friends: The Role of Reciprocity, Friendship Quality, and Gender

Linden-Andersen, S., Markiewicz, D., Doyle, A.-B. — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 12:07:36 PDT

Perceived similarity of personality in same-sex friends was examined in a sample of 124 adolescents (63 girls). Adolescents rated themselves and a nominated friend (n = 42 reciprocated, 82 non-reciprocated dyads) on developmentally relevant personality items assessing autonomy, prosociality, and responsive caregiving. Results from hierarchical linear modeling and multiple regression analyses generally supported predictions: Greater perceived similarity was marginally positively associated with more favorable ratings of friendship quality and significantly negatively associated with conflict ratings in the friendship. Adolescents in reciprocated friendships rated themselves as more similar in personality and more positive in friendship quality than did non-reciprocated dyads. A mediational analysis revealed that the association between reciprocity and perceived similarity was mediated by positive friendship quality. These findings suggest that reciprocated friends’ perceptions of being more similar in personality may in part be accounted for by their more favorable judgments of their friendship quality.

The Development of Children's Ethnic Identity in Immigrant Chinese Families in Canada: The Role of Parenting Practices and Children's Perceptions of Parental Family Obligation Expectations

Su, T. F., Costigan, C. L. — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 12:07:36 PDT

Parents’ role in children’s ethnic identity development was examined among 95 immigrant Chinese families with young adolescents living in Canada. Children reported their feelings of ethnic identity and perceptions of parental family obligation expectations. Parents reported their family obligation expectations; parents and children reported on parenting practices. Mothers’ expectations, but not fathers’, were positively associated with children’s feelings of ethnic identity. This relation was mediated by children’s perceptions of parental expectations, suggesting that children must first perceive their parents’ expectations for these expectations to influence their ethnic identity. More positive parenting practices were related to stronger feelings of ethnic identity. Mothers’ parenting practices moderated the relations between mothers’ expectations and children’s ethnic affirmation and belonging. The results suggest immigrant mothers’ family obligation expectations provide an avenue for positive family identification and ethnic culture learning opportunities that may encourage children’s ethnic identity development.

Early Predictors of Adolescent Depression: A 7-Year Longitudinal Study

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 12:07:36 PDT

This study examined the longitudinal relationship of early elementary predictors to adolescent depression 7 years later. The sample consisted of 938 students who have been part of a larger longitudinal study that started in 1993. Data collected from parents, teachers, and youth self-reports on early risk factors when students were in 1st and 2nd grade were compared to adolescent self-reported depression 7 years later. Regression analyses were conducted with each risk factor separately and combined, while also examining gender and the gender x risk factor interaction. Results showed that the risk factors predominately in the individual characteristic group (depression, anxiety, and antisocial behavior) were predictive of depression 7 years later. Gender differences among the longitudinal risk factors were also found in relation to adolescent depression. Discussion of the results focuses on the practice of children’s mental health assessment and implications for the development of prevention and intervention programs for depression.

Do Private Religious Practices Moderate the Relation Between Family Conflict and Preadolescents' Depression and Anxiety Symptoms?

Davis, K. A., Epkins, C. C. — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 12:07:36 PDT

We extended past research that focused on the relation between family conflict and preadolescents’ depressive and anxiety symptoms. In a sample of 160 11- to 12-year-olds, we examined whether private religious practices moderated the relations between family conflict and preadolescents’ depressive and anxiety symptoms. Although preadolescents’ depressive and anxiety symptoms were not significantly associated with their private religious practices, preadolescents’ private religious practices moderated the relations between: (a) both mother- and preadolescent-reported family conflict and preadolescents’ anxiety symptoms; and (b) both mother- and preadolescent-reported family conflict and preadolescents’ depression symptoms. The relation between family conflict and depression and anxiety symptoms was significantly stronger for preadolescents low, versus high, in their private religious practices. Preadolescents’ sex was not differentially related to these findings. Results highlight the role that private religious practices may play in moderating the relation between family conflict and preadolescents’ internalizing symptoms. Implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.

