In this study, the effectiveness of a life skills program to impede tobacco use in early adolescence was scrutinized. The focus was on the mediating role of yielding to peer pressure. The universal school-based life skills program IPSY (Information + Psychosocial Competence = Protection) against adolescent substance use was implemented over 3…

Exposure to peer stress contributes to adolescent depression, yet not all youth experience these effects. Thus, it is important to identify individual differences that shape the consequences of peer stress. This research investigated the interactive contribution of cumulative peer stress during childhood (second-fifth grades) and executive…

Questionnaires were completed by 5th-, 8th-, and 11th-grade public schools students in rural and suburban school districts and by undergraduates at two universities in the United States (n = 1,242). They were asked about their orientation to video games--the amount of time they played, their motives for doing so, and the game types they…

The purpose of this study was to explore gender differences in adolescent Internet accessibility, motives for use, and online activities in Taiwan; 629 5th and 6th graders were surveyed. Findings revealed that the gap in gender differences with regard to Internet use has decreased in this generation. Even though the Internet is the most recent…

Similarities between adolescents are often the cornerstone of a friendship; yet researchers know little about the similarities in friends' perceptions of the relationship. In the current study, the authors examine similarities in friends' perceived friendship qualities during the transition into early adolescence (n = 77 third graders, 110 fourth…