Social gaming--online gameplay involving digital interactions with others--is a common form of social media use among adolescents. Research on this topic has neglected the social aspect of gaming and the potential role of social gaming in adolescent development. In this article, we define social gaming, drawing on interdisciplinary theories to…

Youth with disabilities may experience unequal patterns of social contact, compared to youth without disabilities. This study uses a nationally representative sample of youth (ages 15-19; N = 6,803) from the American Time Use Survey (2008-2019) to evaluate if and how social contact--defined as time spent with relatives and nonrelatives--differs by…

These days, children are exposed to a variety of information sources and channels, which create more complex interactions than ever before. It is important, therefore, to develop and reinforce children's self-leadership. The present work is a narrative qualitative study focusing on the story of Lile, a 14-year-old Israeli girl who was assessed as…

Connections between prosociality and antisocial behaviors have been recognized; however, little research has studied their developmental links longitudinally. This is important to illuminate during early adolescence as a sensitive period for social development in which prosociality could protect against the development of later antisocial…

With the increasing availability of electronic devices, social media platforms are pervasive in adolescents' lives. Much of adolescents' peer interactions occur virtually--to the point that the line between online and off-line relationships has become blurred. This article aims at sharing starting points with researchers who are in the initial…

Research shows that peer relationships are associated with students' school adjustment. However, the importance of advantageous and disadvantageous factors for students' educational outcomes may vary by socioeconomic positioning. Drawing on sociometric and register data from a nationally representative sample of Swedish youth (n = 4996, girls 50%;…

This four-wave longitudinal study among 698 Chinese early adolescents explored (1) how personal identity coherence and confusion develop; and (2) whether parenting style and peer relationships (i.e., close friend relationships and peer preference) were related to personal identity development. Participants (M[subscript age] = 11.39 yrs.,…

It has long been assumed that children and adolescents want to be with their peers and therefore make active efforts to engage with them. However, a sizable minority of youth avoid peers for internal reasons (e.g., anxiety, preferences for solitude) or because they are socially withdrawn. Although by definition, withdrawn youth tend to stay away…

Although peer relations are recognized as a fundamental developmental context, they have been rarely studied as a means of understanding the effects of socioeconomic status and inequality. In this paper, we show how and why peer relations provide a unique and powerful opportunity to assess the differential risks and resources available in the peer…

Authoring Action (A2) is a youth-focused, arts-based, afterschool and summer program. A2's mission is "to transform the lives of youth and the world through the power of creative writing, spoken word, visual and media arts, film-making and leadership education that promotes positive systemic change." Using in-depth interviews, this study…

The objective of this study is to explore the inclusiveness of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) adolescents in junior high school from the perspective of LGBTQ adolescents in Sweden. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 10 GBTQ adolescents aged 16 to 19. The study was approved by the Swedish Ethical Review…

We investigated whether daily experiences of conflict with family and peers were associated with fluctuations in diurnal cortisol, and whether sleep buffers the associations between conflict and diurnal cortisol. A racially diverse sample of 370 adolescents (ages 11-18; 57.3% female) provided daily diaries for 5 days and saliva samples for 4 days.…

Background: Although positive youth development (PYD) programs have demonstrated effectiveness in improving adolescent reproductive health outcomes, there is a lack of evidence on effective school-based interventions designed especially for high school settings. This study examined the efficacy of Peer Group Connection (PGC-HS), a school-based PYD…

Peers are central in shaping adolescents' development across various domains. This research examined patterns of peer system resources and liabilities, and their association with academic adjustment. A person-centred approach, Latent Profile Analysis, was used to classify students into groups based on characteristics of the peer system: friendship…

Adolescence is a period of growing focus on social interactions and relationships. The peer context is one of the most significant developmental contexts in this transitional period and positive peer experiences contribute positively to adolescent well-being. Although negative peer influence on antisocial behaviour has received much attention, we…