The association between the quality of teacher-student relationships and children's psychological adjustment has been mainly studied in Western countries; however, this research topic is gaining more interest in Eastern countries. Based on attachment theory and empirical evidence, this cross-sectional study examined the relationship between…

Adolescents in the United States live amid high levels of concentrated poverty and increasing income inequality. Poverty is robustly linked to adolescents' mental health problems; however, less is known about how perceptions of their social status and exposure to local area income inequality relate to mental health. Participants consisted of a…

Increasingly, "children of incarcerated parents" is becoming the label to describe a growing number of children with a history of parental incarceration. However, while these children and families frequently experience a variety of challenges, the web of interacting influences they face is complex. This variation makes it difficult to…

Values, or the guiding standards of adolescents' lives, influence which behaviors are considered more justified than others. The relationship between values and social behavior has been established across many studies including the relationship of values and aggression. But only a few studies have examined these relationships among youth.…

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…

We examined associations between adolescent problem trajectories and suicide risk outcomes in 361 community participants. Depressive symptoms (self-report) and externalizing behaviors (parent report) were assessed six times from grades 5 to 10. Parallel process linear growth curves indicated that lifetime suicide attempt history assessed to age 25…

The current research examines how social goals and perceptions of what is needed for social status at school relate to school misbehavior and substance use among rural adolescents (N = 683). Results indicate that social goals and perceptions of social status have differential links to problem behaviors depending upon adolescents' achievement.…

Using data from 1,676 youth who participated in three waves (Grades 6 to 8) of the longitudinal, 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development, we tested two series of hierarchal linear models to examine the role of peer support, associating with "problem-behaving" friends, and bullying involvement in the development of behavioral and emotional school…

Maternal and paternal psychological violence were examined as potential risk factors for internalized and externalized behavior problems displayed by adolescents. Childhood family violence (physical and psychological parental violence), current extrafamily violence (bullying and dating violence), and family structure were taken into account. A…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between the perceptions of school membership, risk factors, and behavioral and academic engagement among a sample of alternative school students. The study subjects were 48 7th-9th graders who were at high risk for school failure because of their serious and chronic behavioral and…

This article focuses on a multicultural, low socioeconomic, intermediate school that over the 4 years of this longitudinal, qualitative, case study made substantial positive shifts in developing a more effective learning environment and improving students' reading achievement. The study found that the factors appearing to have the most influence…

This study investigates the link between the frequency of family breakfasts and dinners and child academic and behavioral outcomes in a panel sample of 21,400 children aged 5-15. It complements previous work by examining younger and older children separately and by using information on a large number of controls and rigorous analytic methods to…

Sociometric nominations, social cognitive maps, and self-report questionnaires were completed in consecutive years by 327 students (56% girls) followed longitudinally from grade 7 to grade 8 to examine the stability of social standing in peer groups and correlates of changes in social standing. Social preference, perceived popularity, network…

Students who are not motivated and do not try to do well are unlikely to achieve consistent with their abilities. This research assesses the relationships over time between school engagement and parenting practices and peer affiliation among sixth to ninth graders using latent growth models. Participants included 2,453 students recruited from…

Background: Parents' use of physical discipline has generated controversy related to concerns that its use is associated with adjustment problems such as aggression and delinquency in children. However, recent evidence suggests that there are ethnic differences in associations between physical discipline and children's adjustment. This study…