Childhood-Limited Versus Persistent Antisocial Behavior: Why Do Some Recover and Others Do Not? The TRAILS Study

Veenstra, R., Lindenberg, S., Verhulst, F. C., Ormel, J. — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 12:07:36 PDT

Possible differences between childhood-limited antisocial youth and their stable high-antisocial counterparts were examined. Children were 11 years old at wave 1 (T1) and 13.5 at wave 2 (T2). At both waves, the same parent, teacher, and self-reports of antisocial behavior were used. Stable highs and childhood-limited antisocial youth differed somewhat in family and individual background. Stable highs had less effortful control, perceived more overprotection, had a higher level of familial vulnerability to externalizing disorder, and lived less often with the same parents throughout their lives than the childhood-limited group. Both groups had similar levels of service use before T1, but after that period, the childhood-limited youth received more help from special education needs services than from problem behavior services, and vice versa for stable highs. The results suggest that the childhood-limited antisocial youth recovered not only from antisocial behavior but also from academic failure, peer rejection, and internalizing problems.

Early Adolescent Attachment to Parents, Emotional Problems, and Teacher-Academic Worries About the Middle School Transition

Duchesne, S., Ratelle, C. F., Poitras, S.-C., Drouin, E. — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 12:07:36 PDT

This study examines how attachment to mother and father predicts worries about academic demands and relationships with teachers generated by the transition from elementary to middle school through its contribution to adolescents’ emotional problems (depression and anxiety). The study sample includes 626 young adolescents (289 boys and 337 girls) in sixth grade who completed the Security Scale to assess security of attachment to their mothers and fathers. The results of analyses based on structural equation modeling showed that attachment to mother predicts adolescents’ teacher-academic worries about the middle school transition through anxiety symptoms. These results are discussed in light of the literature on attachment theory, emotional problems during adolescence, and the context of the middle school transition.

Acknowledgments

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 09:32:02 PDT

Parenting Styles and Health-Related Behavior in Childhood and Early Adolescence: Results of a Longitudinal Study

Lohaus, A., Vierhaus, M., Ball, J. — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 09:32:02 PDT

This study addresses the development of health-related behavior during childhood and adolescence and the protective influence of an authoritative parenting style. The study is based on two samples followed from Grades 2 through 5 and from Grades 4 through 7. The first sample consisted of 432 second graders with a mean age of 7.9 years at the beginning of the study, while the second sample consisted of 366 fourth graders with a mean age of 10.1 years. Later health behavior showed substantial correlations to previous health behavior over a 3-year interval. Moreover, there was an increase of favorable health behavior during elementary school and a decrease in the subsequent age periods. The slope for negative health behavior showed an inverted pattern. The level of this general trend was significantly affected by the perceived maternal and paternal parenting style and by gender. The significance of the results for health promotion is discussed.

Ethnic Identity in African American and European American Preadolescents: Relation to Self-Worth, Social Goals, and Aggression

Holmes, K. J., Lochman, J. E. — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 09:32:02 PDT

The current study tested models to determine the extent to which self-worth and social goals mediate the influence of ethnic identity on aggression among aggressive European and African American preadolescents. Ethnic identity emerged as important for both groups, but in different ways. Different patterns of influence of ethnic identity and of mediation were found for the European and African American preadolescents. Ethnic identity was found to mediate the relation between self-worth and preadolescents' aggressive behavior for European Americans, and ethnic identity and dominance/revenge-oriented social goals resulted in direct main effect nonsignificant trends when predicting aggression for African Americans. Implications are discussed for ethnic identity in aggressive preadolescents.

Self-Control and Early Adolescent Antisocial Behavior: A Longitudinal Analysis

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 09:32:02 PDT

The article discusses a three-wave longitudinal study that investigates the relationship between self-control and aggressive and delinquent behavior of early adolescent boys and girls. The sample consists of 1,012 Dutch adolescents (mean age = 12.3) in their first year of secondary education. Structural equation modeling analyses reveal that high levels of self-control consistently decrease aggressive and delinquent behavior in the subsequent 6 months follow-up intervals. Results for the total sample do not support the hypothesis that self-control is influenced by previous levels of aggression or delinquency. For boys, the partial evidence found indicates reciprocal effects of self-control and delinquency.

