Upcoming statutory UK government guidance for keeping children safe in education reflects the use of social media, which is one of the most common activities undertaken by young people. This study explores how and why young people are using social networking sites (SNS) and whether there are age or gender differences. A key feature of the study…

This longitudinal study aimed to survey over a 12-month period, the mental health and wellbeing of new incoming students transitioning to a boys' only boarding school. An online self-report questionnaire was used to investigate the perceptions and pre-transition experience of new incoming Year 7 students (e.g., while still in Year 6) prior to…

Adolescents typically like school less after making age-graded school transitions. Stage-environment fit theory (Eccles & Midgley, 1989) attributes this to a mismatch between developmental needs and new school environments. Our in vivo study provides a basis for future quantitative designs by uncovering the most prevalent stage-environment…

Peer relationships represent a major source of concern to children transitioning to secondary school. They also offer a potentially important source of support to adjustment and academic progress. However, strategies to support peer relationships at secondary transition have received little attention in previous research. This semi-structured…

The investigators compared the perceived attainment of developmental tasks by 181 German adolescents with hearing loss and 254 peers without hearing loss. The adolescents with hearing loss were attending special schools for students who are deaf or hard of hearing. On average, the two groups perceived similar levels of success across the assessed…

This study applied a social identity perspective to the study of adolescent self-concept and social development. British adolescents aged 14-15 years (N=114) completed a questionnaire which asked them to: (i) rate their degree of identification with a school-based friendship group; (ii) complete a measure of multi-dimensional self-concept; and…