To date, little research has documented how teens might misuse technology to harass, control, and abuse their dating partners. This study examined the extent of cyber dating abuse--abuse via technology and new media--in youth relationships and how it relates to other forms of teen dating violence. A total of 5,647 youth from ten schools in three…

Although there is growing recognition of the problem of dating violence, little is known about how it unfolds among young adolescents who are just beginning to date. This study examined classes (subgroups) and transitions between classes over three time points based on dating violence, bullying, and sexual harassment perpetration and victimization…

Adolescents experience various forms of strain in their lives that may contribute jointly to their engagement in cyber aggression. However, little attention has been given to this idea. To address this gap in the literature, the present longitudinal study examined the moderating influence of peer rejection on the relationship between cyber…

Positive school climates and student drug testing have been separately proposed as strategies to reduce student substance use in high schools. However, the effects of drug testing programs may depend on the favorability of school climates. This study examined the association between school drug testing programs and student substance use in schools…

This study identified classes of developmental trajectories of physical dating violence victimization from grades 8 to 12 and examined theoretically-based risk factors that distinguished among trajectory classes. Data were from a multi-wave longitudinal study spanning 8th through 12th grade (n = 2,566; 51.9 % female). Growth mixture models were…

The peer context is a central focus in research on adolescent risk behaviors but few studies have investigated the role of the peer context in the perpetration of adolescent dating violence. This longitudinal study examined between-subjects and within-person contemporaneous and lagged effects of peer attributes, measured with social network…

Exposure to media violence, including violent video gaming, can have a cognitive desensitization effect, lowering empathic concern for others in need. Since emerging adulthood offers increased opportunities to volunteer, strengthen relationships, and initiate new relationships, decreases in empathic concern and prosocial behavior may prove…

In adolescence, peers represent key actors within individual social network. Given the relevance of peer connections and the growing literature examining them, the purpose of this article was to review, through a meta-analytic approach, studies on adolescent and youth peer relationships within the theoretical framework of attachment. First, we…

While a large body of research consistently finds that internalizing and externalizing problems are closely related and commonly co-occur, the literature is mixed regarding the unique and shared risk processes in the development of both domains of problems. The present study examined the nature and timing of relationships between internalizing and…

Previous research examining relationships between parental monitoring, friendship networks, and substance use did not take into account the gender of both the adolescent and the friends. The goal of this study was to test a mediation model in which having other-sex friends during mid-adolescence mediates the relationships between parental…

Adolescents develop within multiple contexts that synergistically influence their behavior and health. To understand the simultaneous influence of neighborhood and family contexts on adolescents, this study examined relationships of neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage, neighborhood social disorganization, family conflict, parent-child bonding…

While much prior research has documented the negative associations between aggression, peer relationships, and social skills, other research has begun to examine whether forms of aggression also may be associated with prosocial skills and increased social status. However, few studies have examined these associations within diverse samples of…

Although socioemotional competencies have been identified as key components of youths' positive development, most studies on empathy are cross-sectional, and research on the role of the family has focused almost exclusively on parental socialization. This study examined the developmental course of empathy from age 7 to 14 and the within-person…

This study tested whether Marcia's original identity statuses of achievement, moratorium, early closure (a new label for foreclosure), and diffusion, can be considered identity status trajectories. That is, we examined whether these statuses are distinct and relatively stable, over-time configurations of commitment strength, levels of in-depth…

The role of cognitive vulnerability in the development of depressive symptoms in youth might depend on age and gender. The current study examined cognitive vulnerability models in relationship to depressive symptoms from a developmental perspective. For that purpose, 805 youth (aged 10-18, 59.9% female) completed self-report measures.…