Moderators of Negative Peer Influence on Early Adolescent Externalizing Behaviors: Individual Behavior, Parenting, and School Connectedness

Mrug, S., Windle, M. — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 09:32:02 PDT

This study examined the extent to which antisocial behavior, parenting, and school connectedness moderated the association between peer deviancy in preadolescence and externalizing problems in early adolescence. The participants included 500 boys and girls, most of them African Americans. Peer deviancy was measured with teacher reports of aggressive-disruptive behavior for classmates identified by target children as friends. Parents provided information on parenting practices (nurturance and harsh and inconsistent discipline) and children's antisocial behavior. Children reported on their school connectedness and externalizing behaviors (delinquency and substance use) in preadolescence and early adolescence. Externalizing problems in early adolescence were associated with preadolescent externalizing and antisocial behavior and older age. Peer deviancy predicted externalizing problems only when combined with higher levels of antisocial behavior and negative parenting. School connectedness, gender, and ethnicity did not moderate the link between peer deviancy and externalizing problems.

Math Achievement in Early Adolescence: The Role of Parental Involvement, Teachers' Behavior, and Students' Motivational Beliefs About Math

Puklek Levpuscek, M., Zupancic, M. — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 09:32:02 PDT

Contributions of parental involvement in educational pursuits as well as math teachers' classroom behavior to students' motivation and performance in math were investigated. By the end of the first school term, 365 Slovene eighth graders reported on their parents' academic involvement (pressure, support, and help) and their math teachers' behavior in the classroom (support, academic press, and mastery goal). During the second term, the students filled-in the questionnaires on their motivational beliefs about math, and at the end of the school year, their final math grade was obtained from school records. Both of the social contexts significantly predicted students' outcomes. Students' perceptions of math teachers' behavior were predictive of both motivational beliefs and achievement in math, over and above the acount of students' evaluations of their parents' involvement. Furthermore, parental academic pressure and support were directly (negatively) related to students' math grades. The contributions of parental pressure, math teachers' academic press, and teachers' mastery goal on math achievement were mediated through the students' self-efficacy in this school course.

Bullying and Victimization Among Boys and Girls in Middle School: The Influence of Perceived Family and School Contexts

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 09:32:02 PDT

The present study examines the mechanisms by which students' perceptions of family and school experiences moderate the association between their emotionality and their habitual involvement in bullying and victimization. The authors hypothesize that students with internalizing and/or externalizing difficulties are less likely to be categorized as bullies and/or victims if they report coming from more cohesive and adaptable families and attending schools characterized by higher adult monitoring, lower levels of aggression and disorder, and higher levels of school bonding. Home and school environments in which these characteristics are less evident to students were expected to exacerbate the likelihood of being bullies and/or victims. Middle school youth (N = 2,506) and their teachers completed surveys assessing emotionality, peer relationships, academic performance, and home and school contexts. Using multinomial logistic regression, the authors found that perceived climates low in student misconduct increase the likelihood that internalizing difficulties predicted classification as victims. Increased student-reported adult monitoring decreased the likelihood for students with externalizing problems to be characterized as bullies, particularly for girls. These findings have implications for the development of school-based intervention programming.

Acknowledgments

Tue, 12 May 2009 08:29:27 PDT

Bullying and Stress in Early Adolescence: The Role of Coping and Social Support

Konishi, C., Hymel, S. — Tue, 12 May 2009 08:29:27 PDT

Prior research from Norway and Japan has demonstrated positive relationships between stress and bullying—The more stress students experience, the more they engage in bullying. The modest correlations, however, suggest that other variables may moderate the stress-bullying link, serving as protective factors that make such negative responses to stress less likely for some individuals. This study examined the stress-buffering roles of coping and social support in reducing the likelihood of bullying in response to stress. Students in Grades 5-7 (N = 312) completed questionnaires assessing stress levels (daily hassles, stressful events), coping strategies (active, avoidance, distraction, support seeking), social support (from peers, family, teachers), and bullying. Consistent with previous research, correlational analyses indicated that stress is significantly related to self-reported bullying but not to peer-assessed bullying. Regression analyses revealed that family support moderated and distraction coping amplified the stress-bullying relationship.

