Teachers have a major impact on students' social cognition and behaviors, and previous research has found that students who have positive relationships with their teachers tend to be less bullied by their peers. However, this line of research is limited in that it has been (a) Dominated by cross-sectional studies and (b) Treated bullying…

Background: While a theoretical association between religiosity and substance use is anticipated, there is limited empirical evidence testing this theoretical proposition among Nordic adolescents. It was anticipated that studying these substance-use correlates from a criminological perspective by employing a large sample of students could provide…

Youth with greater levels of narcissism face a wide array of difficulties in interactions with others. However, there exists a curious lack of research on their close relationships, such as friendships. In this study, we examined associations between narcissism and friendship features over time. Participants were 261 eighth and ninth graders (112…

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in dramatic changes to the experiences of school for young people around the world as youth and adults navigated changes to instructional format and means of engaging in teaching and learning. School connectedness during the pandemic served a potentially protective role for adolescents during this uncertain time. In…

The goal of the present study was to explore the relations between social avoidance, peer preference, loneliness, and social sensitivity among urban Chinese children. Participants were 951 children attending primary and middle schools from grade 3 to grade 7. Cross-sectional data were collected using self-report assessments and peer nominations.…

This study examined the hypothesis, derived from theories highlighting the importance of group harmony and sense of belonging in human relationships, that the adolescents who are most likely to be influenced by their close friends are those who have the highest quality social relationships. Potential moderators of close friend influence on…

This study explored whether Latinx adolescents' ethnic identity and stressful experiences predicted characteristics of their naturally-occurring mentoring relationships with non-parental adults. Ninth-grade Latinx students completed surveys about ethnic identity, stress exposure, and their natural mentoring relationships during 9th and 10th grade.…

This study examined relations between student engagement and drug use using data obtained from the statewide biennial California Healthy Kids Survey. Latent variable modeling with confirmatory factor analysis indicated four conceptually distinct and psychometrically sound factors capturing academic motivation, school connectedness, caring…

We initiated the study in response to school counsellors' concerns over the effects of noneducational video gaming and texting on students' school performance. The research purpose was to examine the correlations between various factors and academic performance in grade 9. The factors included social relations (e.g., friends), extra-curricular…

Whereas most research has focused on the influence of teachers on student engagement, we postulate that peer experiences -- particularly bullying behavior as a victim or perpetrator -- impact student engagement over time. Using a sample of 525 adolescents (46% female, mean age = 13.51) nested within 31 classrooms from Chilean schools selected by…

There is a lack of research that examines and compares the perspectives of students and their parents and teachers with respect to cyberbullying. Qualitative data were drawn from a mixed methods study on cyberbullying among students in grades 4, 7, and 10, in a large urban school board. Interviews with 13 students and their parents and teachers…

This study uses a subsample from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health to examine protective factors for lower-income, first-generation students. A logistic regression model is used to explore the impacts of (1) gender, (2) race, (3) perceived sense of belonging during middle or high school, and 4) protective adult…

Extensive literature highlights positive outcomes experienced by students whose parents and teachers have strong relationships, but less is known about the factors that influence parent-teacher relationship strength. Using data from "The Impact of Grade Retention: A Developmental Approach," we identify parent-level predictors of the…

Parent-child, teacher-student, and peer relationships are important for adolescents, and can be related to bullying victimization. However, limited research explores whether, how much, and how these three interpersonal relationships are related to bullying victimization based on different grade levels (junior high and high school) and…

Nearly 15% of American students are chronically absent from school. To address absenteeism, many states have recently made chronic absence a core component of their school accountability plans. Scholars have theorized that a positive school climate can promote student attendance, but empirical support for this idea is lacking. In this study, the…