Examined how conflictual and positive sibling relationship qualities differed for fourth, sixth, and eighth graders. Found that several prosocial relationship qualities were lower for sixth graders and higher for eighth graders. Perceptions of relationship qualities differed by gender composition, with boy-boy dyads reporting lower levels of…

This study examined implicit theories of immaturity among 345 Canadian sixth- and ninth-graders. Qualitative analysis of adolescents' descriptions of an immature peer revealed six foci to implicit theories of immaturity. The majority of adolescents' descriptions focused on childlike behaviors, silly/goofy behaviors, or on mean/hurtful behaviors.…

This 3-year longitudinal study examined depressed affect during early adolescence. Variable-centered analyses yielded general stability in depressed affect for both boys and girls. Person-centered analysis revealed five patterns of depressed affect, with gender differences only in smaller subgroups that showed patterns of change in depressed…

Examined effects of four coping dimensions on conduct problems, depression, and achievement in multiethnic, inner- city sample of early adolescents. Found that for girls, interactions of active coping with family and community stress revealed a classic stress-buffering effect for active coping. Findings for boys did not support this effect.…

Examined conceptions of parenting among middle-class African American parents of early adolescents. Found that parents strongly endorsed setting firm limits. Mothers rated limiting adolescents' behavior as more important than permitting or encouraging independence. Mothers of younger adolescent females viewed limits as more important than mothers…

Examined relation between goal orientations of 12- to 15-year-old competitive swimmers, and those of parents, and coaches. Found that adolescents' self-reported goal orientations correlated highly with their perceptions of goal orientations of their significant adults but not with self-reports of their significant adults. Adolescents believed…

Examined relationship qualities and perceived social self- efficacy of 12-year-olds. Found that perceived low parental intimate support, high conflict with parents, and lower perceived self-efficacy were related to depression symptoms. Girls reported greater best friend intimate support and less conflict, greater self-efficacy, and stronger…

Examined impact of peer experience on seventh graders' strategies for coping with peer hassles. Found that more aggressive adolescents perceived more control over hassles. More aggressive, unpopular adolescents used more negative strategies; more popular aggressive females used more problem-focused strategies. Withdrawn adolescents perceived less…

Noting that the dynamics of interaction in the coparenting setting, the mother-father-child triad, may change substantially during the transition to adolescence and that there is a need for an observational tool that describes both the verbal and nonverbal aspects of triadic dynamics, this study examined the Coding System for Family Triads (CST),…

Examined how family socialization processes varied with season and time of week for young adolescents and their parents. Found that girls were more likely than boys to care for siblings during the summer. Adolescents' housework participation fanned out on weekends. Weekdays were less structured by social institutions for mothers who worked…

Evaluated replicability of model of family and peer influences on adolescent problem behavior. Subjects were 1,450 seventh graders representing three ethnic groups: American Indians, Hispanics, and Caucasians. Found good consistency across ethnic groups, but some subgroup differences emerged in the magnitude of relations between monitoring and…

Examined associations between pubertal development and parent-adolescent conflict in urban, low-income African-American adolescents. Found that parents reported more verbal aggression with sons during midpuberty than early or late puberty, more violent tactics with younger than older daughters, and more "hot" discussions with early-…

The purpose of this paper was to construct, refine, and test a measure of adolescent peer susceptibility. Current conceptualizations of peer susceptibility largely are one dimensional and include at most one or two domains of psychosocial functioning. In addition, most assessments of peer susceptibility are situation- or behavior-specific, thus…

Tested model of gender's moderating effects on behavior problems among early adolescents. Found that increasing girls' internalizing symptoms were partly explained by greater stability in girls' interpersonal vulnerabilities and greater magnitude in coefficients linking girls' relationships with parents and peers and internalizing problems. Boys'…

Examined self-esteem among Puerto Rican young adolescents. Found that Self-Perception Profile for Children had adequate reliability for use with 13- to 14-year-old Puerto Ricans living on the mainland. Gender differences in different domains were similar to those among Anglo youth. Psychological acculturation played a more protective role for…