The Interactive Effects of Puberty and Peer Victimization on Weight Concerns and Depression Symptoms Among Early Adolescent Girls

Compian, L. J., Gowen, L. K., Hayward, C. — Tue, 12 May 2009 08:29:27 PDT

Utilizing a cross-sectional design, the authors examined associations between pubertal status, peer victimization, and their interaction in relation to weight concerns and symptoms of depression in a sample of early adolescent girls (N = 261). Multivariate analyses revealed a significant interaction between pubertal status and relational victimization in relation to both weight concerns and depression symptoms. More physically mature girls reported the greatest weight concerns and depression symptoms when experiencing high rates of relational victimization in comparison to their less physically mature peers who reported the same rates of relational victimization. This study considers the importance of interactive effects of peer victimization and pubertal status during the early adolescent period.

Parent and Teacher Relationships as Predictors of School Engagement and Functioning Among Low-Income Urban Youth

Murray, C. — Tue, 12 May 2009 08:29:27 PDT

This investigation examined associations between early adolescents' relationships with parents and teachers and indicators of school-adjustment. Participants were primarily students of color (91% Latino) in a low-income urban environment, and analyses were conducted to examine the relative contributions of parent-child and teacher-student relationships to school adjustment among these youth. Findings indicated that parent-child relationship quality accounted for a significant portion of the variance in student-rated school engagement, school competence, and standardized achievement in reading. Teacher-student relationship quality accounted for a significant amount of variance in student-reported engagement, grades in language arts, grades in mathematics, and mathematical achievement. Unclear expectations in relationships with parents, and closeness-trust with teachers made particularly strong contributions to school adjustment. Interaction analyses between parent and teacher relationship factors were significant for only one of the six school adjustment variables (i.e., student-rated school competence). The implications of these findings for teachers and other school personnel are discussed.

Adolescent Friendship Relations and Developmental Outcomes: Ethnic and Gender Differences

Wissink, I. B., Dekovic, M., Meijer, A. M. — Tue, 12 May 2009 08:29:28 PDT

The first aim of the present study was to examine associations between different aspects of adolescent friendship relations (i.e., frequency of contact with friends, trust in friends, and perceived friends' deviance) on one hand, and adolescent problem behavior and self-esteem on the other hand. The second aim was to determine whether the findings hold for adolescents from three different ethnic groups and for boys and girls. A sample of 508 Dutch, Turkish, and Moroccan adolescents living in the Netherlands filled in a battery of questionnaires at school. Having contact with deviant friends was the strongest contributor to both aggressive and delinquent problem behavior. Trust in friends was the strongest contributor to self-esteem. In general, gender differences were more pronounced than differences among the ethnic groups.

Patterns of Organized Activity Participation in Urban, Early Adolescents: Associations With Academic Achievement, Problem Behaviors, and Perceived Adult Support

Metzger, A., Crean, H. F., Forbes-Jones, E. L. — Tue, 12 May 2009 08:29:28 PDT

This study examines patterns of organized activity and their concurrent association with academic achievement, problem behavior, and perceived adult support in a sample of urban, early adolescent, middle school students (mean age = 13.01; N = 2,495). Cluster analyses yielded six activity profiles: an uninvolved group ( n = 775, 31.1%), a multiply involved group (n = 247, 9.9%), a sports group (n = 469, 18.8%), a church group (n = 486, 19.5%), a school and community clubs group (n = 278, 11.1%), and a community clubs and sports group (n = 240, 9.6%). These profiles are differentially associated with academic achievement, problem behavior, and adult support. While some form of organized activity is generally associated with more positive outcomes, the school and community and community and sports profiles also report the highest levels of delinquency, drug use, and school suspensions. Results support the utility of using person-centered approaches to studying youth-organized activities.