The aim of the current study was to investigate the relationship between adolescents' social support, their internalising and externalising behaviour problems, and their alcohol consumption. Adolescents attending Grade 7-10 (N = 329), answered questionnaires regarding their perceived social support (from parents, teachers, classmates, and…

This study examined age-related changes in friend similarity on delinquency to determine whether deviant behavior homophily peaks during mid-adolescence. A community sample of 1,663 male and 1,826 female Swedish youth from Grade 5 (M = 11.21 years) to Grade 10 (M = 16.25 years) provided self-reports of delinquency. Friendships were identified from…

The present study investigated the effects of parental monitoring, neighborhood risk, and racism experiences during early adolescence on adolescents' emotional and behavioral outcomes in high school. Five hundred twenty-two African American youth and their parents and teachers completed surveys about youth development over time. Consistent with…

Research has shown links between emotion regulation strategies and child mental health. However, it is not well known how the characteristics of children may moderate these links. The aim of this study was to explore whether environmental sensitivity--the ability to perceive and process information about the environment--moderates links between…

This research examined the risk and protective factors of responders and nonresponders to a schoolwide implementation of positive behavioral interventions and supports (SW-PBIS) within an alternative school. Students completed self-perception measures of individual, school, community, and home systems. Multivariate analysis of variance indicated a…

This research examined parents' restriction of children's peer relationships in the United States and China. American and Chinese children (N = 934; M[subscript age] = 12.67 years) reported on their parents' peer restriction (e.g., limiting children's time with peers) and their behavioral and psychological adjustment 3 times over a year.…

Community violence exposure is associated with externalizing problems in adolescents, yet little research has examined the moderating role of coping in these relationships. Eighty-four low-income, urban adolescents (M[subscript age] = 13.36, 50% male, 95% African American) participated in two waves of a longitudinal study a year and a half apart.…

The public debate over discipline policy remains depressingly polarized and simplistic. Advocates of reform argue that suspensions and other forms of exclusionary discipline are associated with negative outcomes, including higher rates of criminal justice involvement--and that they are implemented unfairly. In contrast, skeptics argue that we must…

Although childhood shyness has been associated with school-adjustment difficulties in contemporary research in China, the conceptual mechanisms that may underlie these relations remain underinvestigated. The goal of this study was to examine a complex theoretical model that explicates the roles of both peer preference and teacher-child…

This study examined the mediating effect of friends' characteristics (problem behavior and academic achievement) in the association between students' background (family and individual factors) and later academic adjustment, as operationalized by problem behavior and academic achievement. We recruited 998 participants in three public middle schools…

Numerous studies have confirmed the connection between the family climate and various forms of externalizing behaviour problems, such as aggressive and violent behaviour, vandalism, skipping school and running away from home, substance abuse and others. Therefore, it is of particular importance to point out those risk factors, that according to…

Recent research indicates that the development of antisocial behavior among students is influenced by the behavioral characteristics of their classmates. However, not all peers in a given class may exert the same influence. Thus, we examined the extent to which individual development is predicted by the perceived proportion of all students with…

Prospective longitudinal data from over 14,000 youth residing in 28 communities in the rural United States were analyzed to examine the emergence of mixed-sex friendship groups in early adolescence. Youth were surveyed on 5 occasions between fall of 6th grade and spring of 9th grade. At each assessment, youth reported the names of up to 7…

School moves during adolescence predict lower peer integration and higher exposure to delinquent peers. Yet mobility and peer problems have several common correlates, so differences in movers' and non-movers' social adjustment may be due to selection rather than causal effects of school moves. Drawing on survey and social network data from a…

This study had three goals: (a) assessing the predictive association of externalizing and internalizing behaviors during childhood with sexual onset during early adolescence; (b) examining the interactive link of externalizing and internalizing behaviors with early sexual onset; and (c) investigating the moderating effect of gender in this…